Treatment and Therapy

Treating autism typically involves a rigorous, all-encompassing approach that engages the child's entire family alongside a team of professionals. Some programs extend their services to the home environment, either by offering in-home sessions facilitated by specialized therapists or by providing training to parents to act as therapists under professional supervision. Others take place within dedicated centers, classrooms, or preschool settings. It's common for families to opt for a combination of different treatment methods.

The terms "treatment" and "therapy" are often used interchangeably in the context of autism. Additionally, the term "intervention" may also refer to a treatment or therapy.

This section offers an overview of diverse autism treatment methods. The provided descriptions aim to offer general information. Your pediatrician, developmental pediatrician, or therapists specializing in autism treatment can provide suggestions and assist in prioritizing therapies based on a comprehensive evaluation of your child. Once you've identified potential therapies for your child, it's advisable to delve deeper into each method before committing to one.

Autism often intertwines with other medical conditions, biological factors, and symptoms not exclusive to autism. Children with additional disorders such as Articulation Disorder, Apraxia, Seizures, GI problems, among others, may benefit from similar therapies.

More about the program

The Language and Learning provides services and support to families whose primary concerns are related to the development of language and communication. We provide personalized intervention to meet the unique needs of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. Our intervention sessions include a combination of discrete trial training, natural environment teaching and incidental teaching to address the individualized goals of the children we serve. Our methods are based on the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and reinforcement-based procedures, which have been shown to improve communication, social skills and pre-academic skills of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Our treatment team consists of highly trained therapists, doctoral-level board certified behavior analysts and licensed psychologists. Our experienced clinicians believe one-to-one care is most effective for children with severe communication challenges.

All effective ABA/VBA programs are based on systematic evaluation of the child's abilities and the development of a structured treatment program.

ABA, applied behavioral analysis, is simply the application of behavioral principles, to everyday situations that will over time increase or decrease targeted behaviors. ABA has been used to help individuals acquire many different skills, such as language skills, self-help skills, and play skills; in addition, these principles can help to decrease maladaptive behaviors such as aggression, self-stimulatory behaviors, and self-injury.

A parent will need to choose a qualified provider with whom they share similar philosophical approaches in the application of intensive behavioral interventions.

Hence Applied Behavior Analysis is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior

Occupational therapy (OT) treatment focuses on helping people with a physical, sensory, or cognitive disability be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives. OT can help kids with various needs improve their cognitive, physical, sensory, and motor skills and enhance their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment.

Some people may think that occupational therapy is only for adults; kids, after all, do not have occupations. But a child's main job is playing and learning, and occupational therapists can evaluate kids' skills for playing, school performance, and daily activities and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group.

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), in addition to dealing with someone physical wellbeing, OT practitioners address psychological, social, and environmental factors that can affect functioning in different ways. This approach makes OT a vital part of health care for some kids.

Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and wellbeing through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.

Helping children achieve their developmental milestones such as fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Educating and involving parents, cares and others to facilitate the normal development and learning of children.
Designing individual and group programs and activities to enhance clients’ independence in everyday activities.
Developing coping strategies for clients in overcoming their mental health issues.
Improving clients’ confidence and self-esteem in social situations.