Research Programs
Assessment and Treatment of Challenging Behaviors
Challenging behaviors such as aggression, disruption, and self-injury are common in individuals with autism. CARD continues to move on the forefront of innovative assessment and treatment techniques within this area and endeavors to identify the most effective and efficient methods of assessment, treatment, and caregiver training. Utilizing both indirect and direct measures, the underlying functions of challenging behaviors are ascertained. Treatment interventions are then tailored to fit the individual child.
Under-Researched Psychosocial Interventions
Autism is a disorder which is bombarded on a regular basis by the creation of new “fad treatments,” many of which have no scientific basis whatsoever. Despite the lack of evidence for either the theory or practice of many such treatments, they may become exceedingly popular, often being adopted as standard policy by educational boards, medical insurance companies, and other regulatory bodies. Empirical research is needed on such treatments in order to elucidate which methods are truly effective and to also discover ways to enhance their effectiveness. Research on such treatments is also critical in cases where the treatments are ineffective because thousands of families are committing untold resources to them when such resources might better be allocated to treatments of known effectiveness. A sample of topics in this area that are currently being researched are sensory integration therapy and social stories.
Independent Living and Adaptive Skills
Children with autism often exhibit deficits in adaptive behavior, such as delays in acquiring skills necessary for living independently and safely in their daily lives. Like any other behavior, these skills can be directly taught using ABA-based procedures. Through continued research we can work on developing the most efficient and effective methods for establishing these skills. A sample of research topics within this area includes teaching pill-swallowing, toileting, stranger safety, and household safety.
Sleep Disorders
Sleep related problems are reported in nearly 50% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and the actual number could potentially be higher. Disturbed sleep can include delaying going to sleep, waking in the night for extended periods, waking early and not returning to sleep, excessive day time sleep, or drowsiness, night terrors, sleep walking, as well as co-sleeping where a child refuses to sleep in their own bed. Disturbed sleep can contribute to irritability, severe problem behaviors such as self-injury and aggression towards others, as well as interfere with a child’s ability to learn. A child’s sleep disturbance can have negative effects on family members as well increasing family stress. In an effort to meet our clients’ needs, we are currently researching the effects of various behavioral treatments, such as establishing bedtime routines, extinction, graduated extinction, bedtime scheduling, or chronotherapy.
Pediatric Feeding Disorders
Feeding disorders are characterized by difficulties with eating or drinking that result in poor weight and/or nutrition. Common forms of feeding problems include partial or total food/liquid refusal and food/liquid selectivity by type and/or texture. Feeding problems are common in all populations. 25% of children of typical development and up to 80% of children with developmental disabilities present some sort of feeding disorder during childhood. CARD is actively pursuing several directions of research in the field of feeding disorders. For example, we are continually attempting to identify the least intrusive interventions necessary to effectively treat feeding disorders. Additionally, new methods to ease the transition from therapist to caregiver and from clinic to home are being researched. As each child comes to CARD as an individual, CARD works to learn which specific intervention(s) will be successful with each child. Caregivers are not only trained to implement working protocols, but are taught to understand why the protocols are effective.
Language and Basic Verbal Operants
Autism is characterized by delays in language development and the remediation of these delays is a foundational component of ABA treatment for autism. Our language intervention research program at CARD focuses on establishing basic receptive and expressive language, including basic verbal operants, such as echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbals. We are currently identifying novel intervention procedures which hold promise, as well as empirically evaluating commonly used but under-researched teaching procedures. In addition, special attention is paid to identifying which teaching procedure is likely to benefit which particular child, depending on each child’s individual characteristics.
Higher-Order Cognitive, Verbal, and Social Skills
Applied behavior analysis is often criticized on the grounds that the treatment approach produces only simplistic, “rote,” or “robotic” behavior. Criticisms such as these are typically espoused by individuals with little familiarity with good-quality ABA therapy. However, more research is needed in the area of higher-order skills and cognitive abilities, particularly in children with autism. A significant amount of behavior analytic research in the past 20 years, commonly referred to as Stimulus Equivalence and Relational Frame Theory research, has begun to isolate the basic behavioral processes behind complex language, cognition, and understanding. Our research in these areas focuses on extending basic research to the establishment and analysis of higher-order skills in children with autism. To that end, we are evaluating procedures for teaching skills in areas such as social cognition and executive function.
Procedural and Methodological Innovations
Many behavioral procedures and methods are of known effectiveness but may be enhanced or made more efficient, thereby potentially saving time and money in the assessment and treatment process. We are engaged in ongoing research examining details of common assessment and treatment procedures, such as methods of data collection, data analysis, and duration of functional assessments, etc.
