The changes in Jack, since he began working with FACES, are nothing short of remarkable. The improvements in his verbal and social skills give us great cause for optimism.
Michael and Ashley VanderLey, FACES parent
Intensive behavioral early intervention (a.k.a., Intensive Applied Behavior Analysis or intensive ABA) is currently considered to be the most effective treatment forchildren with autism. The pioneering research on autism early intervention was done at UCLA by Ivar Lovaas, Ph.D. Lovaas and his colleagues clearly demonstrated that in order to achieve significant, long lasting effects, intervention has to start early (e.g., before 3.5 years), it has to be intensive (e.g., between 25 and 40 hours per week of one-on-one instruction), it has to address all significant areas of functioning (language, behavior management, academics, self-help skills, peer socialization), and it has to occur across all environments (home, school, the community).
Children receiving intensive services from FACES are typically provided with 30-40 hours per week of in-home and on-site, one-on-one instruction. However, level of service may change over the course of intervention, or may vary with the specific needs of each child served.
During the first 3-12 months of services, these hours focus on using one-on-one instruction to teach a wide range of skills, including:
During the next 12 - 24 months, instruction focuses on receptive and expanding expressive language skills integrating children into typical preschool classrooms, expanding play skills, and teaching peer socialization skills.
Teaching targets are established through the IEP and/or 6-month review process. At FACES, standardized assessments, curriculum assessments, and session data inform programming decisions. At FACES, children are served by a team of professionally trained staff. Each team consists of a Case Consultant, who oversees the team, the Case Manager, who directs programming and who spends the most time teaching the child and trains other tutors, and tutors, who assist in teaching. All FACES staff receive rigorous and on-going training.
FACES endorses least-restrictive teaching practices. Naturalistic teaching and incidental teaching are used, unless the child us unable to learn through these methods. Then, a more discrete format is used until stimulus control is used.
The primary goal of this program is maximize children's long-term levels of functioning. Some children may be able to achieve normal levels of cognitive and academic functioning and be indistinguishable from their typical peers. Other children will make substantial gains but will continue to need academic and social support. A few children may make little progress as a result of the program. Currently, level of cognitive functioning at intake is the best predictor of intervention outcome, with higher functioning children having a greater probability of making substantial gains.
We highly encourage parent involvement in their child's therapy. Parent training is typically incorporated into the child's ABA sessions.
