Treatments
Natural Developmental Behavioural Intervention (NDBI):
NDBI is implemented in natural settings, involves shared control between child and therapist, utilizes natural contingencies, and a variety of behavioral strategies to teach developmentally appropriate and prerequisite skills. Interventions often are delivered in naturalistic and interactive social contexts, such as play and daily routines, from the beginning, and involve child-directed teaching strategies, such as use of child-preferred materials. These interventions are based on empirically-based intervention methods derived from both the principles of behavioral learning and developmental sciences.
How we apply NDBI
Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
Natural Environment Teaching (NET) is a more natural form of utilizing ABA and is conducted in the child's typical environment. Everyday household objects and toys are used as teaching materials and the rewards for correct responses are natural. The targets and curriculum are inserted in activities, games, and play. The child's motivation and interests are a main factor in NET. Generalization is built into this teaching strategy.
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Incidental Teaching
Incidental Teaching provides structures learning opportunity through the principles of ABA and is conducted in the natural environment through the incorporation of the child’s interests and natural motivation. First the therapist waits for the child to initiate, responds to the initiation immediately and verifies what the child wants before requesting the child to elaborate or prompt for an elaborated response. The final step is a verbal confirmation of the child’s request and providing the reinforcement (what the child requested).
Milieu Teaching
Milieu Teaching (MT) comprises four well-established teaching techniques: (1) modeling and then correcting the child’s behavior if necessary, (2) the mand-model technique, (3) time delay, as the adult will wait for a predetermined amount of time after presenting the stimulus for the child to respond, and (4) all components of IT (described above).
Pivotal Response Training
Pivotal response training (PRT), is a child-directed therapy well supported as an established evidence-based practice intervention for children with ASD. PRT targets the “pivotal” behaviors of motivation and responsibility to multiple environmental cues (Koegel et al. 1989). Pivotal behaviors are so-named because improvements in these behaviors are likely to affect change in collateral behaviors, which may improve overall child response to treatment and minimize the treatment time required to learn new skills.
Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT)
Reciprocal imitation training (RIT; Ingersoll and Gergans 2007) draws from naturalistic behavioral approaches such as IT, MT, and PRT to specifically teach imitation skills to children with ASD using contingent imitation (imitation of the child’s movements and vocalizations), linguistic mapping (narrating the child’s play), and imitation training (modeling actions, prompting, and reinforcement). Targeting imitation skills during an early intervention program may help children with ASD learn a wide range of other functional behaviors (Ingersoll 2010b; Schreibman 2005).
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Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is a comprehensive behavioral early intervention approach for children with autism, ages 12 to 48 months. Psychologists Sally Rogers, Ph.D., and Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., developed the Early Start Denver Model as an early-age extension of the Denver Model, which Rogers and colleagues developed and refined. This early intervention program integrates a relationship-focused developmental model with the well-validated teaching practices of Applied Behavior Analysis(ABA).
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Play Therapy (also called "Floor time"):
Floor time uses play and focuses on emotional and relational development (feelings, relationships with caregivers). Using the individual's interests to develop relationships and build skills.
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Discrete Trial Training (DTT):
DTT is a style of teaching that uses a series of trials to teach each step of a desired behavior or response that is broken down into simple parts/steps. Positive reinforcement (providing a reward) is used to reward correct answers and behaviors. Incorrect answers are ignored.
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Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI):
Used for very young children with an ASD, usually younger than 3-5 years.
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The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS):
PECS uses picture symbols to teach communication skills. The individual uses picture symbols to communicate.
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