Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Autism - Essay Example

This paper is mainly centered on the Cognitive Behavior Therapy for autism. The paper presents previous studies about autism and the possible treatments. The treatments of autism are mainly found to be social and behavioral based. It is established that many psychosocial interventions have some positive evidences showing that attempted treatments are preferred to no treatment. Nevertheless, the relative effectiveness of each treatment strategy can be difficult to determine. This aspect triggers the need to analyze each of the discussed strategy in depth. The analyses involve bringing out the strengths and limitations of each strategy separately. It is later concluded that each strategy is applicable to autistic children, but it has to be tailored in such a way that all the patient’s needs are met. Introduction Autism disorders are mainly characterized by a severe deficit in social life, communication, as well as signs of repetitive and unusual behaviors. This disorder is increasingly becoming a common problem among children. This increasing rate has seen the cases increase to 60 autistic children per 10,000 children. The rate may appear to be very insignificant, but the disorder contributes to serious difficulties to the lives of the patients. This aspect has contributed to the need for a successful therapy for autism (Levy, Mandell, & Schultz, 2009). Cognitive Behavior Therapy for autism is therefore the main concern in this paper. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) refers to the psychological treatment relating to the anxiety and mood disorders commonly found in children (Ames & Weiss, 2013). The CBT model entails a comprehensive and promising way of dealing with autism as it takes into account multi-prone strategies relating to social competence. Based on these definitions, it can be deduced that the CBT does not take into account the psychological dimension but also increases the social competence of the autism-affected children (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). Literature review Autism has been described as a neurodevelopmental disorder mainly in the pervasive developmental disorders according to Levy, Mandell, & Schultz (2009). It has been characterized by aspects like severe impairments that are pervasive in reciprocal socialization (Ames & Weiss, 2013). Children with autism are also found to exhibit qualitative impairments, especially in communication. The patients are also known to depict unusual behaviors that are often repetitive. Regarding the etymology of the disorder, some researchers have focused on the prevalence of autism disorders and the key causes of prevalence changes. Freitag (2007) suggests that estimates vary significantly, but prevalence appears to have been increasing considerably since the 1960s. In the 1960s, rates only includes autistic disorder, but 20 years later the US and Europe recorded high prevalence rate that ranged between five and 72 cases of autism per 10,000 children (Levy, Mandell, & Schultz, 2009). According to White, Oswald, Ollendick, & Scahill (2009), management of anxiety and stress have become a common concern in children with autism. Further, the researchers claim that anxiety in such children is likely to become worse once they reach adolescence stage of life. This happens because young people are more likely to face an increasing complex social environment. They are also likely to become increasingly aware of the differences between them and other children, an aspect that is likely to trigger their interpersonal difficulties. From such perspective, researchers have been working hard to strategize ways of treating autism and the related health and social issues (Freitag, 2007). Discussion This section entails a discussion on the various strategies that could be implemented to deal with autism. The strategies involve the use ideas from various theorist and treatment plans from past research. A summary of each strategy including the literatures used would be included. The strengths and limitations for each strategy would depict its applicability in a classroom setting. One of the most applicable strategies is the use of Discrete Trial Training (DTT). The DTT approach can be useful for reducing the effects of autism-affected children. The DTT approach divides difficult activities into small and subpart activities in which a range of adult-developed and numerous teaching trials are involved (Vismara & Rogers, 2010). For this purpose, the teachers are required to understand the complexity of tasks which are going to be used in the class room activities and simultaneously, subpart tasks are also involved in which the type and number of subpart task are also determined and adopted as well. This approach will be highly beneficial for autism-affected children. First, it will reduce the task difficulty level which directly affects the understanding ability of the children. Through this approach, the children will be in a better position to feel the reduced burden on the understanding ability and similarly they will be in a position to experience faster understanding (Vismara & Rogers, 2010). In a non-divided task, the children will find it hard to understand the task requirements and carry out task in a standardized manner. Consequently, this situation will instead of increasing their psychological performance will more negatively affect their social, communication and retention and behavioral powers and understandings as well (Vismara & Rogers, 2010). This approach has some key strengths, which are based on division and understanding. The approach recommends that teacher should be divide the task into subparts and consequently the children will experience a slow learning and understanding process which may last months as well. In this slow and gradual process, the children will experience a steady increase in their understanding about the related activity (Vismara & Rogers, 2010). There are certain limitations to this approach as well. First, the DTT approach is complex, challenging and time consuming as well (Vismara & Rogers, 2010). They further explain that this approach is complex as teachers may find it difficult to divide any activity into subparts. Similarly, this approach is challenging as it has been mainly developed by keeping in view the requirements compatible with the adult mental level. At the same time, support staff members and their services will also be required as the children’s individual performance and overall performance will also be noted at different levels of activity. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can also be a highly applicable strategy. This therapy includes a broad range of techniques that could be applied to various psychiatric disorders. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is mainly based on the idea of the way people feel, think, and behave. The therapy considers individuals’ way of thinking, their feelings, and their behaviors to be intertwined. The therapy strategy would thus always set out to assist autistic children in identifying the existing relationships between aspects such as unhealthy thinking patterns, negative emotional responses, and disruptive behaviors especially in impairing or upsetting situations for such children (Ames & Weiss, 2013). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a strategic treatment for autistic disorders requires active participation of the autistic children specifically in session exercises and the completion of homework assignments in between sessions. For children suffering from High-Functioning Autism as well as Asperger’s syndrome, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy would involve a collection of various techniques. A special approach would be required to deal with the entire situation. An assessment of the autistic disorder would be critical at first. The assessment of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy would require a careful evaluation of the respective autistic disorder symptoms as well as the co-occurring problems that are common (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). These problems could include depression, suicidal thinking, compulsive ritualizing, and anxiety. The second case in the approach to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is education. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has to include a heavy teaching dose to the autistic children and perhaps their families. This is done using a style tailored to the specific language skills as well as functioning levels of each of the autistic children. Some common topics useful in this case could include diagnosis, signs and symptoms that are common, as well as treatment philosophy and techniques (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy also requires effective advocacy and resources. The therapist has to play a critical role in assisting the autistic children to obtain outside services. The patients need assistance in connecting with the available resources such as support groups, speech and language therapy, as well as being in a position to develop good ground for their future with employment agencies (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). The children need meaningful training in social skills. Many autism patients fail to develop important social skills that could help them in navigating the complex social world. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy thus sets out to assist children with autism in helping them build such social skills. The treatment involve teaching social rules to autistic children and helping the children practice the rules. The same applies to common social principles that are clear and applicable to normal children. The treatment strategy using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy involves both discussing and practicing of high level skills (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). Such high level skills include an understanding of the emotions as well as intentions of other children and older people. Habit reversal alongside ritual prevention is another important aspect in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Some autistic children or autism patients especially those with High-Functioning Autism may depicts repetitive movements, self-harm behaviors, rituals, and frequent insistence on routines. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy strategies are developed to address such concerns alongside other psychiatric problems. Cognitive restructuring is also important in helping autistic children recognize unhealthy thinking patterns and knowing the best ways of correcting them. To correct unhealthy thinking among autistic children, the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy strategy would involve the examination of past evidence, identification of common thinking errors, carrying out of a real world experiment aimed at testing assumptions regarding the world, and the use of verbal and written exercises for addressing problematic thinking. Typically, various Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches can be applied depending on the patients’ needs. These could include problem solving skills, goal setting, time management, goal setting, and sleep hygiene (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a strategy has some major strengths in that its principles and methods have been used in addressing needs of children with autistic disorder and their respective families. Preliminary research has also indicated that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can have a great and positive impact on the functioning of autistic children and their distress. Many aspects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are applicable to young children with autism as an intervention technique for early behavior. The major limitation of using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a feasible strategy is that it is mostly applicable to for High-functioning Autism as well as Asperger’s Disorders. Besides, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is not a cure for autism. It is only used to provide important skills to autistic children including their learning abilities as a way of improving their lives (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). Other than Discrete Trial Training (DTT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, other strategic approaches for the treatment of children with autism include parent training and education. The key strengths of this approach include the fact that parent training has been found to improve children with autistic disorders including Asperger’s syndrome and HFA. The parents are considered to be the main caregivers in this approach. The approach involves the exposure of autistic children to both social skills and behavioral education or training. Such exposure, done by their caregivers, makes the children improve their behaviors significantly. The parents need to learn about effective ways of implementing treatment mechanisms into everyday lives of their autistic children (Levy, Mandell, & Schultz, 2009). This approach is nevertheless faced with some limitations. One of the major limitations of this approach is that the treatment has to be consistent. It is usually routinely for the autistic children. The approach could also be difficult when the caregivers are not fully aware of the strengths and deficits of their children (White, Oswald, Ollendick, & Scahill, 2009). Without a clear undemanding of their children’s strengths and deficits, they cannot administer successful treatment options. Conclusion While it is commonly presumed that a common cause of autism whether at genetic, cognitive, or neutral level, it is often suspected that autism is a complex disorder with core aspects that have distinct causes. The strong genetic basis of the disorder confirms the claims that autism has hardly any known cure. The key goal whenever treating autistic children is therefore trying to lessen the associated deficits as well as the respective family distress (Levy, Mandell, & Schultz, 2009). The strategies discussed above in this paper are also aimed at increasing the quality of life among children with autism and to enhance their functional independence. It can be confirmed that none of the treatment strategies can be considered the best (Koning, Magill-Evans, Volden, & Dick, 2011). The overall strategy is therefore making sure that every treatment strategy is tailored to the needs of each autistic child. For greater applicability of the treatment strategies in the classroom setting, families and educational systems should be the main treatment resources. Intervention studies usually have methodological problems that hinder explicit conclusions regarding efficacy. References Ames, M., & Weiss, J. (2013). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Verbal Impairment: A Case Study. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 19(1), 61-69. Freitag, C. (2007). The genetics of autistic disorders and its clinical relevance: a review of the literature. Mol Psychiatry, 12, 2-22. . Koning, C., Magill-Evans, J., Volden, J., & Dick, B. (2011). Efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy-based social skills intervention for school-aged boys with autism spectrum disorders. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G4: Rehabilitation Medicine, Corbett Hall, 8205 114 St. NW University of Alberta. Levy, S. E., Mandell, D. S., & Schultz, R. T. (2009). Autism. The Lancet, 374(9701), 1627-1638. Vismara, L. A., & Rogers, S. J. (2010). Behavioral Treatments in Autism Spectrum Disorder: What do we know? . Annual Review Clinic Psychology, 6, 447-468. White, S. W., Oswald, D., Ollendick, T., & Scahill, L. (2009). Anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 216–229. Read More