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Arthur Golden
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Arthur commented on the article |Although the MedicineNet article did state:
"In her research, children who received a treatment known as applied behavioral analysis [ABA] and got it early seemed to be more likely to recover." and "Most of the children who recovered received early applied behavioral analysis treatment, an intensive program that aims to improve problem behaviors, Fein found."
Let me repeat that:
The written summary of the IMFAR presentation by Fein makes no mention whatsoever of ABA and Michelle Dawson who actually heard the oral presentation by Fein states that there was not mention whatsoever of ABA.
And let me repeat that in the study she presented at IMFAR:
Professor Deborah Fein is not "studying the effects of intensive behavior therapy---Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)---on children on the spectrum."
Please note that your inaccurate summary of this study, even if you were somewhat misled by the media, is even more misleading than the media and did further mislead poor Harold Doherty into making even more inaccurate statements on his blog.
It does appear that Professor Fein in interviews with the media did mention the fact that most of the "recovered" children did receive ABA (the second quoted excerpt from MedicineNet), but I think it is well known that most children who receive an early diagnosis of ASD then go on to receive ABA So even if the same percentage recovers through the use of different types of therapy, of course most would have received ABA. In an ABC interview she did note that some of the recovered children did receive other types of therapy instead of ABA. I do not believe there is any basis for the first quoted excerpt from MedicineNet that ""In her research, children who received a treatment known as applied behavioral analysis and got it early seemed to be more likely to recover."
In my google search I found that Professor Fein gave a talk about 1-1/2 years ago in Ottawa Canada (home of one of the "recovered" children) about this same study and at that time she is quoted as stating:
'Even though Fein is an advocate of ABA, she believes there has to be something else that results in recovery. "It has to be factor X. Other children had programs equally good, and they made no other progress," she said.'
Please note that Professor Fein is receiving from NIH hundreds of thousands of dollars to study the up to 20% of children who recover. I wish someone would fund a study on the at least 20% (as noted in a recent peer-reviewed article from Yale University) of children with an autism diagnosis who later regress. I know from personal information that this group that later regress includes children receiving "good" ABA, such as my own son Ben at age 10-1/2 and much worse at age 13-1/2. I wonder what happened to the 17 year-old girl with autism who was allowed one year ago to bang her head on the concrete floor in five 10 minute sessions by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at one of the country's largest psychiatric hospitals? Maybe there is a factor Y and sometimes children who had ABA programs equally good not only do not progress but end up much worse. I wish someone would blog on this aspect of ABA.
Arthur Golden
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Arthur commented on the article |
So far as I can ascertain after a diligent google search, Professor Deborah Fein is not "studying the effects of intensive behavior therapy---Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)---on children on the spectrum." The written summary of the IMFAR presentation by Fein makes no mention whatsoever of ABA and Michelle Dawson who actually heard the oral presentation by Fein states that there was not mention whatsoever of ABA. Why did you write Fein "is studying the effects of intensive behavior therapy---Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)---on children on the spectrum?"
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Arthur commented on the article |1. At the end of the The March 14th Associated Press article from Dora Raymaker's home state of Oregon:
District Superintendent George Woodruff said it is a challenge to help students such as Cozad.
"When you have someone who is nonverbal, how do you communicate with them? How do we respond to people with such needs?" he asked. "It's a challenge for the whole community."
2. My comment - how about AAC (alternative and augmentative communication), specifically Facilitated Communication. The article also discloses there may have been other attacks on school staff, over the course of years. Haven't schools in Oregon heard that "behavior is communication?" If the attack on school staff was described as life-threatening in a report filed nearly a year ago, why wasn't an urgent effort made to work on communication skills?
3. My more personal comment to Kristina - you report increasingly aggressive behavior by your own son Charlie (which I pray is no where near this dangerous when he is not yet 12) but I still would urge consideration of AAC and specifically Facilitated Communication NOW, not 6 years years from NOW when Charlie is close to the age of Henry Cozad. -
Arthur commented on the article |I just printed out this blog entry and links, which I plan to more carefully read and then post a longer comment.
Arthur Golden of Jerusalem Israel
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