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FACT-BASED INFORMATION* ABOUT AUTISM*
Our fact-based information is presented in basic family orientation to intermediate provider practice guides, and advancing scholorship. Texts are organized, in this way on each page link, to meet the needs of our wide and diverse Autism community audience. The goal of this integrated approach is to provide an information system that can help us have a holistic map of how we each may or may not be aware of what we all do and do not know about Autism. This creates a use-able community knowledge brokerage for us all.
The purpose of our FACT-BASED pages is to realize an optimum distribution of key sources of well-established Autism theories and analytical research findings, across relevant professional disciplines, with texts that can begin to share our history of progress in scientific scholarship. This demonstrates how to create a knowledge system based on a developmental systems science approach that can integrate research on the Biological, Cognitive, Psychosocial, and Biosocial realities of Autism. Together, such research helps us identify the human dimensions of Intervention Models That Work. These links can help us put together a more-integrated base of academic research for ourselves and our research and practice communities, and our audiences of family or service providers as we all gain new knowledge.
The goal of our fact-based dimensions of Autism information on our homepage matrix is to provide and discuss the objective findings about this pervasive developmental disorder, its effects, and the specific functional realities that individuals and groups may have in relation to this condition. Once we have a fact-based foundation in place, we can be on more solid ground to begin to adjust to the new concepts, realities, and experiences we must face. Then we may begin to apply some of the intermediate best practice principles we all need. If we manage to cover the advancing materials here, we will most likely have gone well beyond our original knowlege base. We may then be able to learn new information about Autism with ease. However, looking across all the information dimensions will also help us become ever more aware of what we and others may, and still may not, know about Autism. This can help us be more fully ready, able or willing to learn more. So plan to retrace your steps along the knowledge trail we have provided.
Our families and service providers may, or may not, be able to easily acquire new knowledge about fact-based Autism theories and best practice research. Parents may not need all this information for our own use, unless we want to become more fully aware of what we do, and do not, know as family providers. Being aware of what we do and do not know, if we are living in crisis, is critical. This is because greater awareness can help us better understand what we may needs, expect, and want from our professional providers. However, families often find that we need to be the initial source and deliverer of this professional information to both novice and experts, who may be very skilled and knowledge-able in their service fields, without any significant training or experience in serving people with Autism. This is a common occurrence that families must address as we met these new providers in need, over and over again, in our life span journey. We hope that web access will ease that passage, and help with the passing on of fact-based texts for both family and service providers.
Fact-based knowledge is founded on linear, statistical, and analytical research that has been formally documented using mainly traditional scientific methods. There are many valid forms of scientific research designs. They all seek to use analytic mechanisms, in order to more objectively study their chosen subjects. Each type of various types of scientific inquiry will have its own strengths and limitations. Many types of valid fact-based studies have been used to determine the causes and the measurable effects of, and useful interventions for Autism.
For example, smaller group clinical studies of incidence predictors and effective treatments of Autism seek to establish causal relationships and new biomedical, rehabilitative therapeutic, and applied behavior analysis treatment protocols. However, these curative approaches are directed mainly at certain young children with Autism. More importantly, replication of behavioral model studies and meta-analysis of a wide range of best practices has clearly established that the involvement of the family, the number of hours per week of best practice model engagement, and the number of settings (3-6) a person recieves Autism Intervention are the three most influential outcome factors. ABA is just one of many kinds of very important and credible fact-based scholarship, and useful early Autism intervention practices. There are also empirical developmental research designs that have produced well-established scientific scholarship and applied knowledge about successful life span model approaches Autism. Individual case studies, correlational factors analysis, large group longitudinal and cohort population studies, and natural setting application research of educational practice designs are all equally scientific forms of fact-based inquiry. More, importantly, they all provide both realistic and reproducible ways to test research findings from different perspectives, as well as, to assess costs and to realize the benefits of Autism research findings in the real world. So there is no one best model approach. All best practices approaches deal with both behavioral and developmental needs.
Any research group or Autism intervention model that claims to be the only "scientific" sources of credible research information about Autism is actually defying what is a core scientific tenant of the need for diverse forms of human research design. Scientific models do not deny the validity of any important source of fact-based knowledge and the need to balance, compare, and contrast one research approach with the other approaches within the fact-based family of knowledge systems. Furthermore, as much as fact-based research is important in the study of any biologically caused condition, we also need strong conceptually, contextually, and individually-based forms of scholarly inquiry from within and from outside the scientific approach that add to our community's pool of use-able theory and value-able humanistic practice information. Threshold's website seeks to build a strong Autism knowledge brokerage, by including texts from all of these information dimensions in authentically inclusive ways.
*The Four Dimensional Model of Information which has been applied in the design of Threshold's knowledge brokerage has been used with the permission of Dr. Robert Silverman of the Fielding Graduate University. Scholarly Sources below:
Silverman, R. (2003). The professional use of substantive knowledge--Assessing one's competencies. Retrieved October, 2003, from http://www.fielding.edu/private/hod/CUR/KA/profsilv03.htm
Honold, L., & Silverman, R. J. (2003). Organizational DNA--Diagnosing your organization for increased effectiveness. Palo Alto, CA: Davis Black Publishers.
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