VIDEO
Autism Live, Thursday April 25, 2013
Autism Therapies and Treatments
How will I know if a new therapy is right for my child?
Are there other therapies that are useful?
How will I know if a new therapy is right for my child?
Choosing the right type of therapy for your child is not easy. Many programs exist whose aim is to improve behavioral symptoms in autistic children. Some even claim to “fix” the underlying problem causing autism.
Unfortunately, not every child responds to even the most effective therapy and some children appear to do well in less-popular treatments. Parents should find out as much about the proposed therapy as possible because not every therapy is based on accepted scientific facts and not every qualified program employs trained teachers and therapists. A parent’s investigation should not be limited to exploring the effects of the therapy on the child, but also its affects on the child’s parents and siblings.
The Autism Society of America and The National Institute of Mental Health have produced guidelines on what questions a parent should ask about any new therapy. The following are questions based on those guidelines:
Will the treatment result in harm to my child? Have any other children been harmed by this treatment? How will failure of the treatment affect my child and my family? Has the treatment been validated scientifically? Can you provide the scientific literature for my review? How will my child’s progress be assessed? Will my child’s behavior be closely observed and recorded? Are the assessment procedures specified? Are they scientifically validated? Are the goals of therapy meaningful to me and/or my child?
For example, a therapy whose goal is to de- crease self-stimulatory behavior by 10 percent may not be worth participating in.
How will the treatment be integrated into my child’s current program? Does it have a holistic approach, acknowledging that the child has other interests and goals?
A parent should not become so infatuated with a given treatment that functional curriculum, vocational life, and social skills are ignored.
How successful has the program been for other children? How many children have gone on to placement in a regular school and how have they performed? What are the qualifications of the staff members? How many of them will be working with my child? Do staff members have training and experience in working with children and adolescents with autism? How are activities planned and organized? Who plans them? Are there predictable daily schedules and routines? How much individual attention will my child receive? Will my child be given tasks and rewards that are personally motivating? What will the rewards be? Can that reward system be duplicated in the home? Will the program prepare me to continue the therapy at home? Is the therapeutic environment designed to minimize distractions? What is the financial cost and time commitment of this therapy? Where will the therapy take place? Does that location require a license or certification to perform this therapy?
A professional and reputable therapist or therapeutic program should answer these questions easily and openly. A failure to answer to your satisfaction should give you pause and prompt further investigation before allowing your child to undergo this treatment.
William’s comment:
Our son is in an intense
Choosing the right type of therapy for your child is not easy.
