Real Life, Real Progress for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Strategies for Successful Generalization in Natural Environments

Generalisation is the key to effective autism intervention—when children can apply new skills across settings, they'll make broad, long-term improvements in behaviour and social communication. The first how-to guide to generalisation is finally here! Practical and reader-friendly, this is the book that helps professionals take today's most popular autism interventions to the next level by making generalisation an integral part of them.

Pre-K–Grade 8 special educators, early interventionists, SLPs, and other professionals will:-

• enhance 6 widely used autism intervention models (see box) with specific, evidence-based generalisation strategies
• get dozens of easy activities that really help children use new skills consistently—no matter where they are or who they're with
• learn about generalisation from the experts who know best, with contributions from top autism authorities like Ilene Schwartz, Carol Gray, Andy Bondy, Laura Schriebman, and Bryna Siegel
• provide positive, supportive parent education so they can be active partners in promoting their children's generalisation of skills
• weave generalisation strategies into every phase of intervention planning, not just at the end after skills have already been learned
• modify generalisation strategies for different settings, so children can achieve their ultimate goal: applying their skills successfully in school, at home, and in the community
• assess the effectiveness of generalisation strategies at multiple stages of instruction

Case studies and vivid examples bring the strategies to life in every chapter, and forms and checklists help professionals plan interventions, track children's goals, and monitor their progress toward generalisation. With this urgently needed guide to one of the most important facets of autism intervention, readers will help children generalise social behaviours and communication skills—and ensure better lives and brighter futures.

Table of Contents

About the Editor

Contributors

Foreword

Lee Grossman

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Generalization and Autism Spectrum Disorders - Daniel Openden, Christina Whalen, Shannon Cernich, & Manya Vaupel

I. Popular Autism Interventions and Generalization Strategies

• 2. Enhancing Generalization of Treatment Effects via Pivotal Response Training and the Individualization of Treatment Protocols - Laura Schreibman, Aubyn C. Stahmer, & Jessica Suhrheinrich
• 3. Enhancing the Generalization of Skills Taught Through Discrete Trial Instruction - Mary Jane Weiss & Robert H. LaRue
• 4. Generalization Issues Pertaining to the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) - Andy Bondy & Lori Frost
• 5. Social Stories, Categorization, and Generalization in Autism Spectrum Disorders - Carol Gray
• 6. Generalization in Computer-Assisted Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders - Christina Whalen, Dominic W. Massaro, & Lauren Franke

II. Generalization Applications to Parents, Schools, and Community

• 7. The JumpStart Learning-to-Learn Model: Parent Training in Naturalistic Teaching for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders - Bryna Siegel & Anne Bernard
• 8. Increasing Generalization by Training Teachers to Provide Parent Training for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders - Brooke Ingersoll & Anna Dvortcsak
• 9. Generalization in School Settings: Strategies for Planning and Teaching - Ilene S. Schwartz, Carol Davis, Annie McLaughlin, & Nancy E. Rosenberg

10. Generalizing In-Home Treatment Gains - Sabrina D. Daneshvar, William D. Frea, & Ronit M. M. Molko

Index

"The best hands-on guide to the most important part of intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders: helping the children take the skills they learn in intervention and use them whenever and wherever they need them."
- Tristram Smith, Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities, University of Rochester Medical Center