Early Intervention is Crucial in Treating Autism Spectrum Disorder

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“Your child has autism spectrum disorder” are words no parent wants to hear. They are words that will instill fear, worry, and sadness. When parents hear this for the first time, they will have many questions. “Is there anything I can do to help my child? If so, what can be done?” Early intervention services; such as applied behavior analysis therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and speech therapy before the age of three; can help improve the development of children with autism spectrum disorder. As an educator, early intervention is a subject teachers should be well educated in. It would be beneficial to the educator and the student, for a teacher to know and understand early intervention strategies.

Early intervention is effective in treating autism spectrum disorder in many ways. One important way it has been proven effective by research is by increasing a child’s cognitive skills. When a child is first diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, they will likely be diagnosed as having a cognitive delay. Research shows that early invention services, such as applied behavior analysis, occupational, and speech therapy has helped increase IQ scores in children with autism spectrum disorder. In one study, children who received up to twenty hours a week of early intervention services had an average rise in IQ points of 17.6 (Solis, 2010). This increase in cognitive skills benefited children in the classroom setting. After receiving extensive early intervention treatment, children typically performed better on standardized testing. With an increase in cognitive skills and better achievement on standardized testing, children were able to be placed in less restrictive classroom settings (Smith, 199...

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References

Early Intervention Improves Social Skills and Brain Activity in Preschoolers with Autism, Study

Finds. (2012, October 26). Retrieved from http://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us/press-

releases/early-intervention-improves-social-skills-brain-activity-autism

Fessenden, M. (2012, July 17). Early Intervention Could Help Autistic Children Learn to Speak.

Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/early-intervention-autistic-

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Smith, T. (1999). Outcome of Early Intervention for Children With Autism. Clinical Psychology:

Science and Practice, 6(1), 33-49. doi: 10.1093/clipsy.6.1.33

Solis, M. (2010, January 20). Early intervention yields big benefits for children with autism.

Retrieved from https://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2010/early-intervention-yields-

big-benefits-for-children-with-autism

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