Understanding the SACCADE™ model

The SACCADE™ model

SACCADE™ is a theoretical model of autism based on the hypothesis of the Internal Structure of Autistic Thought [1, 2]. The hypothesis was initially borne from Brigitte Harrisson's experience as an individual with autism.

The SACCADE™ model developed from a collaboration between Brigitte Harrisson and Lise St-Charles who, together, have decades of professional experience working with people with autism. Their clinical observations concerning the distinct ways that individuals with autism process information and learn and interact have helped shape and inform the SACCADE™ model.

SACCADE™ provides a holistic understanding of autistic functioning. Our emerging model is continually refined according to the latest research data in both neuroscience and cognitive science to propose a perspective of the typical evolution of autistic manifestations.

The SACCADE™ model is also a neurodevelopmental intervention model that offers cognitive and remedial pedagogical interventions, including using a written code called the SACCADE Conceptual Language™ (SCL™). Our model allows people with autism to access information, communication, and the perception of emotions.

Our unique and comprehensive intervention model has been garnering clinical success since 2007!

The SACCADE™ acronym

SACCADE™ is a French-language acronym that stands for "Structure et Apprentissage Conceptuel Continu Adapté au Développement Évolutif," or, in English, the Structure and Continuous Conceptual Learning Adapted to Evolutionary Development.

SACCADE™ is focused on harmonizing the development of the autistic structure and on the professional development of intervention specialists and others who may work with autistic individuals. Building bridges and fostering collaboration between professionals, parents, and individuals with autism is central to our model.

The scientific status of the SACCADE™ model

Towards the validation of SACCADE™ interventions based on research data

SACCADE™, an emerging, innovative model, has been deemed relevant and applied for interventions in autism, according to the report of the Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux [3, 4].

The hypothesis behind the model-the Internal Structure of Autistic Thought-was originally developed by Brigitte Harrisson, a Canadian social worker who is both an autism specialist and autistic herself. Her research has been published in specialized journals in the fields of neuropsychiatry, psychology, and education [2, 5, 6].

In September 2019, the SACCADE™ hypothesis and model were presented at the Autism-Europe International Congress in Nice, where the SACCADE™ team shared their understanding of autism with the wider community of autism research specialists.

We had to sail the seas to prove the Earth was round. Likewise, innovative practices, by definition, must emerge before evidence about their efficacy is generated [7].

The SACCADE™ team is now ready to take sail; SACCADE is following the relevant processes required of experimental scientific research to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of our interventions in a variety of settings. Through collaboration with partner organizations and institutions who implement SACCADE's model-based interventions with autistic clients, the SACCADE™ team is working to validate the benefits of our model with results that can be clinically observed. We expect the results of these studies to be ready for publication over the course of 2022-2023.

Clinical observations on the effects of interventions with the SACCADE™ model:

From a clinical perspective, observations and testimonies from practitioners, parents, or caregivers of children with autism suggest that the SACCADE™ model allows for the effective reading of both autistic behaviors and any unique, underlying needs. Interventions resulting from the SACCADE™ model have been shown to improve the development and well-being of people with autism in a predictable way.

Indeed, the beneficial effects of SACCADE's interventions can be observed in people with autism across the entire spectrum (from the nonverbal individual to someone with "high-functioning" autism), as well as across different living environments (day centers, daycares, educational facilities, family environments, individual interventions, etc.).

The following are among the most widely reported clinical effects:

Decreased anxiety
Improved reciprocal communication and interaction
Improved understanding of one's environment
Improved understanding of verbal concepts
Development of a capacity for initiative
Better access to oneself (emotion and cognition)

Expert recommendations regarding interventions for people with autism:

The American Medical Association recently issued an advisory recommending therapeutic developmental interventions for children with autism [8]. These interventions are based on developmental learning theories [9, 10].

A recent meta-analysis [11] demonstrates that low-intensity developmental interventions (one to five hours per week) can significantly improve social communication and other challenges experienced by individuals with autism.

Although to date, the SACCADE™ intervention model has not yet been empirically validated, our model aligns itself with this type of developmental approach as it's based on various developmental learning theories, including Vygotsky's cognitive development theory [12] and Britt-Mari Barth's theory of learning abstraction [1].

One of the central elements that distinguishes the SACCADE™ model from other developmental approaches is our use of a conceptual graphic code as support for interventions and communication.

The use of graphic and visual tools is recommended to promote effective interventions with people with autism [14]. It's also advisable to base interventions in autism on the perceptual strengths and nonverbal intelligence of autistic children [15].

Specifically, SACCADE™ is a neurodevelopmental model that fosters cognitive and pedagogical remediation by employing different means of interventions, including a written code called the SACCADE Conceptual Language™ (SCL™).

Interventions are tailored to a person's individual needs and follow their initiatives and interests. By accompanying someone alongside their development while respecting their autistic condition, the SACCADE™ model of intervention aims to allow the individual with autism to access information, communication, and the perception of emotions.

Why develop a new intervention model in autism?

"What's worse than being autistic? Not having the right to be."
—Brigitte Harrisson

At SACCADE™, we've been struck by the fact that a variety of factors surrounding an autism diagnosis have long caused a great deal of suffering both to those living with autism and those who surround them.

People with autism have often been subjected to inappropriate interventions, as their true needs have frequently remained a mystery. These measures have essentially oriented them towards a "non-autistic" or "neurotypical" mode, which has resulted in people with autism learning things by rote, rather than from any intrinsic understanding. This in turn can generate anxiety, create a host of behavioral disorders, provide inadequate educational support, and result in a lack of employability. Together, these consequences of inappropriate interventions can ultimately lead to a significant imbalance in an autistic person's quality of life.

Today we have a better grasp of the nature of the autistic condition, and with the emergence of a new, more organic, neurobiological understanding of autism, we can change our approach, understand, and empathize with the genuine challenges faced by people with autism [16].

Now more than ever it's essential that we recognize that people with autism have fundamental rights to education, solidarity, and full inclusion in society—something which their extreme vulnerability may have prevented them from claiming earlier.

SACCADE's founding principle is that understanding the true, unique needs of autistic individuals is essential for an adapted intervention. At SACCADE™, we're at the service of people with autism, and every individual with autism is at the heart of what we do.

More information about the SACCADE™ model

Reference

References:

Harrisson B. La fragmentation cohérente intégrée. [Unpublished monograph] Quebec City; 1992.
Harrisson B, St-Charles L. L'autisme, au-delà des apparences. Quebec City: Concept ConsulTED; 2010.
Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS). L'efficacité des interventions de réadaptation et des traitements pharmacologiques pour les enfants de 2 à 12 ans ayant un trouble du spectre de l'autisme (TSA). Quebec City: Gouvernement du Québec; 2014.
Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS). Trajectoires de services menant à l'évaluation diagnostique des troubles neurodéveloppementaux chez les enfants de la naissance à sept ans. Quebec City: Gouvernement du Québec; 2021.
St-Charles Bernier C, Tremblay I, St-Charles L, Harrisson B. L'autisme vu comme trouble neurodéveloppemental de la conscience selon l'hypothèse du Fonctionnement interne de la structure de pensée autistique (FISPA). Neuropsychiatrie de l'enfance et de l'adolescence. 2022;2:1-6.
Harrisson B, St-Charles L. Hypothèse du fonctionnement interne de la structure de pensée autistique. Psychologie et éducation. 2012;2:69-84.
Ordre des psychologues du Québec. Lignes directrices: les troubles du spectre de l'autisme, l'évaluation clinique. Montreal: Collège des médecins du Québec; 2012.
Sandbank M, Bottema-Beutel K, Woynaroski TG. Intervention recommendations for children with autism in light of a changing evidence base. JAMA pediatrics. 2021;174(4):341-342.
Ospina MB, Krebs Seida J, Clark B, Karkhaneh M, Hartling L, Tjosvold L, et al. Behavioral and developmental interventions for autism spectrum disorder: a clinical systematic review. Public library of science one. 2008;3(11).
Prizant BM, Wetherby AM. Understanding the continuum of discrete-trial traditional behavioral to social-pragmatic developmental approaches in communication enhancement for young children with autism/PDD. Seminars in speech and language. 1998;19(4):329-353.
Sandbank M, Bottema-Beutel K, Crowley S, Cassidy M, Dunham K, Feldman JI, et al. Project AIM: autism intervention meta-analysis for studies of young children. Psychological bulletin journal. 2020 Jan;146(1):1-29.
Vygotsky l. Mind and society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1978.
Barth B-M. L'apprentissage de l'abstraction. Paris: Retz; 2013.
Courchesne V, Nader A-M, Girard D, Bouchard V, Danis E, Soulières I. Le profil cognitif au service des apprentissages: optimiser le potentiel des enfants sur le spectre de l'autisme. Revue québécoise de psychologie: les troubles neurodéveloppementaux. 2016;37(2):141-173.
Mottron L. Should we change targets and methods of early intervention in autism, in favor of a strengths-based education? European child and adolescent psychiatry. 2017;26(7):815-825.
Comité consultatif national d'éthique pour les sciences de la vie et de la santé. AVIS Nº102 Sur la situation en France des personnes, enfants et adultes, atteintes d'autisme. Paris: CCNE; 2007.

References that cite the SACCADE™ model and its theoretical hypothesis include:

St-Charles Bernier C, Tremblay I, St-Charles L, Harrisson B. L'autisme vu comme trouble neurodéveloppemental de la conscience selon l'hypothèse du Fonctionnement interne de la structure de pensée autistique (FISPA). Neuropsychiatrie de l'enfance et de l'adolescence. 2022;2:1-6.
Chamak B. Accompagnement d'enfants et d'adolescents autistes: un SESSAD innovant en Moselle. Revue française des affaires sociales. 2016;2:141-156.
Harrisson B, St-Charles L. L'autisme, au-delà des apparences. Québec: Concept ConsulTED; 2010.
Harrisson B, St-Charles L. Hypothèse du Fonctionnement interne de la structure de pensée autistique. Psychologie et éducation. 2012;2:69-84.
Harrisson B, St-Charles L. La structure de pensée autistique et la scolarisation. La nouvelle revue de l'adaptation et la scolarisation. 2012;60:59-74.
Phillip C. L'autisme, au-delà de la triade. La nouvelle revue de l'adaptation et de la scolarisation. 2012;60:75-88.

In addition, the following articles about the SACCADE™ model have been authored by professionals and/or researchers in the field of autism:

The action research carried out by Beaupré and Bouchard (Beaupré P, Bouchard G. Faciliter la transition du primaire au secondaire des élèves ayant un TSA par le transfert des connaissances. L'express. 2014;7:28), which makes use of the SACCADE™ intervention tools, has been published in the Revue de la Fédération québécoise de l'autisme. The SACCADE Conceptual Language™ (SCL™) was therefore studied in an educational context in three classes adapted for children with autism.
The SACCADE™ training received by both school professionals and parents has also been taken into account. The transition to high school was targeted as a goal to reduce associated anxiety. Despite the lack of any precise data to date on the SACCADE Conceptual Language™ (SCL™), the conclusion of the Revue de la Fédération québécoise de l'autisme study calls for innovative intervention methods, including SACCADE™.
Arsenault and Gingras describe the SACCADE™ model in an article entitled: "Piste d'intervention en information et en orientation pour une clientèle ayant un trouble du spectre autistique" in the Revue l'Information. (Arsenault N, Gingras M. Pistes d'intervention en information et en orientation pour une clientèle ayant un trouble du spectre de l'autisme. L'informateur. 2014 Dec; 6(2):11-19.)

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Autism spectrum disorder