2nd Edition

Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Fad, Fashion, and Science in Professional Practice

Edited By Richard M. Foxx, James A. Mulick Copyright 2016
    588 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    608 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    One of the largest and most complex human services systems in history has evolved to address the needs of people with autism and intellectual disabilities, yet important questions remain for many professionals, administrators, and parents. What approaches to early intervention, education, treatment, therapy, and remediation really help those with autism and other intellectual disabilities improve their functioning and adaptation? Alternatively, what approaches represent wastes of time, effort, and resources?

    Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities, 2nd Edition brings together leading behavioral scientists and practitioners to shed much-needed light on the major controversies surrounding these questions. Expert authors review the origins, perpetuation, and resistance to scrutiny of questionable practices, and offer a clear rationale for appraising the quality of various services.

    The second edition of Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities has been fully revised and updated and includes entirely new chapters on psychology fads, why applied behavioral analysis is not a fad, rapid prompting, relationship therapies, the gluten-free, casein-free diet, evidence based practices, state government regulation of behavioral treatment, teaching ethics, and a parents’ primer for autism treatments.

    Preface (First Edition): Fad, Dubious, Controversial, Pseudo-Scientific, and Politically-Correct Treatments in Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Services by John W. Jacobson, Richard M. Foxx, and James A. Mulick

    Preface: Fad, Dubious, Controversial, Pseudo-Scientific, and Politically-Correct Treatments in Autism and Developmental Disabilities Services by Richard M. Foxx and James A. Mulick

    Part I: General Issues

    Chapter 1: Where Do Fads Come From? by Stuart Vyse

    Chapter 2: The Nature and Value of Empirically Validated Interventions by Crighton Newsom and Christine A. Hovanitz

    Chapter 3: The Appeal of Unvalidated Treatments by Tristram Smith

    Part II: Historical, Cultural, and Psychological Issues

    Chapter 4: History of Fad, Pseudo-Scientific and Dubious Treatments in Intellectual Disabilities: From the 1800s to Today by John W. Jacobson, James A. Mulick, Richard M. Foxx and Elizabeth Kryszak

    Chapter 5: The Delusion of Full Inclusion by James M. Kauffman, Devery Mock Ward and Jeanmarie Badar

    Chapter 6: Explaining Gullibility of Service Providers Towards Treatment Fads by Stephen Greenspan

    Chapter 7: Developmental Disabilities and the Paranormal by John W. Jacobson, Elizabeth Kryszak and James A. Mulick

    Part III: Field-Specific Issues

    Chapter 8: Fads in Special Education by Thomas Zane, Mary Jane Weiss, Sam Blanco, Lorraine Otte, and Josephine Southwick

    Chapter 9: The Neutralization of Special Education, Revisted by Susan M. Silvestri and William L. Heward

    Chapter 10: Fads and Controversial Treatments in Speech-Language Pathology by Cheryl D. Gunter and Mareile A. Koenig

    Part IV: Disorder and Symptom-Specific Issues

    Chapter 11: Autism: A Late Twentieth Century Fad Magnet by Bernard Metz, James A. Mulick, and Eric M. Butter

    Chapter 12: Helping Parents Separate the Wheat from the Chaff: Putting Autism Treatments to the Test by Shannon Kay

    Chapter 13: A Map Through the Minefield:  A parent’s primer to find autism treatment that works! by Sabrina Freeman

    Chapter 14: The Perpetuation of the Myth of the Nonaversive Treatment of Severe Behavior by Richard M. Foxx

    Part V: Intervention Specific Issues

    Chapter 15: Sensory Integrative Therapy by Tristram Smith, Daniel W. Mruzek, and Dennis Mozingo

    Chapter 16: Auditory Integration Training: A Critical Review (1991-2014) by Oliver C. Mudford and Chris Cullen

    Chapter 17: Facilitated Communication: The Ultimate Fad Treatment by John W. Jacobson, Richard M. Foxx, and James A. Mulick

    Chapter 18: Positive Behavior Support: A Paternalistic Utopian Delusion by James A. Mulick and Eric Butter

    Chapter 19: Nonaversive Treatment by Crighton Newsom and Kimberly A. Kroeger

    Chapter 20: Gentle Teaching by Angela M. Arnold-Saritepe, Oliver C. Mudford and Chris Cullen

    Chapter 21: Pet Me, Sniff Me, Squeeze Me: Quack Treatment for Autism by Gerald P. Koocher and Erica Gill

    Chapter 22: Relationship-Based Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorders by Thomas Zane, Mary Jane Weiss, Kari Dunlop, and Josephine Southwick

    Chapter 23: Old Horses in New Stables: Rapid Prompting, Facilitated Communication, Science, Ethics, and the History of Magic by James T. Todd

    Chapter 24: The Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet by Keith E. Williams and Richard M. Foxx

    Chapter 25: Why ABA is not a Fad, a Pseudo Science, a Dubious or Controversial Treatment, or Politically Correct by Richard M. Foxx

    Part VI: Ethical, Legal and Political Concerns

    Chapter 26: Ethics, Controversial Treatments and Applied Behavior Analysis by Peter Sturmey

    Chapter 27: The National Institute of Health Consensus Development Conference on the Treatment of Destructive Behaviors: A 25-Year Update of a Study in Hardball Politics by Richard M. Foxx

    Chapter 28: Teaching Ethics in Behavior Analysis: Philosophy, Methods and Resources by Jon Bailey and Mary Burch

    Chapter 29: Evidence-Based Practices In Treatment for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities by Thomas Zane, Mary Jane Weiss, Cheryl Davis, and Ian Melton

    Chapter 30: State Government Regulation of Behavioral Treatment: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Richard M. Foxx, Valeria LaCerra, Nina Carraghan, and Jessica A. Fedezko

    Afterword: A Decade Later by J. M. Johnston

    List of Contributors

    Biography

    Richard M. Foxx, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Penn State University Harrisburg and Clinical Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. He was the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research in 2013.

    James A. Mulick, Ph.D., is Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychology at The Ohio State University and a pediatric psychology expert at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He received the 2009 John W. Jacobson Award for Critical Thinking from the American Psychological Association Division on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

    "This newly updated and revised volume represents a truly important contribution to the professions of education, psychology, medicine, and even law. Its rich case examples serve as classroom exercises for enhancing critical thinking and teaching scientific research design for behavioral scientists. By debunking problematic treatments that lack empirical support and contradicting social media fads, these experts advocate for enhanced scientific approaches that could lead to the improvement of services for children with autism and intellectual disabilities and their families."

    --Michael C. Roberts, PhD., ABPP, University of Kansas, USA

    "Whenever conventional medical treatments fail to provide satisfactory outcomes, patients seek alternative treatments. The field of intellectual disabilities is ripe for such alternatives, sometimes developed by well-intentioned health professionals and sometimes not. Foxx and Mulick and their chapter authors provide a thorough look at what is out there, where it came from, and the problems with many of these proposed treatments. This book should be in the office of anyone delivering care to individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. It will help separate the wheat from the chaff in choosing treatments and in advising and counseling families seeking guidance."

    --Daniel L. Coury, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at The Ohio State University, and Chief of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital, USA