Not all children have the same level of development. Thus, addressing each child’s individual needs is very important. ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex development condition concerning persistent challenges with:
- social communication
- restricted interests
- repetitive behavior
Autism is a lifelong disorder, the impairment degree in functioning due to the challenges that vary among individuals with autism. Thus, ASD must be guided well by a professional to acquire therapies to help them in their development. You can find speech, language and feeding therapy for autism.
What are these kinds of therapies?
There are three different types of therapies for children with autism, namely:
- Speech
- Language
- Feeding
These are basic and most common therapies used to help and guide the development of children with autism. These therapies are known for their best and most effective method to help deal with children with ASD.
Speech therapy for autism
Speech-language therapy addresses challenges with communication and language. It helps people with autism enhance their:
- Verbal
- Nonverbal
- Social communication
The general goal is to help the individual communicate in more functional and useful ways. There are five ways speech therapy can help children with autism:
- Exercises
- Articulate words better with practice
- Picture boards with words
- Singing to construct rhythm in a sentence
- Massaging facial muscles to improve speech
Language therapy for autism
There are seven top strategies to promote language development in nonverbal children with autism:
- Imitate the child
- Encourage social interaction and play
- Leave space for the kid to talk
- Concentrate on nonverbal communication
- Follow the child’s interest
- Simplify language
Feeding for children with autism
Feeding challenges are one of the most issues for children with autism. Children’s mealtime behavior and nutrition are common issues for parents. However, research confirms what the ATN parents have long been telling. Children with autism are overly selective in what will and will not eat.
As a result, children with autism have a less nutritional variety in their diets than typically growing siblings and friends. Outright food refusal and fear of new foods are among the most common concerns heard from parents. There are mealtime tips for children with autism, which face eating challenges to them:
- Ease to mealtime
- Rule out physical issues
- Support children posture
- Sit together at a table at mealtime
- Build acceptance for new foods by gradual exposure
- Expand what the child already eats
- Have set times for meals and then stick to them
Children with autism can still learn many things just like how ordinary children can do.