The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 325

MC6 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Sunday, May 16,3999 Treatment brings hope for children with autism This summer, take more off for less. Make SoftLight Laser Hair Removal your safe and gentle solution for unwanted hair. i hairfree, carefree Seeing Is summerskin Buy one SoftLight hair elieving! removal treatment area and get a second area treated free with this ad. Call now, this special summer offer expires May 31, 1998. ff ia hi Certified SollLight' Provider Dr.

Philip Pearlstein Associates Scott Yarmark, D.O. (610)272-1112 SoftLigtit is a registered marof Thermolase Cofpotaiinn. 'Treatment must be nf equal or lesser value. Results may vary rector of research for the Childhood Learning Center in Reading, which sets up applied behavioral analysis programs for schools and individuals. He said such therapy is "very effective for developing language," although people's responses can vary.

Thomas said the program, unlike dog training, teaches a child not just to obey, but to respond to the environment. The aim, he said, is for the child to move from receiving a' treat for saying the correct word to enjoying the social rewards of being able to communicate. The therapy has made a difference for Ian, according to his teachers at the Elwyn Inc. Development Center, where he attends preschool three half-days each week. "DTT gives him the foundation, the basis of language that typical children pick up incidentally," said Jean Michels, speech therapist.

"Ian transfers what he learns in DTT into other environments. He has moved from saying, 'No, no, to saying, don't like and is beginning to dialogue with his peers." Patti Sivek, Ian's teacher, said that she had seen children for whom DTT does not work. In some cases, she said, the child is fixated on the reward, such as candy or praise, and cannot produce language without it. Other children have been unable to handle the stress of the intensive DTT process. Lori Anderson said her son, who had almost no language skills when he was diagnosed with autism at age 2, now attends a preschool for children with and without disabilities.

In the fall, Ian will go to a regular preschool part time, and his mother hopes he can attend the neighborhood elementary school for kindergarten. Trying DTT "took a leap of faith," she' said. But now, "Ian has come so far that I don't want him to go to a self-contained classroom for children with autism in kindergarten. That would be moving backwards." Free Installation. Docs Not Include Stairmaster Products fantastic, one stop shopping! The Flower Craft Warehouse has the area's largest11' display of silk and dried flowers, trees, A plants, containers, baskets, and craft Rely on IV 5.500 Treadmill AUTISM from MC1 to give lan the language skills that will enable him to attend regular school in kindergarten.

DTT, and a similar therapy called applied behavioral analysis, are among the many programs designed for people with autism. Because the disability can take a wide range of forms, there is little research about any one technique and no one can say for certain who will benefit, said David Herdman, director of special programs for the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. The success of some children who are attending regular-school classes after DTT is fueling the interest of parents seeking a miracle for their child, Herdman said. "For some children it DTT is effective, and for some it is not. Finding the right program for each individual child is the challenge." DTT was developed in the early 1970s and patented by Ivar Lovaas, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.

He conducted a study of intensive behavior therapy with 19 children with autism and found that nine achieved a normal functioning level. Similar methods not using Lovaas-certified trainers are known as applied behavioral analysis. Besides the 23 in Delaware County, there are 25 Montgomery County preschoolers and 20 from Bucks County enrolled in DTT or ABA, according to county intermediate units. Complete figures for Chester County were not available. The program of in-home instruction easily can cost $40,000 to $73,000 per child, Chisesi said.

Costs are often divided among several funding agencies, including intermediate units, county mental-health departments, and the Department of Public Welfare, she said. Two Delaware County children with autism who had the therapy now are fully included in regular public school first- and second-grade classrooms, Chisesi said. Amid such successes with individuals, some advocates for children with autism are adamantly opposed to this form of therapy. Pat Amos, information and referral director of the Autism National Committee, based in Ardmore, said her organization was formed in 1990 in part because of its opposition to DTT and similar programs. "This is used to.train dogs stop, jump, come, sit.

It's not the way people learn language. There is a case of a child who suffered posttraumatic stress from the pressure to learn through DTT," Amos said. "It may help some children with sequential motor problems, and it may jump-start language, but it is not the preferred method for language or social development." Disagreeing with Amos is Craig Thomas, executive director and di- supplies. Something for Everyone! Peachtree Studio offers I Setting up your new exercise machine is no sweat at all when you've got the right people to help. It's even better when it's free.

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