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Is Early Intervention the Answer?

Thanks to the recent advances in the areas of research and awareness, children are being diagnosed with ASD at increasingly younger ages. In the past, a child with Aspergers would easily go undiagnosed until the second year of school, or even later. Pediatricians are now using guidelines for developmental milestones, along with parental checklists, to question whether young children need to be tested for ASD. Because of these efforts, children as young as 15-18 months of age are receiving the Autism diagnosis, allowing for early treatment options.

Early Intervention programs are state-run government programs that offer testing, evaluation, and treatments to children from birth to age three, with medical needs and/or developmental delays. These programs are funded by state and federal government agencies and are offered to families at no cost beyond health insurance coverage. In most cases, testing is done in the child’s home and therapies are offered within the home if possible.

Recent studies are showing that these Early Intervention programs are making a significant difference in the lives and abilities of children with Autism. The University of Washington in Seattle has published a paper on one such study. This five-year study involved US toddlers who had been diagnosed with Autism. You can read more about the effectiveness of Early Intervention as found in the study at the University of Washington by clicking this link: http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=172495

My Aspergers Child: Preventing Meltdowns and Tantrums in Aspergers Children

3 comments:

Barbara Watson said...

Thanks for your post! I used an iPhone application called Voice4u and I was able to stop my son from having a tantrum through visuals. It's simple and pretty good, check it out: http://voice4uaac.com :)

Barbara

Anonymous said...

You bet early intervention is key. My son didn't get diagnosed until age 10. He was misdiagnosed ADHD and ODD earlier. At least in the area I live in, there are NO Autism specialists who work with these kids who are so high-functioning that it takes time to get an accurate diagnosis. We are told over & over that if he were 8 or younger, he would be getting services. I'm still fighting, because he does need therapy for emotional regulation & obsessive thoughts, but it's an uphill battle.

Anonymous said...

I have two boys, one with Aspergers and he is 9 and my 5 year old has PPD. I am continually fighting with the school here for the to get better educated to deal with children like mine. I refuse for them to not be in a regular classroom settling even though they have my youngest in an ES classroom.

My child has been rejected by his peers, ridiculed and bullied !!!

Social rejection has devastating effects in many areas of functioning. Because the ASD child tends to internalize how others treat him, rejection damages self-esteem and often causes anxiety and depression. As the child feels worse about himself and becomes more anxious and depressed – he performs worse, socially and intellectually.

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How to Prevent Meltdowns in Children on the Spectrum

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's or HFA child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and your child are totally exhausted. But... don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

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Parenting Defiant Teens on the Spectrum

Although Aspergers [high-functioning autism] is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, the challenges parents face when disciplining a teenager on the spectrum are more difficult than they would be with an average teen. Complicated by defiant behavior, the teen is at risk for even greater difficulties on multiple levels – unless the parents’ disciplinary techniques are tailored to their child's special needs.

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Older Teens and Young Adult Children with ASD Still Living At Home

Your older teenager or young “adult child” isn’t sure what to do, and he is asking you for money every few days. How do you cut the purse strings and teach him to be independent? Parents of teens with ASD face many problems that other parents do not. Time is running out for teaching their adolescent how to become an independent adult. As one mother put it, "There's so little time, yet so much left to do."

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Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism

Two traits often found in kids with High-Functioning Autism are “mind-blindness” (i.e., the inability to predict the beliefs and intentions of others) and “alexithymia” (i.e., the inability to identify and interpret emotional signals in others). These two traits reduce the youngster’s ability to empathize with peers. As a result, he or she may be perceived by adults and other children as selfish, insensitive and uncaring.

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to read the full article...

Highly Effective Research-Based Parenting Strategies for Children with Asperger's and HFA

Become an expert in helping your child cope with his or her “out-of-control” emotions, inability to make and keep friends, stress, anger, thinking errors, and resistance to change.

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