So, you have a diagnosis, well where do you go from here? If you are like me then you have probably already gone down the rabbit hole that is the autism community. You are looking for any and all information that you can get your hands on. Just relax and take a deep breath.
One of the main things I hope to achieve with some of my posts on social media and my blog is complete transparency. I hope that anyone who is going through the same thing can possibly get some understanding or can even feel like someone else gets it. It can get really overwhelming trying to absorb all of this new information. And trying to sift through what’s considered good and what isn’t. So, if you have been following with us thus far you know our son has autism spectrum disorder and sensory processing disorder. A diagnosis he received from the developmental pediatrician. But what happens after the diagnosis? What do you do next? What is some autism spectrum therapies?
Can autism be cured with therapy?
I think one of the main things I should stress is that there isn’t a cure for autism. Autistic children grow into autistic adults.
I can’t speak for all forms of therapy however I can tell you what we are doing and how we feel it’s working for our son and our family. One of the first steps that we heard about is Early Intervention Services. These services are usually from birth to 3 years. As you know it was a struggle for me to even get him evaluated. By the time we actually got an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) he was a few months from aging out. However, it was a blessing because we met amazing therapists who have helped guide us through this process. We were also able to get Santana into the developmental preschool. There are so many therapy options we had to do a ton of research.
Bash in autism spectrum therapies
Developmental Preschool
Even though I wouldn’t categorize it as a treatment for autism, it certainly has helped. It’s an inclusive preschool classroom for young children aged three to five years old. By inclusive, I mean typically developing children and children who require specialized instruction. In our son’s class, they have a special education preschool teacher, and they are assisted by two other professionals. They also have support staff like a speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist. The social interactions with all of the peers are important because children learn best from each other. At the beginning of the school year, we met with everyone to come up with goals for Santana. They also let us know he would have access to the supports we requested like a trampoline, headphones, stability ball, and anything else we requested.
Thes social skills groups he’s learning in class are used to teach individuals with autism spectrum disorder ways to appropriately interact with typically developing peers.
Occupational Therapy
Even though he has access to OT at school it’s still not enough. So, we get him OT outside of school as well, in a natural setting at home. Occupational therapists help people with basic life skills. This doesn’t just mean writing or putting on clothes. I have posted some videos on social media of Santana in some of his sessions and people have told me he looks like he is just playing. Structured play therapies, such as Floortime, are meant to help build intellectual and emotional skills as well as physical skills. It helps him interact and communicate with others. He often swings on the acrobat swing which provides vestibular input in a natural setting, at home helping him manage his body in space. These are all sensory integration interventions that help his SPD. These life skills help him transition from different settings to people and different phases in his life.
Santana working with fidget spinner in autism spectrum therapies
Speech Therapy
It is exactly what it sounds like. This particular treatment for autism addresses challenges with language and communication. People with autism often need help with verbal, nonverbal, and social communication. When Santana can’t communicate with us it often results in meltdowns. One of the main things I noticed with our son was that he wasn’t saying as many words as other kids his age, and the words he was saying weren’t very clear. He wouldn’t use two or even three-word combinations. However, what we have to remember is challenges vary from person to person. There are some kids in his class on the spectrum who are really talkative, but they don’t do well with body language. We have also incorporated sign language into our routine. It’s not only effective in getting him to communicate with us more but I think it’s great to have our son learning as well.
ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis)
ABA is “therapy based on the science of learning and behavior.” To put it simply it’s a framework used to help increase positive behavior and decrease negative behavior. As with most therapies you need to have an assessment first and then from there a plan will be devised. Most ABA treatment centers want at least 35 hours a week in therapy. A BCBA (board certified behavior analyst) will oversee your child’s progress, goals, treatment. I know everybody has differing opinions on ABA. Yes, it is by far the most controversial of all the therapies. I’m not here to tell you if it is or isn’t. You have to do the research and figure that out yourselves. However, I make it a point to listen to autistic voices. Specifically, those of Black people because yes race does matter, and the Black experience is different. I encourage you to check out a post I wrote in which Tiffany Hammond, a Black autistic mother, describes her experience with ABA.
Which therapy is best for autism spectrum disorder?
There are so many Autism spectrum therapies out there, I don’t believe there is a BEST. As you can see, we do more than one therapy. I read somewhere if you met one child with autism, then you met one child with autism. It’s a spectrum for a reason, everyone isn’t the same and treatments won’t all have the same effect. If you take anything away from this post, it’s that early intervention is so important and to educate yourself. I hope that I have given you some insight into what we do every day. Treatment is ongoing and it honestly never stops. But hopefully, you have a support system to help when it feels so overwhelming. At the end of the day, you have to do what works best for your child and your family.
[…] he isn’t going, and there isn’t a good way to explain it to him. The same goes for his speech, OT, and ABA therapy. If you’ve been following our story then you know where we started. Being in school combined […]