Types of Therapy for Autism

by Connect Plus Autism Specialist Philadelphia

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is also known as Autism spectrum disorder ASD because of the wide range of disorders that are characteristic of Autistic individuals. It usually includes a lot of social interaction and communication disorders. The treatment for Autistic children vary. There is still no consensus over the best treatment for Autism. You can trust ConnectPlus therapy to help you to reach out to the right clinic depending on the treatment that might be required. However, the therapies are aimed at improving the abilities and reduce the symptoms. It is not considered a cure.

The therapies – An overview

There are a number of therapies that are recommended by the American Academy of Paediatrics. The Therapy for Autism in New Jersey includes:

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)- This is the most common therapy that is administered. The principle of the behavior services in New Jersey is to reinforce good behavior and ignore undesirable behavior. Training is provided for the parents and caregivers for the child also to do the same so that it is consistent and the therapy is useful in enhancing life skills.

However, the Applied Behavior Analysis goes on to include a number of treatment goals that include but are not restricted to

Enhancing social skills
Improving capabilities for personal care
Being helpful in doing school work on their own
Improving communication skills

And much more and ensure that they retain what they gain when the ABA therapy is administered intensively when the treatment is started early.

The different types of Behavior services in New Jersey are a part of the ABA therapy that includes:

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) which refers to breaking desired behavior into simple steps
Pivotal response treatment(PRT) that focusses onimportant child development areas that encourage self-management and managing social situations
Verbal behaviorintervention(VBI) which refers to improving the verbal communication of the child as the goal of the therapy.
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is a special therapy designed for treatment for children under the age of 5.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapists actually work as a team along with the teachers and the parents and are quite helpful in the evaluation of ASD as well as its therapeutic process that is done with the goals such as enhancing social interaction, improving behavior and classroom performance.

Play therapy

Play is considered to be an effective way for children with Autism or ASD to improve their social, and emotional skills. Integrated play groups, floortime, etc are techniques that are employed in play therapy for handling ASD children.

Speech therapy

Speech, as well as non-verbal communication, are affected in a child with ASD. Speech therapy is considered to be helpful in language development and social interaction and is used extensively in therapy for autism in New Jersey.

Having gained a fair idea about the different types of therapies that can be administered for the treatment of ASD, you are now equipped to go ahead and choose the right treatment and clinic for your child or suggest the same for those who are in need of it.