The Research Effectiveness of the Language Builder® Academic Readiness Intervention System (ARIS)

The Academic Readiness Intervention System (ARIS)
is a comprehensive early autism education curriculum developed by STAGES® Learning and based on the Language Builder Picture Cards that have been a staple in autism, ABA and special needs programs and classrooms for more than 20 years.

Based on the principles of ABA therapy, and adapted
for the classroom, ARIS combines the research-based Language Builder Picture Card sets with lesson plans, scope and sequence with structured sequence guide, photo flashcards, realistic wooden and plastic figurines, data keeping sheets, home communication sheets, reproducible activity sheets, behavior management forms, and pre- and post- assessments.

The Language Builder Picture Card sets from STAGES® Learning are the most widely used photo language tools for teaching key language concepts to preschool age children; and children and adults with autism, developmental delay, or speech/language delay. Created over twenty years ago by a UCLA trained Behavioral Consultant who worked with pioneer researcher Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas at the Lovaas Institute, the Language Builder Picture Cards are based on established principles of ABA research for comprehensive language instruction. The Language Builder Series has become a staple in home and school programs across the world.

Numerous research studies have confirmed the effectiveness of the Language Builder Picture Cards
in the classroom and in therapeutic settings (See, for example: Lorah & Karnes 2016; Salvador et al., 2016; Sual & Spaho 2014; Rodríguez et al., 2013; Martin, 2013; Coon & Caio, 2012; Murphy, 2006; Chavez-Brown & Ross 2005; Foxx et al., 2004.)

ARIS combines the research-based Language Builder Picture Card sets with 202 detailed lesson plans, scope and sequence with structured sequence guide, over 1200 photo flashcards, 64 realistic wooden and plastic figurines, 50 wooden blocks with structure cards and an iPad app, data keeping sheets, home communication sheets, reproducible activity sheets, behavior management forms, and pre- and post- assessments for the most complete early autism education curriculum available today. With development starting in 2016, this comprehensive curriculum is designed using Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) recommended by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder.

ARIS provides a comprehensive and structured complete curriculum to support special education teachers in their important work by greatly reducing the time they need to spend pulling together appropriate curricula, lesson plans, assessments, parent support resources, and lesson materials to support their teaching. The Language Builder Picture Cards are designed specifically to support ABA therapeutic strategies and the materials provided in the set provide the teacher or specialist with everything needed to carry out and track each lesson for every student. Likewise, 3-D objects correlated with the cards provide essential support for generalizing language skills for students with autism and other developmental delays.

ARIS can be used in an autism-only classroom or an inclusion setting that includes children on the lower end of the spectrum. It is designed for special education teachers, homeschooling parents, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), or Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) doing pull-out or classroom based intervention for children with autism or related disorders or delays.

Difficulty with language acquisition is a common characteristic among children who have autism (Klin et al., 2002). It is estimated who at least 80% of children with autism who are younger than 5-years-old are non- verbal when they enter special education classes (Bondy & Frost, 1994) and 30% are minimally verbal at 9-years of age (Anderson et al., 2007).

Researchers have demonstrated that using photograph- based treatment strategies are effective in helping minimally verbal children with autism learn language skills (Flippin et al., 2010). Researchers have also confirmed what many parents of children with autism already inferred: children with autism are strong visual learners and process information differently from their typically developing peers. Accordingly, image-based methods such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the STAGES® Learning Language Builder Cards and Apps are commonly used in ABA therapy and in special education classrooms. Pictures “are one of the most widely available and effective of all the teaching material genres” for teaching language skills (Chang et al., 2005, p. 147).

The ability to generalize from a picture to a real object, or a stand-in for the real object such as a toy car, is directly tied to the iconicity of the picture or object. In a 2008 study, different groups of children were taught the name of a novel object using pictures of the object. One group was shown an actual photograph of the object, and the other group was shown a cartoon drawing of the object. When tested on their ability to attach the name they had learned from the pictures to the real object, the children who viewed the real photograph were better able to extend the label to the real object (Ganae, Pickard & DeLoache, 2008).

Researchers for the past twenty years have continued to verify that using clear visually realistic photographic images is crucial for teaching children with autism as well as other children with learning disabilities which impact language development (Hodgson, 1995; Hodgson, 1997; Roberson, 1977; Roberson et al., 1992). As early as 1998, the National Association for the Education of Young Children stated that using realistic photos and pictures was important and should be integrated into every early childhood program which strives to meet national standards of quality (NAEYC, 1998). Using line drawings, cartoons, or animations has proven less effective. Hodgdon (1995, pg 20) concludes that: “The effectiveness of visual supports comes, in large part, because the tools offer a non- transient message that accommodates for the processing time necessary for many students [with autism].”

In addition, realistic photographs support children with autism by assisting them in accessing mnemonics. Mnemonics are mental tools that help people remember new information by storing new information with already known information, such as connecting the letter “B” to the word “Banana.” For a child with autism, using visual cues, such as clear photographs on plain white cards, provides strong visual cues to help them develop mnemonic devices and learn new words. Playing to the visual learning strength of children with autism can facilitate language learning and greatly improve a child’s ability to understand and communicate, allowing the child to be more independent and successful in developing life skills. Visual communication tools including objects, photographs, and digital photographs provide necessary supports for improving language skills for children with autism.

Hundreds of research studies have confirmed that Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the most effective and comprehensive approach for improving the lives of children with autism (Matson et al., 1996; Matson & Smith, 2008). Today, more than 25 states have passed laws mandating insurance coverage for ABA therapy because it is viewed as having the most promising treatment outcomes for children with autism.

Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is a subset of ABA therapy that uses a group of strategies to help children with autism learn. A chief component of EIBI is discrete trial training (DTT). DTT is a method of teaching in highly structured and simplified steps. Instead of teaching an entire skill at once, the skill is broken down and “built-up” using discrete trials that teach each step one at a time (Anderson & Romancyzk, 1999; Smith, 2001). When done correctly and devoting significant amounts of time to these discrete trials, EIBI using DTT has proven extremely effective.

EIBI is carried out in a one-on-one environment with a specialist or teacher working directly on specific skills and skill levels of the individual learner. It is the most studied form of ABA and is based on operant learning focused on the development of language, self-help, and social skills (Sturmey & Fitzer, 2007). Parent participation in therapy is essential and helps children generalize skills learned with their therapist or teacher (Lovaas, 2003).

In 2010, a meta-analytic study of the effectiveness of comprehensive ABA-based early intervention programs for children with autism concluded that based on 11 studies with 344 children with autism, the experimental group of children that received EIBI as compared to control groups outperformed the control group on IQ, non-verbal IQ, expressive and receptive language and adaptive behavior. They concluded that their findings strongly indicated support for the effectiveness of ABA/ EIBI therapy (Peters-Scheffer et al., 2010).

Teaching early language skills to children with autism often begins with having children match identical objects. Before a child can learn that the picture of an object actually represents a real item (picture-object correspondence), the child may need to start learning by matching actual physical objects. It is often necessary to start by matching 3-D objects such as cups or toy cars and later transition to matching identical images on cards (Blumberg & Hurley, 2007).

Teaching daily living skills to children with autism often depends on using activity schedules and sequencing charts. These tools are effective only at the point at which children have mastered the prerequisite skills of matching a 2-D image to a 3-D object (Haas, 2011). Until a child has the capacity to understand that a 2-D image, such as a picture of a toothbrush, represents an actual object, being able to prompt a child to engage in brushing their teeth cannot be accomplished using an activity schedule or card. Some children will eventually be able to move from seeing an actual toothbrush, to recognizing a card that has a photographic image of a toothbrush, to recognizing the word “toothbrush.” Other children with more severe language delays will only be able to respond to 3-D prompts (Baynham, 2007).

In a study using different types of photographs, symbols, and objects to teach language skills to 40 non-verbal subjects with autism, the real objects proved to be much more readily recognized than any of the other representations of objects (Mirenda & Locke, 1989). Typically developing infants and children under the age of three also learn from viewing 3-D objects and often cannot process a 2-D picture of an object until a later age. Researchers testing 5-month-old infants found that these infants could not understand 2-D images, but when presenting with the same content in 3-D representations, infants were able to understand the objects. The researchers found that by examining 3-D objects children naturally learn about objects in their world and that being able to examine a 3-D object provides additional sensory information rather than just viewing a 2-D image on a card (Mash & Boornstein, 2012).

ARIS curriculum is built upon a comprehensive Scope and Sequence (SAS) which lets teachers know which lessons to introduce and in which order. Many special needs teachers, by necessity, must adapt a general education curriculum to serve the needs of their students, though these needs differ greatly from the needs of typically developing students (Warren, 2001). Special education teachers often have to understand curriculum in multiple grades because of the diverse skill levels of their students. In some cases, due to a shortage of time, special education teachers use Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) to create an instructional approach for a student, though an IEP is not meant to be a full curriculum.

A comprehensive and easy to use curriculum helps support special needs teachers and makes their jobs easier to manage. The turnover rate for special education teachers is an ongoing problem for schools. Twelve percent of special education teachers leave the profession each year, twice the rate of other teachers (NCPS, 2015) When teachers leave, it is challenging to maintain high quality consistent programs for students with disabilities.

For special needs teachers and their students with autism, having a clearly organized and structured research-based curriculum is essential. Students with autism greatly benefit from an environment that is predictable, organized and well structured (Panerai et al., 2009). Consistency is important for the education of any student, but for students with disabilities, consistency provides a safe and predictable environment to reduce anxiety and behavior problems so that learning can occur. Instituting a well-organized curriculum also provides for an effective environment for teacher training and evaluation (Darling- Hammond, 2012).

Parent training is a key component of a well-organized curriculum for special needs teachers working with children with autism. Parent training has been shown
to be essential for promoting generalization and maintenance of skills for children with autism (Ingersoll & Dvortcsak, 2006). The research on incorporating parent involvement in curriculum and therapy for children with autism has been well documented in the research literature over the past few decades (Lovaas et al., 1973; Koegel et al., 1996; Mahoney et al., 1999). However, many public school programs do not incorporate parent training into the special education curriculum. Research tells us that a key barrier to providing effective parent training includes parent education models that can be easily implemented in special education classrooms as part of a curriculum plan (Ingersoll & Dvortcsak, 2006).

Evidence Based Practices (EBP) are interventions that have been proven to be effective and are based on solid scientific research. From 2007 to 2014, the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder developed a rigorous set of criteria to identify 27 EBPs that have been proven effective for the treatment of autism. An intervention qualified as an EBP if it met one of the following criteria:

The Language Builder Picture Cards and the new ARIS complete curriculum set have been designed to reflect research based best practices to support teachers and specialists in helping children with autism develop language and social skills in order to foster independence and success.

ARIS uses ABA treatment strategies and provides educators, SLPs and BCBAs with everything they need to walk into an instructional setting and focus on the learning needs of their students. By developing an inclusive curriculum that is built on twenty Evidence Based Practices recommended by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, teachers, therapists and their students will experience positive outcomes in skill development.