Do Autism Treatments Work?

There are countless autism treatments. Their effectiveness depends on a variety of factors, including how early intervention takes place as well as the severity of the autism. As a parent, knowing about and understanding your child's therapy can help you to make decisions regarding treatment.
 
It is recommended that you start new therapies one at a time. That way, you have a better idea of what is working and what isn't. Remember that not every treatment will work for every child and that treatments that don't work for some children may work for yours. If your child doesn't seem to show any signs of change after three months with a treatment, you may want to consider changing treatment. Here are some of the more popular autism treatments available.

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
This treatment is the most likely to be covered by your insurance. It is also the oldest and most researched treatment. ABA involves rewards for positive responses to skill-training. In successful ABA, the rewards are something that the child strongly desires. ABA is one of two treatments that research has shown to be effective. It has been said to be able to "cure" children with autism, but it does help the child to function normally.

Risperdal
This is an antipsychotic medication and the other treatment that science has proven to be effective. Risperdal is the only medication approved for use with autism. It was originally prescribed mainly for people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but helps with symptoms of autism including aggression, temper tantrums and self-injury. There are side effects to using Risperdal, including drowsiness, constipation, and weight gain.

Behavior Therapy
Although it sounds similar to Applied Behavior Analysis, behavior therapy is different. Behavior therapy involves discovering what causes an autistic child's negative behavior and working to change that. A behavioral specialist will study the child and what sets him off, or what calms him down, and base interventions around that. Behavior therapy can help make life manageable for everyone by improving behavior.

Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy helps to develop day-to-day living skills. This can be helpful for autistic people with fine motor skill difficulties, which are common. Occupational therapy also can help with extreme sensitivities to senses such as smells, sights and touch. 

Play Therapy
Children with autism need help learning how to play. There are different techniques to play therapy. A play therapist will work toward helping your child develop skills such as sharing, taking turns and playing pretend (which can be difficult for children with autism). The effectiveness of play therapy hasn't yet been studied enough to be conclusive.

Social Skills Therapy
Social skills therapy is important because of the difficulty with social interaction that people with autism face. Social skills therapy may involve group work, either in a school or private setting, or could include drama therapy. If social skills therapy was more intensive, its outcome may be better. As it is, social skills therapy can help someone with autism talk, play and work with others.