Beginning steps to the Davis Autism Approach Program
Davis Stepping Stones is a holistic, foundational program that provides wrap-around support for individuals on the autism spectrum who are young or have limited language. The program steps each person through a sequence of essential early childhood development stages. It uses a team approach to developing strong foundational life concepts for each child, by working with the child’s support person to coach and equip them alongside the child. This support person may be a parent, another relative, a teacher, or another carer.
Your child’s autism diagnosis can bring a mixture of emotions – for some, it may be shock, grief and uncertainty about what this means for the future. For others it will be relief at finally being able to understand who they are, what they need, and a feeling of empowerment to be able to ask for the right support.
We are delighted to offer the Davis Stepping Stones program, which has been developed with a unique approach that is gentle, respectful, and really makes a difference. The program is grounded in our philosophy of embracing and celebrating neurodiversity, respecting every individual, nurturing growth, and building on each person’s strengths to overcome challenges.
For everyone, though, it is another step in the journey of understanding their neurodiversity, celebrating their unique gifts, and finding ways to unlock the potential within. We get that, and we want to help you to help your child unlock their gifts of autism.
What is involved in a Davis Stepping Stones program?
The Davis Stepping Stones program takes a unique approach in supporting autistic individuals by helping them to unlock their unique gifts and intelligence, and to participate more fully in life in a way that empowers and fosters growth.
Our program helps to develop the understanding of fundamental life concepts that enable them to make sense of, and interact with the world, in way that is easeful and eliminates their confusions.
This is achieved through communication and visual learning, creating each life concept as a 3D real-life model using modelling clay, allowing images to ‘do the talking’ rather than using too many words, which can often cause confusion.
The understanding of each concept is then integrated through fun experiences, opening the doorway to new learning and development, with the individual experiencing each concept as being a natural part of everyday life.
The program generally takes between 15 and 30 hours, depending on the needs of the individual. This can be structured in a way that works naturally with the individual and their support person.
Davis Stepping Stones is a 4-step program
Step 1: Tools for the Helper
Each support person learns two mental strategies to help them remain calm and relaxed while working with their child/student. These tools are called ‘Release’ and ‘Dial’.
‘Release’ allows the support person to ease any stress, tension or anxiety they may be feeling. Autistic individuals are often highly sensitive to their environment and the emotions of the people around them. When working with children with autism, if we are feeling anxious, we can inadvertently add to their own sense of anxiety.
Maintaining a calm state provides a calm environment for the child and enhances their receptiveness to learning.
‘Dial’ helps the support person to determine and self-regulate their personal energy levels. This promotes positive interactions with others, particularly the child receiving the program.
Step 2: Awareness of Self
The participant (child) is guided through a process that helps them become more present in the world. They develop accurate perceptions and gain an awareness of Self. This process includes:
- Auditory Orientation – the participant listens to a specifically engineered sound through headphones leading up to and, if necessary, during program sessions. This auditory stimulus – affectionately referred to as the ‘Davis ting’ was designed by Ron Davis to help each participant to develop accurate, stable perceptions, and an awareness of being separate from others.
- Release – a tool to help manage stress and anxiety levels.
- Creating models of Self, another, and others in plastilina clay.
- Exploring the idea of Self, another, and others in the real world.
Step 2: Awareness of Self
The participant (child) is guided through a process that helps them become more present in the world. They develop accurate perceptions and gain an awareness of Self. This process includes:
- Auditory Orientation – the participant listens to a specifically engineered sound through headphones leading up to and, if necessary, during program sessions. This auditory stimulus – affectionately referred to as the ‘Davis ting’ was designed by Ron Davis to help each participant to develop accurate, stable perceptions, and an awareness of being separate from others.
- Release – a tool to help manage stress and anxiety levels.
- Creating models of Self, another, and others in plastilina clay.
- Exploring the idea of Self, another, and others in the real world.
Step 3: Davis Stepping Stones Life Concepts
Once the participant has developed more accurate perception and is more present in the world, we can help them to learn fundamental life concepts that they may not have picked up previously.
The focus of the Stepping Stones life concepts is to facilitate solid understanding of the following fundamental ideas, as they relate to oneself and to others:
- change
- consequence
- cause and effect, and
- before and after
This is achieved through explicit teaching of each concept. Each concept is introduced through demonstration and experienced together with the child in a fun way that appeals to their interest.
Then the child is guided to create a clay model of their own choosing, which visually represents that concept. For example, they may choose to depict the life concept of change by making a flat balloon becoming a full balloon out of clay.
Step 4: Integration of Life Concepts
The most effective way to consolidate learning is for the child to have many meaningful, fun experiences during each program session. After each concept has been modelled in clay, the child needs to have lots of opportunities to recognise and experience the concept in the real world, with help from their support person. These experiences are essential, as they help the participant to integrate the concept into their own identity and establish a foundational internal ‘filing system’ for future thinking and behaviour.
Physically interacting with the concepts in their day-to-day environment embeds an understanding of these important life principles and enables the participant to draw on understanding to make sense of situations within their daily life.
Once these concepts have been integrated and a strong foundation has been created, the participant will start to show more interest in the concept of time. They may start to ask, ‘How long ...?’, ‘What comes after ...?’, ‘When will...?' This is showing readiness for the next set of concepts: time, sequence, order and disorder. When an individual reaches this point, the support person can contact the Davis Facilitator to discuss the next step in the Stepping Stones process.
Step 4: Integration of Life Concepts
The most effective way to consolidate learning is for the child to have many meaningful, fun experiences during each program session. After each concept has been modelled in clay, the child needs to have lots of opportunities to recognise and experience the concept in the real world, with help from their support person. These experiences are essential, as they help the participant to integrate the concept into their own identity and establish a foundational internal ‘filing system’ for future thinking and behaviour.
Physically interacting with the concepts in their day-to-day environment embeds an understanding of these important life principles and enables the participant to draw on understanding to make sense of situations within their daily life.
Once these concepts have been integrated and a strong foundation has been created, the participant will start to show more interest in the concept of time. They may start to ask, ‘How long ...?’, ‘What comes after ...?’, ‘When will...?' This is showing readiness for the next set of concepts: time, sequence, order and disorder. When an individual reaches this point, the support person can contact the Davis Facilitator to discuss the next step in the Stepping Stones process.
What kind of results do people see with the Stepping Stones program?
Clients who have completed the program have experienced too many changes to list here. The list below outlines some of the general improvements that Davis Autism Facilitators have reported seeing in their clients.
- better self-awareness (e.g. expressing appropriate pain when injured)
- improved self-regulation (can calm themselves down)
- fewer meltdowns
- less resistance to change
- willingness to try new things
- increased ability to refer to self as ‘I’ or ‘me’
- increase in pretend play
- growth in language
- increased understanding of cause and effect, and
- can follow instructions using the ideas of before and after.
What are the options for accessing this program?
Every individual has unique needs. We have developed a variety of delivery options to choose from, so you can find the best solution to suit your needs. Contact us.
*Information used with permission from davismethod.com and Davis Autism International
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