Autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of developmental disorders that usually become apparent in a child by the age of 3 years. Spectrum refers to a range of symptoms that affect different skill sets with varying degrees of impairment. For example, some children with ASD may be mildly impaired by their condition while others may become severely disabled.
Autism may result in the development of different traits such as repetitive activities, an inability to adjust to a change in routine, unusual responses to different sensory input and an inability to interact productively with their environment. Individuals with autism may lack communication skills both verbal and non-verbal, making it very difficult for them to interact socially, often leading to anti-social behavior, isolation and even ostracism. For this reason speech and language therapy for children with autism is one of several essential therapies that can be used to help them integrate into society. These speech therapy techniques for autism help to tackle a wide range of problems with regard to communication and form an integral part of the treatment for autism.
Research has shown that early intervention in the form of intense behavioral therapy can vastly improve cognitive, language and communication skills in children with ASD. The earlier the intervention, the better is the prognosis. Therapy should ideally commence the moment the developmental disability is observed, often during the toddler years.
One form of therapy that is widely accepted is applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA helps to shape and reinforce new behaviors such as playing and talking while reducing undesirable ones such as screaming and banging the head. ABA may involve intensive interactions between the therapist/teacher and the child, often going up to 40 hours every week. It is based on the principle of reward, which notes that children are most likely to repeat behaviors that are rewarded than avoid behavior that is punished.
Speech therapy forms an integral part of ABA. The benefits of speech therapy for autism include areas such as speech, language skills and communication skills, areas that are usually affected in ASD.
About one third of all individuals affected by ASD have trouble with verbal communication. These problems with communication often accompany other symptoms such as:
Speech therapy addresses all these areas as well as helps the child to use facial expressions, body language and tonal inflections to reinforce their communication skills. Speech-language pathologists form a key part of the team treating the autistic child and will work closely with the family, school and other professionals. They are often the first to diagnose the developmental delay in a child that indicates autism and help in referring the child to other specialists as required.
A speech therapist may use several techniques and aids to build up the child's communication skills.
Using these and other techniques, the therapist sets goals for the child which act as developmental markers and help measure the progress the child is making. The result, often achieved over years of painstaking labor, helps the autistic individual to improve overall communication, making it easier for them to function as a part of society.
Research shows that those receiving speech therapy are the ones who show the most improvement, a fact to bear in mind when consulting your therapist.
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