If you child is on the autistic spectrum, what treatments are you doing?

[allycat]

What treatments/therapy are you doing if you have a child on the autistic spectrum? Especially if you have a child 5 and over?

We are trying to figure out what would help best for our dd. She is super high functioning. Her main issues are socially, anxiety, agression, regulation. Thanks!

[mommy2bugnbugga]

My dughter is 5 years and has P.D.D. She takes clondine and risperdal at night. She also gets speach therapy 3 times a week, special ed 5 days a week (for 1 hour, she goes to regular class the rest of the time), and Occupational therapy to work on social behaviors. Next month she starts with a regular "therapist" to help her learn how to cope with her behavioral problems during school. HTH you!

[iris0110]

Kearnan is 6.5, he regressed after his 18month vaccinations and later testing showed brain damage from encephalitis. So some of the stuff we do is kind of specific to his other medical issues. He was diagnosed with PDD NOS, sensory integration dysfunction and speech delay. He gets occupational therapy twice a week for 45minutes where they work on his dysgraphia and sensory issues. He also has feeding therapy twice a week. There they work on him eating somethign other than chicken nuggets. He used to get speech therapy through the school system but it really didn't do anything for him, when the therapist that he loved left and we moved we didnt' bother re-enrolling him for it. It just wasn't worth the effort. He also does therapeutic riding once a week in the fall and spring, that has helped with his self care and sensory issues, and it is a huge confidence builder. On top of this he sees a DAN! Dr who treats him biomedically (and was kind enough to refer us to a pedi gastro for testing which has been a huge help). He was treated for intestinal yeast and a nasty bacterial culture. He gets supplements of magnesium, zinc, and acidophilus to build back his immune system and because at the time of his biopsy he had no healthy intestinal flora at all. He also gets a b12 injection 3times a week. That has been a huge thing for him, it really helps. In the year and a half since he started biomedical treatment he has almost completely outgrown his diagnosis. He is now within normal range for speech and his self care and social skills have improved to where he is only about a year behind his peers. He is finally potty learned ect. He does still have sensory issues and he is going to see an optomitrist soon to see if some of his writing and sensory issues relate to eye problems. All in all it has been amazing. But it worked because of the root cause of his issues, it wouldn't work for all kids. Now the riding therapy I would suggest to anyone, it is amazing.

[allycat]

We have therapy riding center near us. I should check it out. Not sure about prices though. That would be really fun!

[maddy]

I was just at an Autism Conference and was introduced to Integrated Play Groups. The idea is that for 40 minutes to an hour 2-3 times a week your child with autism is in a play group with 2 other children who are not on the spectrum. The child on the spectrum learns from the other two kids and the other two kids learn about autism and inclusion occurs.
Often I see kids being pulled out of their classes to work one:one with an adult when really they need lots of help navigating social situations with peers. If you google Pamela Wolfberg and Heather McCracken + autism you should gets lots of info about this model of therapy.

[iris0110]

We have therapy riding center near us. I should check it out. Not sure about prices though. That would be really fun!

You should, some insurances will cover it. You might also want to google riding therapy or something similar, Spirit Horse where Kearnan rides is free of charge. It is the largest free of charge equestrian therapy center in the US, but there are others. The social worker from SSI recomended it to me, they know all of the services in the area. Maybe you could try to reach out to ECI in your area? Even if your child won't qualify for their services they may be able to get you in touch with other programs that could be beneficial. Like social work groups and camps, Play therapy, aquatic therapy ect. Some of which could be cheap to free. As well as finding parent support groups who also have some great info.

[momto3g4b]

Ummm.... nothing at this time aside from digestive enzymes and being casein-free.

There's nothing available around here for ASD kids. I mean, there's OT/ST/PT, but so few therapists that kids get only 30-60 minutes per MONTH of services, so it's useless.

Private therapy is covered by insurance for 30 sessions per year.... 15 weeks' worth. We did OT last year and I probably should do it this year, as well.

When David (6.5, autism) was young & we lived in Georgia and then Florida, he was in therapy 6 hours per week (OT, PT, ST, social skills group) and we did ABA for 15-20 hours per week. He made incredible progress then. Unfortunately, his development has slowed and he's stagnated a lot since we've moved to southern Oregon.

He's homeschooled and is slowly learning to read and write. In the past few years, I've had to learn to accept David's autism (though I still don't LIKE it) because it's not going away. I had had dreams of him becoming indistinguishable from his peers (being "recovered") and that might have happened if he had continued to receive the level of services that were available in Florida, but Oregon just doesn't have squat by comparison.

My 15 year old Aspie and 9 year old Aspie don't receive any services at all and they're fine. We work on social skills via real-life experiences as there are no group therapies available here.

My 4 year old PDD-NOS also gets nothing for services. He has an ariculation disorder and was offered 30 minutes of speech therapy per month. Whoopity do. I bought a home speech therapy program through NATHHAN called Straight Talk and it is helping me teach Isaac to speak more clearly.

[Adamsmama]

My son is 5, PDD-NOS/globally delayed. He is in speech therapy 2x a week, OT and PT 1x a week. He is also in special needs/spec. ed. preschool.

[allycat]

I was just at an Autism Conference and was introduced to Integrated Play Groups. The idea is that for 40 minutes to an hour 2-3 times a week your child with autism is in a play group with 2 other children who are not on the spectrum. The child on the spectrum learns from the other two kids and the other two kids learn about autism and inclusion occurs.
Often I see kids being pulled out of their classes to work one:one with an adult when really they need lots of help navigating social situations with peers. If you google Pamela Wolfberg and Heather McCracken + autism you should gets lots of info about this model of therapy.
Wow, this is very helpful!! THank you so much for this info. I really think that this would help my dd. She is very high functioning, but has social problems. I think this is a very good approach. Thanks!!

[allycat]

Ummm.... nothing at this time aside from digestive enzymes and being casein-free.

There's nothing available around here for ASD kids. I mean, there's OT/ST/PT, but so few therapists that kids get only 30-60 minutes per MONTH of services, so it's useless.

Private therapy is covered by insurance for 30 sessions per year.... 15 weeks' worth. We did OT last year and I probably should do it this year, as well.

When David (6.5, autism) was young & we lived in Georgia and then Florida, he was in therapy 6 hours per week (OT, PT, ST, social skills group) and we did ABA for 15-20 hours per week. He made incredible progress then. Unfortunately, his development has slowed and he's stagnated a lot since we've moved to southern Oregon.

He's homeschooled and is slowly learning to read and write. In the past few years, I've had to learn to accept David's autism (though I still don't LIKE it) because it's not going away. I had had dreams of him becoming indistinguishable from his peers (being "recovered") and that might have happened if he had continued to receive the level of services that were available in Florida, but Oregon just doesn't have squat by comparison.

My 15 year old Aspie and 9 year old Aspie don't receive any services at all and they're fine. We work on social skills via real-life experiences as there are no group therapies available here.

My 4 year old PDD-NOS also gets nothing for services. He has an ariculation disorder and was offered 30 minutes of speech therapy per month. Whoopity do. I bought a home speech therapy program through NATHHAN called Straight Talk and it is helping me teach Isaac to speak more clearly.
It is hard because everything is so expensive! It is also hard to find a person that is quality to work with. We are kinda in the same boat. I think that some therapy and social groups would be helpful for dd, but can't afford it hardly and I don't think that she would get much services even if she was in school. I've heard good things about NATHHAN.

[Dire Wolf]

Dori is ten and was dxed 3 years ago with Asperger's Symdrome. Getting to that point was a very long and painful road. We have gone through many different therapies and none have contained medications as they dont work on the autism itself only the comorbids that occur with it. We found that the horse therapy and ceramics as occupational therapy. Organic foods and our hot tub have been the best therapy. The one thing I can stress is that they need lots of stucture, an extremely stable and loving environment. One of the best ways to help Dori modify her behavior was to simply tell her what she is doing wrong and give her the proper reaction at the time her behavior issue. I absolutely love having Dori in my life, she has taught me so much about who I am and how I interact with others. There are times when I want to pull my hair out, like today, but they are fleeting moments and I get to see her grow and become such an amazing young woman. She is much more capable of love than anyone else I have ever known, it is truly amazing to watch her struggle one day and then get up and start the next day with fresh hope and new strength. I guess I'm just trying to say that there are lots of therapies but its best to start small and go bigger. If your lo doesn't have any medical issues then don't go with meds. We found the simplest therapies worked the most, fun things that dont seem like "help" kwim? If the dx is for high functioning, then there is the chance that they may not need much help. Sorry for rambling but this is a very near and dear subject to me.

[maddy]

I read an article in Canada about the best place in the country to get cancer treatments-apparently if you're from BC you get the best care. I wonder where the best place to raise a child on the spectrum is? Up here in Canada we have waitlists for everything and it is very frustrating for parents. The stats are rising for Autism 1 in 150 children and I don't see the services for these children keeping pace. I always try to remember to be the polite and persistent squeeky wheel.

[keegans_mommy]

Tiffany was diagnosed with high functioning Asperger Syndrome years ago. She was on Adderall, Stratera and Concerta (all one at a time). We hated how she was on those meds so we took her to a DAN! doc and got her off the meds. She still has symptoms but not as badly as she had them before the DAN! doc. She is not on any meds at all and won't need them.

[Dire Wolf]

I read an article in Canada about the best place in the country to get cancer treatments-apparently if you're from BC you get the best care. I wonder where the best place to raise a child on the spectrum is? Up here in Canada we have waitlists for everything and it is very frustrating for parents. The stats are rising for Autism 1 in 150 children and I don't see the services for these children keeping pace. I always try to remember to be the polite and persistent squeeky wheel.

I had tons of issues with the town I lived in 20 miles away from here. They put Dori in a "special day class" which was kids with severe Down's and MS and the likes, she didn't learn any math or writing skills for almost 2 years of school. Then we moved to our small town here and Dori has an aide and is fully integrated with high marks. It was like night and day, Dori likes going to school now and loves to tell me about the things she's learning. Does Canada have standards or mandates for special education? There seems to be a lesser regard for these kids in towns of about 40k to 60k here, places where they are big enough to recieve less funding, but not big enough to have a good, stable economy, kwim? In california, the best place to raise a child with autism is the Silicon Valley in Northern Cali or Malibu in Southern Cali. I've also heard that Texas has some grat programs as well. There is a school just for kids on the Spectrum in Boston I think, or New York, called the Millenial Hope School. It's $50k a semester I think but it's supposed to be amazing, they do social integration and life skills along with catered learning systems for each child. I personally want to homeschool Dori, but can't get my ex to agree. Can you homeschool special needs kids in Canada? Then the therapies can be tailored to what your lo needs at the best times for them to respond to them.