News & Updates
December 2011
UK ABA Autsim Education Competence The UK ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) Autism Education Competence Framework is for practitioners working with children and young people with autism. The project has been funded by Ambitious about Autism, the national charity for children and young people with autism, primarily through generous grant donations. A project management group, led by Ambitious about Autism and including Bangor University and a parent member, worked with the support of, and in collaboration with, key stakeholders from the ABA and autism communities across the UK.
March 2011
December 2010
Autism Bill Fails at Stage 1 The Autism (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Hugh O’Donnell MSP, has failed at Stage 1. The Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture committee recognised the good intentions of the proposed bill but were “not convinced the proposed Scottish Government strategy on autism would be improved by passing autism-specific legislation”. A link to the full report can be found on the
Scottish Government website
September 2010
Scottish Government's Draft Autism StrategyThe Scottish Government has just launched a consultation on its draft Autism Strategy "Towards an Autism Strategy for Scotland" which was published on 9th September 2010 and is now being circulated for a consultation period which will end on
9th December 2010.
August 2010
World Renowned Pioneer of Autism Treatment Dies O. Ivar Lovaas, a distinguished professor of psychology at UCLA, a pioneer in the research and development of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to treat children with autism, and the founder of the Lovaas Institute, died on August 2nd at age 83.
June 2010
Government Guidance on Autism to be Rewritten The Autism Toolbox description of Applied Behaviour Analysis, which was launched by the Scottish Government in April 2009, will be rewritten as it was inaccurate, 30 years out of date, and made no mention of recent research findings which indicate clear evidence of benefit.
All local authorities have been written to by Adam Ingram (Minister for Children and Early Years) warning them not to base decisions solely on the information on interventions described in the Autism Toolbox.
"A single section - the overview of interventions - is being updated to ensure that it continues to reflect the most up-to-date advice available, in what is an area of developing research with a wide range or views from professionals." Scottish Government spokesman.
A full copy of the article, which was published in TESS on 25 June 2010, can be accessed by clicking the title link above.
April 2010
March 2010
