PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

Children with autism generally face significant challenges in such areas as normal social interaction, communication, and independent daily functioning, which are considered as the basic skills essential for success in life. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the established research and best practices in enhancing the above skills for children with Autism in the United States, with an attempt to promote the development of educational programs for children with autism in Southeast Asian countries. The first part of this paper introduces several research-based educational approaches and best practices in the field, including structured teaching approaches, direct instruction, social stories, peer-mediated intervention, video modeling, and discrete trial instruction, which have been proven effective in teaching social skills and in improving communication ability, as well as in decreasing inappropriate behavior in children with autism. The latter part of this paper suggests how these educational programs can be introduced to Southeast Asian countries based on the actual situations over there, to promote the development of educational programs for children with Autism in those areas.