TOW 7: Behavior Therapy Normalizes Brains of Autistic Children

Recently, the Early Start Denver Model, a behavioral intervention program, was put into use on autistic children. Results from this intervention showed that children at 18 months that went through this program for about two years, had a 17.6 point raise in their IQs. In addition, 24 toddlers diagnosed with ASD received the Denver Intervention, while another 24 toddlers went through community intervention programs, such as special education classes at school. Before the intervention, children with ASD showed that their brains were more activated when viewing an inanimate object such as a toy, but after this program, the brains of those same 24 children became more active when viewing an animate object, such as someone's face. The brain activity of the children that received the Denver Intervention was no different than the brains of normal children. 

This article was written by Alice Park, a staff writer that covers stories on health, fitness, medicine, and nutrition. The article is also from Time Magazine, which is a credible source.

I think this article was important in context. It tells about a revolutionary method of mitigating the effects of autism. This article gives parents with autistic children great hope, as Dr. Geraldin Dawson says that there is no certain time when this intervention would expire and no longer be beneficial.

The purpose of this article was to tell of a recent behavioral therapy in which the symptoms of autism could be lessened. The actual results of this intervention were described.

The text was written for the general public. 

Ethos is used in this article. "...those who provide the therapy need to be certified by a program Dawson and her co-developer, Sally Rogers, have created at University of California, Davis. About 1,000 people have been trained in the technique…” (Park para 8). The credibility of Dr. Dawson is established as shown through the description of the legitimacy of this behavioral program. In our whole country, only 1,000 people are certified, which infers that the training is not easy. In addition, those who want to provide the therapy must be certified under the direction of Dr. Dawson and Sally Rogers, which shows that these two women are knowledgeable in this topic. 

The author's purpose of writing about a revolutionary therapy was accomplished. When I read this, I was shocked, especially when I read of the actual experiment and its results. This Dawson Intervention is legitimate, as it has been proven to lessen the effects of autism.