Our Decision

Partial ABA would be the most beneficial form of treatment in for Alex.  Since Alex is gifted in some areas and lower functioning in others; namely social situations, partial treatment seems ideal.

In the article,  Gifted Students with Asperger Syndrome: Strategies for Strength Based Programming, the authors state that rather than focusing on the deficits of these students, programming should be strength based and include attention to students own interests.  In order to fully meet the needs of these dually exceptional students, a dually differentiated curriculum must be created for them, which addresses their full range of abilities and limitations.

                Higher intelligence can give autistic individuals the ability to modify some autistic traits, leading to their acceptance by others. It is the giftedness that allows these individuals to learn compensatory strategies for autistic behaviours.  There are specific strategies for students who struggle with social skills. In the article, Making the grade:  A new classroom for children with asperger’s and other pervasive development disorders; about a specialized classroom, regular subjects were still taught, but there was a constant focus on their individualized program for social skills development. All skills were constantly modeled and practiced.  The student was cued to use the skills already learned when in a new situation/setting. Students were rewarded for appropriate behaviours with a “social skills point system”.

                It is important to maintain consistency amongst all people involved with Alex, from school to home. The article, The social interactive behaviour of young children with autism spectrum disorder and their mothers: Is there an effect of familiarity of the interaction partner?, it is stressed that consistency in interaction style is very important. The behaviour of the child with autism is not affected by familiarity of the social partner, but by the interaction style. This study is helpful in addressing the ways to elicit the best level of responsiveness from children with Autism. It is not as important that the child is familiar with the partner (e.g. Teacher) in which they will interact, but that the partner is familiar with the most effective interaction style.

In terms of creating a partial ABA program, the causes of the inappropriate behaviour should be determined.  After the reason for the inappropriate behaviour is found, and an alternative acceptable behaviour agreed upon, a plan must be put in place to stop the first behaviour and start the desirable.  A chart will help to discover the causes of the undesirable behaviour.  Observations should take place over a week (at least) until a pattern can be determined.  From here, the style of interaction as well as ways to incorporate strengths and skills can be developed.