Teaching Speech to Nonverbal Children at Risk for Autism
This
blog is based on the following blog from the ASHA Convention 2011:
Teaching Speech
to Nonverbal Children at Risk for Autism
by
LorRainne Jones, PhD, CCC-SLP
Kid
Pro Therapy Services, Inc.Tampa, FL,
verbalbehaviortherapy.com
How
to teach speech to nonverbal children with autism is a blog I am sure you've
all been waiting to read. I wish I had a rainbow colored pill, a magical
injection or a jarful of stardust to write that down in a recipe for you. No
one person or program has all of the tools to make communication happen for all
of the nonverbal children with autism. A poster session at ASHA, however, leads
me back to ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists.
"Approximately 90 percent of nonverbal children with no vocal imitation skills at the beginning of treatment are able to imitate some sounds or word approximations after a few VBT sessions," Dr. Jones wrote on her website.
Ninety percent -- that's a huge claim. What you'll see and what I like on Dr. Jones' website is the comparison chart between applied behavior programs and VBT. The results and cost between the programs alone is staggering.
LorRainne
Jones, PhD, CCC-SLP
Phases of VBT treatment:
- "Getting to
know you"
- Identifying
initial target sounds and reinforcers
- Shaping
sound imitation to request
- From sounds
to words by shaping
- From
manding (requesting) to tacting (labeling)
- Increasing
vocabulary -- nouns and more
- Increasing
utterance length
- Increasing
higher order language and thinking skills
Significant
aspects of VBT intervention:
- Weekly -- 50 minute sessions
- Fun and interactive
- Turn taking
- Expressive verbal behavior
first
- Requesting is the foundation
- Motivating/reinforcing items
are primary factors
- Parent training/involvement
Conclusions of
the VBT study:
- Using the
VBT approach is a highly effective method for rapidly teaching many young
nonverbal children to talk
- VBT with
young nonverbal children at risk for a diagnosis of autism may prevent a
diagnosis of autism or prevent the development of more severe symptoms
- VBT should
be implemented at the youngest possible age for children at risk for
autism before negative behaviors are firmly established
Kathie's
additions:
- Have the
child sit at a table/highchair
- Hold single
items up by the speaker's face
- Give a
choice between two reinforcers (if a child does not have a reinforcer -
use bubbles)
- Use a
gentle hand-over-hand for requesting, if necessary
- Imitate
hand gestures and facial expressions
"Speech pathologists make good things
happen."