AUTISM: Montessori and ABA - A unique combination

Montessori's pedagogy is structured to enable the transition from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract concepts in small, sequential steps. 

This approach is very similar, if not identical, to the ABA methods that have been identified as effective in teaching new and complex skills to autistic children.

To ensure the consistent acquisition of skills, many autistic children follow the ABA method. This methodidentifies the prerequisite skills for the acquisition of higher-level skills, and is a valuable therapeutic and learning tool for these children.

In a Montessori environment, all tasks have a built-in "error check", so that the child can receive immediate notification of an error as he or she works to solve the task at hand.

In this way, the child learns by playing, with a maximum chance of success, rather than being subjected to constant correction by the adult. In this area, Montessori has an advantage over ABA, where reinforcement or correction is primarily provided by the therapist. To teach a wide variety of skills, the Montessori program uses direct instruction and procedures such as visual discrimination, sensory reinforcement and generalization, all of which are fundamental to the child's behavioral development.

The Different Modules of Montessori Pedagogy

Montessori pedagogy appeals to the child's senses, but more importantly, it is developmentally appropriate, while retaining a concrete and visual nature. 

In the Montessori program, early childhood education is divided into a certain set of "modules" or areas covered as follows:

• Practical life exercises
  These include personal care activities, grooming techniques, respect for the environment, daily living skills and courtesy exercises.
• Sensory development exercises
  These exercises focus on the development of basic senses such as touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste.
• Language and phonics exercises
  These activities are designed to teach the child to progress in the areas of phonetics, alphabet recognition, phonemes and graphemes, moving on to complex tasks such as language and vocabulary building, and then reading. Apart from that, it also covers handwriting insertions.
• Writing and grammar
  In this process, the child is guided through the writing process with the help of charts and various activities that help develop this complex motor skill.
• Mathematical exercises
  Number recognition, formation, the decimal system and linear counting, as well as other related operations, are taught as part of the mathematics module.
• Geography and history
  This module introduces children to the world around them, giving them the chance to discover it by learning about countries, peoples, natural phenomena, cultures and the arts.
• Zoology, botany and science experiments
  This module covers knowledge of plants, animals and related scientific fields, as well as experimentation.

Montessori learning techniques for developmental disorders

The main aim of the therapy is always to teach the child independent living. Sensory exercises such as lacing, gluing, screwing etc. are feasible activities for autistic children. This not only teaches them the skill, but also targets other related areas in the child, such as fine motor skills and visual perception, as well as the development of other senses addressed in the sensory module.

Montessori and ABA techniques

The Multiple Distinctive Trials teaching method is the most commonly used teaching strategy in ABA, with short sentences used as instruction: this method was applied in a very similar way by Maria Montessori.

She always insisted on breaking down a task into small steps and teaching one thing at a time, maintaining eye contact and being brief with instruction using clear language. It's as if she was already using task analysis with children before ABA even existed!

Michelle Lane, founder of The Lane Montessori School for Autism in Toronto, Canada, was the first to come up with the brilliant idea of the Montessori-ABA combination and present it to the world.

Her experience of working with children with special needs and in-depth knowledge of behavioral therapy, combined with a degree in Montessori teaching, enabled her to propose this innovative combination, which she felt was highly practical and approved. In an interview, Lane explains how "Maria Montessori initially worked with special needs children in asylums and achieved great success with them - so much so that their IQ score was similar to that of a typical child".

The question is whether the Montessori method can be fully integrated into the education of all autistic children. The answer is no. But it can be integrated to a large extent with certain modifications, keeping in mind where the child is on the spectrum, as this varies from mild to moderate and severe.

Certain things need to be kept in mind, for example, when using a sandbox to teach letter formation to a child on the spectrum, you need to make sure that the child doesn't have a sensory problem that prevents them from touching the sand etc.... Certain textures or materials used in Montessori pedagogy may not be beneficial for an autistic child, even if the proposed concept corresponds well to their level.

Consequently, some things need to be modified to make this MONTESSORI-ABA combination work with children with different needs, but this in no way limits the effectiveness of this combination.