The kind of therapist that is best for autism is an applied behavior therapist also known as an ABA therapist, which helps improve communication, behavior and social skills.
Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA therapists focus on structured, data driven reinforcement to build skills, improve communication and decrease behaviors that are challenging.
Other kind of therapists that are best for autism are speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, developmental therapists, cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectal behavior therapy.
Dialectical behavior therapy is useful for people that are dealing with intense emotions, self harm or severe emotional dysregulation.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is highly effective for adolescents with autism and adults to manage depression, emotional regulation and anxiety by identifying unhelpful thought patterns.
Occupational therapists are good for addressing sensory integration issues and developing of fine motor skills that are required for daily life like eating and dressing.
Speech language pathologists are great for enhancing both verbal and nonverbal communication, which includes social cues, and conversational skills and applied behavioral analysis therapists focus on structured data driven reinforcement to build skills, improve communication and decrease challenging behaviors.
You don't always need a therapist for autism, although seeing a therapist for autism can help many people with autism and help them cope and manage.
Autism is a different way of thinking and not a disease that requires any cure any many people go through their lives with autism and never see a therapist and that is just fine.
Although some autistic people choose to see and work with a therapist to gain support and manage specific challenges and improve their quality of life with autism.
Over 70 percent of autistic people are also diagnosed with at least one mental health condition, like depression or anxiety.
The strategies used in therapy for autism can help with managing sensory sensitivities, environmental triggers and burnout and also can help with navigating major changes, like moving to adulthood, changing jobs or relationship strain.
Occupational or speech therapy can also help people with autism assist them with daily living skills, executive function or communication.
For people with autism, neurodiversity affirming therapy is also highly recommended and Cognitive behavioral therapy is often effective for managing anxiety and depression, especially when adapted for autistic thinking styles.
The most successful treatment for autism is early, intensive behavioral intervention, which provides the best long term outcomes in people with autism.
The primary interventions that work well for people with autism are applied behavior analysis, early start Denver Model or ESDM, Speech Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Pivotal Response Treatment.
The gold standard treatment for autism is applied behavior analysis, which uses positive reinforcement to teach skills and reduce challenging behaviors, and it's best for building communication and daily living skills.
Early Start Denver Model, also known as ESDM is a comprehensive, play based ABA program for toddlers ages 12 months to 48 months old, which integrates developmental and relationship based approaches.
Speech language therapy focuses on improving verbal as well as non verbal and social communication skills and occupational therapy in autism, helps with sensory integration issues and fine motor skills that are needed for daily life like eating and dressing.
And pivotal response treatment also known as PRT, is a naturalistic, play based form of ABA, which focuses on key pivotal behaviors, like motivation and initiating communication.
You can also use the 10 second rule for someone with autism which is a communication strategy that advises that you wait at least 10 seconds after asking someone with autism a question or giving the person with autism an instruction before you repeat it or prompt them.
The pause with the 10 second rule for autism provides the autistic person with essential processing time and allows them to hear, understand and formulate a response without feeling rushed or overwhelmed.
Using the 10 second rule in autism stops the cycle of repeating questions such as "Did you hear me?", which can increase anxiety and cause the autistic person to shut down, and it's often interpreted as being ignored.
By not rushing the autistic person, you also encourage them to work through tasks and communicate independently, which reduces the need for constant and immediate intervention.
Autistic people also can experience slower auditory processing than others, which means that people with autism often need more time to tun the language you speak into meaning, especially during stressful situations or in noisy environments.
90% of the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder is attributed to genetics, which means that autism is also highly heritable, and often involves a combination of inherited genes and also spontaneous, non inherited genetic changes, which are known as de novo mutations.
Autism is not usually caused by a single gene, but instead by the cumulative effect of hundreds of genetic variants.
It's also been suggested that around 80 percent to 90 percent of autism cases are also linked to inherited mutations, and around 50 percent of autism cases may be a result of de novo mutations, and new mutations that arise spontaneously in the egg or sperm cells, even without a family history of autism.
And studies also have shown that when one identical twin has autism, the other twin also has a 60 percent to 90 percent change of also being on the autism spectrum, which also highlights the significant role of share genetics in autism.
It's also been shown in studies that siblings that have autism, often also share a higher percentage of their father's genome, which suggests a strong paternal genetic influence.
And although genetics dominate autism, environmental factors, most particularly during prenatal development, like advanced parental age, maternal health issues, etc can act as secondary contributors to autism, which often interact with genetic predispositions.
Level 1 autism in adults was formerly called Asperger's Syndrome and is a neurodevelopmental condition that is characterized by high intelligence and strong verbal skills alongside of notable challenges in social communication and rigid routines as well as sensory sensitivities and a high tendency to mask or hide traits to fit in.
The key characteristics of level 1 autism in adults are difficulty with social communication and difficulty with back and forth conversation, as well as difficulty with interpreting, nonverbal cues, and also having a preference for direct communication.
An adult with level 1 autism also often has a strong need for predictability, structure as well as difficulty adjusting to unexpected changes or transitions and a high sensitivity to environmental stimuli like sounds, lights or smells, which can also result in rapid exhaustion or even overstimulation.
An intense, deep focus on specific topics and masking, which is a common draining effort to consciously mimic neurotypical social behavior to blend in at work or social situations is also common in adults with level 1 autism.
Adults with level 1 autism are usually very independent, although they may sometimes require assistance with navigating of complex social situations, managing sensory overload and organizing of daily tasks, and they often also experience social exhaustion or burnout.
The hardest age for autism is the early childhood ages of 2 to 5 as well as the adolescence ages of 13 to 18 years of age.
The early childhood or 2 to 5 years of age is known as the diagnosis era of autism and communication frustration phase.
During the early child time of age 2 to 5, rapid development leads to high frustration when communication in the child with autism is delayed, which results in frequent meltdowns or tantrums and it's also a major time for the child to adjust to a new diagnosis and navigating interventions.
And the adolescence ages in autism of between 13 to 18 years of age is considered the second peak of difficulty that is known for the perfect storm autism scenarios.
The ages of 13 to 18 in autism is hard, because puberty brings on immense hormonal changes as well as emotional regulation challenges.
And social dynamics also become more complex and unwritten, increasing risks of loneliness, bullying and even burnout, "masking" or camouflaging traits.
The biggest red flag for autism is having trouble with social communication and avoiding eye contact as well as having restricted or repetitive behaviors.
The most significant indicator of autism is the regression in skills like loss of speech, loss of social skills or lack of social skills, babbling and avoiding eye contact or having trouble communicating.
Other main re flags of autism include.
No meaningful two word phrases by 24 months or 2 years of age.
No single words being spoken by 16 months.
No babbling by 12 months of age.
limited or no eye contact and no response to their name by 12 months of age.
And no back and forth gestures like not pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months of age.
Key early red flags of autism by age 12 months to 24 months are lack of joint attention, which is failing to point at objects or look to see if adults are paying attention to them.
Repetitive behaviors like hand flapping, spinning, rocking or intense focus on specific objects like spinning wheels and preferring to play alone, instead of interacting with others or adults.
Also not engaging in imaginative play by age 2 and being over or under sensitive to sounds, textures or lights are also common red flags of autism.
The color that is most liked by autistic people is green, followed by blue.
Green and blue colors are the most liked colors by people with autism, most particularly in muted or pastel tones, as a result of their calming and low stimulation properties.
Autistic people often prefer duller and softer shade colors as they help to reduce sensory overload, and brighter, more intense colors like neon shades or yellow can cause agitation in autistic people.
Green is also viewed as tranquil and calming and blue is widely recognized for it's calming and serene effect and association with stability and it is also the traditional color that is used in autism awareness campaigns, although this choice of color is also sometimes also debated by self advocates.
Soft blue colors, green colors and lavender colors as well as earthy tones are often preferred in people with autism to minimize sensory triggers.
For people with autism you should avoid harsh or fluorescent colors, most particularly the color yellow and stark white as they are often cited as being overwhelming or overstimulating.