Aptos psychologist: parents teach autistic children via distance learning www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Exciting news how parents CAN successfully help autistic children via distance learning!

Too often Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) commercial programs come into the home, work exclusively with the child and parents are not the central players in helping autistic children to communicate.

The tools for helping the child need to be in the hands of the parents. DVD is one promising tool for giving parents the necessary tools they need.

“Pivotal response training” is the lingo used by ABA to discuss what normal folks call “generalization” — the ability to perform the skill in other settings. Clearly whatever is taught via ABA methods needs to be “generalized” to the home setting and implemented by the parents and other family members.

By instructing the family members in a flexible manner — on their schedule — generalization of skills may happen much faster.

See the article below. This is based on research done at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Exciting! written by Cameron Jackson, Ph.D., J.D. DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Distance Education For Parents Of Children With Autism Found Effective
Article Date: 02 Feb 2010 – 7

“Through the use of instructional DVDs, parents of children with autism can learn how to teach their child to communicate and improve their behavior, according to research published in the January 2010 issue of The Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions (published by the Hammill Institute on Disabilities and SAGE).

“Family members play a central role in the education and treatment of children with autism. However, training parents in appropriate techniques can provide unique challenges.

“Often, mothers and fathers are not available at the same time to participate in training. Contemporary work schedules no longer conform to a traditional 9 to 5 schedule, further complicating efforts to help parents with their child. And, many families are simply too far away from training opportunities to participate on a regular basis. Providing family members with the type of flexibility they need to participate in training is often beyond the capability of most of these programs.
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Nicolette Nefdt, Robert Koegel, George Singer and Michael Gerber) explored whether providing training to parents through DVDs could help bridge this gap. The good news is that parents did improve their skills through watching the training videos, and there were improvements in child behavior as well.

“Many parents of children with ASD are motivated and able to implement evidenced based intervention with minimal support,” said researcher Nicolette Nefdt. “Once provided with a rationale, step by step instructions and video examples, parents were able to change their behavior and begin teaching their child to communicate. Parents who completed the program commented mostly on the ease and flexibility of use of a program such as this one, the value of the video examples and the enjoyment of working with their child”.

“This is very exciting to us, as we are now able to help many more people more quickly than we could otherwise,” said co-author Robert Koegel.

The article “The use of a self-directed learning program to provide introductory training in pivotal response treatment to parents of children with autism” is available free for a limited time at http://pbi.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/12/1/23. SAGE
Source:
Jim Gilden
SAGE Publications

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Posted in Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Education | 1 Comment »

Aptos psychologist: For autism, parent training & medication helps MUCH MORE than just meds

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

For autistic children with BIG behavioral problems the combination of medication AND parent training helps much more than simply medication. The down side is that meds can lead to weight gain. On the plus side, LESS meds work for families with an autistic child who are involved in parent training.

See the article below. Your comments and questions are welcome in the Reply box.
above written by Dr. Cameron Smith Jackson DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Medication Plus Parent Training Improves Behavioral Problems In Children With PDD
Article Date: 23 Nov 2009
“Treatment that includes medication plus a structured training program for parents reduces serious behavioral problems in children with autism and related conditions, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study, which was part of the NIMH Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) Autism Network, was published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“Results from a previous RUPP study reported in 2002 showed that the antipsychotic medication risperidone (Risperdal) reduced such behavior problems as tantrums, aggression and self-injury in children with autism. However, most children’s symptoms returned when the medication was discontinued. Although effective, risperidone is associated with adverse effects such as weight gain, which can lead to metabolic changes, obesity and related health problems.

“Medication alone has been shown to help with some symptoms of autism, but its potential is limited,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel. “This study shows promise of a more effective treatment protocol that could improve life for children with autism and their families.”

“In the study, the RUPP group tested the benefits of medication alone compared to medication plus a parent training program that actively involves parents in managing their children’s severely disruptive and noncompliant behavior. Parents were taught to modify their children’s behavior and learned to enhance their children’s daily living skills.
The 24-week, three-site trial included 124 children ages 4 to 13 with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) such as autism, Asperger’s or related disorders accompanied by tantrums, aggression and self-injury. The children were randomized to a combination of risperidone and parent training, or to risperidone only. Parents in combination therapy received an average of 11 sessions of training over the course of the study.

Although both groups improved over the six-month trial, the group receiving combination therapy showed greater reduction in behavioral problems like irritability, tantrums and impulsiveness compared to the group receiving medication only. The combination therapy group also ended the trial taking an average dose of 1.98 milligrams (mg) per day of risperidone, compared to 2.26 mg/day in the medication-only group – a 14-percent lower dose. However, children in both groups gained weight, indicating “a need to learn more about the metabolic consequences of medications like risperidone,” said the authors.

“The combination group was able to achieve its gains with a lower dose of medication. Plus, it appeared that the benefits of added behavioral treatment increased over time, a strong signal that actively including parents in the treatment of children with PDD could only benefit families, ” said lead author Michael Aman, Ph.D., of the Ohio State University.

“Future studies will evaluate whether the benefits of parent training endure over a long period of time,” concluded the authors. The investigators also plan to apply the parent training to younger children with PDD to prevent the evolution of serious behavioral problems. Future studies may also look for ways in which the parent training program can be used in schools and community clinics.

Source: Colleen Labbe
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

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