The Ziggurat Model: A Framework for Designing Comprehensive Interventions for High-Functioning Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Society Award Winner! Do you know the five levels of intervention that are necessary for successful programs? The award-winning Ziggurat Model, designed for individuals across the autism spectrum and across the lifespan, presents a process and framework for developing interventions for individuals with ASD of all ages. The model presents five levels of intervention that are necessary in order for individuals with ASD to make consistent progress. A key tenet of Designing Comprehensive Interventions for High-Functioning Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Ziggurat Model is recognizing the underlying needs related to autism and to make certain to provide strategies that target those needs. The authors utilize the Underlying Characteristics Checklist (UCC) to identify these needs. The Ziggurat Model is consistent with current trends in education, including response to intervention (RTI), evidence-based practices, and positive behavioral supports. The Ziggurat Model 2.0 is newly updated and expanded with the latest research and a new version of the Underlying Characteristics Checklist for Early Intervention (UCC-EI), in addition to UCC-HF and UCC-CL for individuals with higher functioning and classic autism, respectively. Foreword by Gary Mesibov, PhD.