Max and Friends® combines the format of a child's television show with  Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) a structured training approach to help young children within the autism spectrum make developmental gains.  Max and Friends consists of three videos: Imitation, Commands and Matching.  These concepts are are the cornerstone of all learning, and focusing on these areas helps children move ahead developmentally.  They can be played on a DVD player through your television or computer. 

 Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).  ABA is a proven methodology that has helped numerous children with autism to master the basic skills. One component of the ABA learning process is discrete trial training. Discrete trial training (DTT) involves breaking down basic linguistic, cognitive and social skills into small, separate tasks and teaching these tasks in structured sequences using systematic reinforcement.  This video can augment a traditional ABA program by giving the child additional opportunities to practice basic skills.  I

Max and Friends is a fun, easy to use program that is aligned with a curriculum that has proven effective. The kit contains three DVDs, three story books, the parents' manual and the CD of children's music.   These components may also be purchased individually. 

A Real Meerkat

Max and Friends teaches lessons using live actors in a children's show format, including a costumed character, Max the Meerkat, who leads the children through the program (in case you didn't know, a meerkat is a cute, small South African mammal related to the mongoose).

Max and Friends is an economical way to determine whether a child would benefit from  ABA therapy.  It could also used by parents to get started with ABA as soon as a child is diagnosed, to prevent wasting the child's precious developmental time,  which frequently happens when parents are searching for a qualified therapist, are on a waiting list, or are waiting/advocating for a school program to be implemented to help their child.  Max and Friends can also be used by professionals as an additional therapeutic tool to help children within the autism spectrum.

Max and Friends incorporates principles that enhance:

- gross and fine motor skills;
- oral motor movements;
- visual memory skills;
- sequencing skills;
- visual discrimination skills;
- organizational skills;
- social awareness skills;
- receptive language skills; and
- auditory and processing skills 

The videos focus on Imitation, Commands and Matching. Each of these skills is the focus of both a DVD and a related story book. The DVD features the lead character, Max, engaging in exercises designed to practice these skills and the specific sub-skills that are necessary for your child to master and generalize each skill. Each book features a story that reinforces the skills highlighted in the corresponding DVD and provides an additional opportunity for you to practice with your child. You can use the DVD’s and books with your child purely for entertainment, or as part of a more structured teaching program.  

Max and Friends Unit 1 focuses on Imitation – the building block of all learning. Imitation is the primary way in which children first learn from their environment and practice in these will improve your child’s ability to pay attention, to organize, and to plan his movements. It also will help to increase his social awareness by enhancing his ability to pay attention to the actions of others. Your child will work on imitating gross motor, fine motor and oral motor movements, building from single step exercises to combinations that will improve visual memory and sequencing skills.  Skills taught in the Imitation video include:  wave, march, wave, arms up, bang a drum, build a tower, roll a ball, make a happy face, blow bubbles, imitate a bunny, point to a body part, strike poses, and wiggle fingers.

Max and Friends Unit 2 focuses on Commands – key for building your child’s critical receptive language skills. Your child also will learn to pay attention and to improve auditory and processing skills by following simple directions and displaying simple, every day actions. Your child will work on the most basic commands – Stop and Go – and build up to one-step commands, commands to display actions and multi-step combinations. The combinations will help to develop your child’s visual memory and sequencing skills that are critical for undertaking more complex tasks.  Skills taught in the Commands video include:  clap hands, tap legs, hands on hips, eat, kick a ball, go/stop, jump, blow kiss, wave, jump, turn around, clap hands, march, arms up, nod head yes/no, and touch head.

Max and Friends Unit 3 focuses on Matching. Your child will practice matching shapes, colors, letters and numbers as well as pictures to objects. Matching helps children to visually discriminate items in the environment. Matching letters also helps to build pre-reading and receptive language skills, while matching numbers helps to build pre-mathematics skills.  Skills taught in the Matching video include:  colors, shapes, letters, and numbers, pictures to 3-dimensional objects.

The instructional parents' manual contains helpful tips and resources for the effective use of DVDs 1 - 3. Parents will learn what, where and when to teach and how to reinforce, maintain and generalize the featured skills. Handy ABA-style progress charts allow you to record the child's progress.

The CD from Max and Friends Volume 1 contains 18 fun, infectious children's songs set to a world music beat. Classic children's songs plus originally recordings of skill-building songs make learning fun anytime, anywhere.

A DVD player and a television set or a computer with a DVD player can be used to play this video.  Max and Friends is a video modeling tool, in that it uses video to demonstrate skills or scenarios for the child to imitate. However, Max and Friends improves on existing video modeling programs by merging it with the best of children's television - fun characters, catchy songs, and lively interaction. The result is an entertaining children's program that will feel like play, not work, for your child.

Max has been tested with children of all ages and at all levels of the autism spectrum. Response to the character has been extremely positive. Using a character interacting with an adult cast has the added advantage of helping children to learn to distinguish between fantasy and reality.