Today, one of the most effective ways to correct autism is the applied analysis method, or AVA therapy. What it is? Let's look at this article.
Behavioral correction of autism in children is very important. Its main task is to help a child with certain developmental disabilities adapt to the environment and take the most meaningful part in society.
Autistic children - who are they?
It should be clearly understood that autistic children are no better and no worse than other children, they are just different. A distinctive feature of such babies is a look, "immersed in themselves," they can not find a connection with the outside world.
Attentive parents discover that their child is autistic when he is still very small. At a time when ordinary babies begin to gradually recognize their mother (at about 2 months), a child with autism is completely indifferent to the outside world. A month after the birth of the baby, the mother can determine by crying what he wants: to play, eat, he is cold, wet and so on. With an autistic child, this is impossible; his crying is usually inexpressive, monotonous.
At 1-2 years old, children with autism can pronounce the first words, but their use is meaningless. The child prefers to be alone. Remaining for some period without a mother or close relative, he does not show much concern.
Over time, the baby also does not show a strong attachment to parents and does not seek to communicate with peers.
The exact reasons for this condition have not yet been established. Scientists suggest that such a condition appears due to impaired brain development, chromosomal abnormalities, gene mutations.
Despite the impression that autists do not need anyone, these kids really need communication, they want to be understood, they just don’t know how to do it. The task of parents is to help such a child establish contact with the outside world. ABA therapy for autists is by far the most effective.
What is the essence of the technique?
How is it interesting and unique? AVA therapy - what is it? It is based on behavioral technologies and techniques that make it possible to study the influence of environmental factors on autistic behavior and change it, that is, to manipulate these factors. The ABA therapy method has another name - behavior modification. The idea of the ABA program is that any behavior entails consequences, and when a child likes it, he will repeat these actions, but if he doesn’t like it, he won’t.
What does a behavior modification give?
AVA therapy for autists is the basis of most programs that are aimed at treating this deviation in children. The value of behavioral therapy has been confirmed by numerous studies conducted over 30 years.
Specialists and parents who used such a technique as AVA therapy in class with children leave the following comments:
- communication skills are improved;
- adaptive behavior is normalized;
- learning ability improves.
In addition, thanks to this program, the manifestations of behavioral deviations are significantly reduced. It has also been proven that the earlier ABA-therapy courses are started (preferably in preschool age), the more noticeable the results will be.
Scientists have developed various deviation correction methods that are used in ABA therapy. These methods are based on the principles of applied behavioral analysis.
How it works?
With this technique, all complex skills for autists, such as contact, speech, creative play, the ability to look in the eyes, listen, and others are divided into separate small blocks of action. Each of them is then taught separately with the child. As a result, the blocks are connected in a single chain, which forms one complex action. A specialist in the treatment of autism during the process of learning actions gives a child with an autism spectrum disorder a task. If the baby cannot cope with it on his own, the teacher gives him a hint, and then rewards the child for the correct answers, while the incorrect answers are ignored. Based on this is ABA therapy. Training on this technique consists of several stages.
Stage one: start with a simple
One of the exercises of the program is “Language-Understanding”. The specialist gives the child a specific task or incentive, for example, asks to raise his hand, immediately gives a hint (raises the child’s hand), then rewards the baby for the correct answer. Having made several joint attempts, the baby tries to perform an action without a hint. The specialist again repeats the same phrase to the child and expects an independent correct answer from him. If the baby answers correctly, without prompts, he receives a reward (he is praised, given something tasty, released to play, and the like). If the child does not give the correct answer, the task is repeated again using the prompt. Then the baby again tries to do everything on his own. The exercise ends when the child was able to give the correct answer without a hint.
When 90% of the child’s independent answers to the specialist’s task are correct, a new incentive is introduced, for example, they ask to nod their heads. It is important that the tasks are as varied as possible. The new task is being worked out in a similar way.
The second stage: we fix the material
After the child has mastered the second task well - "nod your head", the exercise is complicated. The learned actions alternate in random order: “nod your head” - “raise your hand”, “raise your hand” - “raise your hand” - “nod your head” and so on. Tasks are considered mastered when in 90% of cases the child gives the correct answer when alternating the learned exercises. According to the same scheme, the third stimulus is introduced and worked out, and so on.
The third stage: we generalize and fix
At this stage, the acquired skills are generalized. When a child has accumulated a sufficient amount of mastered important stimuli (“take”, “give”, “come here”, etc.), they pay attention to generalization. Exercises begin to be carried out in unusual and unexpected places (on the street, in a store, in the bathroom). After alternating people giving the child tasks (specialist, mom, dad, grandfather, grandmother).
Fourth stage
This is the final stage. At some point, the child not only masters the incentives worked out with him, but also begins to understand new tasks on his own, additional training is no longer required. For example, they give him the task “close the door”, show it 1-2 times and this is already quite enough. If this turns out, then the program has been mastered, and ABA therapy classes are no longer needed. The child begins to further learn information from the environment, as do normally developing babies who are not autistic.
What determines the effectiveness of the correction of autism in a child?
For element-wise learning and honing dozens of actions and objects, a lot of effort and time is needed. It is believed that for children with a diagnosis of autism, ABA therapy will be most effective if at least 30-40 hours a week are given to classes using this technique. It is advisable to start studying under such a program before the child is 6 years old. AVA-tarpy is also effective for older children. But the sooner it starts, the better the final result.
The advantages of this technique
For children with autism, ABA therapy is extremely effective. Training is not just about repeating the right behavior, a professional therapist helps the child transfer the right model from one situation to another. The most important component in achieving success is the direct participation of parents in the ABA program.
Positive results appear quickly enough. According to the studies of the founder of this technique, Ivar Lovaas, about half of the children who received correction under the ABA program can be trained in a regular school. Condition and behavior improved in more than 90% of children out of the total number of those who received correction by this method.
AVA therapy makes it possible to consistently develop a child, socialize and introduce into society. In children with autism, stereotypes almost completely disappear. The ABA technique allows children who later turned to correction (5-6 years) to master speech.
The program covers all areas of cognition: from the development of the conceptual apparatus to the formation and improvement of everyday self-service skills.
The disadvantages of the method
Unfortunately, ABA therapy cannot be applied at the initial stage if a child with autism is afraid of strangers. The program is quite tough, it should be used carefully. Parents, both morally and physically, must be ready for full surrender, work is carried out constantly, the system of rewards and punishments is not violated. Interruptions or weakening of the work is not advisable, as this may affect the result. It is important to understand that the child is not trained, but trained - trained in skills by repeating them repeatedly. To work on this technique, full obedience of the child is necessary, and it can sometimes be difficult to achieve. It is very important to monitor classes under such a program, however, at home, you should try to organize a development system that would correspond to the correction plan.
Possible difficulties
The motivation of children with a diagnosis of autism is slightly different from that of ordinary babies. It is important to identify what the child may be interested in, will motivate him. Approval or censure for autistic children is ineffective; at the initial stage, praise can be combined with a real reward. Such kids can not focus on anything for a long time and are often distracted, so it is important to conduct classes in silence, divide tasks into small segments. Repetition compensates for the slowness in learning, abstract concepts explain as simple phrases as possible. After the child learns to communicate freely with the teacher one on one, you can offer him communication with two people and so gradually increase the number of people around. In such children, the observation skill is ineffective, so imitation is used. Proper training is prevented by self-stimulation - rocking, clapping. Autistic children do not distinguish between a significant and non-essential stimulus, their reaction can sometimes be too pronounced or, conversely, very weak. They often rely on eyesight rather than hearing to get information. Children who are good at hearing information are most successful in developing an ABA program.
ABA therapy is perhaps the only corrective work with autistic children that causes so many disputes and discussions. Various discontent is caused either by outdated information, or by unskilled AVA specialists, which are quite numerous today, as this program is becoming more and more popular. Efficiency of work most directly depends on the qualifications of a specialist, so you need to choose it very carefully.