There are many methods used by psychiatrists and other mental health experts to help with Autism. San Diego Autism centers have some of the best healthcare professionals in the business.
For most of the following therapies, the earlier they are started, the more likely they are going to be successful in alleviating autism in the patient. The therapies work differently from patient to patient so there is no one size fits all therapy for all autism patients.
The following are some of the therapies most often used to help with autism:
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy is therapy that aims to make autistic children better at everyday tasks that other children do with minimal effort. Such tasks could include wearing & tying shoes or eating with a fork and knife.
These tasks may seem regular for normal people but autistic people have tremendous trouble accomplishing such tasks. Occupational therapy will depend on the child’s specific shortcomings.
Speech Therapy
Many autistic children have speech impediments that are incredibly difficult to overcome without the help of an expert. Speech therapy helps the patients improve their communication skills and to interact with others.
Speech therapy includes both verbal and non-verbal skills. Verbal skills include pronunciation and sentence structure while non-verbal skills include use of gestures, maintaining eye contact and physical contact.
Speech therapy needs consistent practice and application for it to work.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
Applied Behavioral Analysis takes advantage of positive reinforcement to teach autistic children new skills that are valuable to them out in the world. ABA seeks to train autistic patients using immediate feedback.
ABA therapy will depend on the specific child as autistic children have different obstacles that they face. Autistic children who receive ABA therapy early in their lives have shown tremendous gains as opposed to those who do not.
Types of ABA therapy include Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) and Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT).
Social Skills Therapy
One of the biggest challenges faced by autistic children is social skills deficiency. A social skills class aims to improve how an autistic child interacts and forms connections with others.
Social skills can be conducted in a group format or simply one on one. It is best to start social skills one-on-one before a child is ready to be open and talk in a group setting.
Learning is usually done through role-playing and practice. Parents are important in this type of therapy.
Picture Exchange Communication Therapy
Some autistic children cannot speak, have trouble speaking or are difficult to understand when they speak. For such children, picture exchange communication is the most effective mode of communication.
Therefore, such children can at first be taught how to trade certain pictures for other items or activities. Many people are able to understand visual cues which enables the autistic child to communicate effectively with others.
Picture Exchange Communication Therapy may be difficult for kids who have little to no interest in certain items or activities. However, it is a very effective therapy for autistic patients with speech impediments.