The autistic child: Language development through behavior modification

140 Pages·1977·44.563 MB·

by  O. Ivar Lovaas

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THE AUTI STIC CH I LO
Language Development
Through Behavior Modification
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LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
By 0. Ivar Lovaas
IRVINGTON PUBLISHERS, INC., NEW YORK
Distributed by HALSTED PRESS, Division of
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY
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To 1l11fdn11
111)
Randt. Lua. Karr. a11d Enk
Copyright© 1977 by IRVINGTON PUBLISHERS, INC.
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatever,
including information storage or retrieval, 1n whole or in part (except for brief quotations
1n critical articles or reviews), without written permission from the publisher. For
information, write to Irvington Publishers, Inc .. 551 Filth Avenue. New 'lbrk, New 'lbrk
10017.
01stributed by HALSTED PRESS
A d1v1s1on of JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc • New York
Library of Congress Cataloging in Pubhcat1on Data
Lovaas. Ole Ivar. 1927
The autistic child
B1bhography· p.
L Autism 2. Handicapped children Education-
Language arts. I Title.
RJ506 A9L68 371.9'2 76·5890
ISBN 0·4 70-15065-3
Printed in The United States of America Photos by Allan Grant
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CONTENTS
Page
I
Foreword
Acknowledgments ~
I
Chapter I: BASIC PRINCIPLES 9
Learning Theory and Language 11
Ovcrvte"' of Languag<: Program 12
Brief Outline of Language Programs I 5
l3a:.1t Training Principles 18
29
The (.haldren
15
Chaprer II: BUILD!'\IG THE FIRST \XfORDS Af\.D LABELS
36
Building a Verbal Topography
-i2
Labeling Discrete Events
57
' C.haptc:r Ill BUILDING ABSTRACT TER~fS
Rclat1onsh1ps Among Ob1t-cts and Events, and
57
Other Abscract Terms
Chapct·r IV ~fAKING LANGUAGE SOCIAL AND
71
SPONTANEOUS
71
Conversation
77
G1v1ng and Sl'l'k1ng Information
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vii
viii Contents
c;ran1matK.tl Skills 79
Rec.ill 8-i
Sponranc1ry 87
Sroryrclli ng 89
Inform.ii Training 93
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Rtxording) of Spontanc-ous Verbalizations 95
Re1nforccmcnr and rhe i\1ainrenance of rhe
I~1nguage Beh;iv 1or I 0 ~
Chapter V 1~1PLICATl01':S AND SPECULATIO"lS 107
Relar1onsh1p to Ocher Dara on L:tnguage 107
PsycholinguistJCs and Some Specular ions 119
Suggcsrions for Progra1n Change; from Language
Development 1n Normal Children 128
Suggestions for Pn1gram Changes from 01scnm1nar1on
Learning w1rh Aur1sr1c Children 132
Chapter VI: LAl\GUAGE TRAINING i\fANUALS I-ii
Laheling Discrete Event' l-12
Prepositions 148
Pronouns I 51
Ti1nt! Contcpcs 154
Ocher Simple Absrract1011; 157
Convcrsar1onal Speech 161
Verb Transformar1ons / 6.j
Plue.ii and Singular 165
Rl'Catl /67
Sponranc1t}" Training 170
Story tell 1 ng I i 5
Sorne further Problem, in Teaching / 76
Stopping Elholal1a 180
Chapter VII: CASE STLDll:.S LA:'\GL'AGE
ACQUISITIOl\ l'I TH REE AUTISTIC- \HILDRE:'\ 18~
Reeve 184
Tummy 206
Linda 221
THE AUTI STI C CHILD
SU~fJ.fARY 231
Language Development
REFERENC LS
235 Through Behavior Modification
SUBJECT INDEX
2-i I
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AUTHOR INDEX
FOREWORD
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en years ago we began a comprehensive morning-co-evening
project of creating autistic children by means of behavioral
modification procedures. Considering the minimal behavioral de
velopment of aucisc1c children, we were in a sense crying co build
individuals scarring with a Tabula rasa. Language was a crucial
behavior borh because ic seemed che mosc complex one co cackle
and because che children needed 1c 1n order co become more nor
mal le 1s difficult co be a normal person w1chouc possessing some
form of language w1ch which one can affect, or be affected by, che
society in which one lives.
As language is strikingly complex behavior. co cry co build 1r
is a good cesc of how much v:e, as psychologists, knov.· about be
havior. Ten years ago nor a great deal v.·as known about how co
build language. We read lengthy rexes on the acqu1sicion of lan
guage and then \venc back co face our children without having
learned hov.· co help chem calk. We were altogether alone 1n tr}
ing co help these children; 1n a sense ""e lacked professional skills.
If a child psychologist cannoc ceach a child co calk, ""hac can he
do'
This book will present some of che language programs v.•e
have developed since char rime. le was obvious from che begin-
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Foreword 3
2 Foreword
Beyond che practical benefit from these programs for children
ning that even though psychology knew very little about ho\v to
seriously lagging in language development, one may also encer
build language, it did kno\v something about how co build be
havior. In particular we knev; of the operant \\'Ork on animal cain the possibility chat these procedures represent chc way "na
ture" ordinarily reaches language to normal children. These
shaping, and we were familiar with modern learning cheor>·. The
studies, then, should increase our understanding of language ac
language programs were derived from chis literature, particularly
quisition in general. We shall present some data contrary co cer
from the area of discrimination learning
tain theories of language development, particularly chose which
The programs were mosc often conceived on the spot, with
place a heavy emphasis on organic determinants.
out much forethought. Fourteen days afrer we had hospitalized
This book is intended to help chose working with children
the first group of children in 1964, we ran out of treatment pro 1
grams; we had no choice but ro invent and improvise. We \vere who are seriously behind 1n their language development. A vari
ety of persons are so involved· parents, teachers, psychologists,
determined chat the children were going co learn and chat we
speech therapists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and aides.
were going to teach chem. The programs \\'tll reRecc chis lack of
adequate preparauon. The book should be easy reading for upper d1v1s1on and graduate
ps}·chology scudencs, but it may prove quite difficult for parents
Attempting co build all che language a child needs, \ve be
w1ch no background in psychology. Yee ic is crucial chac parents
came Jack.s-~f-all-trades, amateurs in a way; it might have heen
more grat1fy1ng to have worked in a limited area, such as reach learn che principles we describe 1n this book, because the parents
ing grammar or conversational skills or helping the child increase are che child's primary language teachers. We have been unable co
his use of spontaneous language.~uc our goals for the children help a child meaningfully in language development without the
we~e essentially therapeutic: to make chem as normal as possible. parent's active involvement. If we were co present chis material in
This goal precluded the mere building of isolated behaviors. Our a less technical, more informal manner, so much precision would
global goals left many of our efforts with inadequate data and in be lost that the text would be relatively useless, as it is extremely
difficulc to build complex language.
need of more exccnsi~e analysis. Bue our efforts are a beginning of
more detailed analysis of che cond1t1ons which help nonltngu1sc1c Throughout chis book the reader will be introduced co the
children co speak. largely operant learning theory v.•h1ch has formed the basis for our
language work up co the presenc. As many readers may wane a
~iosc of our efforts have been directed coward the aucisnc
child who, in the more extreme manifestations of che condition deeper understanding of these learning concepts and processes
had the motor development and the exterior physical appearance chan v.•e can provide here, i c ma> be desirable co supplement chis
of a normal child but showed fi:w if any of the behaviors that book with auxiliary rexes on operant work. There arc several ex
ru: cellent rexes, which \Vtll help, two of which are Fred S. Keller,
would hel~ define him a social individual. The less developed
Le,1r11i11g: Rei11force111e111 Theory. and Sidney W. Bijou and Donald
c~1ldren did ~oc give evidence of language (expressive or recep
tive), play w1th coys, or form emotional accachmencs co ocher M. Baer, Child Develop11n111, Vofu111e I: A Syste111e11ic a11d E111pirical
people. Theory. A slightly more advanced cexc is G. S. Reynold's A Pri1ner
In all likelihood our findings have generality beyond the au of Operant Condi1io11111g. There are also several more "practical" but
tistic child. We h~ve already employed the same procedures to excellent books on the subject, such as Patterson and Gullion's
teach languag~ skill~ to retarded children with Down's Syn Li1i11g Ll'ith Children. Sulzer and Mayer's Beha11ior J\lod1fica11011 Pro
drome Other 1nvest1garors report on chc application of similar cedures for School Per101111el. R. Vance Hall's Behat'tfJr J\fa11age111e11t
procedures co ocher forms of retardation, as "'·ell as to more nor Ser·res. and Whaler and Malocc's Ele111e11tary Pri11ciple1 of Beharror.
mal children. Some invcstig~rors have even caught quite complex A good foundation in learning theory 1s basic, buc not
language to subhumans, using procedures which are strikingly sufficient, for helping children learn to talk. Ont has co be famil
s1m1lar co chose used \\'ith disturbed children. The procedures we iar \vich rhc 1ncracac1cs of children, their affect, "'·har pleases
h~ve helped develop, which we descnbe in derail 1n chis book, mem, and so on, 1n order co teach chem. Such familianty can be
will be useful 1n helping a wide variety of children co calk. gained only by being around children.
4 Foreword Foreword 5
Speech therapists have often written about hov.· to help chil References
dren talk Mose of this material deals with the more normal
child, bur some reference is made ro the psychotic or retarded B1 jou, S W , &. Baer, D l\I ChJ/d deulopment Vo/11111t I.· A J)Jlc111111ic 1111d 1111p1r
child. A number of suggcscions are made in these writings on u.tl 1hcor) New York Applecon-Cencur)•-Crofts, I 961.
how co facilitate language development, and although there 1s lit Grey, B .. &. Ryan, B Progr11n11fl<d (IJ1Jd111on111gfor l1111g11agt: Progr11m book. l\lon
tle, 1f an)', data co back up mosc of these suggestions, che reader tercy, California. l\loncerey learning Syscems, 197 l.
may wane co fu.miliarize himself \vi ch them. In reaching our chil Grey, B. & Ryan. B A lang11agt program for the nonlang11ag< c-h1/d. Champaign,
lll1no1s Research Press, 1973.
dren ro talk, we have often supplemented our O\vn programs wich
Hall, R. V. 8th.1111Jr managc111<11t >rr1tJ. Lawrence, Kansas: H & H Enccrprisc$,
material and suggestions from other language programs, such as
Inc , 1972 (No 1-6)
che ~ionrerey Program (Grey and R)·an, 1971, 1973) Several
Keller F S Lc.u·n111g. Rt1nfnra111t111 1hcur>- New York: Random House, 195·1.
rexes on speech pathology are also available, bur it's beyond che
Lovaas, O I , Berberich, J .P, Perloff, B.F., & Schaeffer, B. Acquis1cion of
realm of this book co cry co evaluace chose rexes.
1m1ra1ive spte<h by sch1iophren1c children. Satnrt, 1966, I 51. 705-
From whac has just lx:cn said, and from what v.·ill become
707
apparent as we present our programs, there 1s a grear deal which Lovaas, O I 8th,1nor 1111,d1ficJ//1J11. Ttarh111g la11g11age to PJ)<hotu ch1'drt11 ln
we do not know as yer abouc language learning. I would single scruc11onal film, 45 min., 16 mm.-sound, Applecon-Cencury-Crofts,
our 1n particular such areas as the effecr of a child's emotions on New York, 1969
Panerson, G. R, and Gullion, M E. L1v1ng u·11h chtldre11: Neu 111tlhotl1forpar
che rare and kind of his language learning, rhe conditions under
which receptive language facilitates expression or the optimal tlll.f a111/ 1rruhtr1. Champaign, llltno1s: Research Press, 1968.
Reynolds, G S A pr1111tr ofo perafl/ co11d1110111ng. Glenview, Ill.: Scocc, Foresman
order (sequencing) of teaching language casks.
and Co., 1968.
Despite such ignorance, 1c 1s appropriate ro publish rhis book
Sulzer, B., & Mayer, R. G. Behal'lor motl1jica11011 proced11reJ for school ptrJ01111<I.
because rhe information we provide is necessary for language
Hinsdale, Ill.. The Dryden Press, Inc., 1972.
learning. A psychotic or retarded child wirh severe limitations on
Whaley, D L., & Malott, R.\'(/. Eleme111ary pr111ople1 of beha110•'. New York:
expressive and receptive Janguag<: v.•111 in all probabilit}' nor learn
Applccon-Ccntury-Crofcs, 197 l.
language unless his therap1sc/reacher knows hov.· co reach him ac
cording co che pnnciples laid our in chis book.
The book is organized co introduce basic learning principles
in Chapter I, with che appltcatton of rhese principles in building
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che 6rsc v.•ords and meanings given 1n Chapter 2, leading co pro
gressively more complex languagt 1n Chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 5
scares rhe cheorerical implicarions of our work, and \\'ill be 1m-
porranc primarilr ro professionals inceresccd in language per
it.
Chapter 6 <.:onrains the language cra1n1ng manuals, v.•h1ch arc re
ferred co throughout rhe earlier chapters. Chapter ' presenrs
three illustrative case histories of children v.·ho have undergone
our language tra1n1ng. Although these case histories are placed
last 1n the book (because rher can best be understood ac char
point), the reader mar v.·ant to read Chapter 7 first, because the
case reports help make sense of rhe basic principles as \Veil.
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