Controversial Therapies For Developmental Disabilities

One of the largest and most complex human services systems in Western nations has evolved to address the needs of people with developmental disabilities. In the U.S., for example, school budgets are stretched thin by legally mandated special education, and billions of Medicaid dollars annually are consumed by residential and professional services to this population. The temptation of a quick fix is strong. Many parents desperately seek the latest ideas and place pressure on program administrators, who often are not trained to think critically about the evidence base for intervention efforts. The problems of people with developmental disabilities have historically been targeted by a wide range of professionals who rely on clinical experience and intuition and do not submit their claims to the tests of scientific research. Professional entrepreneurs have energetically promoted their treatments to a public perhaps too trustful of those with credentials. Thus, families and their children are buffeted by reforms founded on belief and ideologically driven management. Services fluctuate with the currents of social movements and rapidly shifting philosophies of care as policymakers and providers strive for increased responsiveness and individualization. These forces affect not only where and how, but how well people are served. Too often, services are less effective than they could be, or worse, damaging to personal growth and quality of life. Many treatments are based on poorly understood or even disproven approaches. What approaches to early intervention, education, therapy, and remediation really help those with mental retardation and developmental disabilities improve their functioning and adaptation? And what approaches represent wastes of time, effort, and resources? This book brings together leading behavioral scientists and practitioners to focus light on the major controversies surrounding these questions. The authors review the origins, perpetuation, and resistance to scrutiny of questionable practices, and offer a clear rationale for appraising the quality of services. In an era of increasing accountability, no one with a professional stake in services to individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities can afford not to read this book.

One of the largest and most complex human services systems in history has evolved to address the needs of people with autism and intellectual disabilities, yet important questions remain for many professionals, administrators, and parents. What approaches to early intervention, education, treatment, therapy, and remediation really help those with autism and other intellectual disabilities improve their functioning and adaptation? Alternatively, what approaches represent wastes of time, effort, and resources? Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities, 2nd Edition brings together leading behavioral scientists and practitioners to shed much-needed light on the major controversies surrounding these questions. Expert authors review the origins, perpetuation, and resistance to scrutiny of questionable practices, and offer a clear rationale for appraising the quality of various services. The second edition of Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities has been fully revised and updated and includes entirely new chapters on psychology fads, why applied behavioral analysis is not a fad, rapid prompting, relationship therapies, the gluten-free, casein-free diet, evidence based practices, state government regulation of behavioral treatment, teaching ethics, and a parents’ primer for autism treatments.

What approaches to early intervention, education, therapy, and remediation really help those with mental retardation and developmental disabilities improve their functioning and adaptation? This book brings together leading behavioral scientists and practitioners to focus light on the major controversies surrounding such questions.

One of the largest and most complex human services systems in history has evolved to address the needs of people with autism and intellectual disabilities, yet important questions remain for many professionals, administrators, and parents. What approaches to early intervention, education, treatment, therapy, and remediation really help those with autism and other intellectual disabilities improve their functioning and adaptation? Alternatively, what approaches represent wastes of time, effort, and resources? Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities, 2nd Edition brings together leading behavioral scientists and practitioners to shed much-needed light on the major controversies surrounding these questions. Expert authors review the origins, perpetuation, and resistance to scrutiny of questionable practices, and offer a clear rationale for appraising the quality of various services. The second edition of Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities has been fully revised and updated and includes entirely new chapters on psychology fads, why applied behavioral analysis is not a fad, rapid prompting, relationship therapies, the gluten-free, casein-free diet, evidence based practices, state government regulation of behavioral treatment, teaching ethics, and a parents’ primer for autism treatments.

Offering a balanced overview of complementary and alternative therapies, this book will be useful for parents of children with autism, ADD or other learning disabilities. The book covers a wide variety of mind-body interventions and manipulative techniques, as well as energy therapies, biologically based methods, and alternative medical systems. For each approach, the author provides a detailed description of what the treatment involves, which professionals will be working with the child, and an explanation of the rationale behind the therapy. She also offers advice on who to approach for treatment, and includes a list of recommended resources and useful contacts for further information. This book will be a valuable source of information for parents and professionals working with children who have disabilities that impact their learning or behavior.

Offering a balanced overview of complementary and alternative therapies, this book will be useful for parents of children with autism, ADD or other learning disabilities. The book covers a wide variety of mind-body interventions and manipulative techniques, as well as energy therapies, biologically based methods, and alternative medical systems. For each approach, the author provides a detailed description of what the treatment involves, which professionals will be working with the child, and an explanation of the rationale behind the therapy. She also offers advice on who to approach for treatment, and includes a list of recommended resources and useful contacts for further information. This book will be a valuable source of information for parents and professionals working with children who have disabilities that impact their learning or behavior.

This book provides easy-to-access, reliable, up-to-date information on the numerous advances in research, assessment, treatment, and service delivery for clinicians, academics, administrators and other mental health professionals. It examines issues surrounding intellectual and developmental disabilities in a real-world sociopolitical framework. In addition, the book summarizes the major domains and emerging subspecialties of this vast area into one useful reference and so offers a wide range of assessment and diagnostic tools and tactics, including cognitive and adaptive behavior assessments.

Autism spectrum disorder has received increasing research in recent years, with more information on assessment and treatment than can be readily assimilated from primary literature by clinicians. Clinical Assessment and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders summarizes evidence-based assessments and intervention for Autism across the life-span, providing clinicians with a practical overview of how best to assess and treat this disorder. The book begins with a discussion of what warrants a determination of being "evidence based" and a description of the disorder from a life span perspective. The book also provides a chapter on differential diagnosis of autism relative to other disorders. What follows are separate sections on assessment and intervention. These chapters discuss first how to assess and then separately how to treat behavioral problems, communication and social skills issues, academic and vocational skills, and the use of pharmacology and an assessment of possible pharmacological effects. Intended for practitioners assessing and treating children with developmental delays, the book provides clinicians with best practices for assessing and treating delays associated with autism. Covers the full range of Autism Spectrum Disorders Covers the lifespan Focuses on evidence-based assessment and treatment