Consider our quote: If you’ve met one child with autism, you’ve met ONE child with autism.

Therefore, there are many different ways a child may be going and many different ways to get where they’re going.

What works for you, your family and your child?

Early Intervention is a term used to describe a variety of comprehensive services that focus on infants, toddlers, and their families. These children have disabilities or are at risk for developing developmental disabilities.

Taken From:

Children With Autism; A Parent’s Guide

Michael D. Powers, Psy.D.

Home-based services Early Intervention team members come to your home to work with you and your

child. May come together or separately.

Home and School Services Teachers spend time at school working with your child in individual

and group settings, while also providing services in your home to help foster learning and generalization.

Classroom Services Typically located in public schools or private facilities. Some serve only

children with autism, or both children with autism and those with various disabilities. Some are “integrated” in which children with autism receive instruction in the same classroom attended by children without disabilities for at least a portion of the day.

Taken From:Children With Autism; A Parent’s Guide

Michael D. Powers, Psy.D.

Cognitive Skills

Social Skills

Communication

Self-Help Skills

Motor Skills

Vocational Skills

Behavioral Skills

Taken From:

Children With Autism; A Parent’s Guide

Michael D. Powers, Psy.D.

PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)

Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet

SCERTS

Occupational Therapy

Sensory Integration Therapy

Speech Therapy

RDI

TEACCH

Verbal Behavior

ABA

DIR/Floortime

A picture exchange communication system (PECS) is a form of

augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that uses pictures instead of words to help children communicate. PECS was designed especially for children with autism who have delays in speech development.

Taken from:

http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy

Removal of gluten (a protein found in barley, rye, oats, and wheat) and casein (a protein found in dairy products)

Hypothesis is that these proteins are absorbed differently in children with autism spectrum disorders and act like false opiate-like chemicals in the brain.

Many families report that dietary elimination of gluten and casein has helped regulate bowel habits, sleep, activity, habitual behaviors and enhance overall progress in their individual child.

Taken From:

AutismSpeaks.Org

The SCERTS® Model is a comprehensive, team-based, multidisciplinary model for enhancing abilities in Social Communication and Emotional Regulation, and implementing Transactional Supports for children and older individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families. SCERTS is not an exclusive approach, in that it provides a framework in which practices and strategies from other approaches may be integrated, such as Positive Behavioral Supports (ABA), visual supports, sensory supports, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), and Social Stories®

Taken From:

AutismSpeaks.org

Occupational Therapy can benefit a person with autism by attempting to improve the quality of life for the individual.

The aim is to maintain, improve, or introduce skills that allow an individual to participate as independently as possible in meaningful life activities.

Coping skills, fine motor skills, play skills, self help skills, and socialization are all targeted areas to be addressed.

Sensory Integration Therapy is a type of occupational therapy (OT) that places a child in a room specifically designed to stimulate and challenge all of the senses. During the session, the therapist works closely with the child to encourage movement within the room.

Sensory Integration Therapy is driven by four key principles (1): 1. the child must be able to successfully meet the challenges that are

presented through playful activities (Just Right Challenge);

2. the child adapts her behavior with new and useful strategies in response to the challenges presented (Adaptive Response);

3. the child will want to participate because the activities are fun (Active Engagement); and

4. the child's preferences are used to initiate therapeutic experiences within the session (Child Directed).

Taken From:http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy

Speech Therapy focuses on receptive language, or the ability to understand words spoken to you, and expressive language, or the ability to use words to express yourself. It also deals with the mechanics of producing words, such as articulation, pitch, fluency, and volume.

Some children only need help with language, others have the most problems with the mechanics of speech, and some need every kind of speech help there is.

Taken From:

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/speechtherapy/g/SLP.htm

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) Based on the work of psychologist Steven Gutstein , Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) focuses on improving the long term quality of life for all individuals on the spectrum.

The RDI program is a parent- based treatment that focuses on the core problems of gaining friendships , feeling empathy , expressing love and being able to share experiences with others.

Taken from:

AutimSpeaks.org

RDI works on 6 abilities which are called dynamic intelligence :

1) Emotional Referencing: The ability to use an emotional feedback system to learn from the subjective experiences of others.

2) Social Coordination:The ability to observe and continually regulate one's behavior in order to participate in spontaneous relationships involving collaboration and exchange of emotions.

3) Declarative Language: Using language and non-verbal communication to express curiosity, invite others to interact, share perceptions and feelings and coordinate your actions with others.

4) Flexible thinking: The ability to rapidly adapt, change strategies and alter plans based upon changing circumstances.

5) Relational Information Processing: The ability to obtain meaning based upon the larger context. Solving problems that have no "right-and-wrong" solutions.

6) Foresight and Hindsight: The ability to reflect on past experiences and anticipate potential future scenarios in a productive manner

Taken From:

AutismSpeaks.org

The long-term goals of the TEACCH approach are both skill development and fulfillment of fundamental human needs such as dignity, engagement in productive and personally meaningful activities, and feelings of security, self-efficacy, and self-confidence. To accomplish these goals, TEACCH developed the intervention approach called “Structured Teaching.”

Building on the fact that autistic children are often visual learners, TEACCH brings visual clarity to the learning process in order to build receptiveness, understanding, organization and independence. The children work in a highly structured environment which may include physical organization of furniture, clearly delineated activity areas, picture-based schedules and work systems, and instructional clarity. The child is guided through a clear sequence of activities and thus aided to become more organized

Taken From:

http://www.teacch.com/whatis.html

Verbal Behavior Intervention is often seen as an adjunct to Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). Though both are based on theories developed by Skinner there are differences in concept. In the late 1950s and early 60's when Dr. IvarLovaas was developing his ABA principles, Skinner published Verbal Behavior which detailed a functional analysis of language. He explained that language could be grouped into a set of units, with each operant serving a different function. The primary verbal operants are what Skinner termed echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbals.

Taken From: AutismSpeaks.Org

The function of a mand is to request or obtain what is wanted. For example, the child learns to say the word "cookie" when he is interested in obtaining a cookie. When given the cookie, the word is reinforced and will be used again in the same context. There is an emphasis on "function" of language(VB) as opposed to form (Lovaas-based). In a VB program the child is taught to ask for the cookie anyway he can( vocally, sign language, etc.) If the child can echo the word he will be motivated to do so to obtain the desired object.

Taken From: AutismSpeaks.Org

Positive reinforcement and other principles to build communication, play, social, academic, self-care, work, and community living skills and to reduce problem behaviors in learners with autism of all ages.

Some ABA techniques involve instruction that is directed by adults in highly structured fashion, while others make use of the learner¹s natural interests and follow his or her initiations.

All skills are broken down into small steps or components, and learners are provided many repeated opportunities to learn and practice skills in a variety of settings, with abundant positive reinforcement.

Performance is measured continuously by direct observation, and intervention is modified if the data show that the learner is not making satisfactory progress.

Taken From:

AutismSpeaks.Org

The goal in Floortime is to move the child through the six basic developmental milestones that must be mastered for emotional and intellectual growth.

Greenspan describes the six rungs on the developmental ladder as: self regulation and interest in the world;

intimacy or a special love for the world of human relations;

two-way communication;

complex communication;

emotional ideas; and emotional thinking.

In Floortime, the parent engages the child at a level the child currently enjoys, enters the child's activities, and follows the child's lead.

From a mutually shared engagement, the parent is instructed how to move the child toward more increasingly complex interactions, a process known as “opening and closing circles of communication.”

Floortime does not separate and focus on speech, motor, or cognitive skills but rather addresses these areas through a synthesized emphasis on emotional development.

The intervention is called Floortime because the parent gets down on the floor with the child to engage him at his level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXGh9bT0Sw