CARE or the Center for Autism Recovery and Education was founded by a group of parents, to pursue an education program for their children who have been diagnosed as having autism. They have since become a full-fledged organization with the mission to work with other parents with children diagnosed as being “on the spectrum”, devising the highest quality therapy to help the kids overcome obstacles in life, be independent and engage with others.
Thailand’s only affiliate site of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (C.A.R.D.) from the US, one of the largest and oldest Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy providers, CARE offers education programs based on ABA principles to children who have:
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD or PDD NOS)
- Language delay
- Challenging behaviours
- Developmental delay in the areas of communication cognition or social relatedness
- ADHD or Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or any other related disorder to Autism
Children with autism have processing problems (e.g., hearing, language, sensory, etc.) that makes their learning “dissimilar” to neurotypical children. These conditions lead children to lack skills in many areas, including skills that can be developed spontaneously (or innate naturally) in neurotypical children as well as acquired from teaching. However, the belief is that children with these conditions can be treated and some even recovered.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Collaborating with C.A.R.D. using ABA techniques, CARE offers a curriculum with over 4,000 lessons covering eight different domains of development. The programs are individualized and designed to suit each child, teaching language, play, social, motor, academic, cognition, executive functioning and adaptive self-help skills.
ABA principles and procedures involve increasing appropriate skills and decreasing challenging behaviours through consequences (i.e. Reinforcements and Error Correction Procedure). By applying the ABC (Antecedent->Behavior- >Consequence) contingency together with DTT (Discreet Trial Training), NET (Natural Environment Training) and other teaching steps, the child will be able to acquire the appropriate mannerisms and live among the society with minimal obstacles or difficulties.
The process starts with an initial assessment where a child’s needed skills are identified. Next, an individualized ABA therapy program is devised, listing the lessons and teaching steps based on the child’s needs. Each lesson will then be implemented through one-on-one education, initial personalized support in the classroom setting, intensive therapy, intensive content and clear structure of the treatment plan goals, and teaching by specially trained experts. Progress assessments must also be made to check if children understand the new skills and are generalizing them across a variety of environments. At the same time, the child will have follow-up clinics or workshops on a weekly or monthly basis, to update and ensure that their programs are continually challenging and advancing their development.
While the primary goal is to help children with autism to reach their maximum potential using scientifically backed and research proven procedures, CARE also focuses on creating awareness to change Thai society’s perceptions surrounding autism and related disorders. The potential of children with autism can be developed and quality autism treatment programs must be intensive, tailored and not a “one-size-fits-all” educational approach. To this end, CARE also aims to develop local autism experts in Thailand by providing training opportunities to local staff, both Thai and non-Thai.
For more information, please contact CARE at 02-689-1818 or at [email protected].
