Autism / Autism Spectrum Support Group

http://www.halo-soma.org/learning.php

Learning RPM - Frequent Questions

The length and detail of our FAQ is a reflection of the hundreds of inquiries HALO and Soma receive. For ease of use, questions and answers are divided under 6 main categories:

UNDERSTANDING RAPID PROMPTING METHOD
USING RAPID PROMPTING METHOD
LEARNING RAPID PROMPTING METHOD
ASSESSING RAPID PROMPTING METHOD
SEEING SOMA
ABOUT HALO and SOMA
"TOP 10" Frequent Questions
1. What is Rapid Prompting™ Method?
2. What is your opinion of other techniques such as PECS, sign language, ABA, Floortime, TEACCH, Facilitated Communication, etc?
3. What type of students benefit from RPM?
4. Is RPM derived from ABA?
5. How does Soma handle a tantrum?
6. How can parents get started using RPM at home?
7. Why do you use torn paper? Why don't you cut the paper in advance? Does RPM use paper excessively?
8. What are the basic components of Soma's RPM?
9. At what age should children begin RPM?
10. Does using RPM "cure" autism?

Open/Close All
UNDERSTANDING RAPID PROMPTING METHOD
What is Rapid Prompting™ Method?

RPM uses a "Teach-Ask" paradigm for eliciting responses through intensive verbal, auditory, visual and/or tactile prompts. RPM presumes competence to increase students' interest, confidence and self-esteem. Prompting competes with each student's self-stimulatory behavior, and is designed to help students initiate a response. Student responses evolve from picking up answers, to pointing, to typing and writing which reveals students' comprehension, academic abilities and eventually, conversational skills. RPM is a low-tech approach in that is requires only an instructor, student, paper and pencil. But the science behind how and why it works for some individuals is much more complex.

For most people, listening to information, understanding it, preparing a response and utilizing the necessary muscles to communicate that response is a subconscious, reflexive process. But for someone with severe autism, this same process can be a convoluted task. We know from what Tito (Soma's son and published author) and others with autism have communicated that it is extremely difficult to process the sensory information with which they easily become overloaded. Thus, to focus on hearing and seeing, to formulate an appropriate response, and then to complete the motor planning necessary to give that response requires tremendous effort and initiative. Thanks to scientists and people with autism who have participated in research, we are beginning to understand the brain functions of a person with autism, how all the different areas work (or don't work) together and how other parts of the brain can be trained to provide support for the parts that are not working properly.

In the Rapid Prompting Method, the teacher (Soma) matches her pace to the student's speed of self-stimulatory behavior, while continually speaking and requesting student responses, in order to keep the student on task and focused on the lesson at hand. In addition, Soma adjusts subject matter to stimulate the desired side of the brain. Her teaching style is respectful and conversational, as she speaks to her students with the confidence that they are capable of learning and responding to answer her questions.

In the beginning, Soma begins a lesson with stating a few sentences on a subject and she asks a question based on what she has just said. Soma writes two possible answers on separate pieces of paper, taps the choices while reading and spelling them aloud and then encourages the student to pick up the correct answer. Working with hundreds of students, Soma has identified different types of learners, and she adapts her teaching to each one accordingly. For example, auditory learners may not directly look at or read the answers. They rely instead on Soma's tapping to "hear" the position of the correct answer.

Based on the student's skills, Soma moves quickly from having the student choose from two choices to three or more, from picking up pieces of paper to having the student point to the answer, and then to pointing to letters to spell the answer. Because shifting the arm side to side is easier than lifting it up and down, Soma's students first learn to make choices from a horizontal field, and they progress to choices presented vertically.

Although future research is anticipated, neuroscientists such as Dr. Michael Merzenich, Ph.D., a professor at the University of California San Francisco and a researcher at the W. M. Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, have affirmed that Soma's teaching method will benefit many of the children and adults with autism who struggle daily to learn, function and communicate in traditional academic settings.

What is your opinion of other techniques such as PECS, sign language, ABA, Floortime, TEACCH, Facilitated Communication, etc?

RPM is distinct from these other methods as it is academic teaching based upon how the brain works. The aim is to bring the student to maximum learning through the open learning channel.

RPM is the most direct and unlimited path to learning and communicating.

What type of students benefit from RPM?

Soma first taught her son Tito, who was nonverbal, and she has expanded and adapted her approach to many different types of learners. Her 600+ clients have ranged in age from 2 to 50.

Pronounced results have been with nonverbal students. The assumption about nonverbal persons often is that, because they lack speech, they are severely cognitively impaired. Soma's teaching has demonstrated that, although nonverbal students lack communicative skills, they still have tremendous potential for learning.

Although Soma's primary focus has been nonverbal students, she works also with verbal students to overcome echolalia, develop reasoning skills, and to improve their auditory learning. Many verbal students have been able to expand their expressive language by learning to spell their responses, and then learning to speak the appropriate response at the right time.

Helping different types of learners begins by identifying in individuals how and which of the senses dominate.

For example, in perception testing where lights are flashed on a computer screen at the same time as a series of beeps is issued, most people can sense the beep and the light at the same time. However, Tito cannot see the light on a computer screen unless it appears a full three seconds after the beeps. He explains that he can only use one sense at a time, and he tends to use his ears.

Tito's experience is in marked contrast to Dr Temple Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University who holds a doctorate in animal science and has autism. Dr. Grandin explains that she thinks totally in pictures, that thinking in language and words is incomprehensible to her, and that she has difficulty with her ultra sensitive hearing because she cannot tune out unwanted noise the way most of us can.

Verbal or nonverbal, "low functioning" or high functioning", Soma adapts her RPM to each student's open learning channel. Because the method is focused on teaching and learning, and, it is individualized for each student, RPM is effective for most any student.

Is RPM derived from ABA?

No.

RPM is an empirical and rational teaching method, based upon how the brain works. Academic lessons are intended to stimulate left-brain learning, leading towards communication. "Behaviors" or stims are used to help determine the student's open learning channels.

RPM aims to be conversational, age-appropriate and individually adapted to the learner. Success in learning is the reward in RPM.

Learning should occur in every RPM session, regardless of a student's behavior. Teaching can be accomplished despite behaviors as long as the teacher's focus remains on the work at hand, rather than on the student's stims.

What are the basic components of Soma's RPM?

Teaching how to choose and what to choose
Persons with autism need to be empowered with decision-making and allowed to realize there's a consequence to their choice. Soma begins by teaching students how to choose and what to choose. Soma first asks them to select from two choices. Eventually students progress to spelling by pointing to letters when presented with one row (3-6 choices), then two rows, and so on, up to a letter board (26 choices).

Building self-esteem, success and interest
Building the students' self-esteem is an important aspect of RPM. Because of the lack of social initiation and communication skills inherent to those severely affected by their autism, parents and educators sometimes get into the habit of 'talking down' to non-verbal students, as opposed to communicating with intelligence, substance and sophistication in language. This notion should not be mistaken to mean that ASD students learn and understand just like everyone else. They do need instruction individualized to open learning channels. But when treated with confidence, ASD students (just like typical students) are more hopeful and sure about themselves and their potential. Assumed intelligence and age-appropriate instruction should not be misconstrued as implying that students already know all of their academics. It does imply that students are very able to learn. Also, it emphasizes the importance of exposure to information and access to knowledge. Students must be exposed to interesting and varied topics if they are ever to gain more knowledge.

Providing patience and practice for motor skill development
Pointing is a critical skill to hone. It may sound simplistic, but the ability to point and move one's arm side to side and up and down involves many joints and muscles and motor planning which is difficult for many students with an ASD. Working this skill requires a tremendous amount of patience, understanding as well as encouragement from the parent and teacher. When motor skills improve, students move to pointing to 3-4 letters on a line, and gradually up to more letters and lines until a student is able to have success pointing to a QWERTY chart (which is simply an alphabet sheet sequenced like a keyboard). This progression can be challenging and tedious for both parties, but it is well worth the effort.

Understanding the challenges
Tito's book: "The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks the Silence of Autism" provides an insightful glimpse into what it is like to have severe autism. For example, Tito describes his struggle to use more than one of his senses simultaneously. Motor planning difficulties are also explained in such experiences as trying to ride a tricycle. Tito says that he tried to order his legs to move (to peddle the bike), but that they would not move. Reading how he perceives the environment improves one's understanding of the plight of persons with ASD.

Does using RPM "cure" autism?

No. Just as the name -- Helping Autism through Learning and Outreach -- implies, HALO is focused on enhancing the lives of persons with autism by providing optimal academic learning opportunities. HALO expects persons with autism to be treated with dignity and respect, in spite of their differences.

Do you expect me to believe RPM is "real"?

Of course RPM is real.

Soma uses a teach-ask paradigm of giving information, and immediately asking for a response. Observers frequently focus on the student response, and miss the fact that Soma first provided the information, and then asked a question about what she said. Example: "Dog is spelled D-O-G. What did I say? Dog is spelled D-G-O or D-O-G?" This format for teaching can be used with most any subject matter, no matter how complex the topic. Example: "NaCl is sodium chloride. Did I say NaCl is sodium chloride or sodium hydroxide?"

When the teacher appropriately adapts the delivery and response to the individual, any student may have success regardless of their functional level.

Teaching and learning is an age-old process. It does not take scientific research to realize that children must be taught if they are ever to learn and improve. ASD students need not be deprived of teaching and learning opportunities because of diagnosis, differences or doubt about a student's potential.

Is RPM derived from Facilitated Communication?

No.

RPM is a teaching method which uses prompting to initiate a student's independent response, without physical support.

In addition to teaching letter-chart pointing, RPM also utilizes stencils and other drawing exercises to lead to independent handwriting.

Tito's mention in his book "The Mind Tree" about feeling his body when his mother touched his arm is not a reference to FC use. Tito is actually very tactilly defensive, and Soma does not touch his body while he is typing or hand writing independently. In addition, Tito's insightful writings emerged only after Soma spent several years intensively teaching him academics.

Is RPM for communication or academics?

RPM is used to teach academics, and communication is also taught in the process.

Verbal and written expression is the ultimate goal for all students, but the levels of achievement of those skills vary among students. RPM supports the acquisition of expressive language, and RPM is in itself a communication outlet.

Without academic exposure, students lack motivation and conversational skills. RPM learning equips students with the subject matter and motor skills needed to learn to communicate effectively.

Will RPM work for students who have spoken communication skills?

Yes. Soma has discovered that, with verbal ASD students, their written and spelled answers tend to be more reliable and accurate than their spoken language. Although speaking is part of the teaching goal, learning to reason and communicate meaningfully is the RPM teaching priority.

Has RPM been used effectively on students with diagnoses other than autism?

Soma has worked with students with a number of similar disorders including Angelman Syndrome, Williams Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, and students with other Chromosomal abnormalities. In addition, some parents who use RPM with their ASD child report that they also borrow teaching concepts from RPM to teach typical siblings.

Does RPM work on a student with a dual-diagnosis (i.e. Down Syndrome and autism)?

Yes. RPM is a method, which is individually adapted to the learner, and it is focused on teaching to the student's open learning channel. If done as intended, RPM is a learning method which "works" on every student.

Some of the dually-diagnosed students with whom Soma worked were: blind, deaf, Angelman's Syndrome, Fragile X, Isodicentric 15, Down Syndrome, and others.
Posted on 04/02/08, 03:04 pm