Early Intervention In Autism

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There are different childhood disorders that could be diagnosed at an early age. Autism is a disorder that is usually detected during the first three years and continues throughout their life (Feldman, 2013). There have been more cases of autism reported, which might be to better reporting and early detection. Autism is a disorder that impairs children’s social skills, communication, and could create restricted and stereotyped behaviors (Frey, Walker, Small, Feil, Seeley, & Forness, 2015). Early intervention could be considered as any treatment approach at the initial diagnosing and since autism could be diagnosed at such early age, early intervention might need to start at with the parents at home. Providing early intervention to children …show more content…
Developing friendships is a basic human need that could help shape a person’s personality. Social skills could be the foundation that determines a child’s opportunities for growth in other areas of their life. There are different social skills interventions that could help improve social competencies in school age children. According to Kamps, Thiemann-Bourque, Heitzman-Powell, Schwartz, Rosenberg, Mason, & Cox (2015) social skills deficits could impact a child’s overall communication throughout their lifespan and reported improvement in combining direct instruction and peer-mediated approaches. The peer-mediated intervention also known as (PMI) is an evidence-based approach that is utilized to improve social and communication deficits in children with autism. The findings in Kamps, Thiemann-Bourque, Heitzman-Powell, Schwartz, Rosenberg, Mason, & Cox (2015) research demonstrated that approaches that encourage group interactions showed a growth in children taking initiation and better communication with peers. Being able to communicate with peers and take part in a group is considered great improvement in a child with autism. This is why is important for a child to have the opportunity to participate and be part of group settings at an early age in order to encourage socialization. Socialization exposure is important especially to a child with autism in which case they lack the ability to …show more content…
Language is a skill that takes a time to fully develop, and it is said that girls develop language skills faster than boys. Language skills in a child with autism depend greatly on the level of severity of the autism. It could go from making vocalizations to echolalia, which is when someone repeats what they hear, without a full understanding of what they are saying. Early intervention could help and aid parents/teachers to utilize techniques to improve language skills in children with autism. Utilizing pictures, sign language, and repetition could increase the chances of developing the necessary language skills in a child with autism. Children with autism might need an intervention that targets one of the core symptoms of autism which is language. According to Davis. T (2010), there is half of the individuals with autism that are non-verbal and the other half could have some level of verbal language along with other autism associated cognitive deficits. It is recommended to utilize a comprehensive intervention that relies on direct instructions and utilizes functional communication skills (Frey, Walker, Small, Feil, Seeley, & Forness, 2015). A child could tolerate and could find different communication skills easier to understand more than