need help finding evidence ABA works
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We applied to have our helath insurance cover ABA services. The response is that we need to submit peer-reviewed medical literature with methodologically and statistically sound, scientific studies supporting the effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis therapy for the diagnosis of autism. Can anyone help me find this info please? Thanks in advance For general information about behavior analysis and ABA, see: www.abainternational.org [The Association for Behavior Analysis International] www.BACB.com [Behavior Analyst Certification Board] www.apa.org/crsppp/archivbehav.html [American Psychological Association Archival Description of Behavioral Psychology] www.behavior.org [Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies] What is the Research on ABA for Autism? Hundreds of published studies have shown that specific ABA techniques can help individuals with autism learn specific skills, such as how to communicate, develop relationships, play, care for themselves, learn in school, succeed at work, and participate fully and productively in family and community activities, regardless of their age. A number of peer-reviewed studies have examined the effects of combining multiple ABA techniques into comprehensive, individualized, intensive, early intervention programs for children with autism. “Comprehensive” refers to the fact that intervention addressed all kinds of skills: communication, social, self-care, play, motor, pre-academic, and so on. “Early” means that intervention began before the age of four for most children. “Intensive” means that ABA methods were used to arrange large numbers of learning opportunities for each child every day in both structured and unstructured situations, which amounted to 25-40 hours per week during which children actively learned and practiced skills. That was done so that young children with autism would have experiences like typical toddlers, who get thousands of chances every day to learn by interacting with their parents and others. These studies showed that many children with autism who received 1-3 years of this type of treatment had large improvements on tests of their cognitive, communication, and adaptive skills. Some who participated in early intensive ABA for at least 2 years acquired enough skills to participate in regular classrooms with little or no ongoing help. Other children in the studies learned many skills through intensive ABA, but not enough to function independently in regular classrooms full-time. Across studies, a small percentage of children improved relatively little. At this time, it is very difficult to predict in advance how far any individual child might go with this treatment. More research is needed to determine why some children with autism respond more favorably to early intensive ABA than others. In some studies, intensive ABA was compared with less intensive ABA, typical early intervention or special education, and “eclectic,” mixed-method interventions done both intensively and nonintensively. The children with autism who received intensive ABA treatment made larger improvements in most skill areas than children who participated in the other interventions. Parents whose children received intensive ABA reported less stress than parents whose children received other treatments. Here is a link to "Summaries of Scientific Research on ABA Teaching Procedures" from the Association for Science in Autism Treatment: http://www.asatonline.org/resources/procedures_desc.htm . Probably the most notable study was the study by Lovaas, so you may want to specifically look at the section called "UCLA/Lovaas Intervention." Once you've looked at the references to the studies, you may be able to find copies of the research at a college or university library. I'm not sure if it is available online, but it might be. Whether this counts as medical research, I'm not sure, but I believe that it is peer-reviewed and scientific. Best of luck, Nicole Free Autism Resources and Printable Activities for Parents and Teachers! ~ http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/ You might try references in the book "Educating Children with Autism" by The National Research Council. Or maybe the book itself. It is supposed to be a review of the peer reviewed literature. It was printed in 2000, so it is becoming a bit out of date. This book recommends something like 20 hours a week of ABA.I'm not pushing Amazon.com, I am including the link so that you can see what it looks like etc. |
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