Rohini Knudson
SPED Professional Portfolio
Support / Intervention
Different individuals on the autism spectrum may have different support needs at different points in their lives. The complexity and heterogeneity of the condition requires that support and intervention be customized for each individual to best meet their needs at any given time.
The autism therapy market teems with established, emerging and unestablished or fad therapies that all vie for the attention of parents and educators grappling with the problem of providing the supports needed by the children in their care. Since utilizing a service costs both the parent's or community's financial resources as well as valuable time in the life of the individual with ASD, it is essential that the potential effectiveness of a service in satisfying the short- or long- term needs of the individual be evaluated rigorously before selecting a support or intervention and to continue evaluating the benefit derived from the service throughout the duration for which the service is utilized.
The National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP) released a report in 2020 (Steinbrenner et. al, 2020) that "conveys the state of the science in intervention practice for children and youth with autism as well as the gaps in the science."
Research has shown that outcomes for autistic individuals in adulthood are positively correlated with their self-determination (Boutot, 2016)). Only 3 of the evidence-based practices identified by the NCAEP report claim to promote self-determination. These include cognitive behavioral/instructional strategies, self-management, and social skills training.
Given the importance of self-determination in the lives of individuals with disabilities, support/interventions should focus on letting autistic individuals be causal agents in their life rather than just be acted upon*.