How to Treat Autism

There is no cure for autism, a bio-neurological disability that prevents individuals from interacting with their immediate environment and communicating with those around them. By following a wide variety of available therapies, from behavior modification to nutritional counseling, the effects of autism can be diminished, and an autistic person can become highly productive in social situations.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Qualified mental heath expert, such as a psychiatrist or developmental psychologist

Treat Autism

1. Use occupational therapy to teach autistic individuals to perform everyday routines, such as getting dressed and practicing good hygiene.
2. Employ physical therapy to treat autism. Physical therapy involves exercise regimens that teach the autistic individual to control their body movements better.
3. Apply behavior modification techniques to help eliminate aggressive, repetitive or undesirable behavior in an autistic individual. Most of these techniques are based upon positive reinforcement, which rewards the patient for correct behavior, instead of negative reinforcement, which punishes them. Behavior modification usually involves highly structured activities monitored by a behavioral therapist in a one-on-one environment.
4. Try sensory integration therapy, which exposes an autistic individual to different sensory stimuli, and helps him to react appropriately to each one.
5. Implement play therapy when dealing with an autistic child, which encourages her to use her imagination through role-playing and telling stories. This will help her improve social interaction with her peers.
6. Utilize communication therapy, which teaches an autistic patient to use language more effectively in communicating his thoughts and needs to others. Speech therapy may be an important component in this approach.
7. Consider a program that uses picture exchange communication systems (PECS), which teaches an autistic child how to use visual cues to communicate with others, since those who are autistic are usually visually-oriented.
8. Change the diet of the autistic person to eliminate products that contain wheat, gluten, oats and casein (a protein found in dairy products). These foods may not be adequate absorbed by autistics, which may affect brain function. Additional vitamin supplements are usually recommended in conjunction with this type of diet.
9. Use prescription medications that can control autistic behaviors, such as antidepressants (which can lessen repetitive behaviors), anti-psychotic medications (which can reduce aggressive and undesirable behavior) and stimulants (which improve focus and attention).
10. Learn more about how to treat autism at websites such as NeurologyChannel.com (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• The best results in treating autism is by combining several approaches, rather than just one, since each autistic individual responds to treatment in a unique manner.