edited by Catherine Maurice
This book provides the nucleus of a do-it-yourself Applied
Behavioral Analysis (ABA) program that parents and professionals can use to
immediately start implementing an effective intervention program.
It includes an invaluable section complete with checklists to
evaluate your child's currently level of abilities, followed by an extensive
list of exercises that you can carry out to help your child move ahead in
targeted areas.
A growing body of research shows ABA is amongst the most
effective therapies for young children with autism and pervasive developmental
disorders. Children can derive significant, lasting, and sometimes dramatic
benefits from ABA intervention when it is implemented before the age of 6 and
optimally before the age of 2.
The authors include parents whose children have been the
beneficiaries of this approach to autism treatment, as well as many noted
researchers and experienced clinicians.
The manual gives the reader concrete information on how to
assess your child’s skills, needs, and then progress objectively and
systematically; teaching your child a wide variety of important skills. These
skills range from basics such as listening and looking, to complex language and
social skills.
This book literally saved my son's life - we actually read and
started using this book months before we began an ABA therapy with a trained
therapist, when my son was 3 1/2 years old. We used and referred to this book
every day for two years.
It also provides a survey of many other therapeutic options that
are available for autism - although I don't completely agree with the author's
assessment of other therapies, and do not believe that ABA and other therapies
are mutually exclusive, it's useful to know what your options are before
investing large amounts of time, energy and money in any autism treatment.
Large paperback format, 400 pages.
