Howard, et al (2005) conducted a study to compare the effectiveness of 3 treatment groups on children with ASD whom were all under 4 years old before receiving 14 months of treatment. Results showed that when compared to other 2 groups, young children who received an average of 30 hours per week of intensive behavioral analytic intervention made the most gains in all areas including cognitive skills, non-verbal skills, communication skills, social skill, etc..This was a very important finding as it shows that number of hours of treatment and also the type of treatment affect outcome significantly.
If intensity of treatment matters, the younger a child is when he or she starts to receive treatment, the more intensive treatment one can be guaranteed, in terms of hours per week, and length of treatment. It is in this practical sense that younger children usually has more free leisure time because they are free from school homework, extra-curricular activities, and free from demands to help with daily routines and chores.
A lot of parents would ask the question “shouldn’t kids be playing at the leisure free time at early age instead of going for a ‘therapy’?” however a core symptom of ASD is lack of appropriate play skills and often display repetitive pattern and rigidity. While typically developing children learn varieties of skills through observing, imitating, these seem to be difficult for children with autism. They would need professional help in developing their learning in natural play environment.
It is no surprise that the gap is smaller between skills of children with ASD and those of their typically developing when children are younger. Through effective intensive intervention, it is of higher chance of closing the gap when they start young. And lays a foundation that will offer greater opportunities and help to improve child’s quality of life.
There is a saying that children’s brain is like a sponge. People often find children absorb new information faster, learn new things more efficiently. Think of how you pick up a new second language like Japanese, or learn how to play musical instruments. When compared with adults, children have a higher learning rate. Therefore as an adult, we want to give our children the best resources in maximizing their learning since they are young.
Diagnosis of ASD of children is devastating to parents; especially when children are newly diagnosed. Early intervention brings positive impact to parents. Professional service providers know what difficulties parents are facing, and therefore interactions with them help parents to be better informed and feel supported emotionally. Appropriate parent training help to reduce parents’ helplessness, by getting to know about their children’s needs, strengths and deficits and equip them better skills to maximise potentials of their children. Seeing children make progress undeniably help parents feel less distressed.
If you’re concerned about your child’s development, don’t wait. Intervention is likely to be more effective when it is provided earlier in life rather than later. Early intervention can change a child’s developmental path.
Related Article:
Possible signs of Autism in babies and toddlersInformation provided by:
Nicole Kwok (Autism Partnership Case Supervisor) |
Ms Nicole Kwok obtained a Master of Social Sciences in Counseling from City University of Hong Kong. She joined AP in 2006 as Program Specialist. She was responsible in leading social group and providing one-on-one service, shadowing for kindergarten/ international school and parent training. In 2011, she joined Aoi Pui School as Lead Teacher and helped the school to set up a brand new Cantonese-speaking class. She has experience in formulating IEP, overseeing intervention plan and designing lesson plan. In 2015, she joined back AP as Case Supervisor and is responsible for providing case supervision and parent training for Accelerate families as well as overseas consultation services. |
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[:zh]嬰幼兒在18個月大時便可診斷出自閉症譜係障礙。研究顯示，已有充分的實證表明應用行為分析（ABA）有助於處理自閉症兒童的一系列問題行為，例如注意力不集中和自我刺激等等。
Howard等人在2005年進行了一項研究，將參與研究的自閉症兒童分為三組三種不同療法，，藉此來比較不同療法的有效性，所有孩子均在4歲之前開始接受14個月的治療。結果顯示，與另外兩個小組相比，每週平均接受30個小時密集行為分析干預的孩子進步最大，這一點體現在所有的技巧領域，包括認知技巧、非語言技巧、溝通技巧和社交技巧等等。這是一項重大的研究發現，證實了治療的時數和類型都會極大地影響治療效果。
若治療的強度是影響結果的重要因素，那麼孩子越早開始接受治療，可確保的治療強度就越高（就每週治療時數和治療時長而言）。從實際情況上說，年紀較小的孩子通常不用負擔學校課業、課外活動，也不用被要求分擔家務雜活，因此有更多的閒暇時間。
許多家長可能會問，「孩子年紀還小時，難道不應該在空閒的時候去玩耍而不是去治療？」。然而，自閉症人群的一個核心症狀為缺乏適當的遊戲技巧，並且經常表現出重複性和刻板的行為。一般發展的兒童可以通過觀察和模仿等學習各種技巧，然而這點在患有自閉症的兒童身上卻難以實現。他們需要專業的幫助才能在自然的遊戲環境中學習。
毫無疑問，年紀尚小時患有自閉症的兒童與他們一般發展的同伴之間技巧差距較小。若能儘早開始有效的密集干預，那麼就會有更大的機會縮小差距。為改善孩子將來的生活質素打下基礎。
俗話說，孩子的大腦就像海綿。成人們發現小孩子總能更快更有效地汲取新信息，學習新事物。想想自己如何學習一門新的外語，比如日語，亦或是學習如何彈奏樂器。與成人相比，孩子的學習速度和效率都更勝一籌。因此，作為家長，我們都希望能從小為他們提供最好的資源，讓孩子最大化地發揮自身的學習能力。
孩子被診斷為自閉症對家長來說是一個沉重的打擊，尤其是剛接獲診斷結果時。早期干預能為家長帶來積極的影響。專業的服務機構瞭解家長所處的困境，因此會更主動地與家長互動，告知他們孩子的有關情況，從情感上予以支持。適當的家長培訓能夠減少他們的無助感，教會他們如何更有技巧地與孩子互動。毋庸置疑，孩子的進步是緩解父母苦痛的良藥。
家長最了解自己的孩子，如果你擔心孩子的發展，請儘早向專業人士尋求幫助。干預越早越有效，可以改變孩子的發展軌道。
相關文章：
嬰幼兒時期可能出現的自閉症徵兆資訊提供
郭雅瑜 (Autism Partnership 行為分析治療課程監督) |
郭雅瑜小姐擁有香港城市大學社會科學碩士；及於英國諾丁漢特倫大學修畢心理學社會科學學士(榮譽)。於2006年加入AP，出任行為分析治療主任一職，負責帶領社交小組、一對一治療、輔助主流學校進行影子計劃及培訓家長。於2011年，她加入愛培學校並擔任教導主任，為學校開設廣東話班，推行個別化教育計劃、監督行為治療計劃及設計課堂活動。郭雅瑜小姐於2015年返回AP香港辦事處，擔任行為分析治療課程監督，負責個案監督、家長培訓計劃，主導躍進及領進計劃，為海外家庭個案作出多方面的支援。 |
請分享，讓更多人了解自閉症及學習更多應用行為分析（ ABA）的治療技巧。
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