Brief report: progress reported in three children with autism using daily life therapy.
Daily Life Therapy produced uneven anecdotal gains in three autistic children, so stick to task-analyzed ABA until stronger data arrive.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three children with autism received Daily Life Therapy. The authors tracked their progress over time.
This was a case series with no control group. The paper gives brief anecdotal notes on each child.
What they found
Progress was mixed. One child might greet adults, another still had tantrums.
Some skills moved forward, others stayed flat. The team called the overall picture 'variable'.
How this fits with other research
Pickering et al. (1985) showed clear gains. Four of five adults mastered daily tasks after step-by-step training. Their tight task analysis contrasts with the loose Daily Life approach.
Kotsopoulos et al. (2021) extends the idea with numbers. Thirty-two preschoolers got community ABA. Most later joined regular classes. The 1998 series had only three kids and mixed results.
Ferreri et al. (2011) also extends the theme. Parents used the child’s favorite toys and songs. Kids made bigger gains than those in low-interest activities. Daily Life Therapy did not tailor activities this way.
Why it matters
Daily Life Therapy is not yet evidence-based. BCBAs should stick to programs with clear task analysis and data sheets. Use Kotsopoulos-style ABA if you want strong outcomes. Borrow J et al.’s interest-based twist to keep sessions fun.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
These observational data reflect the school's emphasis in its first few years. Through sharing these results with colleagues at the school and others familiar with the curriculum, additional informal validity was achieved. From this study, it stands out that several important areas of Daily Life Therapy are worthy of greater attention. There is a need to continue observing the progress of children enrolled. Long-term learning in the areas of academics, behavior, and language has not yet been studied. If, indeed, it takes several years to induce changes in the biobehavioral states of children with autism, then these three children should experience an increase in skill acquisition over the next few years. However, the lack of progress in the area noted was disturbing at the time of data collection. These observational results vary tremendously with the type of evaluation and progress reports which are standard procedure as part of the Daily Life Therapy program. In Tokyo, Kitahara had developed her own method of evaluating students, a form called "Standards to Measure the Degree of Autism." At the time of this study, this was still used with each entrant to the school. Japanese and American educators at the school might disagree with the analytic and behavioral style of observations used in this study. Trying to evaluate progress in a Japanese style school using American behavioral procedures was a complicated undertaking, one deserving a more complete review. Some of these intercultural differences are examined elsewhere in an article written collaboratively by a group of American and Japanese educators (Gurry et al., 1996). This study indicates that Daily Life Therapy may have some strengths which are worthy of educators' attention. Educators need to know which treatment might be expected to influence maintenance and generalization as well as acquisition of skills in particular populations of students in order to effectively and propitiously manipulate instructional elements (Donellan & Mirenda, 1983). When making a decision about where to educate children with autism, parents and professionals in the United States and internationally deserve the most complete and honest data. Only then can parents make well-informed decisions about the best educational program for their child.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1998 · doi:10.1023/a:1026068821195