As soon as you suspect your child has autism, it's important to get it checked out. Sometimes it can take a while to get a formal diagnosis, so let's learn about ways to help your child right away. The sooner treatment begins, the better the outcome. But it's never too late. What works for one child may not work for another. So let's talk about this one by one.
Does playing help a child? (Play Therapy)
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often play differently than other children. For example, if you give them a toy car, instead of pushing it around, they might look at the wheels and spin it. They also don't do as much "pretend play" as other children, such as feeding a doll or making tea. They may also be less likely to play with others.
But, for these children, playing is a way to express their thoughts and feelings. Their toys and actions become their words. So, using this play, we can teach them new things in a way that they understand and help them connect with others. This is what we call Play Therapy .
Play therapy can help develop a child's social and emotional skills, teach them to think differently, and increase language and communication skills.
There are several main methods of Play Therapy:
- Floortime: This involves the therapist, teacher, or yourself sitting on the floor with the child and playing the same way the child plays. Then, gradually adding something new to the play (such as another toy or a word). The goal here is to build two-way communication between the child and you.
- Integrated Play Groups (IPGs): This is where children with autism and children without autism are brought together to form play groups . This gives children with autism the opportunity to learn how to play by watching and imitating other children.
- JASPER (Joint Attention Symbolic Play Engagement and Regulation): This method helps a child practice paying attention to a toy and a person at the same time. When this 'joint attention' develops, it becomes easier to play with other children.
Occupational Therapy to help make everyday tasks easier
Occupational therapy, or as we all know it , Occupational Therapy (OT), is a treatment method that helps a child do activities of daily living and everyday things (e.g., buttoning a shirt, holding a spoon properly) on their own. This can be related to anything from schoolwork to play. This treatment is planned according to the child's needs and goals.
An occupational therapist works as a team with parents, teachers, and other specialists. They help set specific goals for the child's social interactions , behavior, and classroom activities.
| Benefits of Occupational Therapy (OT) | |
|---|---|
| Daily work | Helping with things like toilet training, dressing, and brushing teeth on your own. |
| Fine motor skills | Developing the skills needed to hold and use objects such as pencils and scissors correctly. |
| Gross motor skills | Developing the skills needed for walking, climbing stairs, riding a bike, etc. |
| Perceptual skills | Helping to identify differences between colors, shapes, and sizes. |
| Social skills | Helping to play with others, share ideas, and build relationships. |
Simply put, the overall goal of OTs is to help a child with autism become as independent as possible, able to do things on their own at home and at school.
Speech Therapy
Children with autism can have significant problems with both speech and nonverbal communication, such as eye contact and hand gestures. This is why speech therapy is a very important part of autism treatment .
Common speech problems seen with autism
- Not talking at all.
- Making strange noises, such as groans.
- Repeating what is said (we call this Echolalia ).
- Speaking in a robotic tone, devoid of any emotion, even though the words and sentences are pronounced correctly.
- Not looking into each other's eyes when talking.
- Difficulty understanding other people's facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language.
A Speech and Language Therapist can help you find the best ways to improve your child's communication skills. If your child isn't talking, they may suggest other options. For example:
- Practicing expressing needs using picture cards.
- Teaching sign language.
- Practicing communication using an electronic device such as a tablet.
These treatments can help a child learn to pronounce words correctly, start conversations with others, express their thoughts and feelings, and enjoy playing with others. It is best to start this treatment as early as possible.
Methods for developing good behavior (Applied Behavior Analysis - ABA)
This treatment method, called ABA , involves identifying the child's positive behaviors and encouraging them to do more of them. Various rewards are used for this. This method also helps in learning new skills. Parents and guardians are also trained in this, so that they can provide the child with the necessary guidance at home.
There are also different types of ABA:
- Discrete Trial Training (DTT): In this, a behavior or skill that needs to be taught to the child is broken down into small steps and taught one by one.
- Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT): This treatment targets the most important aspects of a child's development (e.g., self-management, coping with social situations).
- Verbal Behavior Intervention (VBI): The main goal of this is to improve the child's speech skills.
Other helpful treatments
In addition to the main treatment methods mentioned above, there are several other methods.
Therapeutic Horseback Riding
This is also called Hippotherapy . Here, the child rides a horse under the supervision of a therapist. The child has to control his body and maintain balance according to the horse's movements. This is like a physical therapy exercise. Research has shown that this method improves children's social and speech skills. It also helps reduce their restlessness and hyperactivity.
Before making any decisions about any of these treatments, it is essential to talk to your doctor or pediatrician about which treatment method is best suited for your child's condition.
Take-Home Message
- The sooner treatment for autism begins, the better the outcomes. But it's never too late to start.
- What works for one child may not work for another, so your child will need a treatment plan that is specific to them.
- Play Therapy, Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech Therapy are three main treatment methods that greatly help the development of an autistic child.
- Therapies like ABA can be very effective in encouraging good behavior.
- Before starting any treatment, talk to your child's doctor and seek his or her guidance. Keep the doctor informed about your child's progress.
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