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Visual Communication Analysis (VCA)

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Mona Pereth
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Location: New York City (Queens)

15 Apr 2021, 10:08 am

On Twitter (I reluctantly got a Twitter account just last week), I came across what is being promoted as a new alternative to ABA for autistic children, or at least for those autistic children who are "visual thinkers," including many with "severe autism": "Visual Communication Analysis (VCA)." I Googled it and found a page about it on the website of the Alternative Teaching Strategy Center. That page begins as follows:

Quote:
Visual Communication Analysis (VCA) is a teaching technique that is an application of Self-Determination Theory where the instruction is given visually. Although VCA is a generalized teaching technique that results in the rapid acquisition of the targeted skill, the biggest gains using VCA are seen in the areas of self-esteem and positive self-image. This is especially important in the the realm of teaching adaptive behavior skills where research has shown that positive self-determination is bigger indicator of future success than Intellectual Quotient (IQ).

Visual instruction is critical for those children with autism who think in pictures i.e. are visual learners as this is their primary mode of skill acquisition. For nonverbal children with autism, the lack of ability to communicate is a source of major stress and frustration and is therefore the first targeted deficit area. However, instead of targeting speech production, VCA is used to teach typing and reading as a primary means of communication. The data shows that teaching reading results in speech production in about 65% of children with severe autism.


A recent tweet of theirs linked to a study about it.

This looks really promising. I hope there are some good subsequent studies by separate teams of researchers.

With its emphasis on the child's "self-determination," hopefully VCA won't get bogged down in the kinds of controversies that some other reading-and-typing-first approaches have gotten bogged down in, such as "Facilitated Communication" and the "Rapid Prompting Method," regarding who is the actual author of the typed material.


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Jon81
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17 Apr 2021, 3:09 pm

Without going into details, this sounds pretty much like the way Jason Lu does it. www.eikonabridge.com
He's been on about video and pictures for a long while now. I have not been able to replicate the stuff he's done but it's quite obvious these kids are vacuuming information by watching images - moving or still.
My youngest son had learned the alphabet up to H and number up to 9, although he wants the 9 the same direction as 6. I never even tried to teach him that stuff, it all came from him watching youtube. I'm not saying you should leave your kid infront of an iPad all day, just sometimes you need that break and you can let them sit with the device for a while.

I don't think he knows the concept of numbers and letters. They are more like cartoon heroes to him. He fell asleep with the number 3 in his hand a couple of night :heart: :lol:

My oldest is not interested in numbers and letters. He's learning "how to" stuff instead. He tries playing some of the action out in the real world. Sometimes he's putting the iPad on and displays a scene and at the same time he's doing the same thing with his toys. It's a joy to watch that. Right now he's completely obsessed with hooking up wagons and trailers on cars/tractors. He has gone off his train addiction a bit and merely wants it as a joyride when offered.

If this treatment targets a new area compared to ABA, why not use them together to upper all areas?

One thing that buggers me is the IQ factor. So ABA claims it raises the IQ because the kids learn more. At the same time they claim having an IQ within the normal range is more beneficial for the ABA treatment. I'm having a hard time understanding this. IQ is what we're trying to help with ABA, so how come the therapy is dependent on it? I've been told we're not going to help a kid with his IQ by training - so why are we training in the first place? I'm not looking to reduce autistic behavior as a main goal. I'm looking for a way to help them grow and live independently. Makes no sense. And I do believe IQ is something that can change dramatically with time and guidance. What would be stopping the brain from getting stronger? It's ridiculous to think it's programmed to stop at a certain number.

Hope I didn't go too much OT here. I can ramble quite a bit.


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