{"id":3029,"date":"2024-04-22T09:55:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T09:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/?p=3029"},"modified":"2024-04-26T09:55:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T09:55:04","slug":"importance-of-early-intervention-in-autism-spectrum-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/importance-of-early-intervention-in-autism-spectrum-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"Importance of Early Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Autism Spectrum Disorder <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction and the presence of restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities present during early periods of development that negatively impact social, occupational or other domains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early intervention refers to the special services and support that are provided to meet the child&#8217;s unique needs that help to further their optimal and maximal development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger. By age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered reliable. However, many children do not receive a final diagnosis until much older.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The identification of an Autism Spectrum Disorder <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is difficult before the age of about 12 months but diagnosis is ordinarily possible by the age of two years.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><b>Some early signs of Autism include:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lack of eye contact\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delayed or absent language development\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acquired speech and lost it\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stereotyped and Repetitive motor behavior\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remains aloof\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overly sensitive to sensory stimuli such as touch, light, or sound\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Has difficulty in developing social relationships\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, it is frequent for individuals with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/what-is-autism-spectrum-disorder\">autism spectrum disorder<\/a> to show a range of other non-specific problems such as fears or phobias, sleeping and eating disturbances, temper tantrums,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and aggression. Self-injury (such as wrist biting) is fairly common, especially when it is associated with intellectual disability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some children stop using language, play or social skills that they\u2019ve already learned, which could be a red flag for Autism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you find any of the above symptoms in your child do visit your doctor or nearby Therapy centre for further assessment as <\/span><b>Early intervention in Autism has proved to give a major long-term positive effects on symptoms <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and later skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Early interventions occur <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at or before preschool age, as early as 2 or 3 years of age. In this period, a young child\u2019s brain is still forming, meaning it is more \u201cplastic\u201d or changeable than at older ages. Because of this plasticity, treatments have a better chance of being effective in the longer term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Early intervention typically involves a combination of\u00a0 Therapies such as Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Special Education.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Occupational Therapists <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">use holistic approaches with children\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and their families that emphasize functional, developmentally\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appropriate approaches. By recognizing that children are part of a\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">family system, the therapist designs programs that fit into the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">family\u2019s daily routine, considers sensory, motor (gross and fine),\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social, and cognitive aspects of performance, and emphasizes play as\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the child\u2019s primary occupation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3030 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unnamed-2.png\" alt=\"&quot;Early intervention strategies: A boy child happily playing with his mom.- Autism Connect\" width=\"181\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unnamed-2.png 181w, https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unnamed-2-147x196.png 147w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 181px) 100vw, 181px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Early Speech Therapy <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has proved to show a substantial increase\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in cognitive ability, effective communication, better social skills,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and most importantly, a decrease in anxiety levels. In addition,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">children with ASD could better express themselves, improving\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">their self-esteem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Special education <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">programs provide therapies and<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">educational services to preschool and school-age children<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the least restrictive environment. Early intervention<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and special education programs provide support and<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">services to children with disabilities so they can develop,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">learn, and grow to reach their fullest potential.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3032 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/unnamed-1.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Early intervention strategies: A girl child happily playing with her mom - Autism Connect \" width=\"218\" height=\"164\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interprofessional collaboration using a multidisciplinary approach can be a major determinant in increasing the positive health care and educational outcomes of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Autism Spectrum Disorder is defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction and the presence of restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":3038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[235,234,233,146,331,232,409,104,406,169,337,122,103,4],"tags":[45,129,78,107,206,243,196,77,258,293],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3029"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3055,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3029\/revisions\/3055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autismconnect.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}