There is no single best treatment package for all children with ASD. One point that most professionals agree on is that early intervention is important; another is that most individuals with ASD respond well to highly structured, specialized programs.
Before you make decisions on your child's treatment, you will want to gather information about the various options available. Learn as much as you can, look at all the options, and make your decision on your child's treatment based on your child's needs. Occupational Therapists (OT) are therapists who have received extensive training using positive reinforcement to enable fundamental change in a child's behavior and have received extensive training using positive reinforcement. You may want to visit pediatric therapy clinics in your area to see the type of programs they offer to special needs children.
Educate yourself! Knowledge is power and enables you to become more confident in making decisions concerning the health of your child. Early intervention is the key and the beginning in helping your child and your child's future.
Parental involvement has emerged as a major factor in treatment success. Parents work with the therapists to identify the behaviors to be changed and the skills to be taught. Recognizing that parents are the child's earliest teachers, more Occupational Therapy programs are beginning to train parents to continue the therapy at home.
The OT is trained to design effective treatment programs that offer a predictable schedule to include highly structured activities using simple tasks that actively engage the child's attention. These activities are customized based upon the child's interests and provide the opportunity to reinforce appropriate behavior.
Occupational Therapy offer effective programs that teach early communication and social interaction skills. In children younger than 3 years, appropriate interventions usually take place in a clinical setting or at home. Interventions are targeted to specific deficits in learning and attention through motivation and compliance during interaction with the therapist. In these programs, therapists involve the parents, giving useful advice in how to help their child use the skills or behaviors learned at therapy when they are at home.
Social play interventions are included in the therapy session to model social skills and behavioral methods. Usually the therapy session starts with a physical activity to help develop coordination and body awareness. Children learn by motor skill activities such as string beads, piecing puzzles together, and painting. Children older than 3 years should have a structured program that will help the children learn social skills and functional communication.
Collaboration between parents and therapists is essential in evaluating your child's progress and the development of an individualized treatment plan. The therapy session is the setting where the individual needs of the child are implemented. In each session, the child is assisted in various skill areas that have been identified to be delayed. This provides a perfect environment to encourage the child to grow in areas of physical strength and includes instruction on developing skills to learn how to act in social situations and in making friends.
Higher functioning children may be able to cope with school home work, however, they often need help in organizing tasks and avoiding distractions. Therapy sessions are designed to address practical matters of daily living such as work, recreation, and community living. Activities include developing the work experience, navigating the public transportation system, and the daily skills that are important to community living. This is the reason why you will want to be an active participant in your child's therapy program.
Early intervention to treat autism is the most beneficial and the best action that any parent can take. Seeking help from a highly trained Occupational Therapist will prepare you for the most important phase of your child’s life – the adolescence years. Intervention in this late stage of your child’s development may be too little too late.
Researchers agree "Adolescence is a time of stress and confusion and it is no less so for teenagers with autism. Like all children, they need help in dealing with their budding sexuality. While some behaviors improve during the teenage years, some get worse. Increased autistic or aggressive behavior may be one way some teens express their newfound tension and confusion."
From another research article, "The teenage years are also a time when children become more socially sensitive. At the age that most teenagers are concerned with acne, popularity, grades, and dates, teens with autism may become painfully aware that they are different from their peers. They may notice that they lack friends. And unlike their schoolmates, they aren't dating or planning for a career. For some, the sadness that comes with such realization motivates them to learn new behaviors and acquire better social skills."
This motivation to change is indeed strong at an adolescence age and may not be as effective as during the early years. In any case, the benefits are more than obvious and the time to start early intervention is now.