Treatment Options:
Pharmacology: Depending on the severity of certain behaviors, parents may want to speak with medical professionals (PCP, Psychiatrist) regarding medications that may be helpful. Some of the potential targets of the medication include: motor hyperactivity or inattention, interfering repetitive behavior, irritability (aggression, self-injury, sever tantrums), impaired social relatedness and/or sleep disturbances.
The only FDA approved medications for the treatment of ASDs are Respiridone and Aripiprizole. There are many other classes of medication that can be used to treat certain symptoms or behaviors exhibited by a child with an ASD, but those medications are aimed at the other symptoms that are sometimes co-morbid with an ASD diagnosis.
Social Skills Group Therapy: Depending on the child's verbal ability, he or she may be a good candidate for a social skills group. These can exist within the school setting (lunch bunches, social skills groups) or outside of school. There are many agencies who run groups for children of similar ages and profiles, whether it's ADHD, OCD, children of divorced parents or ASDs. Sometimes these groups are based in more talk therapy, but more than likely, they are activity based groups.
Individual therapy: Again, depending on the needs of the child, he or she may be someone who would benefit from individual, office based therapy. For children with an ASD, this would generally take the form of social coaching, by using a specific curriculum to teach appropriate social skills. **One of the major treatment options for individual therapy is to make use of Social Stories. These writings are based on the research and development of Carol Gray. A Social Story™ describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of
relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a
specifically defined style and format. Please click on this link to read more about it. SOCIAL STORIES.
