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| Outcome Data from a Variety of Early Intervention Programs for Children with Autism |
| Sunday, May 27, 2007 |
| 10:30 AM–11:50 AM |
| Douglas A |
| Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Paul Coyne Coyne (Coyne & Associates, Inc.) |
| CE Instructor: Paul Coyne Coyne, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Outcome data from a several Early Intervention Programs for children with autism are presented: 1) Coyne et. al., discusses their ABA based in-home program serving children younger than three years old. Participants gained significantly more than controls; program duration (age when enrolled) was a better predictor of success than total service hours; 2) Weatherly and Mallot present their use of Organizational Behavior Management methods to analyze the effects of a pre-school ABA based autism program. They examined treatment at various levels affecting the children, the families, the staff at the autism school and the people involved with behavioral treatment. Areas of focus included: discrete trial teaching, maintenance of previously acquired skills, and family life; 3) Jonaitis presents 10 years of data from the Croyden Ave School Autistic Impaired Preschool serving children 2-6 years old. One goal was to prepare children for general education kindergarten using students from Western Michigan University; and 4) Youngbauer presents data from the North LA County Regional Center ABA intervention program. The program included an integrated process of parent information, parent education, use of several competent behavioral agencies, and monitoring of services. |
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| Outcome Data from an In-Home Early Intervention Program for Children with Autism Younger than Three Years Old. |
| PAUL COYNE COYNE (Coyne & Associates, Inc.), Katherine Calarco (Coyne & Associates, Inc.), Len Levin (Coyne & Associates, Inc.), M. Alice Coyne (Coyne & Associates, Inc.) |
| Abstract: Analysis of outcome variables (Bayley and Brigance) indicated that children receiving 12 hours per week of intervention scored significantly higher than control children at 35 months mean age. A multiple regression analysis was employed to answer the question of which better predicted performance at 35 months of age: program duration or total number of hours of intervention received. Regression results demonstrated that program duration is a better predictor of performance than total number of hours of intervention received, suggesting that early intervention is better. |
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| A Systematic Evaluation of a Preschool Autism Intervention: Child Performance, Staff Performance, and Family Life. |
| NICHOLAS L. WEATHERLY (Western Michigan University), Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University) |
| Abstract: The area of Organizational Behavior Management offers ways to analyze all levels of performance in a system to ensure continuous performance improvement. This presentation will apply this systematic evaluation method to a behavioral treatment program for preschool-aged children with autism. The evaluation systematically examines the treatment at various levels that involve the children, the families, the personnel at the autism school, and all people that are involved with the behavioral treatment. Areas of focus include the maintenance of previously acquired skills by preschool-aged children with autism, an analysis of a discrete trial training system, and the impact of skills acquired in the classroom on family life. |
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| An Evaluation of Overall Student Progress from Discrete Trial to Kindergarten in an Autism Preschool Program. |
| CARMEN MAY JONAITIS (Croyden Avenue School/Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency) |
| Abstract: The Croyden Avenue School Autistic Impaired Preschool Program consists of 4 classrooms that serve children from 2-6 years of age. This is an early intervention program for children that have been diagnosed with Autism or Early Childhood Developmental Delay. The goal of the program is to educate young children with disabilities to the best of their ability through intensive early intervention in partnership with psychology students from Western Michigan University, and when possible, prepare children to participate in a kindergarten classroom with typically developing peers. Objective data collected over the 10 years that the program has been in operation was analyzed. Surveys were used to gather parent perceptions of the value of the AI Preschool Program. This outcome study will be used to evaluate the overall effect of the program on the success of the children who have participated. |
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| Outcome Data from the North Los Angeles County Regional Center ABA Intervention Program for Children with Autism. |
| JOHN YOUNGBAUER (North Los Angeles County Regional Center) |
| Abstract: In 2003, the North Los Angeles County Regional Center initiated an intensive ABA intervention program for children with autism. The program included an integrated process of parent information, parent education, competent behavioral agencies, and consistent monitoring of the services. The outcomes of the program are binary, that is, placement in a regular education classroom or special education class. About thirty-five percent of the children are now in regular education classrooms, however, educational placement was found to be a confounded variable often reflecting school district policies, politics, and advocacy efforts. |
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