AUTISM THERAPY
The Most Important Things
I Learned From My Child’s
Therapists
By Diana ROMEO
M
y son is 16 years old and is on the au-
tism spectrum. He started speech ther-
apy at age three and applied behavior
analysis (ABA) at the age of four. He’s
had occupational and music therapies
and been to social skills groups led
by therapists. A whole lot of therapy!
Some of the therapies have been at school, some in
the community, and a lot have been in our home.
I’ve liked some therapists more than others, and
I’ve found some more competent than others. I’ve
learned something from all of them. Here are five re-
ally important things that I’ve found helpful.
1.
Behavior is communication
This point is huge. If your child is nonverbal,
slightly verbal, or just has trouble expressing
needs and wants, behavior is a very big clue.
I’ve been at this game for a while and some-
times in the middle of life I just forget this. We
were at the beach recently, and my son kept
going over to the shower and drinking from
it (you know, the one with the sign saying it’s
not safe to drink the water). After repeated-
ly telling him not to do that I realized he was
thirsty (duh). It may not always be that clear-
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 72 |
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