New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline - Ministry of Health

Part 3: Education for learners with ASD
milieu teaching), there is a preference for
carrying out interventions in naturalistic settings
and involving the most appropriate or natural
person for that setting. Usually, if goals are
taught in a one-on-one situation in isolated
settings, this is only for a very brief time with
‘real-life’ generalisation and maintenance being
an important outcome 96 192 199 201 202 .
These ABA programmes, unlike traditional
ABA approaches, sometimes start with adultdirected
goals, but control is shared or shifted
to the child as soon as possible. Initiation and
spontaneity are important elements and teachers
are encouraged to follow the child’s lead and
interests. Observations, functional assessments,
naturally occurring events and developmental
factors determine the next goals for the child 192 .
It has been advocated that, with appropriate
training and support, the broader ABA
principles can be adopted by parents, family
members, teachers and teaching assistants
and used in both inclusive educational and
community settings 201 .
• emphasis on building multi-modal
communication repertoires, for example,
speech, gestures, augmentative communication
• control is shared and turn-taking encouraged
• learning is done within meaningful activities
and events
• children are involved in a variety of social
groupings
• child development sequences influence the
development of goals
• visual and gestural supports are used to aid
the child’s understanding
• focus on helping the child to develop socially
appropriate means to gaining some social
control, for example, ways to protest
• emotional expression and affect are central
to the development of relationships and
learning 192 .
(For a further description of the programmes
mentioned in this section see Appendix 8,
Educational interventions.)
Part 3
Developmental pragmatic approaches
Developmental pragmatic approaches
advocate using the child’s natural interests and
motivations to re-establish the developmental
sequence of communicating with and relating to
others 203 . These approaches are the most recent
of the three broad categories of approaches and
have not yet been fully evaluated. They have
as their foundation the literature on cognitive,
social and communication development. The
context for learning is considered very important
and activities and events are chosen for their
interest and motivation for the child. Teaching
may not be confined to a set time and an
emphasis is placed on using a variety of social
situations and routines 192 .
Researchers have identified a number
of characteristics of the social pragmatic
developmental approaches:
• focus on teaching spontaneous social
communication
3.1.c Implications for practice
Which is the best intervention?
No one model has been shown to meet the
96 188 191 192 204
needs of all children with ASD
205
. All the models have something to offer in
certain situations. The skill of the professional
is knowing when to use which model to meet
the needs of particular children, situations and
skills 189-192 . The most appropriate and efficacious
programmes for children with ASD employ a
variety of practices, including a systematic and
11 96 191 192 203
ongoing evaluation of interventions
(Recommendation 3.1.2).
Young children with ASD can be expected to
make significant progress when diagnosed
early and exposed to structured, consistent
approaches that are based on effective models
and educational methods 191 202 203 .
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New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline