1.
The first set of consideration for all people is that the
person is physiologically stable, free from internal pain
and irritation, and lives and participates in
environments that are safe, healthy, stimulating,
pleasurable and occupied by people who are caring and
supportive. Intervention and support programs should be
preceded or accompanied by the achievement of these
elements. Indeed, the presence of optimal physiological
and environmental conditions can be the dominant factor
in the accomplishment or facilitation of intervention and
support objectives.
2.
Families
represent the most significant resource and the most
powerful influence affecting a person's development and
well-being. Therefore, programs focused on the needs of
children and adults who live in family contexts should
emphasize efforts to enhance family interactions and the
well-being of the entire family system. Furthermore,
because families are typically the most knowledgeable
sources regarding the person and the person's social and
ecological context, the principal factor in determining
appropriate intervention and support programs should be
informed family choice.
3.
Challenging
behaviors (such as self-injury, aggression, stereotypy,
and tantrums) that are displayed by some people with
autism and related disabilites are addressed most
successfully and humanely when an understanding of the
behavior's purpose (including its communicative
significance) is established through a process of
functional assessment. A functional assessment should
precede the development and implementation of any program
designed to reduce challenging behaviors, and the program
should be based on an understanding that is derived from
the assessment process.
4. Programs
of behavioral intervention and behavioral support should emphasize
educational, ecological and antecedent manipulations. It is not justifiable
from an ethical or technical perspective to employ aversive procedures.
Behavioral interventions and support programs should not include practices
that produce pain or tissue damamge, or any immobilization other than
brief restraint that is necessary in emergency (crisis) situtation
to protect the person or other people from injury. Furthermore, programs
should exclude any procedure that causes a person to be ridiculed,
lose dignity, or suffer social humiliation.
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5.
Intervention
and support programs for people with autism and related
disabilities should produce educationally-relevant
outcomes and, in particular, the development of
observable and functional skills that have demonstrable
value in a person's lifestyle. Intervention and support
programs should not rely upon unproven treatments that
are directed at hypothetical disease constructs or
unobservable mechanisms.
6.
Intervention
and support programs should be developed on an
individualized basis and should be based on assessment
data, family input, the individual's preferences and a
careful consideration of short and long term objectives.
Intervention and support programs should not be
prescribed on the basis of a diagnosis.
7.
Intervention
and support programs should be evaluated on the basis of
measurable outcomes that are meaningful from the
perspective of the person, the person's family, and the
person's care and support providers. Meaningful outcomes
refer to progress that is manifested as improvement in
the way a person lives.
8.
Social
development is extremely complex, and the capacity to
interact in social contexts with competence and comfort
is an essential objective for all the people. Progress in
the development of social behavior for people with autism
and related disabilities requires extensive guidance and
experience. Therefore, participation in typical social
environments with the individualized assistance and
support necessary to achieve succesful interactions,
should be a feature of comprehensive educational and
support programs for people with autism and related
disabilities.
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