Letters: Jun. 5, 2006

Lifting the Veil on Autism

Equipped with new findings--as well as input from people with autism--researchers are getting a better grasp of autistic minds and how they might best be treated. Impassioned specialists and parents let us know of the challenges in tackling the confounding condition but also revealed a degree of optimism

Congratulations to TIME and Claudia Wallis for the very fine cover story on autism [May 15]. I have been researching and teaching about autism for more than 30 years, and I believe that hers is one of the most accurate and useful articles to appear in the popular press. Autism is being rethought because of fresh insights from individuals with autism and the scientific community. Bravo for having made that new information accessible to the general public.

ANNE M. DONNELLAN, PH.D. PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO San Diego

I particularly appreciated Wallis' reporting on the two autism intervention programs, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Floortime. The behaviorist method of ABA may still be the predominant approach, but Floortime's child-directed, playfully interactive techniques are also changing children's lives. My son attended a preschool using Floortime, and it made all the difference in the world. He blossomed there and is now a bright child with an active social life in a mainstream elementary school. I hope Wallis' story helps parents who are still in the painful early stages of this journey.

TAMAR BIHARI Montclair, N.J.

I was very disappointed by TIME's reporting on ABA and the work of teachers and students at Alpine Learning Group. The most salient fact for parents facing the momentous choices regarding their child's treatment is that ABA is the only intervention for autism supported by peer-reviewed scientific studies. Properly implemented by well-trained therapists, ABA can help children with autism learn to talk, read, write, relate to their peers and participate fully and productively in their families and communities. ABA is a science, and as behavior analysts, we at Alpine are accountable for every moment we spend with our students. Their days are filled not only with laughter and fun but also with learning opportunities aimed at reaching each student's full development. TIME undersold the potential of ABA and the accomplishments of Alpine's phenomenal students, families and teachers.

BRIDGET A. TAYLOR, PSY.D., B.C.B.A. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALPINE LEARNING GROUP

Paramus, N.J.

I want to thank TIME for writing an unbiased review of Floortime and ABA. Too many articles prop up one approach over the other without giving an honest summary of both. I work within both models as a special-education teacher. Your article highlights the pros and cons of each in a fair, unbiased way. The goal is to choose what works for an individual child. Many, many children benefit from both models simultaneously or at different times in their childhood. Treatment is not a competition between ideas; it is a matter of finding what works at a particular moment with an individual child.

KELLY CROSBY Rochester, N.Y.