The
Son-Rise Program Vs. ABA:
The Son-Rise Program and Applied Behavioral
Analysis (ABA) are at opposite ends of the spectrum
in terms of Autism treatment methodologies.
The major differences between the philosophies,
principles, and techniques of these two treatment
modalities can be broken down into the following
seven categories:
Understanding of Autism
ABA treats Autism as
a behavioral disorder, with behaviors to be
either extinguished or promoted. This means
that repetitive, exclusive, so-called “stimming”
behaviors common to children with Autism is
not permitted during learning sessions, “correct”
behaviors are rewarded, sometimes with food,
and new skills/behaviors are taught through
structured repetition referred to as discreet
trials.
The Son-Rise Program sees
autism as a relational, interactivity disorder.
The central deficit of children on the autism
spectrum is that they have difficulty connecting
with and relating to other people. Almost all
other difficulties spring from this primary
challenge. Therefore, we do not seek to “correct”
so-called “inappropriate” behaviors
in the absence of a deeply bonded relationship.
Rather, we endeavor to build a relationship
with each child – a relationship that
is the platform for all future education and
development. We then help our children learn
to connect and build relationships with others,
and to genuinely enjoy such interaction. The
many other skills we teach (self-care skills,
moving beyond “stimming” behaviors)
are addressed within the context of our focus
on human interaction.
We also believe that
each child has a reason for every behavior they
perform. Rather than forcing children to conform
to a world they do not yet understand, we enter
their world first. We seek to understand so
that we can be most effective in helping the
child. In The Son-Rise Program, the children
show us the way in, and then we show them the
way out.
Area of Focus
The focal points of
each program are based upon how we see autism
(discussed above). In simple terms, ABA focuses
on changing behavior, The
Son-Rise Program focuses on creating a relationship.
An ABA facilitator might punish, reprimand,
or attempt to discourage a repetitive or aggressive
behavior. Compliance is seen as very important.
Of course, there are a range of ABA-type programs
and facilitators out there, some using strong
punishments of behaviors, and others using much
gentler forms of discouragement, but the overall
focus is the same: behavior change and compliance
with the requests of the facilitator. New behaviors
and skills are often taught using a system based
upon repetition and rewards called discreet
trials, which will be discussed in more detail
below.
In The Son-Rise Program,
we consistently seek to built rapport and relationships
with our children. One critical way in which
we do this is called joining.
Instead of prohibiting or discouraging repetitive,
“autistic” behavior, we actually
participate in these activities with
the child. Far from reinforcing “autistic”
behaviors (a concern voiced by some), we have
seen, with thousands of children from around
the world, the exact opposite. When children
are joined, they tend to look at us more, pay
more attention to us, and include us more in
their activity. We see such children “stimming”
less, and interacting more. After all, we are
building a stronger and stronger bond with the
child, and, at the same time, by showing genuine
interest and participation in what is important
to the child, we are actually teaching the very
interpersonal skills that many of our children
lack. When we have the child’s willing
engagement, we then use a variety of motivational
and educational techniques (discussed in brief
below) to promote learning and skill acquisition.
Repetition vs. Motivation
With ABA, when attempting
to teach a particular behavior or skill (such
as getting dressed, to use a simple example),
discreet trials are often used. With this methodology,
a child might be told (or made) to sit in a
chair. The facilitator would then say “coat
on” and endeavor to train the child to
put his/her coat on but doing this over and
over again until the child has “mastered”
the skill. Each time the child gets it right,
they would get praise, a piece of food, or some
other reward. While this approach can definitely
succeed at getting some children to perform
particular activities or skills, a common complaint
we hear from parents is that, although their
children perform the prescribed activity, they
tend to do so in a manner that appear robotic
and pre-programmed, rather than displaying any
kind of spontaneity or enthusiasm. A second
difficulty that we see is that many children,
after participating in this program over a period
of time, become aggressive and rebellious.
In The Son-Rise Program,
we want each child to “come back for more.”
This means that we want the child’s willing
engagement over time, so that we can teach them
all that they need to learn, and so that they
value and enjoy interaction. We also see the
importance of children being able to generalize
learned skills to other areas, so that they
don’t need prompts, rewards, or our presence
to act on what they’ve learned. Therefore,
we do not want to continually repeat commands
when the child, in all likelihood, does not
understand why he/she is being asked
to do this.
Consistently, we have
found that motivation works faster, more powerfully,
and promotes greater generalization than repetition
does. If a child likes Thomas the Tank Engine,
or physical movement, or numbers, then we use
this motivation as a teaching tool by combining
it with an educational goal. For instance, if
a child likes Thomas the Tank Engine, and one
of our educational goals is toilet training,
we would construct a game that centered around
Thomas and involved using the toilet. In this
way, we create a desire to learn and use a skill
(going to the toilet), and we keep the interaction
with the child alive and well (and fun). An
additional benefit of this approach is that
it does not tend to produce a robotic, pre-programmed
response because children get genuinely excited
about the learning process. For this reason
(as well as because of the joining described
above and the attitudinal component described
below), we also do not see children becoming
aggressive or rebellious from participating
in The Son-Rise Program.
Structure vs. Spontaneity
In ABA, a high premium
is placed upon structure. It is important for
children to sit still in a seat, and to perform
activities in a prescribed, regulated fashion.
The thought behind this is that children on
the autism spectrum need this kind of structure.
Also, if they are to ever participate in school,
they must learn to sit appropriately, to obey
a schedule, and to comply with requests from
the teacher.
In The Son-Rise Program,
we see it differently. If children are to be
successful in school and in life, what is most
important for them to learn is to interact with
others, make their own decisions, and to be
flexible (something with which many
children with autism have difficulty). Because
of this, we spend our time engaging in interactive
games (when we aren’t joining, as stated
above). In addition to teaching interaction
and socialization, these games challenge children
to be more flexible (rather than needing things
to go a particular way) and to use their imagination
to come up with different ideas and directions
on the fly. We also keep the games fun, so that
our children see that participating in our world
(vs. staying in their own) is both enjoyable
and useful, rather than rigid and demanding.
Academic vs. Social Development
ABA practitioners tend
to focus heavily on academic skills such as
reading, writing, and math (in addition to verbal
communication and basic “appropriate”
behavior). We in The Son-Rise Program would
certainly agree that such skills are important.
However, if choosing between helping a child
to be great at math and or to be great at making
friends, we choose the latter every time. In
actual fact, academic and social skills are
not mutually exclusive, and there are many instances
where we do teach reading, writing, and math.
When we do, though, it is always in the context
of an activity that teaches socialization first.
If our children can learn to enjoy people, make
friends, laugh at a funny joke, socialize, etc.
(which many of our children do), then they have
achieved what, for most of us, makes life most
meaningful.
The Role of the Parents
ABA has many dedicated
practitioners, many of whom often work with
children in their own homes. The way the programs
generally work, though, is that parents tend
to be in a more observational role in their
programs. The professionals are seen, in most
cases, as the major players in the program,
with parents watching on the side so that the
practitioners can do their jobs.
We in The Son-Rise Program
have seen nothing that matches the motivation,
love, dedication, and lifelong commitment possessed
by parents for their special children. Furthermore,
no one has the kind of long-term, day-to-day
experience with their own particular child
that parents possess. Without question, professionals
and other family members can be critically important.
At the same time, because of their unique position
in their child’s world, parents can positively
affect their child’s life in a way no
one else can. Therefore, not only do we acknowledge
parents as the child’s most important
resource, but we seek to empower them to the
child’s advantage. This is why we teach
them how to design, implement, and take a central
role in their children’s programs.
The Role of the Facilitators’
attitude
ABA focuses heavily
on what the facilitator does. The Son-Rise
Program not only focuses on what the facilitator
does, but also on how the facilitator does what
he/she does. We address and provide training
in an area that we see as the most overlooked
factor of autism treatment: the attitude of
the facilitator. We see a non-judgmental and
optimistic attitude as crucial to effective
child facilitation. What does this mean? First,
it means that we don’t label our children’s
repetitive and ritualistic behaviors as inappropriate,
wrong, or bad. This principle is every bit as
practical as it is idealistic. We see time and
again that children with autism tend to move
away from people they perceive as uncomfortable
or judging and toward people they see as comfortable,
easy, fun, safe, and non-judgmental. Thus, we
can use our attitude to become an interaction
magnet.
As well, having a sincere
sense of optimism – really believing in
the child with which one is working –
is key to helping that child to break through
barriers that previously seemed insurmountable.
We do not put limits on any child ahead of time,
we do not believe that hope can ever be “false,”
and we believe in the potential of every child,
regardless of age or diagnosis.
Moreover, we believe
in the parents who work tirelessly to reach
their children. That is why we spend a significant
percentage of our time and effort providing
parents with attitudinal training. We help them
to create and sustain a non-judgmental, optimistic,
and hopeful attitude with their children. In
this way, they can maximize their children’s
progress while finding peace with their children’s
diagnosis
Autism Information
»