The Nuts and Bolts of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
About the presentation:
It is well researched and documented that Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention is
“best practice” and “evidence based”. What is less commonly understood is the specific “how
to” so that young children with ASD have the best shot at achieving accelerated gains. This talk
will review what an intensive program for young children with autism includes. Understanding
the importance of developmental norms, early behavioral cusp skills and balanced yet
ambitious programming is the goal.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the presentation, the participants will be able to:
• Identify the core programming appropriate for children in an early intensive behavioral program. This includes: behavioral cusps to consider; relevance of developmental norms; standardized assessments to support programming.
About the presenter:
Coleen R. Sparkman, M.A. CCC-SLP, received her Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders
from California State University, Fresno. Ms. Sparkman is President of Therapeutic Pathways,
Inc. which has 6 centers (The Kendall Centers) for 600 children and adolescents with autism
spectrum disorders.
Ms. Sparkman has provided early intervention services to children and technical assistance to
school personnel and regional center staff since 1979. She was also a member of the Advisory
Committee on the State of California Developmental Disabilities Task Force on Autism Spectrum
Disorders and a conceptual reviewer for the National Standards Project, a national task force
devoted to the identification of evidence-based treatment for individuals with autism spectrum
disorders.
Ms. Sparkman’s work has been presented at numerous professional meetings including
California Association for Behavior Analysis, the Cambridge Center Autism Conference, as well
as The European Association for Behavior Analysis. She is a co-author of 2 outcome studies
(Howard et.al 2005 & 2014) as well as a chapter on choosing effective goals for behavioral
programming in a the book ABA for SLPs.