Right from the Start: Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism

Written in an accessible and friendly style, Right from the Start explains how the teaching method known as intensive behavioral intervention (IBI) can benefit young children with autism and related disorders. This includes all children whose diagnosis falls within the broad specturm of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), especially those five and younger.

This guide begins by discussing applied behavioral analysis (ABA), the central component of intensive behavioral intervention. Readers learn how ABA can be used to teach speech and language, social, motor, and adaptive skills through a system of repetition, reward, and goal adjustment. The descriptions of a real-life family going through the process of understanding their young child's diagnosis and choosing an intensive behavioral intervention program bolster the confidence of other parents in making their own evaluations. And "parent statements" included in each chapter offer important empathy.

The authors also discuss what families should consider before choosing any treatment method for their child with autism, and specifically what key elements an IBI program should have. Curriculum, professional roles, parent involvement, inclusion, and the pros and cons of a home-based versus center-based program are all covered. A glossary of terms commonly used in autism research and education helps to demystify what at first seems like an intimidating subject. All in all, this practical and authoritative guide will save parents much time and worry in their search to help their young child with autism.

Sandra L. Harris, Ph.D., is Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is also the author of Siblings of Children with Autism (Woodbine House, 1994) and the Executive Director of the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, a program for children and adolescents with autism, which she founded in 1972. Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., is a research assistant professor, also at Rutgers. She is Director of the Rutgers Autism Program and Division Director for the Research and Training Division at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center.