According to Boesch et al., people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a greater risk of developing harmful behaviors, such as self-aggression and other challenging behaviors than individuals with normal development do not exhibit. The method of approach that is supported by scientific evidence for interventional procedures is applied behavior analysis, reported by Carr et al. [1].
AimIn order to provide evidence-based intervention for autism from this approach in practice.
MethodIn reference to a longitudinal approach, an intervention program was designed and implemented to serve 40 children with ASD, who were treated for one (1) year at the Victory BRT Institute in Florida, US. The behaviors targeted for reduction (excess behavioral), are the following: physical aggression, self-aggression and non-compliance. The program began with a baseline (12 consecutive days) with observations at home and others different natural contexts. The last three (3) months of the year consisted of monthly follow-up sessions to monitor the treatment implemented. The results were analyzed by repeated measures, ANOVA Sig (P = 0.003) (F = 8). Analyses show that the critical level associated with the effect of time-content interaction is strong, so the treatment generated a positive effect by reducing the behaviors targeted in time.
ConclusionsThese results provide evidence that interventions from applied behavior analysis are effective.
Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
