<p>Developed by specialists in the behavioral sciences, Spectacular Bond is a unique home-based behavioral intervention designed for children with autism. Within a few weeks, significant improvements in behavior can be achieved, including more meaningful social interaction, diminished temper tantrums, reductions in “stimming,” and greater capacity for self-control and sustained attention. The core of the program is reflected in its title – Spectacular Bond. Through a detailed step-by-step plan, the program sets out to reframe the parent-child bond—a relationship that typically “runs on auto pilot” but is seriously affected by autism. By bringing the intricacies into consciousness, the parent can remold the interaction to create a spectacular bond that transforms the life of the child and all members of the family. Susan Deland, one of the book’s authors, has used the program successfully with her daughter Diane: "When Diane was first diagnosed nearly ten years ago, I received many pessimistic warnings from professionals. But I believed that with the right environment, Diane had the potential for a bright and independent future. Dr. Blank both shared that belief, and offered us a clear plan of action for getting Diane there. Equally important, the program recognizes the realities of family life and works within it so that all members of the family can flourish." Through its three authors – Marion Blank (developmental psychologist), Suzanne Goh (pediatric neurologist), and Susan Deland (mother of a child with autism)—the book presents • the neurological and psychological foundations of autism • a scientific rationale for why and how the behaviors can be changed • a family’s successful experience in implementing the Spectacular Bond program, and • a step-by-step guide for how you can do this with your own child. Reviews: “After years of using other therapies and getting minimal results, we couldn’t believe how quickly things changed when we started the Spectacular Bond program. Within a few short months our son improved dramatically in his speech, attention, social skills, feeding, self-help, reading comprehension, and handwriting. After nine months, he was mainstreamed and is doing incredibly well! Our family and friends can’t believe the changes.” Kathy Broad, mother of 6 year-old Rory “We were amazed at how fast progress was! We were not trying to teach our son language, yet he picked it up once we set in place the Spectacular Bond program. Changing the way that we interacted with him made all the difference.” Clara Jackson, mother of 3 year-old Joaquin “I wish this book had been available when my son was first diagnosed. It is a remarkable resource that offers not only hope, but clear courses of action for parents who want the best for their children.” Penni Urquhart, mother of 12 year-old Ryan “Despite trying many different methods, my son’s behavior was getting progressively worse. Then we started the Spectacular Bond program. Now his behavior is under control and he is really beginning to learn. We are also able to enjoy more activities as a family. Now I have hope for my son's future.” Teresa Scott, mother of 11 year-old Kyle "This is an incredible gift, a life-altering, life-saving book, to those families dealing with ASD. When I consider the oceans of relief and gratitude this will engender among readers who face the daunting prospect of raising a child with autism, I am awed by the contribution this book will make." Cathy Wilson, relative of a child with ASD “For parents, this book is like having a personal counselor to guide them every step in their journey to connect with their child on the spectrum. The chapter on handling meltdowns is perfect!” Cathy Schaeffer, Special education teacher for children with autism</p>

Spectacular Bond: Reaching the Child with Autism

Parenting & Relationships

Marion Blank

Disabilities & Hyperactivity

MSB Press

<p>What is ASD Unlocking Language and what can it accomplish? ASD Unlocking Language is a program designed to teach effective language and communication to children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental conditions that affect language. Upon successful completion of the program, children are able to understand and talk about: past, present, and future events in their home life, such as eating, playing, bathing, and dressing past, present, and future events in the outside world, such as visits to the supermarket, a trip to the zoo, and activities at school simple stories and other early literacy skills Mastery of these skills enables children to become more active participants in the world around them. The program may be implemented by a parent, teacher, therapist, or other dedicated adult. Who is the program for? The program is for children who meet the following criteria: In language—the ability to say at least two words in sequence, either spontaneously or through imitation, such as “go home,” “bye bye,” “want cookie.” While behaviors like these are fragmentary, they are significant indicators that the child has the perceptual and motor base required for spoken language. In behavior—the willingness to respond effectively to adult guidance. To benefit from language instruction, a child must be able to cooperate in the teaching process. If a foundation of cooperation is not yet present, it can be established through the behavioral program outlined in Spectacular Bond: Reaching the Child with Autism by Dr. Marion Blank, Dr. Suzanne Goh, and Susan Deland. It is advisable to postpone ASD Unlocking Language until the Spectacular Bond program has been completed. How is the program organized? ASD Unlocking Language is organized into short daily sessions lasting about 20 to 30 minutes each. Sessions take place once per day, four or five days per week. Skills taught in the lessons are also practiced outside the session in real-world settings. Depending on the child’s skill and rate of progress, the full program takes from 6 to 18 months to complete. There are two components to the program: Pre-Language Skills and Language Skills.</p>

ASD Unlocking Language: A Program to Teach Language and Communication

Education & Teaching

Blank, Marion

Goh, Suzanne

Schools & Teaching

ASD Pre-Speaking Program is designed to teach a range of cognitive and linguistic skills to non-verbal children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental conditions that interfere with language development. (Note: The term “non-verbal” is often misleading since many of the children can comprehend and incorporate language. A more accurate term would be “non-speaking.”) Upon successful completion of the program, children are able to attend to directions, guidance, and input from adults; sustain attention to cognitive demands for periods up to 15 to 20 minutes; gain the ability to retain increasingly complex sequences of visual information; comprehend and respond to increasingly complex language-based demands. ASD Pre-Speaking may be implemented by a parent, teacher, therapist, or other dedicated adult.  ASD Pre-Speaking is organized into short daily sessions lasting about 15 to 20 minutes each. Sessions take place once per day, four or fi ve days per week. Skills taught in the lessons are also practiced outside the session in real-world settings. Depending on the child’s skill and rate of progress, the full program takes from 2 to 6 months to complete. Four activities are used, with each aimed at fostering attention, sequencing, memory and language. Each activity starts with processing “one piece” of information (e.g., matching one picture to another) and then moves steadily so that the child is incorporating, reviewing, and acting upon “four pieces” of information (e.g. having seen four pictures that are no longer in view, the child selects, via memory, four pictures that match the originals.) NOTE: This program is also included as part of ASD Unlocking Language (Part 1).

ASD Pre-Speaking Program: A Program to Teach the Foundations of Language to Nonverbal Children

Blank, Marion S

ASD Speaking Sounds is a program designed to teach the foundation underlying the production of meaningful speech in children with ASD and other developmental conditions that interfere with speech production. Central to the program is the issue of sequencing. A basic fact of language life is that single words do not represent a meaningful language system. “Real” messages, even simple ones such as “want cookie, dog eats, no walk,” etc. require that sounds be chained together to form combinations of words. That, in turn, requires complex, intricate mouth movements that can be extremely challenging. The problems are akin to the fi ne motor diffi culties that the children display in activities such as handwriting and pulling up zippers. While the fi ne motor diffi culties in those areas have been well recognized, the importance of comparable fi ne motor movements of the mouth, lips and tongue in the production of speech has often received insuffi cient attention. Nevertheless, the area is critical. It’s why the children’s ability and willingness to produce two sequenced sounds are such important indicators of their ability to benefi t from the program. In producing two sounds in succession, they are showing that they have achieved the necessary base for “interweaving” sounds and moving onto increasingly complex speech production. Using sounds that the children can produce (so the input is adapted to the abilities of the individual child), the program starts by requesting one sound at a time (e.g., say “bah”). The lessons then expand to include increasing numbers of sounds—so that by the end of the program, the children are producing sequences of four speech sounds such as “mee, bah, koo, koo”. As indicated by the examples, the program focuses on speech sounds but not on actual words— although occasionally word-like sounds appear. The sounds are always ones that can be used in words but they themselves are rarely words. This technique serves to simplify the situation for the child. With meaning “out of the way,” the child learns to focus on the production of the sounds themselves and on the movements in the mouth area needed to create the sounds. With the attainment of four sequenced speech sounds, the child can then transition to ASD Unlocking Language which teaches the skills of actual language including expressing ideas, answering questions, summarizing observations, etc. ASD Speaking Sounds may be implemented by a parent, teacher, therapist, or other adult.

ASD Speaking Sounds: A Program to Foster the Sounds of Language

Music has amazing appeal for children on the autism spectrum as well as those with other neurodevelopmental disorders. Many also display remarkable abilities to play musical instruments. Music not only provides a source of great pleasure, it also provides a route for building skills to foster a range of cognitive abilities, including attention, memory and sequencing. The activities in ASD Piano Play teach children some basic skills in this domain by having them produce musical sequences by playing notes on a keyboard.

ASD Piano Play: A Program to Teach Early Music