Education-Based Approaches

In this chapter, we'll look at the main education-based approaches used around the world — approaches developed to fit the learning styles of children with autism.

TEACCH: Structured Teaching

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children) is an approach built on visually structuring the physical environment, the daily schedule, and tasks. Its core idea rests on the observation that many children with autism are strong at processing visual information but have more difficulty with spoken instructions and uncertainty. Visual schedules, work systems (showing visually how a task is done, how much there is, and when it will end), and clearly dividing the physical space into sections are the core building blocks of TEACCH.

Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) and Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI)

Alongside EIBI — the intensive early-childhood application of the ABA we discussed in Chapter 21 — a family of approaches known as Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) has been gathering more and more evidence in recent years. The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is one of the best-researched examples of this family; it combines play-based, relationship-focused interaction with behavioral teaching principles, and has shown positive results especially in very young children (12–48 months).

PECS: Picture Exchange Communication System

PECS is not only one of the AAC methods we discussed in Chapter 22 — it also works as a structured teaching system. It's a step-by-step protocol that teaches a child to request something they want by handing a picture to another person.

Info Box — Do These Approaches Rule Each Other Out?

No. Rather than sticking to a single "brand" approach, experienced centers today use an eclectic, integrated model that brings together elements from different approaches based on the child's profile (the visual structure of TEACCH, the play-based interaction of NDBI, the systematic data tracking of ABA). What matters is not the "brand" of the approach, but how sensitively and flexibly it's applied to your child's individual needs.

Education-Based Support in the School Setting

Many of these approaches can be used not only in special education centers but also in the school setting (visual schedules in inclusion classrooms, structured teaching in special education classrooms). Working together with the school and the individualized education plan process will be covered in detail in Chapter 33.