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Developmental
Undergraduate texts on a developmental systems science approach to life span models of human development (Berger, 1998) are useful to new parent or novice Autism service providers. This author reviews life span systems science using three developmental domains of cognitive, psychosocial, and biosocial development . A graduate text can help in reviewing our scholarly and practitioner knowledge systems about human development. In Concepts and Theories of Human Development by Robert Lerner (2002) provides a three dimensional worldview of Mechanistic, Organicistic, and Contextualist theories and research methods from his analytic and behavioralist perspective and yet within a well founded scholarly model of Developmental Systems Science. These theories identify the biological, cognitive, and psychosocial research and practice potentials, which can help us better understand typical versus atypical patterns of most-to-least able growth, change, and stability across the life spans of people with and without Autism. These two theory and practice triads can be expanded and combined to include able natures and social values in relation to our cultural and functional diversity. A fourth dimension thus emerges, offering us a holistic model of our biological, cognitive, and psychosocial development, as our individual expressions of these developmental domains may set within contextual research about our diverse biosocial worlds. (Lee, 2003) This model construction was used to develop this knowledge brokerage website.

A second and equally important systems component of human development scholarship and service is the adapt-able best-practice of the adult development work with family and service providers and our capacity for change-ableness in relation to people with Autism and our needs. Therefore, one of the keys to linking Autism literature to adult provider education is to have a deep understanding of the pragmatic learning styles and teaching needs, which are common to our two able groups. However, it is important to understand both the similarities and differences between informed typical adult professionals’ needs for more constructivist learning to gain andragogical mastery of Autism knowledge and competencies (Knowles, 1980), and novice providers’, new families’, and our children’s, equally valid needs for received knowing, using traditional pedagogical and adapt-able structured teaching approaches. (Belenky et al., 1997; Powers, 1989) Together, both needs capture new Autism parent and professional providers contact/encounter experiences, and needed immersion and emersion exercises, as a new family and novice service providers. As the author of this site I have the privilege of sharing in both of these life and work experiences.

As a new parent of a person with Autism using developmental approaches and a new professional providing training to families and professionals in 1991, I plunged into my new able life and work from the shores of cognitive learning theory with an openness to considering scholarly sources of use-able behavioral research and practice, as well as popular sources of used eclectic strategies. Later, I found that I naturally privileged research and practice from a developmental systems science approach, within a humanist ethic. However, I fully support the open and negotiable choice of all parents and professionals of options of best Autism theories and practices. This approach let me learn best developmental Autism practices directly from a number of renown providers and to apply all that use-able knowledge to construct a meta-model of Adaptive Developmentally Appropriate Theory and Practice (ADAPT) in our care of and service to children and adults through Threshold. We have found these well-established approaches are effective, afford-able, ethical and response-able. I personally and professionally prefer this able life and work path, over unaffordable and harsh behavioral mechanisms and risks-of-harm of eclectic adhocacy. Yet, I must again clarify that our organization collegially supports account-able person-focused, family-centered planning, and community-based programs using any behavioral or eclectic model option, if it is grounded in scholarship, equitably funded, and competently and compassionately uses a universal best Autism practice foundation. We believe that the developmental foundation that all Autism providerships must strive to share in common.

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