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one-to-one interventions and social interaction

longman

I keep reading about a variety of interventions that are based on a one-to-one interaction between someone on the spectrum and a counsellor. One term I see used in relation to this is "dyadic".

There seems to be an assumption that if progress can be made on a one-to-one basis it resolves the kinds of problems that arise in social interaction and communication where multiples of people are involved.

I was under the impression that one-to-one is usually easier and improves with time and greater understanding. It is easier too to rely on spoken language rather than body language in one-to-one, so that it is easy to develop verbal skills to compensate. My question is whether the skills learned in one-to-one situations can be meaningful or helpful to other kinds of social situation.

I have not seen anything that tackles the wider social integration problem where people on the spectrum have to converse as one of a group of people or in an environment where lots of conversations are ongoing. This applies to lots of social situations including fitting in at work.

Have I misunderstood things, or are people advocating interventions actually claiming that one-to-one will solve anything significantly more than what to expect in a one-to-one dialogue?

Parents

  • The advantage of having a team of people rotating one-to-one is that you can:

    a) offer intensive opportunities for interaction and learning social and communication skills.

    b) give the autistic child a "digestible" experience of different people, with their individual styles of language, mannerisms, facial expressions, etc in a safe environment.

    By "after school", do you mean with someone who is older?  If so, I believe the same principles apply, though I have no personal experience of working with a more mature person.  The Son-Rise Program staff, and parents of older "children" who have attended their training programmes, have had some amazing success in working with older people.  The underlying principle is the same: building relationship with an individual through demonstrating a truly loving and profoundly respectful attitude.  When a relationship is established, then you can invite someone to change - if they want to!

    It's about creating an artificial and safe environment in which to learn, before moving out again to practise newly acquired skills in the wider world, which includes multiples of people.

    What so many scientific-based treatments seem to lack is attention to how the treatment method is perceived and received by the person it is applied to.  The Son-Rise Program was conceived by two parents who set out to create a way to reach and have a relationship with their young autistic child, at a time when the treatments offered by the scientific professions were, broadly speaking, unethical by today's standards.

    The challenge to present scientific evidence is a tough one - not least because when I invited professionals to monitor my child's progress they declined, saying it was either outside their remit, or that since they were not familiar with the programme they were not in a position to monitor it!  Personal testimonies abound on the Autism Treatment Center of America website.  I met some of those parents  when I did a training course there, so I know they are not spoofs, as I'm sure the cynics will suggest.

    The training they offered was outstanding and left me confident that, even if this approach did not benefit my child, it could do no harm.  The outcome in our case was more than I could have dreamt of. 

Reply

  • The advantage of having a team of people rotating one-to-one is that you can:

    a) offer intensive opportunities for interaction and learning social and communication skills.

    b) give the autistic child a "digestible" experience of different people, with their individual styles of language, mannerisms, facial expressions, etc in a safe environment.

    By "after school", do you mean with someone who is older?  If so, I believe the same principles apply, though I have no personal experience of working with a more mature person.  The Son-Rise Program staff, and parents of older "children" who have attended their training programmes, have had some amazing success in working with older people.  The underlying principle is the same: building relationship with an individual through demonstrating a truly loving and profoundly respectful attitude.  When a relationship is established, then you can invite someone to change - if they want to!

    It's about creating an artificial and safe environment in which to learn, before moving out again to practise newly acquired skills in the wider world, which includes multiples of people.

    What so many scientific-based treatments seem to lack is attention to how the treatment method is perceived and received by the person it is applied to.  The Son-Rise Program was conceived by two parents who set out to create a way to reach and have a relationship with their young autistic child, at a time when the treatments offered by the scientific professions were, broadly speaking, unethical by today's standards.

    The challenge to present scientific evidence is a tough one - not least because when I invited professionals to monitor my child's progress they declined, saying it was either outside their remit, or that since they were not familiar with the programme they were not in a position to monitor it!  Personal testimonies abound on the Autism Treatment Center of America website.  I met some of those parents  when I did a training course there, so I know they are not spoofs, as I'm sure the cynics will suggest.

    The training they offered was outstanding and left me confident that, even if this approach did not benefit my child, it could do no harm.  The outcome in our case was more than I could have dreamt of. 

Children
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