Autism and its Treatment

Introduction

Autism is one of the five disorders called Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). It is considered to be of neurobiological origin and its exact cause is not known. It usually becomes apparent before age three, disrupts communication and social skills, and may also be displayed in repetitive patterns of behavior, interest and activities. Autism is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Psychological Association as a developmental disability that results from a disorder of the human central nervous system. It is diagnosed using specific criteria for impairments to social interaction, communication, interests, imagination and activities. The causes, symptoms, etiology, treatment, and other issues are controversial. (O'Neill 90-99)

Different approaches for the treatment of autism are available today.

TEACCH

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children) is a program started by the University of North Carolina. It was developed in the 1970's by Eric Schopler. The program is structured around each individual's abilities and tries to improve the child's communication and social skills; it teaches daily activities and may even provide instructions for a job. The program provides a structured classroom environment but does not use any specific technique. (Powell Jordan 112-23)

Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS)

PECS was developed by the Delaware Autistic Program in 1985 to help autistic and children with other language problems, to communicate. The program teaches the children on the basis of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) to exchange pictures for what they want. Two advantages of this program are that it can be used with everybody outside of the child's usual circle and the child initiates it. (Trevarthen Aitken Papoudi Robarts 78-89)

Social Stories

Carol Gray developed the use of Social Stories in 1991 to help children affected by autism develop "Theory of mind." Each story is constructed of four different kinds of sentences. Descriptive sentences answer the where, who, what and why. Perspective sentences address the inner state of emotions, feelings and thoughts. Directive sentences suggest an appropriate behavior. And affirmative sentences enhance the meaning of a former statement. The story may also include partial sentences for the autistic child to fill in what he or she believes is right. (Powell Jordan 112-23)

Sensory Integration

Some children with autism are over sensitive, some under sensitive and others are not able to integrate their senses. To a child, with sensory integration problems, a blanket that feels just normal to the parent may feel extremely irritating to the child. During Sensory Integration Therapy the therapist works with the child on desensitization and reorganization of his sensory information. (Smeardon 45-56)

Facilitated Communication

The idea of Facilitated Communication (FC) was developed in the 1970's in Australia. It involves a person, the facilitator, who helps the patient to communicate with the help of a computer by supporting the patient's arm. FC is highly controversial, it has not been researched and critics claim that the facilitator's ideas are actually communicated. (Trevarthen Aitken Papoudi Robarts 78-89)

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Applied behavior Analysis is a behavioral theoretic approach. It is based on the principle that rewarded behavior is ...