Interventions for Common Environments and Activities

Happy December Autism Community! This month we’re going to be featuring articles about facilitating participation and communication in common environments and during common activities. When it comes to teaching individuals with autism, it is important for parents, teachers and therapists to keep their focus on skills which are important for participation in the activities of life. These include activities in the home, community and school as well as common hobbies (read our previous article about facilitating participation at summer camp). When you’re considering educational and other goals, the first thing to do is to look at what other individuals their age are doing to define appropriate goals. Planning intervention this way is the only way to ensure maximum potential for inclusion with same-aged peers. Some times I feel as though parents and professionals define goals too narrowly and focus on remediation of basic skills (i.e. math, reading, conversation skills) without looking at the bigger picture (i.e. application of skills).

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the premier intervention strategy for individuals with autism and other developmental delays. One complaint I’ve heard repeatedly about ABA-based interventions is that they tend to focus on basic skills and don’t always address the application of those skills (i.e. generalization). This complaint is, however, due to a misunderstanding or a misapplication of ABA. There are seven core characteristics of interventions based on the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA): (1) interventions are applied to socially significant behaviors, (2) the target behavior is clearly defined, (3) data analysis is utilized, (4) intervention procedures are defined clearly, (5) procedures are derived directly from scientific principles, (6) interventions are effective, and (7) behavior changes are generalized. This month we’ll discuss, among other things, intervention programs and teaching strategies based on ABA to address participation in common activities at home, school and in the community.

Are there any particular activities or environments you’re interested in learning interventions to address?