Dr. Jim Roche is a registered psychologist who provides diagnostic assessments for autism (ASD) and Asperger's Disorder as well as individual treatment and intervention for children, adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder in both his Vancouver and Burnaby BC offices.
More information on Dr. Roche's autism related services can be found at: http://www.relatedminds.com or at http://www.socialcognitivetherapy.com
A recent story in the LA Times about autism provides an excellent video about Jonah Funk, 13, who was diagnosed with autism nine years ago. His mother, Stacie, says she often describes herself as his eyes, his ears and his voice. "I want him to be treated fairly," she said. "I want him to receive the things he needs." The video is interesting in that it opens up this family's life from moment to moment, showing us both their successes as well as their ongoing problems. One of the issues that is evident in the video is Jonah's ongoing aggression. While appearing pretty mild, his parents are concerned about where this aggression will lead, as he disrupts the lives of his siblings and travel in the community becomes problematic.
What to do? Well, it's a good example of when professional help is necessary. A behavioural specialist is seen in the video, however this specialist isn't seen doing any real interventions. This is too bad, as it would be interesting to see what steps the intervention specialist, and Jonah's parents, are taking. From my perspective it's obviously well past time to conduct a functional behavioural analysis (FBA). This behavioural assessment will tell us what the function of the unwanted behaviour is, and we can then take two important steps towards dealing with it: 1) Teaching an appropriate alternative behaviour that meets the same function (know as a "FERB" or Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behaviour) and what environmental changes we need to make to reduce Jonah's need to engage in the behaviour.
Working with a highly trained behaviourist is important when trying to reduce these negative and sometimes aggressive behaviours. As a behavioural specialist in school districts for over the past 15 years I have relied upon one particular site for training materials: PENT California. The PENT site is a website provided for school based professionals working with all sorts of behavioural issues in the public schools. Their training materials are free, up to date and have withstood legal battles over the adequacy of an FBA.
Working with a highly trained behaviourist is important when trying to reduce these negative and sometimes aggressive behaviours. As a behavioural specialist in school districts for over the past 15 years I have relied upon one particular site for training materials: PENT California. The PENT Positive Environment Network of Trainers) site is a website provided for school based professionals working with all sorts of behavioural issues in the public schools. Their training materials are free, up to date and have withstood legal battles over the adequacy of an FBA. Completing a functional Analysis can be very difficult, and the individual completing it needs fairly advanced training and experience in behavioural theory. If you are having trouble with aggression, even minor aggression, I would talk with your school based team first. They may very well have someone who is an expert on these issues. The next level would be the school psychologist who may have expertise on autism and aggression. After that, here in BC you might ask for a consultation from POPARD, the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders. POPARD's professionals often have extensive training and experience in dealing with this type of low level behavioural issue. Finally, there are outside behavioural interventionists (usually approved by ACT: Autism Community Training, as a Behaviour Interventionist or behavioural specialist. At any rate, address these issues quickly. and start by having an FBA completed. These days we usually don't just use the term FBA, but instead use the terms FBA and PBSP, meaning "Positive Behavioural Support Plan," as the emphasis, as you can see from my description above, is not on punishment or control, but instead on skills development and environmental support. Usually that's all we need to change these low level aggressive behaviours before they become problematic.
Click here to see the LA Times story: LATimes Video
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