Autism's Effect on Skill Acquisition Learning - Admission/Application Essay Example

?Autism & Skill Acquisition The word autism refers to a spectrum of developmental disorders that each vary greatly between individuals but have several common features. The most common group of features is difficulties in social interactions and interpreting the world. This can lead to very obvious and sometimes debilitating problems with skill acquisition for the individual with autism (Turkington & Anan, 2007). As such, there are many different types of therapy that are aimed at trying to improve the autistic individual’s skill acquisition to help them integrate more seamlessly into the world (Turkington & Anan, 2007). These include, but are not limited to, therapies involving animals and music, massage therapy; relationship based models, communication interventions and applied behavior analysis (Autism Society, 2013). These all have varying rates of success, dependent on a number of factors. However, there is controversy about these therapies and their efficacy, particularly based on failures in the methodology of these studies (Autism Society, 2013). Despite this controversy, there are many therapies for autism that are available through government funding. This approach to autism treatment also includes educational approaches which may be provided by government-funded schools (Autism Society, 2013). The Autism Society suggests that autism therapy needs to address ‘educational needs, behavior issues, communication problems and/or motor and physical disabilities and medical needs’, and suggests that the therapies include ‘early intensive behavioral interventions (including those classed as developmental behavioral interventions), physical or occupational therapy and social and self-help skills development (Autism Society, 2013). The first of these is early intensive behavioral intervention, which is considered a form of Applied Behavior Analysis (Cooper, Heron & Heard, 2007). It is considered to be one of the only effective treatments for autism (Cooper et al, 2007). The way that this works is by observing which skills the autistic individual struggles with at an early age. By identifying these, it is possible to break them down into small components which may be more manageable and understandable to the child. The child can then be ‘taught’ how to use this skill by a variety of psychological techniques, such as positive reinforcement (Loaves et al, 1976). Whilst the original paper published by the inventor of this technique claimed that 47% of children undergoing ABA became similar to their non-autistic peers (Lovaas et al, 1976), this may have been overstated. However, Reichow & Wolery (2009) found that overall there is some benefit in this therapy. Another type of developmental behavioral intervention is known as the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), which is applicable to toddlers with autism particularly. Comparative to the early intensive behavioral intervention outlined above, the ESDM has a more heavily parent-oriented approach, and focuses on interpersonal exchange (Autism Speaks, 2013). It is considered to be a comprehensive approach to tackling autistic skill acquisition issues, because of the wide range of issues it aims to target (Autism Speaks, 2013). The benefit of ESDM is not completely proven in the literature, but some studies suggest that, when compared with community intervention, children who receive ESDM therapies at an early age can show “significant improvements in IQ, adaptive behavior and autism diagnosis (Dawson et al, p17). Despite the partial successes of the therapies above, there are evidently cases where autistic children do not respond to this type of treatment. Additionally, even using the high estimate from Lovaas (1976), only 47% of children responded to the treatment. Other options for government-funding treatment can include occupational therapy (Turkington & Anan, 2007). This includes a variety of approaches, such as sensory integration, positive reinforcement and non-standardized tools (Watling et al, 1999). Occupational therapy is not seen to be as effective as the ABA approaches outlined above (Watling et al, 1999). The fact that these therapies do not always improve the skill acquisition of autistic individuals and the fact that they can often be extremely difficult to gain access to through a government-funded organization means that many families are turning to private options which may be less traditional in nature. There are a huge variety of these different treatments for autism, each of which having a different efficacy rate. One of the most popular privately available options for autism therapy is the use of animals to prove occupational therapy, or to assist in therapy. These can be typical animals such as dogs and horses, but treatments have involved dolphins. Nimer & Lundahl (2007) completed a meta-analysis of 250 studies (49 meeting the inclusion criteria) of animal-assisted therapies (AAT). Overall, it was shown that there were moderate effect sizes in improving outcomes for those with autistic spectrum disorders, which means that there may be some improvement in skill acquisition. This can be particularly important in skills such as understanding the world and empathy, as well as more general communication skills (Nimer & Lundahl, 2007). Whilst the precise reason for this improvement when using AAT is not completely known, it does suggest that families seeking this type of treatment may well benefit with respect to skill acquisition and there could be a small improvement in the difficulties of the autistic individual. Massage and music therapies are also sometimes advocated as being useful for those with autism. Music therapy is used with the aim of allowing autistic individuals to improve their communication skills, with the use of music therapy from a young age attempting to improve the acquisition of these skills. Massage therapy is advocated for the relaxation of those with autism, thus potentially allowing them to participate more freely in daily life and thus acquire useful skills. One of the elements that both massage and music therapy share is that there are very few high quality studies that use proper scientific method evaluating their efficacy in patients with autism. This means that it is very difficult to draw conclusions about how likely these treatments are to work. Massage therapy in particular has had many doubts cast about the potential benefits in skill acquisition (Turkington & Anan, 2007). These privately available treatments are often expensive, and require regular use to show any improvement in skill acquisition. Additionally, visits outside of the home can become very stressful for the autistic individual, particularly if they are in a perceived hostile environment (Turkington & Anan, 2007). This has led to arguments that these therapies cause more harm than good to the autistic individual and there may be more benefit to them in trying to adapt to their autism rather than ‘treating’ it (Turkington & Anan, 2007). Additionally, many people with autism believe that it is not a ‘disease’ and therefore does not require ‘therapy’ or treatment, but that it is a term that refers to a group of people who do not necessarily fit into social norms . This type of dilemma is extremely complicated, and is compounded by the fact that there are so many different forms of autism and therapies are so wide-ranging in their efficacy. Many of the therapies outlined above do seem to show a small or moderate improvement in skill acquisition for some people with autistic spectrum disorders. However, this could be due to bias in the studies, something which has been mentioned with respect to autistic therapy treatment previously. Additionally, it is important to note that private therapies are easy to come by, but expensive and even governmental therapies can cause economic problems for family with respect to travel or special educational requirements. The treatments may also cause significant stress to the autistic individual for a number of reasons. One common theme among the autistic therapies is that those that are started from a young age (when the individual is a toddler) seem to produce a larger improvement in skill acquisition and therefore may be more beneficial to the individual. Conversely, therapies that are targeted at teenagers and young adults have less favorable results. Perhaps the most appropriate decision here is to use behavioral therapies on young children with autism but if no improvement is shown (or diagnosis comes later in life), then autistic people and their families may be better off avoiding therapies altogether and should allocate their resources towards adapting to life with autism. Works Cited Autism Society Canada (2013). The Right to Treatment. Autism Society. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://www.autismsocietycanada.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=63 Autism Speaks. (2012, July 25). The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM). Autism Speaks. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/treatment/early-start-denver-model-esdm Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis. Retrieved from http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1285958/pdf/jaba00099-0113.pdf Dawson, G., Rogers, S., Munson, J., Smith, M., Winter, J., Greenson, J., … Varley, J. (2010). Randomized, Controlled Trial of an Intervention for Toddlers With Autism: The Early Start Denver Model. Pediatrics, 125(1), e17–e23. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0958 Lovaas, O. I., Schreibman, L., & Koegel, R. L. (1976). A behavior modification approach to the treatment of autistic children. In Psychopathology and Child Development (pp. 291–310). Springer. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-2187-3_17 Nimer, J., & Lundahl, B. (2007). Animal-Assisted Therapy: A Meta-Analysis. Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 20(3), 225–238. doi:10.2752/089279307X224773 Reichow, B., & Wolery, M. (2009). Comprehensive Synthesis of Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions for Young Children with Autism Based on the UCLA Young Autism Project Model. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(1), 23–41. doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0596-0 Turkington, C., & Anan, R. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Infobase Publishing. Watling, R., Deitz, J., Kanny, E. M., & McLaughlin, J. F. (1999). Current Practice of Occupational Therapy for Children With Autism. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53(5), 498–505. doi:10.5014/ajot.53.5.498 Read More