Question | Full Independence | Functional Independence | Supported Independence | Participation |
1. Where will this student live & with what supports? | This student may be able to find suitable living arrangements, complete rental or purchase agreements, & arrange for services (electricity, gas, etc) independently. | This student may be able to find suitable living arrangements, complete rental or purchase agreements, & arrange for services (electricity, gas, etc) with minimal support. | This student may be able to live in a supported or supervised environment, such as a family house or supported independent living arrangement, with ongoing support or supervision. | This student will need a supervised living environment. |
2. In what daily activities will this student be involved & with what supports? | This student may be able to maintain a household, launder clothing, plan meals, & manage finances independently. | This student may be able to maintain a household, launder clothing, plan meals, & manage finances with minimal support. | This student may be able to cook, clean, care for him or herself, and launder clothing with ongoing support or supervision. | This student may participate in routine tasks, such as brushing teeth and sorting laundry, but only with extensive ongoing support. |
3. In what community experiences will this student be involved & with what supports? | This student may be able to vote, obtain a driver�s license, join community clubs, & access recreational facilities independently. | This student may be able to vote, obtain a driver�s license, join community clubs, & access recreational facilities with minimal support. | This student may be able to access community programs and facilities, shop for pleasure, and go out to eat with ongoing support or supervision. | This student may participate in community activities, such as attending sporting events, going to the movies, & going out to eat but only with extensive ongoing support. |
4. What post-secondary educational opportunities will this student have & with what supports? | This student may be able to apply to & attend college or trade school, and/or pursue other educational opportunities independently. | This student may be able to apply to & attend college or trade school, and/or pursue other educational opportunities with minimal support. | This student may be able to participate in post-secondary educational opportunities for his or her own personal growth with ongoing support or supervision. | This student may participate in post-secondary educational options for his or her own personal pleasure, but only with extensive ongoing support. |
5. In what environment will this student be employed & with what supports? | This student may be able to independently complete a job application, participate in an interview, & be competitively employed. | With minimal support, this student may be able to complete a job application, participate in an interview, & be competitively employed. | This student may be competitively employed or employed at various levels of ongoing support or supervision(such as supported employment). | This student may participate in some type of work activity, but only with extensive ongoing support(such as supported employment). |
| Lovaas | TEACCH | PECS |
Background | Also known as Discrete Trial (DT), Intensive Behavior Analysis (ABA); DT was earliest form of behavior modification; initial research reported in 1987; initial intent to achieve inclusive kindergarten readiness; has “morphed” into IBI and ABA. | Stands for Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children; over 32 years empirical data on efficacy of TEACCH approach exists; includes parents as co-therapists; recognizes need for supports from early childhood through adulthood; main focus is on autism rather than behavior. | Stands for Picture Exchange Communication System; derived from need to differentiate between talking and communicating; combines in-depth knowledge of speech therapy with understanding of communication where student does not typically attach meaning wo words and lack of understanding of communication exists; high compatibility with TEACCH. |
Goals | Teach child how to learn by focusing on developing skills in attending, imitation, receptive/expressive language, pre-academics, and self-help. | Provide strategies that support person throughout lifespan; facilitate autonomy at all levels of functioning; can be accommodated to individual needs. | Help child spontaneously initiate communicative interaction; help child understand the function of communication; develop communicative competency |
How Implemented | Uses ABC model; every trial or task given to the child consists of antecedent--a directive or request for child to perform an action, behavior--a response from the child that may include successful performance, non-compliance, no response, consequence--a reaction from the therapist, including a range of responses from strong positive reinforcement to faint praise to a negative “No!”, pause--to separate trials from one another (intertrial interval) | Clearly organized, structured, modified environments & activities; emphasis on visual learning modalities; uses functional contexts for teaching concepts; curriculum is individualized based on individual assessment; uses structure & predictability to promote spontaneous communication. | Recognizes that young children w/autism are not strongly influenced by social rewards; training begins w/functional acts that bring child into contact w/rewards; begins w/physically assisted exchanges & proceeds through a hierarchy of eight phases; requires initial ratio of 2:1. |
Reported Outcomes |
First replications of initial research reporting gains in IQ, language comprehension and expression, adaptive and social skills. |
Gains in function & development; improved adaptation & increase in functional skills; learned skills generalized to other environments; North Carolina reports lowest parental stress rates & rate of requests for out-of-home placement, & highest successful employment rates. |
Pyramid Educational Consultants report incoming empirical data supporting: increased communicative competency among users (children understanding the function of communication); increasing reports of emerging spontaneous speech. |
Advantages of Approach | Recognizes need for 1:1 instruction; utilizes repetitions of learned responses until firmly imbedded; tends to keep child engaged for increasing periods of time; effective at eliciting verbal prodiction in select children; is a “jump start” for many children, with best outcomes for those in mild –to-moderate range. | Dynamic model that takes advantage of & incorporates research from multiple fields; model does not remain static; anticipates & supports inclusive strategies; compatible w/PECS, Floor Time, OT, PT, selected therapies; addresses sub-types of autism, using individualized assessment & approach; identifies emerging skills, w/highest probability of success; modifiable to reduce stress on child and/or family. | Helps to get language started; addresses both the communicative & social deficits of autism; well-suited for pre-verbal & non-verbal children & children w/a higher Performance IQ than Verbal IQ; semantics of PECS more like spoken language than signing. |
Concerns with Approach | Heavily promoted as THE approach for autism in absence of any comparative research to support claim; no differentiation for subtypes when creating curriculum; emphasizes compliance training, prompt dependence; heavy focus on behavioral approach may ignore underlying neurological aspects of autism, including issues of executive function and attention switching; may overstress child and/or family; costs reported as high as $50,000/child/year; prohibits equal access. | Belief that TEACCH “gives in” to autism rather than fighting it; seen by some as an exclusionary approach that segregates children w/autism; does not place enough emphasis on communication & social development; independent work centers may isolate when there is a need to be w/other children to develop social skills. | May suppress spoken language (evidence is to the contrary). |
Errors to Avoid | Creating dependency on 1:1; overstressing child or family; interpreting all behaviors as willful rather than neurological manifestations of syndrome; ignoring sensory issues or processing difficulties; failing to recognize when it is time to move to another approach. | Failing to offer sufficient training, consultancy, & follow-up training to teachers for program to be properly implemented; treating TEACCH as a single classroom approach rather than a comprehensive continuum of supports & strategies; expecting minimally trained teacher to inform & train all other personnel in TEACCH approach; failing work collaboratively w/parents. | Failing to strictly adhere to the teaching principals in Phase I; tendency to rush through Phase I or to use only one trainer; providing inadequate support or follow-up for teacher after attending two-day training; training only one person in approach rather than all classroom personnel; inconsistently implementing in classroom. |
| |||
|
|
|
|
About AUEN
Accommodations = support, assistive devices, increased instructional time, opportunities for increased production time, alternative ways to demonstrate achievement, community linkages. May also include additional or supplemental curricular content to achieve maximum effectiveness in adult life
AUEN does not dictate specific program components for student to achieve the Performance Expectations.
- Schools have flexibility and individuality.
- Curriculum frameworks needed to provide guidance on the content of education
- Responsibility of schools to ensure that Performance Expectations remain central focus while developing all aspects of educational program
- Student performance on each standard
- Provide data as
� input for the IEP
� student report card
� program improvement discussions
� public reports on educational effectiveness
CLARIFICATION: explains why a Performance Expectation is important
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT: Defines what is meant by behaviors described in the Performance Expectation, Written at exit level (ages 18-21)
PERFORMANCE CONTEXTS: settings, situations and concepts in which individuals exhibit performance requirements related to performance expectation
CRITICAL CONTEXT VARIABLE: Factors that impact performance on Performance Expectation
LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS & EDUCATIONAL NEEDS: difficulties that may affect student functioning on each Performance Expectation
About AUEN Level 1 - Participation
Level 1- Participation: address educational needs of student with severe or profound mental impairment who are expected to require extensive ongoing support in adulthood
Performance Expectations (Standards) encompass
- Level of participation, rather than level of skill, required for integration into life roles
Assume significant cognitive & physical limitations that preclude their ability to generalize or transfer learning
- Dependent on others for most, if not all, of their daily living needs
- Require extensive ongoing support system that allows them to participate in all areas of major life roles
- Instruction targets opportunities for the student to participate, even partially, in age-appropriate tasks and activities
- Participation to the maximum extent possible in task and activities of daily living
- Maximum extent = individually determined
� Involves input from teachers, therapists, parents
� Consideration of student�s cognitive & physical limitations
- Requires home, school & community to work together to integrate student as fully as possible into major life roles
About AUEN Level 2 – Supported Independence
Level 2 - Supported Independence: address educational needs of student with moderate mental impairment who are expected to require ongoing support in adulthood
Performance Expectations (Standards) encompass
- Set of skills, competencies & orientations required for living in supervised setting
- Familiar & basic tasks & activities of daily living
� Acknowledges that student, while capable of completing them will require support & assistance in establishing & maintaining them
- Require some supervision & support throughout life
- Can learn many skills to maximize independence
- Instruction must be:
� direct,
� in context,
� targeted on specific, but essential, task analyzed independent living skilsl
- Completing task and activities of daily living
- Enhancing quality of life
- Maximizing personal effectiveness
Eight Performance Expectations
1. Complete personal care, health, and fitness activities
2. Complete domestic activities in personal living environments
3. Manage personal work assignments
4. Complete activities requiring transactions in the community
5. Participate effectively in group situations
6. Respond effectively to unexpected events and potentially harmful situations
7. Manage unstructured time
8. Proceed appropriately toward the fulfillment of personal desires.
Allowable level of assistance occurs without any direction or physical assistance from another person while the individual is actually performing the target behavior. The individual may use assistive/adaptive aids (e.g., written list of instructions, cue cards, calendars, or written schedules) & these aids may have been developed for the student by another individuals. Additionally, the individual may be supervised (i.e., watched by another person).
About AUEN Level 3 – Functional Independence
Level 3 - Functional Independence: address educational needs of student with some cognitive limitations who are expected to achieve functional independence in adulthood.
Performance Expectations (Standards) encompass
- Set of skills, competencies and orientations required for independent living
- Reflect vital content students need to learn and instructional strategies required to achieve them
- Learner needs to be able to assess personal strengths and limitations and access resources, strategies, supports and linkages that maximize personal effectiveness
- Instructional approach must include concrete/authentic experiences in settings in which student is expected to function
- Balance between functional academic skills and functional daily living skills
- Require student to apply their functional skills to activities of daily living
Ten Performance Expectations
1. Express themselves effectively in print.
2. Complete tasks relying on the interpretation and use of oral, print, or numeric information.
3. Interact appropriately within the course of daily social, vocational, and community living.
4. Manage personal, career, and other life decisions.[1]
5. Respond effectively to potentially harmful situations involving themselves and others.
6. Access and use community resources and services as needed to meet daily living needs and fulfill desires.
7. Travel safely within and beyond their community.
8. Complete routine personal care, health, and fitness activities.
9. Manage immediate and long-term responsibilities associated with task completion.
10. Manage unstructured time.
About AUEN Level 4 – Full Independence
Level 4 - Full Independence: address educational needs of student with the cognitive ability to transfer or generalize their learning who are expected to achieve full independence in adulthood.
Performance Expectations (Standards) encompass
- Comprehensive set of skills, competencies and orientations that individuals are expected to use when completing tasks and activities in the six major performance contexts of adult life Target of education for the majority of students, including those with disabilities, in the educational system
- Learned skills, competencies, & behaviors associated (Performance Requirements) with given target of education (Performance Expectation) can be applied to any life context (community participation & use, productivity, interpersonal relationships, cognitive functioning, domestic living, care of self & others)
- Cognitive processes, personal work characteristics, and interpersonal effectiveness
- Requires students to apply their knowledge to any task, problem or activity confronted in life
- Goes beyond traditional school focus on knowledge and academic content
Nine Performance Expectations
1. Interact effectively in social situations and settings.
2. Contribute to the attainment of group goals.
3. Complete assigned or routine tasks and fulfill responsibilities.
4. Manage personal, career, and other life decisions.[2]
5. Express themselves effectively through oral or other nonwritten[3] means.
6. Express themselves effectively through print means.
7. Complete complex cognitive tasks[4] effectively.
8. Manage unstructured time.
9. Move about and travel effectively within and beyond their community.
[1] Life decisions include those related to independent living, leisure, and health and fitness.
[2] Life decisions include those for independent living, leisure, & health and fitness
[3] Nonwritten means include sign language, synthesized speech, etc.
Instructional Methods that Work
Program | Major Researcher | Type | Form of Intervention | Location |
Children’s Unit at SUNY Binghamton | Romancyzk | ABA | Traditional ABA to more naturalistic based on child’s progress | Separate center |
Denver Model (Playschool Model) at U of Colorado | Rogers | Developmental | Play as primary vehicle to learn social, emotional, communication, cognitive skills | Natural context (home, preschool setting) |
Developmental Intervention Model at George Washington | Greenspan | Developmental | Intensive, interactive (adult follows child’s lead) floor time | Home, individual therapies, early childhood placement |
Douglass Developmental Center at Rutgers | Harris | ABA | Discrete trial shifting to more naturalistic behavioral intervention | Home based, segregated preschool, integrated preschool |
Individualized Support Program at U of S. Florida | Dunlap & Fox | ABA | Family support & training | Home |
LEAP (Learning experiences, an alternative program for preschoolers & their parents) at U. of Colorado | Strain | ABA | Peer-mediated instructional with developmentally appropriate practices | Preschool |
Pivotal Response Model at UC-Santa Barbara | Koegels | ABA | Discrete trial on pivotal responses (response to multiple cues, motivation, self management, self initiation) to more naturalistic behavioral intervention | In clinic + 1:1 at home + concurrent special education school services |
TEACCH at UNC School of Medicine | Schopler & Mesibov | ABA/ developmental | Structured teaching with visual organizers | Home, preschool, school, day care |
UCLA Young Autism Project | Lovass | ABA | Discrete trial: Yr 1: R to requests, imitation, play with toys, interaction w/families; Yr. 2: language, emotional discriminations, preacademics, observational learning; For children who move to inclusion, paraprofessional | Home |
Walden Early Childhood Programs at Emory U. | McGee | ABA | Incidental teaching with developmental influence on goal selection | Center-based & home based |
Interventions that Work
When to Begin and How Hard to Work
Table 12-1: Features of Comprehensive Programs
Program | Mean Entry Age in months (Range) |
Hours/ week |
Usual Setting |
Primary Teaching Method |
Children’s Unit | 40 (13 to 57) | 27.5 | Segregated classroom | Discrete Trial |
Denver Playschool Model | 46 (24 to 60) | 20 | Inclusive classroom, home, community | Playschool curriculum |
Developmental Intervention Model | 36 (22 to 48) | 10-25 | Home, clinic | Floor time therapy |
Douglass Developmental Center | 47 (32 to 74) | 30-40 | Segregated classroom, Inclusive classroom, home | Discrete Trial, naturalistic |
Individualized Support Unit | 34 (29 to 44) | 12 | Inclusive classroom, home, community | Positive Behavior Support |
LEAP | 43 (30 to 64) | 25 | Inclusive classroom, home | Peer mediated intervention, naturalistic |
Pivotal Response Model | 36 (24 to 47) | Varies | Inclusive classroom, home, community, clinic | Pivotal response training |
TEACCH | 36 (24& up) | 25 | Segregated classroom, clinic | Structured teaching |
Young Autism Project | 32 (30 to 46) | 20-40 | Home | Discrete Trial |
Walden Early Childhood Program | 30 (18 to 36) | 36 | Inclusive classroom, home | Incidental Teaching |
From: National Research Council(2001). Educating children with autism. Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Page.150.