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Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Spanish-Speaking Families
Autism diagnoses among children of Latino descent have risen more than 90 percent since 2002, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released in December 2009. While the reasons for this are multifaceted, Dr. Charles Cartwright, Director of the YAI Autism Center,...
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Choosing a Psychologist
What are the key elements in making the right decision about selecting a psychologist? There are many kinds of professionals who may play different roles in addressing the issues associated with having Asperger Syndrome. How do individuals and families determine what type of professional is needed...
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The Use of Pre-Post Test Designs to Evaluate Effectiveness of Autism Treatments
This current issue of Autism Spectrum News focuses on understanding and accessing clinical treatment services. A prerequisite to accessing clinical treatment is to understand what treatments might be effective and have a chance of delivering positive results. And a prerequisite to determining what...
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Parent-Implemented Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
While the background noise of daily life includes a stream of fascinating new findings concerning the neurobiology of autism, parents of children with ASD face the urgent, present-day challenge of enhancing their children’s social, cognitive, linguistic, and adaptive development in every possible...
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Understanding ABA Intervention
One of the most difficult aspects of navigating autism treatment decisions for families is making sense of the vast array of claims of effectiveness. Many treatments claim to be effective, though few have data to support those claims. Parents are confronted with such claims and with the complexity...
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Relationship Development Intervention: A Review of Its Effectiveness
The theme of this issue of Autism Spectrum News is “Advances in Autism Science.” One facet of autism science is the adherence to “evidenced-based practice” (EBP); a requirement that those who work with persons with autism – teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, etc. – use...
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Interventions for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum and How Best to Evaluate Their Effectiveness
Autism is a complex disorder characterized by significant deficits in social reciprocity and communicative ability as well as the presence of repetitive behavior/restricted interests. Given the heterogeneous nature of autism, many interventions have emerged with disputed claims of effectiveness....
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Music Therapy for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
The Therapeutic Power of Music - Music occupies a significant place in human activity across cultures, reflecting its deeply rooted biological origins. A growing body of evidence indicates that the physiology of the human brain is specialized for musical perception and activity. Our sensitivity to...
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Interdisciplinary Team Perspectives on the Progress of Two Boys
For interdisciplinary teams of teachers, assistants, therapists and administrators, understanding what works for children with autism may sometimes seem elusive. Why is one child progressing in therapy, but not transferring these skills to the classroom? What was different in classroom supports for...
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View from the Spectrum – The Sea of Interventions
Which approach should I use for my child? Will a behaviorally oriented method such as Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) work? Might it be better to use Daily Life Therapy (DLT)? What about some of the developmental ways of working with children on the autism spectrum such as the cognitive...
