Isn't Behaviorism Dead?
autism
is a disorder that is very different from person to person
Published
on January 12, 2010 by Bill
Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA-D in A Radical Behaviorista
A radical behaviorist,
you may be thinking to yourself, why would they let one of those in
here? Behaviorism was thrown to the curb long ago. What
could this outdated perspective possibly add to our understanding of autism? Well, Skinner's Radical Behaviorism is
thriving and the application of behavior analysis for the treatment of autism
is the main reason for this. Early intensive behavioral intervention for
children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has proven to be
of great utility.
The best known studies
of early intensive behavioral intervention have been conducted by
Lovaas and his colleagues (Lovaas, 1987; McEachin, Smith, & Lovaas, 1993;
Sallows, & Graupner, 2005; Smith, Groen, & Wynn, 2000). The initial
Lovaas studies (1987; McEachin et al.) showed that about 50% of the young
children who received around 40 hours per week of intensive instruction were
successfully transitioned into a typical school setting. Subsequent research
suggests the percentage of children who successfully integrate into the
public school setting is probably a bit overestimated; however, tangible
benefits seem to occur even for those children who do not meet the optimal
outcome of successful integration into the community.
One criticism of the
Lovaas work was his reliance on aversive procedures for treating problem
behavior. Indeed much of the early published research (from 1960-1980)
for treating severe or life-threatening problem behavior in all populations
heavily relied on techniques that involved either preventing problem behavior
or providing aversive consequence following it. The development of
functional assessment techniques for severe self-injury (like head
banging, eye gouging, and self-biting) by Brian Iwata and his colleagues at the
(then) Kennedy Institute at Johns Hopkins produced a new technology for dealing
with problem behavior. However, the more intensive part of the early
intensive behavioral intervention involves teaching children the skills their
typically developing peers display but that they do not.
This is particularly
challenging for educators as the skill deficits of children with ASDs are very
different from the focus of curricula in the public schools. The most
marked deficit with autism is social interaction. These deficits may be
present from birth and some research conducted at the Yale Child Study Center
suggests that such problems might be reliably detected in children as
young as 6 months old. Most children with ASDs also have deficits in play
skills and impaired communication. Additionally, autism is a disorder
that is very different from person to person. Behavior analysis is a
unique psychological perspective in that it is a science of the individual and
it is this quality that places it in a position to specifically address each
child's needs.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar