Vicki Said:

HELP need home therapy for toddler with autism In DFW texas?

We Answered:

call teh state early intervention service--the doc shoudl have told you taht--in most states it is free

also--when he 32-33 months--contact the school district--they will take over onhis 3rd birthday--but need 3 months to prepare..

Early Intervention and Schools don't fill prescriptions--they are not medical models--they will take teh docs suggestions--but often teh docs suggestion is way off base--not based on reality

ABA should include 'natural environment teaching' and incidental learning' which are their terms for 'floortime'

Floortime technically refers to GreenSpan's DIR method--which is different from ABA--

you will also want to ask about occupational therapy..

insurance often won't cover these services b ecuase tehy claim teh child did not lose teh skill-but was born like this--and tehy don't pay for developmental issues..

was the doc a specialist (developmetnal pediatrican or neurologist)--if not sceduale an appointment--could take 6 months or more

Louise Said:

kind attention:parents with autistic children,what therapy should be applied for autism?

We Answered:

The latest scientific research on autism suggests that the primary genetic factor related to autism are susceptibility genes. In other words, if a baby (or toddler, or child in the case of regressive autism) has a genetic predisposition or susceptibility and then is exposed to certain environmental factors at critical stages of development, the result will be that they will contract a form of autism. This can be anywhere from full-blown autism to one of the autism spectrum disorders (higher-functioning forms of autism used to describe individuals who are clearly autistic but have higher verbal, academic, social or life skills than full-blown autistic individuals).

As far as "curing" autism, the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) protocol is enjoying great success in reversing and eliminating the symptoms of autism. DAN is a bio-medical approach to autism involving several steps: evaluation, gastrointestinal healing, correcting nutritional deficiencies, removing heavy metals (chelation) and correcting auto-immune abnormalities. You can read more about the treatment in the book Children with Starving Brains by Jaquelyn McCandless, MD.

So, although some medical journals may declare that autism is a life-long illness with no cure, the plethora of testimonies of parents of children with autism who have successfully used biomedical approaches and now have children without autistic symptoms says otherwise.

My son with regressive autism is only in the gastrointestinal healing phase of DAN, and we've already seen remarkable results.

Brett Said:

Have you ever tried craniosacral therapy for your child with Autism?

We Answered:

I don't think it's dangerous but there's not much scientific evidence out there just empirical evidence. I'd have my quack detector turned way up because therapies like this often promise much and deliver little.

Basically with autism, you fall into one of two camps. One believes that autism is a physiological condition that can be "cured" or "reversed" with biomedical and other medical interventions. From a scientific standpoint, this does not seem to be the case.
The other camp believes autism is a neurological difference of being and most believe our kids were born this way. There are scientific studies showing autism as most likely being genetic and not environmental. I belong to this camp. It is also important to note that many autistic adults (there are tons of bloggers) believe they were born this way. They were subjected to many quack therapies so I value their input on these matters.

So, if you decide to use this therapy, I wouldn't go into it hoping it will cure your daughter's autism. Your daughter will always be autistic. The more life skills she is able to master, the better equipped she will be to deal with the world, so I would not sacrifice speech and OT. You may find that the pressure and relaxation may be beneficial for her and help her to calm and collect herself, although, you could probably achieve this in a quiet place in your home and save a lot of money. Hope this helps.

Kristina Said:

Behavioral Therapy for children with Autism?

We Answered:

you can get your masters in speech tehrapy

or special eduication

with certification in ABA

www.bacb.com

Ben Said:

My son @ 4 years old has been diagnosed with Autism (ashbergers)with echolalic speech.?

We Answered:

I've given this same response to a couple of other people and stand by this approach. I do not have a child with autism but I work with children with this condition everyday as an occupational therapist and I believe wholeheartedly in this approach, along with sensory integration treatment that is provided by an occupational therapist.

Look into the P.L.A.Y. Project designed by Richard Solomon and Stanley Greenspan. You can find some preliminary information on www.playproject.org about the program. There is some really exciting evidence that the PLAY Project is really effective in improving function in children with autism. I have seen children go from nonverbal and nonresponsive to very verbal and affectionate within 1-2 years time.

It stands for Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters and is just what it says. A PLAY consultant comes to the home once a month and teaches the parent/caregivers how to support the child at the level he/she is at through play and how to help the child move into the next level. You may or may not have PLAY consultants in your area. It is a very nonobtrusive treatment and it works for a lot of children. Not only would the PLAY consultant train you, but anyone else you want to play with your child (i.e. the babysitter).

Also check out www.floortime.org and www.stanleygreenspan.com

PLAY is based on Greenspan's DIR/Floortime model as developed with Serena Wieder.

Wilma Said:

18 month old son and speech therapy question?

We Answered:

My son was the same way. Only difference is we waited until after his 2nd birthday to talk to thd doctor with our concerns about his speech. I think that speech therapy is great. When they are that young usually the therapist will come to you house to play and show him and you techniques to get him to speak. My son started the therapy when he was 2 1/2 because they wanted to put him into a preschool that speacializes in speech. He just turned 5 last week and it is unbelievable how different a few years have made. The words are clear and in some instances I think that he talks better then a few kids that I know who are older then him!
As far as what to expect, you have to get a referral from the doctor and it has to be sent to the school district that you live in. After the school gets the referral they will call you to set up appointments to go to have a speech evaluation. My sons was broke up into two sessions because of his age. And then he also went for a psychological evaluation *they may want him to do that also, most schools require it to make sure there aren't any other services that he needs* After that they will see what percent of speech he has and will basically tell you if he qualifies or not. After that you start the speech therapy. At the end of the school year he will get revaluated to see if he qualifies for the next year. Its really simple once he gets in the groove of things. It really is very beneficial so give it a shot! And the teachers are great- they do fun stuff like blowing bubbles, drinking applesauce threw a straw, etc...as exercises to strengthen there mouths. It depends on your child though. He may only need vocabulary, or he may not be able to move his mouth to properly make the sounds that he needs to form his words. He'll be fine! Good luck!