According to a recent report from the CDC, “1 in 36 children in the U.S. have autism, up from the previous rate of 1 in 44.” This increase in diagnoses can likely be attributed to an increased awareness of the condition, alongside growing funding for ASL and other related disorders.

Fortunately, this also means that there’s more support available than ever before to children with autism and their families. This includes a wide range of interventive therapies. However, it can sometimes be difficult to determine which therapy is right for your child, which is where this guide comes in!

1. Applied Behavioral Analysis

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is one of the most popular forms of autism therapy. This is built upon the ideology of reducing challenging behaviors in individuals with autism while also helping participants to develop useful life skills. For example, it can help children to better understand how they should act in a specific situation.

All children with autism could benefit from this interventive approach. This is because this form of therapy can be highly individualized to ensure that each child’s specific needs or struggles are met and addressed, allowing them to succeed in any of the future ventures. A recent study found that “autistic children receiving the ABA intervention demonstrated statistically significant improvement in target behaviours over the one-month snapshot period.”

2. Speech Therapy

Around 42% of those diagnosed with ASD are non-verbal or minimally verbal. However, while this is something that many individuals with ASD deal with in their youth, speech therapies can help them find their voice. For example, a recent study found that “70% of preschool kids with language issues who went through speech therapy showed improvement in language skills” when completing their program.

Speech Therapy, as the name suggests, is built around the idea of helping children with autism and related disorders build upon their communication skills. These sessions cover a range of topics. For example, participants will learn how to:

• Express their emotions through language

• Modulate their tone of voice

• Develop their understanding of non-verbal cues and signals

• Improving pronunciation

Children who are non or minimally verbal will obtain the most benefit from this kind of therapy, especially as our ability to communicate faces so many different aspects of our lives.

3. Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy is designed to help children with autism and related disorders develop a range of coping mechanisms and daily life skills that allow them to thrive in a wide range of situations. For example, some elements of Occupational Therapy touch upon the development and refinement of fine motor skills, which can help children improve their balance and posture and even impact their academic performance by helping with writing and other similar tasks.

Many occupational therapists will also work closely with participants to help them develop general life skills, such as basic grooming and personal hygiene. This can help children with ASD and related conditions to become more independent in the long-term.

As occupational therapy covers so many bases, it is beneficial to any children with ASD.

While the above list is by no means comprehensive, the three therapies listed above are some of the most beneficial in helping children with autism develop the skills they need to thrive, whether this be in their personal lives or at school.

At Alee Behavioral, we have years of experience in supporting children with autism and related disorders and also offer group therapy sessions and parent/caregiver training. If you’d like to find out more, please do not hesitate to get in touch today.