ABA Resource for Parents

Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children

O. Ivar Lovaas

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Volume 55, 3-9

 

This is probably the most well-known study of its kind, headed by the clinical psychologist who most consider to be the pioneer of modern day Applied Behavior Analysis, lvar Lovaas. He would've been working with Autistic children and researching the effectiveness of treatments for them for more than 30 years at the time of the study. ABA itself is rooted in the behavior based research of B.F. Skinner in the 1930s. I'm mentioning Skinner's work as it's a common misconception that ABA began with Lovaas (possibly because of the incredible results achieved through his model of ABA, that had never been seen with Autistic children before). Lovaas' implementation of ABA for children on the spectrum, or the "Lovaas model" as it's referred to, is the basis for the programming seen in the study. Just under half of the children in the study, 9 of 19, were able to obtain an lQ in the average, or above average range and successfully passed through a typical education first grade classroom in a public school, without an aid.

 

 

Intensive Behavioral Treatment for Children with Autism: Four-Year Outcome and Predictors

Glen O. Sallows and Tamlynn D. Graupner

American Journal on Mental Retardation, Volume 110, 417-438

 

This study replicated the parameters of the treatment used in the original Lovaas based UCLA study mentioned above and reproduced similarly remarkable results. 11 of the 24 children that participated in the study achieved an IQ either in the average range or above average range (three achieved an IQ in the above average range). This is remarkable considering that the IQ level at intake for all of the children in the study is in the mentally retarded range, < 70, with the exception of one chìld who's intake lQ was in the below average range (which is between the mentally retarded range and average range). At age 7, eleven of the children attended regular education classrooms, eight of them without an aid. Three required an aid due to inattentiveness. Socialization was also tracked and measured and substantial gains were seen in these areas also.

 

 

Early Intensive Behavioral Treatment: Replication of the UCLA Model in a Community Setting

Howard Cohen, Mila Amerine-Dickens and Tristam Smith

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Volume 27, 145-155

 

This study compared the results of 21 children who'd enrolled in a community based agency's Lovaas Model ABA treatment program, to 21 children who were enrolled in special education programs in the public school system. The average IQ gain for the children receiving the Lovaas Model ABA was 25 points. For the children enrolled in special education, the average gain was 14 points over the same time period. Social adaptability and language comprehension measured stronger in the group that had received the ABA treatment. There are limitations to this study. The authors discuss this and list out the specific limitations in the Discussion at the end of the article. Despite the limitations, I still felt compelled to include this study on the site for two reasons. First, the other two studies listed above lend themselves to this study's credibility. The Sallows, Graupner study for example is evidence that the Lovaas Model can be replicated, and second, among the options available to many families for treatment, special education is typically one of them. This study illustrates the substantial impact that ABA can have vs. enrolling a child in Special Education alone.

 

 

Randomized, Controlled Trial of an Intervention for Toddlers With Autism: The Early Start Denver Model Geraldine Dawson, Sally Rogers, Jeffrey Munson, Milani Smith, Jamie Winter, Jessica Greenson, Amy

Donaldson and Jennifer Varley

Pediatrics - Official Journal ofthe American Academy of Pediatrics

 

This study published in 2009 differs from the other studies in this section of the website in that it's measuring the effectiveness of The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM). The other three studies measure the effectiveness of Lovaas Model ABA. The ESDM is an early intervention designed specifically for toddlers with an ASD. This study is the first of its kind, in that it measures the effectiveness of an intensive intervention for toddlers. The study strengthens the general consensus that the earlier an intensive intervention is implemented for a child with an ASD, the more substantial the positive changes will be. 48 children were involved in this study and each was randomly assigned to one of two control groups. One group of children underwent treatment through the ESDM. The other received established community based interventions. The results of the study illustrating the effectiveness of the ESDM are promising. After two years of the intervention, the ESDM group of children had gained an average of 17.6 lQ score points, whereas the community treated children gained an average of 7. The ESDM group also achieved greater gains in adaptive behavior and in some cases received a lesser diagnosis after the two years. The diagnosis given to some of the children was Pervasive Developmental Disorder, whereas prior to the study those same children were diagnosed with Autism.