ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis is the oldest, most established method of intervention for children on the autism spectrum.

ABA embraces the idea that we do everything in life to either get a positive outcome, or to avoid a negative outcome, and that all human behavior can be traced back to this root.

Good behavior analysis involves knowing what a child perceives as positive and negative to gradually shape a child's behavior and learning. A good ABA therapist can identify what works and what doesn't, and can flow with moment-to-moment changes in a child.

In ABA, skills are chunked down into smaller tasks, with each task taught individually. Then the tasks are tied together again, creating the larger skill. During a typical ABA session, a child can work on any number of different tasks and skills, from just a few to many, depending on the child's present level, abilities, and tolerance...see more

This is just a quick random thought...I ran across this tonight, on the Guide to Midwestern Culture blog. Even though it's not about autism, it really made me think about all the statistics and notes written about our children from day to day, especially during therapy. 

Do all those stats actually translate into real competence? We've got to look past it all and deeply observe our children for that answer. I'm talking a lot of different levels here... 

Relationship Development Intervention, or RDI, is an intervention created by Drs Steve Gutstein and Rachelle Sheely that focuses on the core issues of autism, such as communication, relationship abilities, creative thinking, higher level thought, and flexibility.

RDI rebuilds the brain pathway that is weak in autism by using various games and activities. It's done throughout the day with regular everyday activities, and also via sessions specific to RDI activities.

RDI can be done with almost all children and adults on the autism spectrum, regardless of level of functioning, age, or verbal abilities. In fact, nonverbal children often do very well with this method, because language does not present an obstacle in the early stages.

This is one of my favorite interventions, because it doesn't "skirt around" the central issues of autism by just building other compensatory skills, but rather, deals with these central issues quite directly. This very different approach looks very promising for the future of autism. Website: www.rdiconnect.com 

- Sandra Sinclair, Autismvoice.com

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I thought this was such a beautiful writing that it brought tears to my eyes reading it. It's something along the lines of "Welcome to Holland", about life of a mother of a child with special needs. It's on A Preemie's  Journey from early birth to special needs, a blog by Maren Perterson Degroff.. The link isn't landing in exactly the right spot, so you'll have to probably scroll down the page. It's called "Some Mothers".