Summer 2002

T HE N EW S LET T ER O F T HE A S S O CIAT IO N FO R S CIEN CE IN A U T IS M T R EAT M EN T

Recover y: Debate
Diminishes Opportunities
By Catherine Maurice,
ASAT Board Member
Recently, C atherine M aurice was
asked t o respond t o a let t er ofinvitation to contribute to a special
issue of the online journal, Leadership
journal,Perspect ives in D evelopment alead, in part,part,
D isabilities. T he letter rread,as follows:“For the fourth issue, we wish to engage
experts and consumers from around thecountry in a debate concerning themerits of early intensive behavioral
intervention (EIBI) for 3 to 7 year oldchildren diagnosed with autism…We
recognize that the concept of “recovery”
CONTENTS

Summer 2002

is hotly debated within the consumer
and professional community; it is forthis very reason we want to address theissue head-on, in order to start a
dialogue about the merits of EIBI.
The working title for the fourth issueof Leadership Perspectives is, “Autism
Recovery Intervention for YoungChildren: Does it Work?” Topic areas
we are interested in publishing include:

Is the concept of recovery auseful term to use?
Is there data to substantiate
recovery?
Is there evidence to imply thatdata suggesting recovery is an
artifact of subject selection orother variables?

Editorial ........................................................ 2Children with autism need medical
and academic intervention.

Are recovery treatment procedures
varied or similar in nature?

Recovery (cont.) .............................................. 4
Aim at giving all children maximum
opportunities to learn.

What are the critical elements ofany recovery treatment attempt?

BACB Update ................................................ 6
The BACB expects nearly 1750 professionals
to be certified behavior analysts
by the end of 2002.

What are the barriers to providing
recovery intervention?

Help Desk ....................................................... 7
Generalization is key to true
acquisition of skills.

The workforce considerations
associated with recovery
intervention

Noah, son of ASAT supporters Jim andCaroline T hibeault.

Are there ethical issues associatedwith recovery?
What is the economic implicationof wide scale recovery attempts?”
Maurice’s response is excerpted here:
It does not take an advanced degree
in literary criticism to detect a certain
level of skepticism in this letter. These
questions seem rather biased against
early intensive behavioral intervention1 and the possibility of recovery
from autism. Far from displaying any
enthusiasm or even neutrality before
either of these concepts, this letter seems
to be inviting attack, from every
possible angle.
continued on page 4

SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENTASAT BOARD OF DIRECTORSJohn LeMieux, M.S.
President
Catherine Maurice, Ph.D.
Vice President
Lora Perry, M.S.
Treasurer
John Jacobson, Ph.D.
Secretary
Ira Cohen, Ph.D.
Chair, Advisory Board
Joseph Forgione
Sigrid Glenn, Ph.D.
Michele Kule-Korgood, Esq.
Patricia J. Krantz, Ph.D.
Bridget Taylor, Ph.D.
Betsy Welch
Executive Director

SUMMER 2002

EDITORIAL
Education? Health Care?
In some states, Medicaid and other health care programs will not fund sciencebased autism treatment because such services are allegedly really “education.”Let’s explore that. If an adult has a stroke and loses the ability to talk, walk,use utensils, and care for himself, health insurance pays for intensive,
competently-delivered rehabilitation that does not look much different fromscience-based interventions used for children with autism who have the sameskill deficits. Are we suggesting the adult stroke victim should go back to college
to learn these skills? Of course not. Yet some of our children with the medical
diagnosis of autism are thrown only to the special education system for services.
Schools are not required to maximize a child’s potential. Nor do theynecessarily know how to do so, until they receive proper in-depth training. An
emergency room physician who has a child recently diagnosed with autism sat
at her child’s Individualized Education Plan team meeting. She was seeking
the documented 30 – 40 hours a week of science-based treatment for her son.
“T hat’s optimal,” the special ed professional said.” “Therefore, we really
only need to do 10 – 20 hours.”
T he physician, a professional trained to think competently under horrificstress, paused. T hen she quietly said, “Let me tell you how I heard that. You
come into my emergency room riddled with pain from a terrible accident. I
should give you 10 milligrams of morphine to dull your pain while we help
you, but I will only allow 5. —Which, by the way, will not stop the pain.”
T here’s a lesson here. We just need to figure out what it is, and how to use
continued on next page

ASAT MISSION STATEMENTASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT

P.O. Box 7468
Portland, Maine 04101
Phone: 207-253-6008
E-mail: ASAT @autism-treatment.org
w w w.ASATonline.org
Article submissions and letters to ASAT should
be sent to the above address. Submissions
should include the writer’s full name, address,
home and work telephone numbers. Submissions may be edited for clarity or space. To
order back issues, conference tapes or conference books, call ASAT at 207-253-6008.
Articles in Science in Autism Treatment are theauthors’ intellectual property. They may be copied and disseminated, provided that a) they are
reprinted in their entirety; b) correct attribution (author name and ASAT affiliation) is cited;and c) written permission is obtained fromASAT.

All Rights Reserved©Association for Science in Autism Treatment.

The contents of this newsletter cannot be reproduced without permission from the Association for Science in Autism Treatment.

THE ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT WILL:
Disseminate accurate, scientifically sound information about autism andtreatments for autism; andImprove access to effective, science-based treatments for all people with autism,
regardless of age, severity of condition, income, or place of residence.

WE WILL FULFILL OUR MISSION BY:
Educating professionals and the public about state-of-the-art, valid
treatments for people with autism;
Supporting certification, to ensure all individuals with autism receive treatment from practitioners who have met minimum standards of competency;
Forming interactive, supportive partnerships with universities to develop
accredited educational programs for autism practitioners, andImproving standards of care for people with autism.

VALUES STATEMENTASAT is committed to science as the most objective, time-tested and reliableapproach to discerning between safe, effective autism treatments, and thosethat are harmful or ineffective. ASAT supports all scientifically sound researchon the prevention, treatment and cure of autism, as well as all treatments for
autism that are shown to be effective through solid scientific research, regardless of discipline or domain.

ASAT
Providing Accurate, Science-Based Information K Promoting Access To Effective Treatment

SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT
it. One lesson may be that somewhere
along the line we lost focus on the
distinction between medically-necessary
treatment for children with autism, anda “free and appropriate education” forchildren with autism.
Medically-necessary treatment iscalculated to help patients recover from
illnesses and disorders. If recovery is notpossible, the medical community seeks
to maximize a patient’s potential. The
medical community evaluates its
excellence, and ethics, based upon thepatient’s outcome.
In contrast, and according to many
Medicaid manuals, education consistsof academic services in those traditional
subjects as science, history, literature,foreign languages and mathematics.
The education community evaluates its
success in educating children with special
needs based upon the child’s progress—
not outcome. T his progress is measured
with varying degrees of accuracy, andis determined to be of educational
benefit within a very broad range ofinterpretation.
T he health care community,
including all forms of health insurance,
should ensure that our children receive
autism treatment calculated to achieve

SUMMER 2002

ADVISORYBOARD
Ira Cohen, Ph.D. - Chair
Allan Barclay, Ph.D.
F.J. Barrera, Ph.D.
Paul Chance, Ph.D.
Martha Bridge Denckla, M.D.
Jason, son of ASAT Board member, Lora Perry, andher husband Steve; with therapist Kate Hossler.

aggressive outcome objectives pursued forindividuals with other medical diagnoses.
Education should supplement autism
treatment, not substitute for it.
When treatment provisions are inplace to maximize the outcome of thepatient’s diagnosis, then we can talkabout excellence in education. We mustalso ensure coordination of services acrosseducational and treatment domains, sothat educational practices do notinterfere with treatment.
Anything less does not serve ourchildren.
- Lora Perry, MS, Editor

Curtis Deutsch, Ph.D.
Maureen Durkin, Ph.D.
Deborah Fein, Ph.D.
Susan Folstein, M.D.
Richard Foxx, Ph.D.
Jeanette Holden, Ph.D.
Ronald Kallen, M.D.
Richard Landau, Ph.D.
Alan Leslie, Ph.D.
Bennett Leventhal, M.D.
Johnny L. Matson, Ph.D.

Snipits from w w w.Quackwatch.com FAQs:
Quackwatch is a nonprofit corporation whose
purpose is to combat health-related frauds,
myths, fads, and fallacies. Its primary focus ison quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere.
Quackwatch’s activities include investigating
questionable claims, answering inquiries, distributing reliable publications, reporting illegal marketing, generating consumer protection lawsuits, improving the quality of healthinformation on the Internet, and attacking
misleading advertising on the Internet.
Quackwatch is run by Stephen Barrett, MD.
T he following are quotes from the website,slightly abridged for length.

How do you respond to accusations
that your w riting is unbalanced?
Balance is important when legitimate controversy exists. But quackery and fraud don’t

involve legitimate controversy and are not balanced subjects. I don’t believe it is helpful topublish “balanced” articles about unbalanced
subjects. . .

Joyce E. Mauk, M.D.
William McMahon, M.D.
James Mulick, Ph.D.
George Niemann, Ph.D.

Do you believe there are any valid“alternative” treatments?

John Pomeroy, M.D.

T his question is unanswerable because it contains an invalid assumption. Alternative is aslogan, not a definable set of methods. Methods
should be classified into three groups: (1) thosethat work, (2) those that don’t work, and (3)those we are not sure about. Most described as“alternative” fall into the second group. But
the only meaningful way to evaluate methods
is to examine them individually, which we do.
We discuss this subject fully in our article “Be
Wary of “Alternative” Health Methods.”

Stephen Porges, Ph.D.
Tristram Smith, Ph.D.
Robert Sprague, Ph.D.
Arthur Toga, M.D.
Paul Touchette, Ph.D.
Roberto Tuchman, M.D.

ASAT
Providing Accurate, Science-Based Information K Promoting Access To Effective Treatment

Paul Yellin, M.D.

!

SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT
Are there ethical issues
associated with rreco
eco
ver
y?
ecov
ery?
What is the economic
implication of wide scale
r eco
ver
y attempts?
ecov
ery
Just substitute the word “cancer” for“autism” and any “lay person” could
detect a slightly subversive note: Are
there ethical issues associated withrecovery from cancer? What is the
economic implication of wide scaleattempts to recover people from cancer?
It seems to me that these questions
amount to little more than a call for
ammunition against the rising demand
for science-based, effective treatment,
which at this moment in time happens
to be anchored in the field of applied
behavior analysis. Yes, aiming for andachieving recovery from autism isexpensive. So is chemotherapy. So is a
lifetime of state-supported custodialcare. Why would we not attempt torecover anyone from cancer, or autism?
No, we cannot guarantee cure or
recovery for anyone, but is thatsufficient reason to lower the bar? Do
we start deciding how many people
should have access to science-based
treatments for cancer? Do we start
deciding how many children should haveaccess to ABA?2
I s the concept of rreco
eco
ver
ya
ecov
ery
useful ter
m to use?
term
Is there data to substantiate
r eco
ver
y?
ecov
ery?
The very form of the questions implies
that the correct answer to both questions
is “No, of course not.” Again, think of
the implications if we asked: “Is theconcept of recovery from cancer a usefulterm to use?” It is only when we alreadyhold an assumption that autism isforever that we question whether the“concept of recovery is a useful term.” 3"

SUMMER 2002
But let’s step back, and look at a more
serious complication.
W hat isproblematic here is not only the implicit
skepticism about recovery, but also theconfusion, manifest in this letter and inmuch of the anti-behavioral backlash
literature, between the goal of recovery,
and the goal of bringing children effective
treatment. We need to set both goals
for our children, with the understandingthat under our present system ofknowledge, only some children willachieve the first goal, but all children
with autism can and should be offeredeffective treatment. At the present time,
it is behavioral intervention that has
published the most documented successin enabling children to learn. Whether
or not recovery happens, behavioral
intervention offers more concrete
evidence of effectiveness than any of thedozens of treatment options currently
being touted as effective for autism.4
T his letter uses a term, “recovery
treatment procedure.” What is that?
EIB I is not a “recovery treatment
procedure” although it may have that
effect on some children. All treatment
should be designed to maximize a child’s
learning potential, to bring him or her
as far as we can. Is this letter implyingthat if you want to aim for recovery,
you use EIBI (otherwise called “recovery
treatment procedure”), and if you wantto aim for something else, you use
another kind of therapy? What othertherapy would that be, and what data
exist to support the effectiveness of thattherapy?
No one I know has ever claimed thatEIB I will produce recovery in all
children. But we do know that intensive
behavioral intervention can improve theprognosis for people with autism.
Undermining the notion of recovery andthen calling early intensive behavioral
intervention a “recovery treatment
procedure” is another way of dismissing
behavioral intervention.

Is there evidence to imply thatdata suggesting rreco
ecovery is anecov
ery
a rrtifact
tifact of subject selection orother variables?
When I showed this question to myhusband, he laughed and parodied theclassic prejudicial question: “When did
you stop beating your wife?” Those of
us who are veterans of the autism wars
recognize this question. It’s an easy
attack, constantly repeated. If a childrecovers from autism, the old guard issure to offer one of three possible
explanations:1) He was very high functioning,and “selected” for intensive
treatment.
2) He was never autistic at all.
(Sorry! We didn’t mean it!)
3) He was autistic, and still is
autistic. Although he looks andacts recovered, he is actually a
trained robot, conditioned torespond to certain stimuli but, deep inside, still autistic.
If my own tone sounds impatient, I
apologize. But, after a dozen years, I
no longer know what it will take toconvince the people in power that thedata are there, have been there for awhile, and their job is to pay attention
to the data. Moreover, the data do not“suggest” that early intensive ABA iseffective in remediating many symptoms
of autism. T he data demonstrate thatgains achieved through such intervention are real, and enduring. 5
There are data not only “suggesting” thepossibility of recovery, but also
validating it over time.6
Why is this topic of early intensive
behavioral intervention, its value, andits ability to produce recovery in at least

ASAT
Providing Accurate, Science-Based Information K Promoting Access To Effective Treatment

SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT
some children still “hotly debated” atall? How many more decades will ittake for the establishment to accept theevidence that already exists? It is
astonishing to me that various special
educators and psychologists keep callingfor more data to substantiate the valueof intensive behavioral intervention,and yet they themselves have produced
no data to speak of that validate
approaches such as play therapy,
therapeutic nurseries, special educationand psychotherapy. How much moredebate do we have to engage in, as
generations of autistic children founder?
It’s easy to attack ABA by attacking
the notion of recovery. B ut thiscontroversy is not solely about recovery.
T his is not solely about defending thetruth of any child’s real and enduring
recovery. T his is a matter of knowingthat a powerful teaching technology
exists, but that parents are unable toaccess it for their child. It is a matter ofknowing that parents can be blockedat every turn by a stonewalling
establishment. It is knowing that only
a handful of good behaviorally-based
programs exist in this country, and that,
if this resistance continues, we may notsee any more any time soon.
What are the barriers
to providing rreco
eco
ver
y
pro
ecov
ery
vention?
interinterv
Money, for one thing. A scarcity of
trained providers in behavioral
B ut
t reatment, for another.
professional skepticism and a refusal toaccept hard evidence play into which
programs get funded and which do not.
I f a maj ority of those in power
denigrate ABA, and deny the reality ofrecovery, only the wealthy or lucky willaccess this intervention for theirchildren.

SUMMER 2002
Ar e rreco
eco
ver
y tr
eatment
ecov
ery
treatment
procedures varied or similarin nature?
What are the critical elements
eatment
y tr
ver
eco
of any rreco
treatment
ery
ecov
attempt?
T hese are, in fact, good questions,provided we substitute the phrase“Effective, data-based treatments” forthe silly phrase “recovery treatment
procedures.” The Association for Sciencein Autism Treatment (ASAT) is working
on analyzing these and similar
questions. We know there is still muchwork to be done in defining the criticalcomponents of effective behavioral
treatment models, and in defining thecritical skills and knowledge demanded
of a qualified provider. It would be very
helpful if the professional community
could leave the debate stage behind, andhelp us in our attempts to bring accurate
information to families, and increased
access to effective treatment.
I work with people whose children
have not recovered. They and I hopethat some day science will produce aneasier, faster, and more effective
treatment than that promised through
ABA. We hope that current research onneurobiology, immunology and genetics
will lead us there. But meanwhile, weknow that ABA can offer children andadults with autism increased opportunity
for learning, and in some cases, forrecovery.

Copyright 2001, Catherine Maurice

YOU CAN FIND US ON
THE WEBw w w.ASATonline.org

1 When I refer to behavioral intervention,
applied behavior analysis (ABA), or early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI), I meanintervention that employs the principles andmethods of behavior analysis, not generic earlyintervention programs that purport to be behavioral but actually employ only a few superficial behavioral techniques.
2 Jacobson, J.W., Mulick, J.A., & Green, G.
(1998). Cost-benefit estimates for early intensive behavioral intervention for young children with autism: General model and single
state case. Behavioral Interventions, 13, 201226. [Offers a well-reasoned analysis of this
topic]
3 The question is illogical as well because theword concept is being used to mean the wordterm.
4 Clinical Practive Guidelines: Report of the
Recommendations. Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Assessment and Intervention for Young Children, 1999 Publication
No. 4215. New York State Department of
Health, PO Box 2000, Albany, New York
12220.
5 For an overview of research on this subject,
see: Green, G. (1996). Early Behavioral Intervention for Autism. What Does Research
Tell Us? In C. Maurice, G.Green, and S.C.
Luce, (Eds.), Behavioral Intervention for
Young Children with Autism: A Manual for
Parents and Professionals, Austin, TX. ProEd.
Clinical Practive Guidelines: Report of the
Recommendations. Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Assessment and Intervention for Young Children, 1999 Publication
No. 4215. New York State Department of
Health, PO Box 2000, Albany, New York
12220.
6 Lovaas, O.I. (1987). Behavioral treatment
and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal ofConsulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 3-9.
McEachin, J.J., Smith, T., & Lovaas, O.I.
(1993). Long-term outcome for children with
autism who received early intensive behavioral
treatment. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 4, 359-372.
Perry, R. Cohen, I., & DeCarlo, R (1995).
Case Study: Deterioration, autism, and recovery in two siblings. Journal of the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,34, 232-237.

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SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT

SUMMER 2002

BEHAVIOR ANALYSTCERTIFICATION BOARD UPDATE
Gerald L. Shook, Ph.D., BCBABACB Executive Director
T he Behavior Analyst Certification
Board (BACB) received 385 applications for examination for the May 2002
exam administrations. Exams were being offered in 17 cities in the UnitedStates, as well as in Toronto, Canada
and Cambridge, England. T his represents a significant increase in the number of applications received for a given
administration.
Fall administrations are scheduled
for Saturday, November 23, 2002. Individuals who are interested in having
the examinations administered in theirarea in November, or who are interested in BACB presentations at theirconferences, should contact the BACB
Executive Director.
The College Teaching Option (Option 3) for qualifying for the Board
Certified Behavior Analyst examination
expired on June 30, 2002. College
Teaching Option applications for examination and documentation materials
are no longer accepted.
T he Behavior Analyst Certification
Board and the State of Florida, throughProfessional Testing, Inc., have conducted a formal job analysis survey of
1,519 behavior analysts in 26 countries.
T he purpose of this analysis is to update the BACB Behavior Analysis Task
List content that is used in constructing
the examinations. T he results, with ananalysis of implications for the field,
were presented at the Association for
B ehavior Analysis convention in
Toronto. Also in Toronto, Behavior
Analyst Certification Board staff presented a BACB update session, and wereavailable to answer questions in the$

BACB information booth.
T he BACB Continuing Education
Committee is accepting applications forthe approval of Individual and Organizational Providers who wish to offer “approved” continuing education eventsfor certificants. Details of this process
and applications are posted on
www.BACB.com.
International developments:
a consortium of Japanese behavior
analysts has translated the Behavior
Analyst Certification Board’s
Behavior Analysis Task List into
Japanesethe United Kingdom ABA Lecturers
Co-operative has developed
coursework to prepare individuals
for the Board Certified Associate
Behavior Analyst examination
faculty at University of Auckland
are developing a Master’s program

to prepare individuals for the
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
examination, with plans to havethe examinations administered in
New Zealand.
Please refer to www.BACB.com forcomplete information on the Behavior
Analyst Certification Board, including
a registry of certificants, an expanded
listing of universities with approved
graduate course sequences, new statecertificant transfer opportunities, the
BACB Guidelines for Responsible Conduct for Behavior Analysts, certification examination eligibility standards,
and applications for examination.
T he Behavior Analyst Certification
Board congratulates Gina Green, who
has been named as the newest memberof the BACB Board of Directors. Dr.
Green also chairs the BACB Continuing Education Committee, working
with Siri M ing and M ichael
Hemingway.

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SCIENCE IN AUTISM TREATMENT

SUMMER 2002

HELP DESK
Bobby Newman, PhD, BCBA
Dear ASAT:
Q uestion: My son’s progress inprograms is often nothing short ofphenomenal. He masters skills quickly,
but then seems to lose the skills he has.
We feel like we’re on a treadmill.
Help!
Answer: Unfortunately, this is acommon dilemma. The good news isthat this problem can be addressed.
T he bad news is that it means reallylooking at how you’re teaching, andpossibly making some changes. Let’s
first agree upon some vocabulary ineveryday language:
1. ACQUISIT ION: the learning of
the new skills and concepts.
2. STIMULUS GENERALIZAT ION: learning to perform askill under different conditions.
3. MAINTENANCE: the continued performance of the skill after
the formal, intensive teaching
period has ended.
From your description, your son is
doing fine during the acquisition
phase. But is he really acquiring theskills? A common problem is that theacquisition phase is conducted far too
narrowly. Given a receptive program,for example, do you and yourtherapists always say “touch,” asopposed to “give me” or “point to” or“show me” or “which is,” or some otherphrasing? Do you always use the same
stimuli (for example, always using
colored construction paper for colorID)? If we have always taught using

colored paper, it is very difficult for thechild when we ask him, for example, thecolor of a toy car. If he has always heard“what is your name?,” it is then not
surprising if he cannot answer “what isyour first name?” Teaching needs to beprecisely structured, but not so limited
that generalization becomes impossible.
Some people call this “loose teaching.”
As simple as it sounds, it can be very
difficult—most people need to be taught
how to loosely teach. But it’s worth theeffort. You get what you teach.
H ow then, can we encourage
generalization? B asically, we arelooking at the “D r. Seuss” school ofteaching: do it in a box and with a fox,
in a house and with a mouse, etc. Vary
where you do your teaching. Varyphrasings to make sure that you hit thecommon ways that people speak (e.g.,“hi,” “how are ya,” “hello,” “how ya
doin’?”). Wear glasses, and don’t wear
glasses. Practice skills in the morning andin the evening, in the house and in thecar. Some schools and programs preferto do generalization training from thevery beginning, by varying instructions
and stimuli from the beginning. Others
use precise and consistent phrasing andstimuli first, and then conditions arevaried once mastery is achieved with theoriginal phrasing and stimuli. You willfind advocates of both approaches. Using
the more limited stimuli strategy, youwill probably see faster acquisition, butthen you need to aggressively programfor generalization. If you vary stimuli
from the outset, you will probably see
somewhat slower acquisition, but you
will have the payoff of easiergeneralization. My own preference isto generalize from the beginning.
For Maintenance, you need to follow

a similar plan. Remember that withchildren who have autism, we must
consciously plan to help the childacquire, generalize and maintainskills. If you want to continue seeing
a skill, it must be practiced. Too many
programs focus only on the mostcurrent step (e.g., “touch your belly”)
and fail to continue practice on thepreviously learned steps. Where I
come from, each teaching session
includes a block of the new step(“isolated”), and a block of all thepreviously
mastered
steps(“randomized”). Even when the fullprogram is learned, we return to it
periodically for a practice session, or
we incorporate the skill into new
activities (e.g., working on masteredbody parts in a “Simon Says” game).
Also remember that you need towork on concepts, and not justresponses. When doing body part ID,
for example, don’t always ask the childto touch his nose. Ask him to touch his
nose, your nose, the nose of a doll,
the nose of a stuffed animal, etc. We
want your son to know what noses
are, and not just think that the bumpon his face is named nose.

YOU CAN FIND US ON
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PLEASE GIVE
2001 was another outstanding year
for ASAT. More than 35,000 copies ofutism Tr eatment (SIAT)
Science in A
Autismwere distributed to parents, grandparents, teachers, psychologists, physicians,
special education directors, hearing officers, attorneys, therapists, government
officials, students and others, throughout the world. Our distribution continues to grow as more and more individuals touched by autism recognize Science in Autism Treatment as an effective tool for advocacy, and as an essential resource for science-based information on autism and treatment. T he
ASAT office receives requests for SIAT
via phone, fax and e-mail daily, as wellas compelling testimonials from individuals directly benefiting from thenewsletter’s content.
Also during 2001, we went online
with our website at www.asatonline.org.
T he website offers direct and useful in-formation about autism, a suggested
reading list, answers to frequently asked
questions, previous issues of Science inAutism Treatment, links to other credible autism sites, and much more.
T he conference AB A: M aximizing
the Potential of Children, Parents andT eachers in Portland, Maine was attended by more than 200 people, despite
disruptions caused by the terror attacks
on September 11 only 10 days before.
Presenters included Catherine Maurice,
ASAT Board member and author, Randy
H orowitz from the G enesis School,
Joanne Gerenser from the Eden II Programs, and Peter Gerhardt from Rutgers
University.
ASAT continued to support the efforts
nalyst C ertificationof the Behavior A
Analystertification
Board (BACB) to ensure minimum levels of competency among ABA practitioners. To increase the labor pool of qualified ABA professionals, ASAT has beendeveloping a graduate-level universitybased training model, including autismspecific curriculum and supervised intern-ship requirements for graduate programs. T hese initiatives will help to significantly increase the availability ofqualified service providers using sciencebased methods to help individuals with
autism.
But much remains to be done. Overthe next year, ASAT will continue to
produce and distribute Science in Autism Treatment. O ur website will be
updated and expanded to make it eveneasier to access science-based information about autism and treatment.
With your financial support, ASAT
will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of persons with autism. Please help
us to accomplish our shared vision andgoal of significantly improving the livesof the individuals with autism who havetouched us so deeply, and the lives of
those yet to be born with this disorder.
Please give generously by mailingyour tax deductible contribution to
ASAT, PO Box 7468, Portland, ME
04112.
THANK YOU!

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PAID
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
P.O. Box 7468
Portland, Maine 04101

PORTLAND, ME
PERMIT NO
430