Treatment Options for Autism: What You Need To Know
Receiving an Autism diagnosis is a life-changing moment, both for your child and you, the parents. A lifelong condition, Autism affects your child’s social and behavioral skills — making it difficult for them to cope with conversations, unfamiliar settings, or routine changes.
Treatment for autism includes a range of therapies, exercises, lifestyle adjustments.
At Plexus Neuro Centre, our Autism rehabilitation program is a holistic, timely, and tailored approach to manage your child’s autism symptoms and lead to significant improvements in their way of life.
Read on to know more about the treatment options for autism.
Understanding Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a range of neurodevelopmental conditions that impact the child’s behavior, social skills, and communication skills. Children with Autism tend to display awkward social behavior, have trouble communicating, or experience sensory meltdowns, as their brain cannot process inputs the same way neurotypical children can.
While early detection can be difficult, ASD typically starts manifesting in children between the ages of 2 and 4 years. In many cases, the first signs can be seen in children as young as 6 to 18 months. There are symptoms related to communication, social skills, and behavior that become even stronger as the child reaches 2 years of age.
Timely treatment for autism can help your child lead an independent and purposeful life.
Treatment Options for Autism
Autism manifests differently in different children. No two children with autism behave in the same way. Some of the therapies that your doctor may recommend includes:
● Speech Therapy for autism can help your child develop their speaking abilities through suitable exercises
● Occupational Therapy for autism focuses on teaching your child to perform daily activities like getting dressed, feeding themselves, playing with toys, and others. It can help them achieve an independent lifestyle as they grow up.
● Social skills therapy for autism helps your child mix better with their family members, teachers, classmates, and other people they encounter.
Storytelling, supervised role-play, board games, and fun conversation challenges can help them adjust to playing in a group and expressing what they want or what they think.
Treatment Options for Autism
Additionally, having a list of social rules written down somewhere for them to see can also help. This serves to remind them about what they can and cannot do when in a social setting.
● Floortime: This type of treatment involves various fun floor activities and games. The therapists guide and supervise the children while they perform these activities that can help improve their emotional awareness and communicate their feelings. This in turn enables intellectual and emotional growth.
● Visual-based education: To help children with Autism grasp concepts better, many therapists use picture cards with information broken down into small steps with appropriate illustrations. This can help them to understand concepts like how to dress or pack their bags for school.
Treatment Options for Autism
Another type of visual-based therapy is the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), which helps children communicate through special symbols.
● Medical care: Autism has no physical symptoms, but certain behaviors can be physically harmful. For instance, some children with Autism tend to bite their nails or bang their heads against the wall. In such cases, the doctor may prescribe treatment to curb such tendencies or minimize the physical harm caused by them.
Treatment Options for Autism
● Dietary changes: Some parents may observe that certain foods trigger more aggressive behavior in their children than others and may therefore want to remove those foods from the child’s diet. However, it is crucial to consult a doctor before making any such dietary modifications.
● Sensory diet: Many therapists and doctors recommend a sensory diet for children with Autism to compensate for the sensory overloads they often experience, such as exposure to bright lights or loud colors. A sensory diet typically involves exposing them to varied textures and products to handle, taste, smell, and see. It helps them to improve their concentration on schoolwork and other activities.
Treatment Options for Autism
Parenting a child with Autism can be challenging. However, it’s important to remember that love and patience can help your child make the most of therapy. Keep educating yourself about Autism and work with your doctor to make tweaks to the therapy program based on their improvements. With the best Autism treatment and a supportive home environment, your child can live a happy and fulfilling life just like their peers.
The best Autism treatment under the guidance of Dr Na’eem Sadiq, India’s no. 1 Autism specialist, involves a tailored plan to help your child learn and develop in a manner most suited to them.
References: https://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/understanding-autism-treatment
