I published the study below on my website this morning. I am also publishing here for wider distribution.
Treating Autism with Applied Behavioral Analysis
(For full story go to http://tinyurl.com/9lvh4)
A recent California study finds that intensive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) was more effective in treating preschool children with autism than other methods provided in many community-based education and treatment programs.
ABA uses the concepts of repetition and reinforcement of specific desirable behaviors to increase their frequency. At the same time, harmful or undesirable behaviors are not reinforced. This study reinforces the idea that early intervention for children diagnosed with Autism is a major step in producing successful and independent children in the schools and at home.
The research team includes a pair of California State University, Stanislaus psychology professors, Dr. Jane Howard and Dr. Harold Stanislaw and their colleagues Colleen Sparkman, Director of The Kendall School in Modesto; Dr. Howard Cohen, Clinical Director of Valley Mountain Regional Center in Stockton; and Dr. Gina Green of San Diego
Monday, August 08, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Clinic Notes: Etiological Factors in Children Diagnosed with Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Preliminary Results
*Poster session II Human Behavior and Evolution Society Conference. June 1-4, 2005. Austin, Texas
Angie S. MacKewn, Sherry D. Jones, Gary E. Brown & Esther J. Plank
The purpose of the current study was to develop a predictive model of more frequently occurring pre and postnatal etiological factors in children diagnosed with autism. A survey of biological mothers of children diagnosed with autism or PDD and of children without developmental delays were matched on gender (n=134 males and 56 females) and age (M=6.54 years, SD=2.78 in autistic); (M=6.23 years, SD= 2.90 in controls). The developmental survey asked several questions including, pregnancy food cravings and aversions, childhood ear infection, presence of tubes, vomiting and nausea patterns, and speech development. A logistic regression equation found that not vomiting in the first trimester, the mother having an infection while pregnant, and the child having over 7 ear infections, were significant predictors of whether a child was diagnosed with autism or not. Of mothers of autistic children, 40% vomited in the first trimester compared to 53% of the control mothers. The “embryo protection hypothesis” suggests that morning sickness has an evolutionary basis and protects the embryo from teratogens by causing pregnant women to purge (Profet, 1992).
Angie S. MacKewn, Sherry D. Jones, Gary E. Brown & Esther J. Plank
The purpose of the current study was to develop a predictive model of more frequently occurring pre and postnatal etiological factors in children diagnosed with autism. A survey of biological mothers of children diagnosed with autism or PDD and of children without developmental delays were matched on gender (n=134 males and 56 females) and age (M=6.54 years, SD=2.78 in autistic); (M=6.23 years, SD= 2.90 in controls). The developmental survey asked several questions including, pregnancy food cravings and aversions, childhood ear infection, presence of tubes, vomiting and nausea patterns, and speech development. A logistic regression equation found that not vomiting in the first trimester, the mother having an infection while pregnant, and the child having over 7 ear infections, were significant predictors of whether a child was diagnosed with autism or not. Of mothers of autistic children, 40% vomited in the first trimester compared to 53% of the control mothers. The “embryo protection hypothesis” suggests that morning sickness has an evolutionary basis and protects the embryo from teratogens by causing pregnant women to purge (Profet, 1992).
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