Author: Bryan Foster
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10 Years of Service, 10 Years of Progress
By: Beth Vaughan 2015 marks ten years of progress since Autism Speaks first opened its doors in 2005, with a goal of significantly enhancing autism services in every community. Autism Speaks has helped advance our understanding and treatment of autism in ways almost unimaginable ten years ago. Thanks to Autism Speaks, and the support of…
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Principles of Reinforcement and How They Work in Applied Behavior Analysis
By: Brighid O’Malley In behavior analysis, behavior occurs to gain access to four main principles of reinforcement. The first main principle is access to attention or social reinforcement. Social reinforcement can be classified as attention, physical proximity, physical contact, and praise. (Cooper, Heron & Heward, 2007) This type of reinforcement can be a very powerful…
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Major Employers Voluntarily Introduce Autism Benefits For 2015
By: Beth Vaughan Several major corporations, including Fortune 500 companies such as Bank of America, Comcast, Nike and Novartis, have voluntarily introduced coverage of behavioral health treatment for autism – which includes Applies Behavioral Analysis – in their employee health plans for 2015. Another, JetBlue Airways, will introduce the coverage to its employees this July. Because these companies all…
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Accepting No: Why it is an important skill to teach (aka: what do you mean you are out of dum-dums!?!)
By: Belinda Montelbano In the days before we knew of ABA and what a wonderful tool that it would turn out to be, we got through our days with dum-dum suckers. I know that it is not the best thing to do, but it was better than any alternative I had so far. This is…
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Issues Concerning Pseudoscience and Treatment Fads for People with Autism
By: Lindsey Knopf Having a child diagnosed with autism and/or other developmental delays has a profound and wearisome effect on the family. Over the years, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has increased dramatically and there is still little known about the causes. Multiple genetic components as well as currently unknown environmental factors probably play…
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11 of the Most Valuable Pieces of Advice for Parenting a Child with Autism
By: Beth Vaughan For those of you who have done any research on the subject, you recognize that there is a difference between “Autism Awareness” and “Autism Acceptance”. Autism Awareness is a perspective expressed by Autism Speaks and the HEAL Foundation. They are often the first resources identified when the research for autism and services…