So, how to check the effectiveness of potential treatment plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
A diagnosis of Autism can be stressful for parents. There is no one size fits all approach to treating autism but there are some general principles that should be followed when developing a treatment plan for your child.
Every child with Autism is unique & therefore require a unique treatment plan. There is no single cure for autism, but many interventions and therapies are effective in helping them to reach their full potential.
The most important thing is to work with professionals who are experienced in working with children with Autism & who can customize a treatment plan to meet your child individual needs.
Sometimes it becomes more challenging when no progress occurs after years of therapy. In that case parents should check some points.
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Lets find out how to check the potential treatment plan for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
According to the Autism Society of America the following points to be checked in your child potential treatments:
- Predefined assessment procedures– There should be a predefined scale like CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale) or ISAA (Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism)
- Routine of a child– Children with Autism are visual learner & they follow a specific routine and slight change in that will upset their mood. So, therapy should be in a planned way and specific time to get better results. Routine should be in the form of image.
- Scientific base of the treatment– Any therapy should be science based, should be proved effective by research.
- All activities should be planned and organized for a common goal.
- Progress should be measured at regular interval– For this purpose ATEC (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist) or any other checklist should be used.
- Check for personal attention given to your child or number of children in a group therapy session.
- Check for how successful is the program for other kids, it may be google review or social media review.
- The treatment of Autism should be integrated with the academic goals, vocational life, and social skills.
- Distraction free environment – Therapy should be done in a distraction free environment; Autistic children are sensitive to light and sound. Loud noise or bright light distract them easily.
- Check the cost, duration, and location of the program– First you should check the cost of treatment and it should be in your budget for long term, because many parents discontinue therapies due to financial reason. What will be the duration of treatment should be also checked. Location and timing should be convenient to you for long term.
- Tasks and rewards given to the child should be personally motivating to get the result in therapies.
- It should prepare parents to continue the therapy at home– Therapies given to home in familiar atmosphere by parents will give 5 times better results according to research. Child will also get opportunity to practice the skills 20 times more in comparison to traditional therapies. Parents training will also save time and money of parents and make them self-dependent.
If you are taking therapies from years for your child but not getting results, then you must check all above points in your potential treatment plan for autism spectrum disorder and if any thing missing you should correct it.