8 therapy ideas for your child with autism

Written on 9th Aug 2014 by Sylvia Lowery

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As a parent whose son has autism I am not committed to one therapy or way of teaching a child with autism. I believe we can provide the best support by trying different approaches and mixing them all together to help our children. Here are some therapies that I feel can be helpful. Every child with autism is unique some ideas help with one child and others will not.

1. ABA stands for Applied Behaviour Analysis. This method uses a behavioural approach to teaching which breaks the skills that need to be taught into tiny steps. Re-enforcement is used to keep the child interested and to help cement what has been learnt. This method of teaching is seen as as controversial. A number of adults who received ABA as children feel that it did them hard. This is due to how the teaching has been done, Alex had ABA therapy you can hear Alex’s feelngs about it here.

2. TEACCH is an intervention that uses structured teaching which is based on the way individuals with autism learn. It uses individual plans ans visual helps to help with gaining ubderstanding and independence. This method is suitable for all ages and is used in many setting s throughout the UK. This method is less a therapy and more a means of delivering the education. Visual prompts and colour coding can help an individual who struggles with change. This approach will change the environment so that this individual with autism can cope better. One of the problems with this approach can be that the individual with autism is calm and on task in the TEACCH environment but can’t cope when out of that environment. When Alex was younger he attended a special school for children with autism. We found that Alex’s behaviours increased at home because he struggled without the controlled environment of school.

3. Speech Therapy – Alex received speech therapy support from a someone who specialised in autism speech therapy. He also received support from the speech therapy team while he was at school. Children and adults with autism have more complex language issues than straightforwward language difficulties. They may struggle to interpret language, read social situations and body language. Specialist speech therapists can be a big help with all these difficulties. One of the problems is getting enough input from these specialists if you are reliant on what is available on the NHS. There are a number of good books available that can help you to work on these skills at home or in the classroom. We used Language for thinking ,  we used a book similar to this  50 best games for Speech & language development, and Pop up Pirate  was a great way to learn about turn taking . A free social skills download can also be found here.

4. Occupational Therapy – OT autism specialsts can work to help individuals with autism learn everyday tasks.

5. Sensory Intergration Therapy -This therapy is provided by specialist Occupational Therapists  who use play activities to change the way the brain reacts sensory input. Rather than teaching specific skills this therapy focuses on trying to find a way for the normal sensations to work properly which will lead to neurotypical responses. You can read about it here.  Alex used the Learning Breakthrough Programme which used a series of balancing ball exercises to helps to organise the way the brain processes information. Alex found that this programme helped him a lot.

6.  Horse Vaulting – Alex had riding lessons with the Riding for the Disabled from the age of six. When he was 11 he began Horse Vaulting. This therapy has provided Alex with a lot of help. Horses are gentle animals who can connect with humans. The process of standing and doing various exercises helped Alex’s balancing skills. His walk was much smoother and a year after he started Horse Vaulting furthermore he  learnt how to ride a bike as well.

7. Listening books – Alex has always found it hard to read books and take in the information. This is a disadvantage because stories give an understanding of the world and can be relaxing. From the age of 11 Alex liked to listen to well read audiobooks. He still uses this as a way to relax before he goes to sleep now. Listening books is a charity that provides a library of audiobooks for individuals who struggle to read books for themselves. Alex has benefited from this library and is still an active member now.

8. Social Stories – We used a lot of social stories to help Alex to overcome fears, adjust to a change or learn how to do a new task or to help Alex understand someone elses feelings. You can learn more about social stories here. You can find some examples of social stories here.

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