Progress Made and Next Steps

The family again contacted the Center where Angie had been diagnosed, and were put in contact with the director of a demonstration preschool at the University. They were told there was indeed a university-based preschool program specifically designed for children with autism, but they lived too far away for Angie to be enrolled. The parents negotiated with their own school district to arrange for consultation from the University researchers to the staff at Angie’s preschool in behavior management strategies and use of alternative instructional strategies to meet Angie’s needs. A university consultant helped the local teachers conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA); the findings became part of her IEP. One outcome was that a new Assistive Technology was introduced into Angie’s life: a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was developed and implemented for her.

The results for Angie’s success in school were tangible: Behavioral outbursts decreased as her ability to communicate improved. Eye contact, imitation and social skills were also seen to improve.

Things did not improve as rapidly at home, however.

The family had not been able to make use of the PECS system at home as consistently as the teachers had. The family felt a strong need for more on-going support from the academic professionals. They were disappointed that there was not more ongoing consultation from the university “experts” – in whom they had greater confidence. While the district was amenable to contracting for additional consultation, the university researchers themselves were unable to commit to the amount of travel requested to attend ongoing IEP meetings and provide more frequent consultation. Fortunately, Dr. Schwartz’s federally funded project, Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for Autism (“Project DATA”), included a system for remote video consultation with teachers to help them specify target behaviors and submit data for her review. Dr. Schwartz arranged for a regular schedule of videoconferencing consultations with Angie’s teachers. This system of consultation was less costly and more convenient than traditional, on-site consultation and proved as effective.