Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement

by Rogers, Sally J.; Dawson, Geraldine

• ISBN13: 9781606236314
• ISBN10: 1606236318
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-09
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

From leading authorities, this state-of-the-art manual presents the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), the first comprehensive, empirically tested intervention approach specifically designed for toddlers and preschoolers with autism. Supported by the principles of developmental psychology and applied behavior analysis, ESDM's intensive teaching interventions are delivered within play-based, relationship-focused routines. The manual provides structured, hands-on strategies for working with very young children in individual and group settings to promote development in such key domains as imitation; communication; social, cognitive, and motor skills; adaptive behavior; and play. Implementing individualized treatment plans for each child requires the use of an assessment tool, the ESDM Curriculum Checklist. A nonreproducible checklist is included in the manual for reference, along with instructions for use; 8½" x 11" copies are sold separately in sets of 15 ready-to-use booklets.

Author Biography

Sally J. Rogers, PhD, is Professor of Psychiatry at the M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California, Davis. A developmental psychologist, she is involved at the international level in major clinical and research activities on autism, including one of the 10 Autism Centers of Excellence network projects funded by the National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, involving a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of an infant–toddler treatment for autism. She is also the director of an interdisciplinary postdoctoral training grant for autism researchers. Dr. Rogers is on the executive board of the International Society for Autism Research, is an editor of the journal Autism Research, and is a member of the DSM-V workgroup on autism, pervasive developmental disorder, and other developmental disorders. She has spent her entire career studying cognitive and social-communicative development and intervention in young children with disabilities and has published widely on clinical and developmental aspects of autism, with a particular interest in imitation problems. As a clinician, she provides evaluation, treatment, and consultation to children and adults with autism and their families.  

 

Geraldine Dawson, PhD, is Chief Science Officer at Autism Speaks, Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington (UW), and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. Previously, she was Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at UW and Founding Director of the UW Autism Center, which has been designated a National Institutes of Health Autism Center of Excellence since 1996. While at UW, Dr. Dawson led a multidisciplinary autism research program focusing on genetics, neuroimaging, diagnosis, and treatment. She received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health for her research from 1980 until 2008, when she left UW to join Autism Speaks. She was Founding Director of the UW Autism Center’s multidisciplinary clinical services program, which is the largest of its kind in the northwestern United States. Dr. Dawson has testified before the U.S. Senate on behalf of individuals with autism and played a key role on the Washington State Autism Task Force. Her research and publications focus on early detection and treatment of autism, early patterns of brain dysfunction (electrophysiology), and, more recently, the development of endophenotypes for autism genetic studies.

Table of Contents

Current Understanding of Infant Learning and Autism	p. 1
How Infants Learn	p. 2
How Brain Development Supports the Acquisition of Social-Communicative Skills	p. 4
How Autism Likely Affects Brain Development and Learning	p. 8
Brain Changes in Early Childhood and Beyond	p. 12
The Role of Early Intervention in Shaping Early Brain Development and Outcome in Autism	p. 13
An Overview of the Early Start Denver Model	p. 14
Foundations of the ESDM	p. 14
The ESDM Curriculum	p. 17
ESDM Teaching Procedures	p. 19
Evidence of Effectiveness	p. 29
Similarities and Differences between the ESDM and Other Intervention Models for Toddlers with ASD	p. 33
Conclusion	p. 34
Using the Early Start Denver Model	p. 35
Delivery Settings	p. 35
Delivery to Whom?	p. 36
Delivery by Whom?	p. 36
ESDM Procedures	p. 37
Using the Generalist Model to Deliver Intervention	p. 39
The Interdisciplinary Treatment Team	p. 40
Partnering with Families	p. 50
Transitioning Out of the ESDM Intervention	p. 55
Conclusion	p. 57
Developing Short-Term Learning Objectives	p. 58
Assessment Using the ESDM Curriculum Checklist	p. 58
Constructing the Learning Objectives	p. 68
Balancing objectives across Domains	p. 68
How Many Objectives?	p. 68
Selecting Skill Content	p. 69
Elements of the Objective	p. 70
Writing Functional Objectives	p. 75
Isaac's 12-Week Learning Objectives	p. 76
Conclusion	p. 79
Formulating Daily Teaching Targets and Tracking Progress	p. 80
Mapping Out Learning Steps for Each Objective	p. 80
Tracking Progress	p. 87
Summary	p. 94
Appendix 5.1. Learning Objectives and Learning Steps for Isaac	p. 95
Developing Plans and Frames for Teaching	p. 101
Becoming a Play Partner	p. 102
Joint Activity Routines: Frames for Teaching	p. 108
Managing Unwanted Behaviors	p. 120
Organizing and Planning the Session	p. 123
When Children Aren't Progressing: A Decision Tree	p. 130
Conclusion	p. 134
Developing Imitation and Play	p. 136
Teaching Imitation	p. 136
Teaching Play Skills	p. 146
Conclusion	p. 153
Developing Nonverbal Communication	p. 154
Coordinating Attention Underlies Communication	p. 155
Developing Use and Understanding of Natural Gestures	p. 156
Teaching Conventional Gesture Use	p. 160
Conclusion	p. 166
Developing Verbal Communication	p. 168
Stimulating Development of Speech Production	p. 169
Receptive Language	p. 179
Conclusion	p. 182
Using the Early Start Denver Model in Group Settings	p. 184
Considering Characteristics of Autism in Classroom Organization	p. 185
Physical Organization	p. 186
Planning the Daily Schedule and Routines	p. 189
Choreography of the Classroom	p. 192
Staff Planning and Communication	p. 192
Small- and Large- Group Instruction	p. 194
Classroom Behavior Management	p. 197
Transitions and Individual Schedule Systems	p. 198
Curriculum for Peer Relations and Self-Care	p. 202
Kindergarten Transition	p. 206
Conclusion	p. 207
Early Start Denver Model Curriculum Checklist and Item Descriptions	p. 209
Introduction	p. 209
Administration	p. 210
Scoring	p. 211
Translating Items into Teaching Objectives	p. 211
Materials Needed	p. 212
Early Start Denver Model Curriculum Checklist for Young Children with Autism	p. 213
Early Start Denver Model Curriculum Checklist: Item Descriptions	p. 230
Early Start Denver Model Teaching Fidelity Rating System: Administration and Coding	p. 259
Procedure for Coding Fidelity of Treatment Implementation	p. 259
Early Start Denver Model	p. 261
Early Start Denver Model Fidelity CodingSheet	p. 271
References	p. 273
Index	p. 287
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