Self-Help Skills for People with Autism: A Systematic Teaching Approach (Topics in Autism)

SELF-HELP SKILLS FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM thoroughly describes a systematic, practical approach that parents (and educators) can use to teach basic self-care – eating, dressing, toileting and personal hygiene -- to children with autism ages 24 months into early teens. With an encouraging tone, the authors—behavior analysts and psychologists—emphasize that it’s important to begin teaching these skills as early as possible so children and young adults gain as much independence as soon as possible. Many case studies help to illustrate the process of teaching tasks: prioritizing self-care tasks, breaking down task into achievable goals, monitoring progress, and modifying the approach as needed to reach a goal. Parents also learn about the variety of proven methods available to teach children with autism and how to select among them. These methods include: verbal prompting, physical guidance modeling, chaining, picture schedules among others. Everything parents and educators need to get started is here, including handy charts and forms to stay on track.

Stephen R. Anderson is the Executive Director of Summit Educational Resources, which serves children and young adults with developmental disabilities. He is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Amy L. Jablonski is a licensed psychologist and directs Summit's outreach and evaluation services including the diagnostic clinic. Marcus L. Thomeer is a licensed psychologist and Director of Research and Evaluation at Summit. His responsibilities include Connections, a summer treatment program for children with Asperger's disorder. Vicki Madaus Knapp is the Director of Summit's Early Autism Program and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.