TITLE:
Empowering People with Autism. The Effect of an Integrated Daily Structure as Well as Improved Communication on the Lives of People with Autism
AUTHORS:
Silvia Blatter, Harald Rudolf Bliem, Barbara Hildegard Juen
KEYWORDS:
Autism, Quality of Life, Adults, Long-Term Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.2 No.8,
August
22,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The main objective of this study is to
analyze the quality of life of autistic adults in the practice of the human
service. Classical models for dealing with people with autism were the initial position
for developing a long-term intervention program for this client group. The aim
of this intervention is to improve upon the quality of life, derived from
studies of Schalock und Verdugo [1], by structuring their day to get
orientation and by improving their skills to understand and to use basic
communication structures. The program is constructed step by step. The first is
to understand simple communication structures with gradual increase in
complexity. The second is independently using the newly acquired knowledge to
communicate and understand more complex structures. Daily observations are
recorded in writing. In addition, assessment sheets are used. Each proband
items were defined which were trimmed to capture for individual behavior and
were scored several times a day. Our hypothesis that the quality of life of our
autistic probands can be increased by enhancing them to understand
communication structures and to use these structures for their own needs was
confirmed by the results. Negative behavior like aggression which stands for
low quality of life could also be decreased as a result. Self determination and
inclusion also increased as a result of handling more communication structures.