How do I know what skill to teach my child with autism?

I was recently flipping through  Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With Autism: A Manual for Parents and Professionals  by Catherine Maurice, Gina Green and Stephen Luce.  In their book they have an excellent chapter on selecting teaching programs.  This particular chapter was written by Bridget Ann Taylor and Kelly Ann McDonough.  Here are the highlights:

Assess your child’s skills and deficits

Is the skill demonstrated upon your verbal instruction?
Is the skill demonstrated without your assistance?
Is the skill demonstrated reliably over time?
Are all components of the skill demonstrated?
Is the skill demonstrated with several different people, in several different contexts, with various stimuli?

Selecting a Program

Does you child have the necessary prerequisite skills for this program?
Is this program developmentally/age appropriate for your child?
Will this skill help to reduce problem behaviors?
Will this skill lead to the teaching of other skills?
Is this skill likely to generalize?
Will your child acquire this skill within a reasonable time frame?
Is this an important skill for you and your family?
Is this a skill that your child can use through out the day?

In addition to this chapter you will find tons of information that is very parent friendly, non technical and practical to implement at home

Tagged as: ABA, autism, autism books, home program