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 ef