Treatment

When entering the world of autism, whether as a parent or a provider, a number of questions immediately come to mind. From the parents’ perspective, questions such as “what caused my child’s autism” and “will my child be happy as an adult” are usually at or near the top of the list. From the perspective of the provider, we often fall well short of being able to provide adequate answers. It is understandable that saying “we don’t know the cause of your child’s autism” doesn’t exactly instill confidence in us as physicians or psychologists. Read full post »

 Supporting the Rhythms of Relationships

Relationships are an important component to a healthy life; we experience life through shared experiences. But for children with autism, forming relationships can be challenging. The Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based Model (DIR®/Floortime™), developed by Stanley Greenspan, MD and Serena Weider, PhD, is a framework used to help children with developmental differences, including autism, work through these challenges. Read full post »

Teaching Social Skills to Children with Autism: How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck! 

One of the most recommended therapies for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is social skills therapy. After all, deficits in social interaction define the autism spectrum – meaning, all children with autism/Asperger’s/PDD have impairments in this area. But, is it possible to effectively teach social skills and, more importantly, can that teaching translate into meaningful social relationships for children with ASD? We think so, but there are some things parents can do to ensure that their children are getting the most benefit from social skills treatment.  Read full post »

PRT. Yet Another Acronym. What is Pivotal Response Training and How Does it Differ from Other Behavioral Interventions?

If you have been following our blog recently you know that we are in full swing with our series on autism treatments. We featured two posts that reviewed Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy so it only makes sense that we now move on to covering Pivotal Response Training (PRT). PRT is yet another type of ABA therapy. Remember, we learned that ABA therapy is not a synonym for discrete trial training, which is often how people use the term. ABA therapy is the science of altering human behavior through learning principles. And PRT uses those very same principles, but in a different way. So, your next question is logically…then what is PRT? Read full post »

Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) was developed in the 1960’s by Dr. Aaron Beck for the treatment of depression. However, since then, CBT has been proven effective in the treatment of a wide variety of psychiatric conditions in which emotion and/or behavior dysregulation is a core symptom (e.g., anxiety, disruptive behavior disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, substance use/abuse). CBT has proven effective for a wide variety of age groups (i.e., children, teens, adults, and the elderly). In children, it is helpful in treating the disorders mentioned above, as well as non-compliance, aggression, self-harm, social isolation, risk-taking behaviors, and inactivity. Read full post »