'Intensive Interaction seems a logical and obvious approach to fostering and developing communicative and social abilities in a learner-led, naturalistic way' Lydia Swinton (2012)

Sometimes when we do our training, we leave out a range of books and packs for trainees to look at during coffee and lunch breaks. One such book is Intensive Interaction: Theoretical perspectives (2012), and in it is a extremely well researched and referenced chapter on 'Intensive Interaction and its relationship with the trial of impairments in ASD' by teacher Lydia Swinton. It is still well worth a read, as the extracts below attest.

Intensive Interaction and its relationship with the trial of impairments in ASD by Lydia Swinton in Intensive Interaction: Theoretical perspectives (2012) Sage.

The author begins by acknowledging that people with ASD have ‘a range of individual differences’ and identifies ‘the vast complexity of trying to teach social skills [to people with ASD]’. She also succinctly relates a view that her experience ‘of the approaches used to teach individuals with ASD did not seem to incorporate any means of teaching these social skills or, if they did ... it was in a manner which seemed artificial and formulaic’.

The author applauds a recent ‘greater focus in these [neurological and non-conscious] areas’ and states that ‘the findings of neurological research are beginning to reflect the ‘gut feeling’ nature of Intensive Interaction’. She goes on to add ‘practice that was initially led by empathy and instinct is now being supported by neurological reality’.

The Fundamentals of Communication and what is taught/enhanced through the use of Intensive Interaction

Here Swinton states that ‘The link between the outcomes of Intensive Interaction activities and the potential impact of these outcomes upon the triad of impairments is not in any way radical or improbable’. Instead, she states that ‘Intensive Interaction seems a logical and obvious approach to fostering and developing communicative and social abilities in a learner-led, naturalistic way’. 

Intensive Interaction 'also addresses these issues with more depth and richness than any of the other currently used ASD approaches, focusing on areas of communicative development which are not often attended to by the more structured, teacher-led methods’. She goes on to state that Intensive Interaction ‘seems to be an approach refined to the complexity of the communication impairments’ experienced by people with ASD.

How the Fundamentals of Communication work alongside the triad of impairments

In this section Swinton explores some of the research into the use of Intensive Interaction with people with ASD, and suggests that its usefulness lies in the fact that with Intensive Interaction ‘the learner is enabled to have a meaningful role within an interaction, without the pressure to communicate in a ‘typical’ way’.  She then focuses on the use of imitation, which she describes as ‘a starting point to develop awareness of self and other' and ‘can increase eye contact, gesture and touching in children with ASD, as long as it is child-led’.

According to Swinton ‘initiation of communication’ is also important, and according to the National Research Council ‘... interactive styles of teaching which offer initiation of communication activities have more beneficial long-term effects on the progress of children with ASD’. She then discusses the Intensive Interaction principles of ‘viewing stereotypical behaviours as having potentially communicative functions’, ‘tasklessness’ and ‘tuned-inness’, seeing these aspects of Intensive Interaction practice as providing the learner with ‘a customised, synchronised and fully sensitised communication experience ... providing a ‘good fit’ between the teachers input and the learners needs’.

However, the author offers a note of caution when stating that ‘while the developmental, learner-led ethos of Intensive Interaction is frequently lauded, it often does not seem to translate into general practices in services’ ... and that the impact of Intensive Interaction in the ASD field ‘should be more acutely realised than it currently is’.

Resolution

In the final section Swinton compares Intensive Interaction with other autism-specific approaches (TEACCH, CHAT, PECS) which she says ‘focus on a rigid, highly structured way of teaching and assessing these very complex, sophisticated and, at times, surprisingly diverse skills’ and ‘do not even appear to address’ a learner’s social communication difficulties. In contrast, according to Swinton, ‘Intensive Interaction allows the development of the messy, jumbled and unique process of learning to communicate and socialise, without placing demands or restrictions upon the learners’.