Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, VoL 19, No. 4, 1989 Daily Life Therapy: A Japanese Model for Educating Children With Autism Kathleen Quill, Susan Gurry, and Anne Larkin Lesley College The controversial practice of Daily Life Therapy, as demonstrated at the Boston Higashi School in Massachusetts, is reviewed. Five fundamental prin- ciples of Daily Life Therapy are examined: instruction that is group-oriented; routine activities that are highly structured; instructional techniques that center on learning through imitation; a method for reducing children's lev- els of upproductive activity through rigorous physical exercise; and a curric- ulum that focuses on movement, music, and art. These central features of Daily Life Therapy are discussed in light of current theory, research, and educational practices in autism. Empirical questions raised by this unique treatment mode are outlined. A unique approach to the treatment of autism is being developed in the Boston area as a result of an international cooperation between Japan and the Unit- ed States. The Boston Higashi School is bringing to American society the philosophy and methods of Dr. Kiyo Kitahara, who reports unprecedented progress in the education and integration of autistic children with nondisa- bled peers at her private school in Tokyo (Kitahara, 1983). Daily Life Therapy is the name given by Kitahara to the educational model that she developed over a 20-year history of teaching autistic and typical children. She developed her methods for teaching children with autism in- dependent of the abundant literature on Western educational and medical theories available in Japan. In recent years, Kitahara visited schools for au- tistic children in several other countries and compared the methods and results of those programs to her own model. She began to articulate her Daily Life Therapy concept to parents and professionals worldwide, and became con- vinced that her educational model could be successfully implemented in other cultural settings. Three monographs about Daily Life Therapy (Kitahara, 62s 0162-3257/89/1200-0625506.00/0 9 1989 Plenum Publishing Corporation