New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline - Ministry of Health

Appendices
Appendix 8:Educational interventions
Appendices
Background
The following educational programmes are
currently being used within New Zealand
or have an influence on other programmes
currently in use. The list, however, is not
exhaustive. These programmes have not been
extensively reviewed in this guideline. It is
intended that in-depth evaluations of particular
programmes will occur in the future. This
material has been drawn from the following
references 96 129 427 .
Educational programmes
TEACCH (Treatment and Education of
Autistic and Communication-Handicapped
Children)
This programme comes from Division TEACCH,
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. The programme was developed by Eric
Schopler and his colleagues in 1972. It has a
behavioural base and uses aspects of naturalistic
approaches. TEACCH is used widely in both
the United States and other parts of the world.
The significant features of the programme
include the use of visual information to enhance
comprehension and the provision of structure
and predictability. Students are moved towards
increasing independence.
Many of the strategies which are commonly
used in New Zealand are based on those in
the TEACCH programme, for example, visual
supports. This programme is intended for use
with children of all ages as well as adults.
Early Intensive Behaviour Intervention
(EIBI)/Intensive Behavioural Intervention
(IBI)
EIBI and IBI are generic titles for intensive
and comprehensive behavioural programmes.
The work of Ivor Lovaas at the University of
California has been a strong influence on these
programmes. Goals have a strong focus on
developing language, cognitive skills, self-help
skills and decreasing challenging behaviours.
The intervention is usually delivered on a oneto-one
basis in the child’s home by parents or a
therapist for 30 to 40 hours per week. A discrete
trial format is typically used, especially in the
beginning stages. Skills are broken into discrete
steps and successes are reinforced.
Naturalistic teaching approaches
This approach includes programmes such as
Incidental Teaching (developed by the Walden
Early Childhood Programme) and Pivotal
Response Training (developed by Koegel and
Koegel).
These programmes were developed to increase
generalisation of learning. Their theoretical
base is applied behaviour analysis but they
also draw on the parent–child interaction and
developmental pragmatic literature. Activities
are typically based around the child’s interests
and choices.
The Incidental Teaching programme includes
children in classrooms with typically developing
peers. Teaching is provided during regular
activities. The focus is on the development
of sustained engagement, functional verbal
language, responsiveness to adults and peers
and independence in daily living skills.
Pivotal Response Training focuses on the
underlying skills to support learning such as
self-motivation, responding to multiple cues
and self-management with an aim for children
to participate in inclusive education settings.
Instruction involves some discrete trial teaching
but moves towards more naturalistic methods.
Picture Exchange Communication System
(PECS)
Developed by Lori Frost and Andy Bond, PECS
is a programme to teach the person to initiate
communication. Symbols, pictures, photographs
or objects are used by the child or adult to
exchange for a desired object. Emphasis is
placed on the very careful use of prompts and
planned generalisation to foster independent
communication.
The programme is highly structured and is
based on the Applied Behaviour Analysis
principles of stimulus, response and reward.
Denver Model
The Denver Model is developmentally
and behaviourally based and began as a
demonstration programme at the University
of Colorado Health Sciences Centre. In 1998
the centre-based programme was closed and
intervention was provided in the natural
environments of the home and early childhood
centres with typically developing peers.
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New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline