What should I consider when selecting an early intervention program?
When is the right time to start planning for my child’s future?
What are the critical areas to consider for my teenager?
I don’t know if my child has autism. Who can assess him, and what will that look like?
If my child does not have autism, but still needs help, where can I go?
What should I consider when selecting an early intervention program?
1. It is most important that you chose a program with a strong evidence base. For children with autism there is no stronger research support than that of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and this treatment methodology has proven to be highly effective for individuals with developmental needs. Thousands of research articles have been published demonstrating the effectiveness of ABA with children with developmental needs.
2. The next consideration is the type of ABA program that is best for your child. More modern ABA programs provide instruction within a play-based context. This has been proven to increase motivation and generalization (new skills being used outside of treatment sessions). Skills that children learn in this type of a natural context are much more likely to transfer to non-intervention interactions. This is particularly important for children with developmental needs who may see the language and social skills they are learning as being important only during treatment sessions.
3. Another important factor is parent involvement. You should feel welcome and included in your child’s sessions. Parents need to learn all of the intervention strategies and be aware of all treatment goals. This is most critical in that the number of hours of instruction is dramatically increased when parents provide teaching in natural contexts outside of sessions. No one is going to be a better teacher for your child than you.
4. It is also important to have a program that provides you with frequent and meaningful data on your child’s progress. While you are likely to see in-depth reports from most good ABA programs, it is also important that the goals relate to your life. It is ideal to have a program that is family friendly where the skills being taught to your child are immediately transferred into family routines and activities.
At AST, we value all of these factors in our programs. We have designed play-based programs that include state-of-the-art ABA methods. We prioritize parent education, and have developed tools to engage parents in our programs. Parents are included in goals setting and the evaluation of outcomes. AST looks to natural family routines as the ultimate outcome setting for success.
When is the right time to start planning for my child’s future?
Children with developmental needs often take longer to learn the language and social skills necessary for successful peer interactions and academic success. It is never too early to focus on independence. At the earliest stage, basic adaptive skills are critical as well as early social communication and play. As the child enters school it is critical that his or her ABA program reference the skills that are expected in the classroom and on the playground.
It is important to always be forward looking. What are your child’s interests, and how might they be leveraged to identify potential employment opportunities? Learning organizational skills are critical for all children, but for your child you may need to consider expanding them early to include such goals as
- Planning activities independently
- Orchestrating a trip to the mall
- Preparing all aspects of a meal
- Managing a simple budget
There are many opportunities in the life of a child to practice becoming more independent. We can help identify these opportunities and put together a program that builds independence. There is no time to waste when it comes to preparing for the future.
We’ve designed a program called Steps to Independence. This program starts with self-regulation strategies that form a foundation for all future independence goals. The children and teens in this program learn to recognize the steps needed to reach a goal, and how to measure their successes toward meeting that goal. We work with each family to identify an individualized set of meaningful goals (home and yard responsibilities, being a member of the community, managing money, etc.). Working with parents to define independence is important, while also having a good roadmap of what we believe the individual can achieve.
How are social skills taught?
Children and teens with developmental disabilities do not learn social skills by simply taking part in social activities. Many “social skills” groups are mostly experiential. Often they involve sharing an activity and being encouraged to talk and socialize. These may be fun for some children but are seldom instructional and the lasting effects may be compromised.
It is true that authentic and meaningful social interactions should be at the core of a social skills group. We believe that social skills instruction should have very clear and measurable social goals. There should be structure to the group, and clear expectations for social responding.
AST has several different social skills offerings, from basic social skills to advanced conversation. Each has a specific curriculum with well-defined outcomes. Our programs have expectations for generalization of social gains outside of the group. Parent involvement is key to this goal.
What are the critical areas to consider for my teenager?
Adolescent and teen years are the time to identify goals for a successful and happy adulthood. To thrive as an adult, one must have the needed skills to navigate the community, perform well at a job, socialize and connect with others, and maintain a home. With limited time until adulthood, teens with developmental disabilities should be working on all these goals.
Any program for teens should start with a solid foundation of self-regulation. The teen should be taught to manage their own program, including reporting on their progress and giving themselves rewarding feedback for success. Goals should include very specific social skills that target community interaction and employment behaviors. Independence should be defined for the specific individual’s abilities and opportunities.
AST has several programs related to these goals. Our Social Skills for Teens group addresses topics specific to teen culture. This group targets the teen’s needs right now, with opportunity to practice social skills needed at school as well as in the community.
Our Real Life program focuses on self-regulation, community membership, employment preparation and advanced independent living skills. This targets future needs and includes close planning with the family to define goals meaningful to the individual. The goal is to expand interests and strengths, and plot a roadmap to a good quality of life.
I don’t know if my child has autism. Who can assess him, and what will that look like?
Autism is most successfully treated when the child begins intervention before age three. Some of our youngest clients began before their first birthday. This requires early identification; typically earlier than a pediatrician is comfortable with. Early childhood development is different for every child. Early concerns about milestones such as first words, eye contact and toy use are easy to dismiss with a “wait and see” attitude. This is the most common response.
Some parents will seek the help of an expert to answer the question of whether their child’s development is a true concern. Finding a clinical or developmental psychologist specializing in autism can be difficult. Often, major children’s hospitals will have specialists able to make the diagnosis. You can expect a parent interview and a structured observation of your child. To get a good assessment of your child’s abilities, the diagnostician will want to see your child interacting in a number of different ways.
We can help you by assessing your child’s abilities through our Racing Ahead program, which is designed for infants and toddlers who may have early signs of autism or just some developmental delays. It’s also appropriate for parents who simply want to learn fun strategies for enhancing their child’s development. For a basic screening, our Racing Ahead program will provide a simple parent questionnaire as well as the observation of a play-based interaction with you and your child to determine if your child is demonstrating any delays in development. Racing Ahead is associated with AST and was born out of the need for assessment and programs for toddlers demonstrating the need for additional support. We can tell you if your child has a delay in any developmental area. If intervention is required, Racing Ahead can design a program specific to your child’s needs. All of the strategies are fun and play-based, rooted in Applied Behavior Analysis.
If my child does not have autism, but still needs help, where can I go?
It’s important for a child experiencing developmental difficulties to be in an actual program that stimulates development. There’s risk in not addressing the delay early. You should look for a program that uses a developmental curriculum and utilizes evidence-based methods such as Applied Behavior Analysis.
Developmental delays can be different for each child. A good developmental stimulation program will have a trained specialist play with your child using focused instruction embedded in fun interactions. There will always be clear developmental goals being addressed. You should expect to be included, learning how to use strategies and when to best use them.
Racing Ahead is a developmental stimulation program that uses research-based strategies to enhance development. It’s a fun program for both the children and their parents. Racing Ahead is very much generalization focused, meaning that our goal is for you to see improvement in your home and community for each and every goal in the program.
