Neurodiversity is a newer approach to thinking about a collection of brain-based disorders including: Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Apraxia, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Pathological Demand Avoidance, Anxiety, and other mental health conditions. Instead of seeing the brain as flawed, the idea is that neurological conditions are the result of normal variations in the human genome that have been present throughout history and have many positive qualities. The struggles associated with neurodiversity do not stem from the person, but from the mismatch between the neurodivergent person and the environment or society they live in.
With this positive mindset, a person with Autism is not obsessive but instead is meticulous and driven. Throughout history these meticulous and driven people were valued members of their society as master craftsmen. In addition to being fantastic at their craft, they could work longer hours without feeling isolated or distracted by social needs. No one would care if the blacksmith was a little odd as long as they made the best tools around.
What is Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is developmental disorder that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. Most of the time, people with ASD look “normal” but they may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people.
Autism is a spectrum which means that there is a wide variety of impairment. A person can fall anywhere from needing help with basic skills to living an independent life. Autism occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, but is almost five times more common among boys than among girls. The Center for Disease Control estimates that about 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder.
Symptoms
People with ASD often have problems with social, emotional, and communication skills. They might repeat certain behaviors and might not like change in their daily activities. They may seek out or avoid certain sensory behaviors. Many people with ASD also have different ways of learning, paying attention, or reacting to things. Signs of ASD begin during the infant years and typically last throughout a person’s life.
Children or adults with ASD might:
- not point at objects to show interest (for example, not point at an airplane flying over)
- not look at objects when another person points at them have trouble relating to others
- be very interested in people, but not know how to talk, play, or relate to them
- have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
- avoid eye contact
- appear to be unaware when people talk to them, but respond to other sounds
- repeat or echo words or phrases said to them, or repeat words or phrases
- repeat actions over and over again
- have trouble adapting when a routine changes
- have unusual reactions to the way things smell, taste, look, feel, or sound
Social Challenges
Most people who have autism have a hard time with social interactions. By 8 to 10 months of age, many infants who go on to develop autism are showing some symptoms such as failure to respond to their names, reduced interest in people and delayed babbling. By toddlerhood, many children with autism have difficulty playing social games, don’t imitate the actions of others and prefer to play alone. They may fail to seek comfort or respond to parents’ displays of anger or affection in typical ways. Research suggests that children with autism are attached to their parents. However the way they express this attachment can be unusual. To parents, it may seem as if their child is disconnected.
Both children and adults with autism also tend to have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking and feeling. Subtle social cues such as a smile, wave or grimace may convey little meaning. To a person who misses these social cues, a statement like “Come here!” may mean the same thing, regardless of whether the speaker is smiling and extending her arms for a hug or frowning and planting her fists on her hips. Without the ability to interpret gestures and facial expressions, the social world can seem bewildering.
Many people with autism have similar difficulty seeing things from another person’s perspective. Most five year olds understand that other people have different thoughts, feelings and goals than they have. A person with autism may lack such understanding. This, in turn, can interfere with the ability to predict or understand another person’s actions.
Communication Difficulties
By the first birthday, most typically developing toddlers say a word or two, turn and look when they hear their names, point to objects they want or want to show to someone (not all cultures use pointing in this way). When offered something distasteful, they can make clear – by sound or expression – that the answer is “no.”
By contrast, babies and toddlers with autism tend to be delayed in babbling and learning to use gestures. When language begins to develop, the person with autism may use speech in unusual ways. Some have difficulty combining words into meaningful sentences. They may speak only single words or repeat the same phrase over and over. Some go through a stage where they repeat what they hear verbatim (echolalia).
Some mildly affected children exhibit only slight delays in language or even develop precocious language and unusually large vocabularies – yet have difficulty sustaining a conversation. Some children and adults with autism tend to carry on monologues on a favorite subject, giving others little chance to comment. In other words, the ordinary “give and take” of conversation proves difficult. Some children with ASD with superior language skills tend to speak like little professors, failing to pick up on the “kid-speak” that’s common among their peers.
Another common difficulty is the inability to understand body language, tone of voice and expressions that aren’t meant to be taken literally. For example, even an adult with autism might interpret a sarcastic “Oh, that’s just great!” as meaning it really is great.
Conversely, someone affected by autism may not exhibit typical body language. Facial expressions, movements and gestures may not match what they are saying. Their tone of voice may fail to reflect their feelings. Some use a high-pitched sing-song or a flat, robot-like voice. This can make it difficult for others to know what they want and need.
Spoken Language
The ability to use spoken language is not mentioned in the official Autism criteria. Spoken language is a cognitive skill and the ability to speak depends on whether certain areas of the brain are working correctly. Autism does not impact these areas directly but many conditions associated with Autism like Fragile X, seizure disorders, global developmental delays can impact the language areas of the brain resulting in a person not being able to speak.
If a person only has Autism and no other conditions or brain damage they are generally able to learn spoken language normally. If a person has some sort of dysfunction with language areas of the brain they may experience significant language delays and don’t begin to speak until much later in life. With therapy, however, most people with Autism do learn to use spoken language and all can learn to communicate. Many nonspeaking or nearly non speaking children and adults learn to use communication systems such as pictures, sign language, electronic word processors or even speech-generating devices to overcome spoken communication difficulties.
Repetitive Behaviors
Unusual repetitive behaviors and/or a tendency to engage in a restricted range of activities are another core symptom of autism. Common repetitive behaviors include hand-flapping, rocking, jumping and twirling, arranging and rearranging objects, and repeating sounds, words, or phrases. Sometimes the repetitive behavior is self-stimulating, such as wiggling fingers in front of the eyes.
The tendency to engage in a restricted range of activities can be seen in the way that many children with autism play with toys. Some spend hours lining up toys in a specific way instead of using them for pretend play. Similarly, some adults are preoccupied with having household or other objects in a fixed order or place. It can prove extremely upsetting if someone or something disrupts the order. Along these lines many children and adults with autism need and demand extreme consistency in their environment and daily routine. Slight changes can be extremely stressful and lead to outbursts
Repetitive behaviors can take the form of intense preoccupations, or obsessions. These extreme interests can prove all the more unusual for their content (e.g. fans, vacuum cleaners or toilets) or depth of knowledge (e.g. knowing and repeating astonishingly detailed information about Thomas the Tank Engine or astronomy). Older children and adults with autism may develop tremendous interest in numbers, symbols, dates or science topics.
Some repetitive behaviors have to do with sensory processing difficulties. Sensory Processing refers to the way our nervous system receives messages from the senses and responds to those messages. People who have a difficult time processing this sensory information essentially have a neurological traffic jam that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information they need to interpret sensory information correctly. These difficulties lie on a spectrum with some people having severe difficulties while others are more mild.
Humans have seven senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, tactile, proprioceptive and vestibular. You have probably heard of the first five but the last two are often overlooked. Proprioceptive input is the sense we get from our muscles and joints. Vestibular is the sense that tells us when we feel dizzy. People who have a difficult time processing sensory information misinterpret the strength of different input to senses. Some people have one or two senses impacted, others have difficulties with all of the senses.
A person may be hypo-senstive or hyper-sensitive to any sense. Hypo-sensitive means that the brain turns down the volume on these senses. They may not notice input and are often referred to as “sensory seekers”. Hyper-sensitive means that the brain turns up the volume on these senses. They are extra aware of input and are often referred to as “sensory avoiders”. Others are both hyper and hypo sensitive based on the situation and input type.
A sensory profile refers to the unique combination of sensory issues a neurodivergent person experiences. Some senses could be hypo-sensitive, others hyper-sensitive, maybe both hyper and hypo and some not impacted at all. For instance, a person may be overly sensitive to sounds and avoid loud noises, be under sensitive to touch and seek out rough textures while having no issues with their vision.
What causes Autism
Our current theories on Autism suggest that people who have a genetic predisposition to ASD and have environmental stressors before and during are at the highest risk. Anecdotally, many parents of children with Autism identify somewhere under the Neurodiversity umbrella or have close family members that do. Environmental stressors include advanced parental age at time of conception (both mom and dad), maternal illness during pregnancy and certain difficulties during birth, particularly those involving periods of oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain. It is important to keep in mind that these environmental factors alone do not cause autism, they just increase the chances.
High Functioning Autism Vs. Severe Autism
The labels often used to describe Autism as high or low functioning are not accurate. What they are actually describing is a person’s cognitive functioning. Cognitive functioning describes how well the brain is working in certain areas and includes: attention, memory, reasoning and language that directly leads to gaining information.
If a person with Autism has high cognitive functioning they usually speak, can pay attention to social skills that are constantly being taught, remember previous learning experiences and can logically reason how they should respond to a social situation even if it does not come natural to them. Meanwhile, someone without those abilities is not able to respond appropriately. As you can imagine, these two situations are going to be “judged” very differently by society who then labels one “high functioning autism” and the other “severe autism” but in reality they both have the same social deficits–one just learned to adapt and the other was not able to due to brain abnormalities.
The ability to adapt has huge implications for treatment. A person with high cognitive abilities may only need 10 trials to learn a new skill while a person with low cognitive abilities may need 80 trials to learn that same skill. Essentially, the first person is learning 8 times as many skills as the second person learned one skill which snowballs over the lifespan. This allows people with high cognitive functioning who were considered to have “Mild Autism” to catch up while those who have low cognitive functioning and considered to have “Severe Autism” to fall further and further behind their peers.
One contributing factor to cognitive functioning is oxygen deprivation before, during or shortly after birth. There can be multiple ways that this occurs: the mother’s blood may not have had enough oxygen, the mother’s blood pressure may have been too high or too low, the placenta could have separated too early, the mother may have had a very long or difficult delivery, the umbilical cord may have been compressed or wrapped around the baby’s neck, a serious infection could have occurred, the baby’s airway could be blocked or have a malformation, or the baby may have anemia and not carry enough oxygen. Whatever the cause, Seattle Children’s explains “without oxygen, cells cannot work properly. Waste products build up in the cells and cause temporary or permanent damage”.
Conservative numbers estimate that 15-30% of people with Autism also have seizures, many of which often cause some brain damage. Additionally, a genetic condition named Fragile X Syndrome, is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and it also is associated with nearly 10% of Autism cases.
Some people who have Autism have a genetic condition that influences their brain development. These disorders include: Fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, chromosome 15 duplication syndrome and other single-gene and chromosomal disorders. For some of these disorders there are characteristic features or they run in families, so knowing if there is known genetic basis for a particular person’s case of Autism can be helpful for comorbid medical issues and life planning.
What are the diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder include several parts within two main categories 1. communication and 2. restrictive or repetitive behaviors. People must have symptoms in both categories to be diagnosed with ASD. These symptoms have to be present during early development but they may not cause issues until later in life when social demands increase. Sometimes people learn strategies to mask these symptoms.
It is also important that these symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning. For each category a severity level is assigned and a person may have different levels for each category. Level 1 is identified as “requiring support”, Level 2 is “requiring substantial support”, and Level 3 is “requiring very substantial support”.
Category 1: Communication- Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history
- Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
- Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
- Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.
Severity for the communication category:
- Level 1 indicates the ability to have some verbal and nonverbal communication (these people can often speak) but have trouble with maintaining conversations, and whose attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful.
- Level 2 indicates marked impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication (these people often have simple sentences or communication tools to communicate) and social impairments even with supports in place.
- Level 3 indicates severe impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication (these people are often nonverbal), very limited imitation of social interactions, minimal response to social interactions and require many supports to function.
Category 2: Restrictive or Repetitive Behaviors- Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history
- Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypies, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).
- Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns or verbal nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take the same route or eat food every day).
- Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g, strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interest).
- Hyper- or hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).
Severity for the Restrictive/Repetitive category:
- Level 1 indicates inflexibility of behavior, mild difficulties coping with change and mild restricted/repetitive behaviors that may not be obvious to the casual observer but does cause internal distress.
- Level 2 indicates inflexibility of behavior, difficulty coping with change, or other restricted/repetitive behaviors appear frequently enough to be obvious to the casual observer and interfere with functioning in a variety of contexts.
- Level 3 indicates inflexibility of behavior, extreme difficulties coping with change and intense restricted or repetitive behaviors that interfere with functioning.
People who have social deficits but no repetitive behaviors are diagnosed with social communication disorder instead of Autism.
Can a person move off the spectrum?
Growing evidence suggests that a small minority of people with ASD improve their skills to the point that they no longer qualify for the diagnosis. The person still has a neurodivergent brain but their struggles do not meet the criteria listed in the DSM-5.
Testing
ASD can be diagnosed in infants as young as 6 months old but many parents do not seek out an evaluation until much later due to many factors. Research shows that oldest and only children tend to be diagnosed the latest because their parents have nothing to compare their behavior to while middle and youngest children are diagnosed much earlier when their parents notice a difference compared to previous children. Many places have long wait lists for Autism testing which can also delay diagnosis.
ASD is most frequently diagnosed by a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist or psychologist. The diagnostic process usually consists of getting a detailed developmental history, some standardized tests and behavioral observations. The results are usually written up into a report and shared with the family.
Treatment
Not all people with autism want or need treatment. The decision to address certain areas is an individual decision that each family makes. There are a variety of therapies available including: Floortime, Reflective Integration Therapy (RIT), Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), Speech/Language Therapy and Hippotherapy (Therapeutic Horseback Riding).
Some therapies focus on reducing problematic behaviors and building communication and social skills, while others deal with sensory integration problems, motor skills, emotional issues, and food sensitivities. Each person who has ASD experiences symptoms in different ways so the best form of treatment for them will be unique.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) works to systematically change behavior based on principles of learning derived from behavioral psychology. ABA encourages positive behaviors and discourages negative behaviors. In addition, ABA teaches new skills and applies those skills to new situations
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is a type of ABA for very young children with an ASD, usually younger than five, often younger than three.
Pivotal Response Training is a variation of ABA that works to increase a child’s motivation to learn, monitor his own behavior, and initiate communication with others by focusing on behaviors that are seen as key to learning other skills, such as language, play, and social skills. This training works to generalize skills across many settings with different people.
Discrete trial teaching is a common form of ABA, in which what is being taught is broken down into smaller steps, and taught using prompts and rewards for each step. Prompts and rewards are phased out over time.
Floortime is where therapists and parents engage children through the activities each child enjoys and follow the child’s lead. Floortime sessions emphasize back-and-forth play interactions. This establishes the foundation for shared attention, engagement and problem solving. Parents and therapists help the child maintain focus to sharpen interactions and abstract, logical thinking.
Speech Therapy with a licensed speech-language pathologist helps to improve a person’s communication skills, allowing him to better express his needs or wants. For individuals with ASD, speech therapy is often most effective when speech-language pathologists work with teachers, support personnel, families, and the child’s peers to promote functional communication in natural settings.
Some individuals with ASD are nonspeaking and unable to develop spoken communication skills, and the use of gestures, sign language, and picture communication programs are often useful tools to improve their abilities to communicate.
Occupational Therapy (OT) is used to help teach life skills that involve fine-motor movements, such as dressing, using utensils, cutting with scissors, and writing. Additionally, it is often used as a treatment for the sensory processing issues associated with ASD. OTs with a sensory integration approach have special training to help a person better tolerate their sensory sensitivities and work on becoming better able to complete difficult tasks. OTs often use sensory toys and gyms to help a person learn to regulate their senses. Another form of treatment is to create a “sensory diet” where a sensory routine is created to help the person regulate throughout the day.
Physical Therapy (PT) is used to improve gross motor skills and handle sensory integration issues, particularly those involving the individual’s ability to feel and be aware of his body in space. Similar to OT, physical therapy is used to improve the individual’s ability to participate in everyday activities. PT works to teach and improve skills such as walking, sitting, coordination, and balance. Physical therapy is most effective when integrated in an early intervention program.
Hippotherapy (Therapeutic Horseback Riding) is a combination of speech, physical therapy and occupational therapy while riding a horse. Preparing the horse to ride requires various fine and gross motor skills. Riding the horse helps with balance, coordination and core strength. Noticing the horse’s nonverbal cues and learning how to provide nonverbal cues to the horse increases social skills. Specific treatment goals can also be incorporated into the sessions.
Medications can be helpful to gastrointestinal symptoms, seizures and sleep problems. They can also help lessen some of the behavioral symptoms of ASD, including irritability, aggression, and self-injurious behavior. Many people with Autism also experience anxiety, depression or ADHD which can be treated with medications. Regardless of the medication, the goal is to help the person feel more regulated and available for life. Medications should be prescribed and monitored by a qualified physician.
Treatment Settings:
Early Intervention Services
Research has shown that the earlier behavioral services begin the better the outcomes are. Each state is required to offer services to children ages 0-3 with ASD. When a child turns 3 years old the child’s school district becomes responsible for providing services.
Early intervention services may take place in the home or at daycare and usually include a combination of behavioral therapy for the child and parent training for the family. These early services typically target social skills, speech and sensory processing issues. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), the Early Start Denver Model, Floortime, Pivotal Response Therapy and Verbal Behavior Therapy are all commonly used treatment approaches for this age group.
Research shows that regardless of treatment approach toddler with ASD benefit from:
- 25 hours of structured therapeutic activities
- Highly trained therapist/teachers to conduct interventions
- Multiple professionals: physician, speech-language pathologist and occupational therapist
- A well defined treatment plan with measurable goals
- A program focusing on social skills, language, communication, imitation, play skills, daily living and motor skills
- Opportunities to interact with typically developing peers
- Treatments that actively involve the parents
A good ASD treatment plan will:
- Build on your child’s interests.
- Teach tasks as a series of simple steps.
- Actively engage your child’s attention in highly structured activities.
- Provide regular reinforcement of behavior.
- Involve the parents.
Interventions in the School System
When a child turns 3, they will receive services through their school district’s Special Education Department. As with early intervention, special education services are tailored to your child’s individual needs. Each school district has different resources; some children with autism spectrum disorders are placed with other developmentally-delayed kids in small groups where they can receive more individual attention and specialized instruction while others spend at least part of the school day in a regular classroom. The goal is to place kids in the least restrictive environment possible where they are still able to learn.
Home Interventions
Learning all you can about autism and getting involved in treatment will go a long way toward helping your child. Additionally, the following tips will make daily home life easier for both you and your child:
- Be consistent. Children with autism have a hard time adapting what they’ve learned in one setting (such as the therapist’s office or school) to others, including the home. For example, your child may use sign language at school to communicate, but never think to do so at home. Creating consistency in your child’s environment is the best way to reinforce learning. Find out what your child’s therapists are doing and continue their techniques at home. Explore the possibility of having therapy take place in more than one place in order to encourage your child to transfer what he or she has learned from one environment to another. It’s also important to be consistent in the way you interact with your child and deal with challenging behaviors.
- Stick to a schedule. Children with autism tend to do best when they have a highly-structured schedule or routine. Again, this goes back to the consistency they both need and crave. Set up a schedule for your child, with regular times for meals, therapy, school, and bedtime. Make a visual schedule for this routine so the child knows what to expect. Try to keep disruptions to this routine to a minimum. If there is an unavoidable schedule change, prepare your child for it in advance both through conversation and on their visual schedule.
- Reward good behavior. Positive reinforcement can go a long way with children with autism, so make an effort to “catch them doing something good.” Praise them when they act appropriately or learn a new skill, being very specific about what behavior they’re being praised for. Also look for other ways to reward them for good behavior, such as giving them a sticker or letting them play with a favorite toy.
- Create a home safety zone. Carve out a private space in your home where your child can relax, feel secure, and be safe. This will involve organizing and setting boundaries in ways your child can understand. Visual cues can be helpful (colored tape marking areas that are off limits, labeling items in the house with pictures). You may also need to safety proof the house, particularly if your child is prone to tantrums or other self-injurious behaviors.
- Help develop strengths. Spend some time figuring out what your child enjoys and how their unique perspective on the world can help benefit them. If they like trains try to use that as motivation for more difficult tasks. If they prefer having things in order, use that skill to help clean up around the house. If they stick to specific rules then set up “rules for social interactions” that they can follow. Many people with ASD prefer logical subjects. A study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders found that students with Autism who attended 2 year community colleges tend to succeed if they study science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM), were less likely to drop out and were twice as likely to transfer to a four-year university than their non-STEM peers.
- Pay attention to your child’s sensory sensitivities. Many children with autism are hypersensitive to light, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Other children with autism are “under-sensitive” to sensory stimuli. Figure out what sights, sounds, smells, movements, and tactile sensations trigger your kid’s “bad” or disruptive behaviors and what elicits a positive response. What does your child find stressful? Calming? Uncomfortable? Enjoyable? If you understand what affects your child, you’ll be better at troubleshooting problems, preventing situations that cause difficulties, and creating successful experiences through sensory activities.
Connecting with a child with autism can be challenging, but you don’t need to talk in order to communicate and bond. You communicate by the way you look at your child, the way you touch him or her, and by the tone of your voice and your body language. Your child is also communicating with you, even if he or she never speaks. You just need to learn the language.
- Look for nonverbal cues. If you are observant and aware, you can learn to pick up on the nonverbal cues that children with autism use to communicate. Pay attention to the kinds of sounds they make, their facial expressions, and the gestures they use when they’re tired, hungry, or want something.
- Figure out the need behind the tantrum. It’s only natural to feel upset when you are misunderstood or ignored, and it’s no different for children with autism. When children with autism act out, it’s often because you’re not picking up on their nonverbal cues. Throwing a tantrum is their way of communicating their frustration and getting your attention.
- Make time for fun. A child coping with autism is still a kid. For both children with autism and their parents, there needs to be more to life than therapy. Schedule playtime when your child is most alert and awake. Figure out ways to have fun together by thinking about the things that make your child smile, laugh, and come out of their shell. Your child is likely to enjoy these activities most if they don’t seem therapeutic or educational. Play is an essential part of learning and shouldn’t feel like work.
Being an Advocate
One of the biggest jobs for a parent is to be an advocate for the person with ASD. This includes scheduling evaluations, ensuring that proper services are in place at the home, school and societal levels and applying for financial support.
Once a person has been diagnosed with ASD and services have begun, it is important to communicate which areas need to be addressed. Ask yourself:
- What are my child’s strengths?
- What are my child’s weaknesses?
- What behaviors are causing the most problems?
- What important skills is my child lacking?
- How does my child learn best (through seeing, listening, or doing)?
- What does my child enjoy and how can those activities be used in treatment?
Government Assistance
A number of governmental financial resources may be available for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. These resources include Medicaid Home and Community Based Waivers, Social Security Income, and Social Security Disability Insurance.
For children and teens the U.S. federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), ensures that minors with autism spectrum disorders—are eligible for a range of free or low-cost services. Under this provision, children in need and their families may receive medical evaluations, psychological services, speech therapy, physical therapy, parent counseling and training, assistive technology devices, and other specialized services.
Get Support
Caring for a person with ASD can demand a great deal of time and energy. It is normal to feel overwhelmed, stressed or discouraged. Parenting isn’t ever easy, and raising a child with special needs is even more challenging. In order to be the best parent you can be, it’s essential that you take care of yourself. Consider the following options:
- Autism support groups – Joining an autism support group is a great way to meet other families dealing with the same challenges you are. Parents can share information, get advice, and lean on each other for emotional support. Just being around others in the same boat and sharing their experience can go a long way toward reducing the isolation many parents feel after receiving a child’s autism diagnosis.
- Parent Coaching – All the benefits of an Autism support group but in an individualized setting. This approach is great for parents who want more privacy, have hectic schedules or specialized family needs
- Respite care – Every parent needs a break now and again. And for parents coping with the added stress of autism, this is especially true. In respite care, another caregiver takes over temporarily, giving you a break for a few hours, days, or even weeks.
- Individual, marital, or family counseling – If stress, anxiety, or depression is getting to you, you may want to see a therapist of your own. Therapy is a safe place where you can talk honestly about everything you’re feeling—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Marriage or family therapy can also help you work out problems that the challenges of life with a child with autism are causing in your spousal relationship or with other family members.