Essential Question: How can SLP's manage the aggressive behaviors of autistic clients?

Foundation Questions(in order):
1. What is behavior management?

2. What is autism?

3. Why do SLP's often work with autistic individuals?

4. What aggressive behaviors are associated with autism?

5. Why is it necessary to manage the aggressive behaviors of autistic individuals?

6. What are some aggressive behavaior management techniques used by the parents of autistic individuals, therapists (including SLP's), and other professionals (such as teachers).

7. What are ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and Discrete Trial Training?

8. Can ABA and Discrete Trial Training be used on all autistic clients, or just children?

Tentative Point(very tentative point): Autism is a disorder that affects the child, the parents, the professionals that work with the child, and others that surround that child. It is a disorder that must be dealt with in a proper manner, so that the child may have every opportunity to a productive member of society.

Genres:

1.Webliography: clinician voice/parent, professional audience
Rationale: This genre is required.

2.Powerpoint presentation: clinician voice/clinician audience
Rationale: This genre is required.

3.Poem: client voice/other people (including parents, professionals, clinician)
Rationale: This genre is required.

4.Interview Transcript: parent voice/other parents of autistic children and professionals who work with them
Rationale: I chose to do the interview because I will probably ask my client’s parents (from my work) a few questions so that I can get real life answers and the interview can be more realistic.

5.E-mail Exchange: parent voice/clinician audience
Rationale: I chose to do the e-mail exchange because lurking on my discussion list has given me a lot of great ideas that actually led me to choose this genre. This genre also seemed as though it would come naturally to me (after all of my research and watching my mailing list).

6.Newsletter: clinician voice(specifically ABA therapists)/parent and professional audience
Rationale: I chose this genre because I have found a lot of information on the ABA therapy technique. Many of the things I have been running into mention things about what’s new in ABA therapy. This gave me the idea to do an ABA newsletter for a genre.

7.Journal Entries: parent voice
Rationale: I chose to do journal entries because I have often thought of how tragic it would be have an autistic child. Knowing that a parent will never have a true bond with his or her child is something that I cannot even fathom. Most autistic children don’t look at their parents when they speak to them and most are not affectionate at all. This, to me, would be so difficult. This is why I chose to do this genre, because I want people to see the effects that autism has on families. I don’t know, I guess I’m just passionate about this.

I am not sure at this point in time of how all of my genres are going to come together as a cohesive whole. I have been thinking about it, but I just can’t seem to decide (imagine that—me being indecisive). However, I am thinking that I might do something like a talk show script (a talk show like Oprah, not like Jerry), where the parents, the client, and the clinician are guests. They can maybe talk about their behavior management techniques, the parents can maybe read their journal entries, the therapist can share some points from the newsletter, the client can try to read his poem, etc. I’m still trying to form this idea, so it’s not fully developed yet. I’ll keep everyone posted.

Tentative Resources:

Jensen, Vanessa K. (Apr2002). Treatment of Autism in Young Children: Behavioral Intervention and Applied Behavior Analysis. Infants and Young Children, p42-52, Vol 14 Issue 4. Retrieved September 27, 2002, from EBSCOhost database (ERIC) on the World Wide Web.

Levy, Susan E. (Jan2002). Alternative/Complementary Approaches to Treatment of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Infants and Young Children, p33-42, Vol 14 Issue 3. Retrieved September 27, 2002, from EBSCOhost database (ERIC) on the World Wide Web.