When you have a child diagnosed with autism it can at first be a bit daunting and you may not be sure where to begin. There are a few different treatments options available for autism and your first step should be to learn about the different treatments that you can use and then you can decide which one may be best for your child.

There are medications that can be used for autism but not everyone is comfortable using medications that could cause negative side effects to their child, but there are also other options available besides prescription medication. Some parents will be prepared to used standard treatment plans for their child while other parents will prefer to use natural methods to treat their child. So let’s take a look at the different autism treatments available for your child.

Medication

The medications that are used for autism will not cure the disorder but are mainly used for the symptoms or problems that may be associated with autism. Many autistic children will suffer from anxiety and anti-anxiety medications may be used to help with their anxiety symptoms. Other medications that may be used are medicines to help with sleep problems. Antipsychotic drugs may also be used for autistic children that have extreme behavior problems.

It is important to remember that these medications can have awful side effects and if you do decide to use medications your child will need to be closely monitored. I personally think medications are a last resort and if you can treat your child with natural methods it will be much healthier for them in the long term.

Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy can be quite useful with autistic children in teaching them appropriate behaviors and will often be carried out by using a reward system. Autistic children lack social skills and so they will need to be taught the correct ways to act in social settings. Behavioral therapy is usually done in the home and when the child learns that they will be rewarded for their good behaviors then they should stop some of their bad behaviors. It is good for parents to undertake some classes themselves to be taught how to deal with their child’s bad behaviors.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is very beneficial as it will help teach your child to have some independence. Occupational therapy will help them to develop their motor skills and will help them to learn daily skills like dressing themselves. They can also be taught some safety measures for within their home as well as outside of the home.

Physical Therapy

Many autistic children may have poor muscle tone and physical therapy can help improve their muscle tone and can also help young children in developing their basic motor skills including standing and walking. Some autistic children may suffer from other health problems which may also benefit from physical therapy.

Speech Therapy

Most autistic children will find it hard to communicate and to understand verbal cues and some children will not speak at all. Speech therapy can help these children learn ways in which to communicate with others, which may be through sign language or with the use of pictures. The therapist in some cases may be able to teach a non verbal child to speak.

Diet

Although there is no scientific evidence, many parents have said that they have had significant improvements in their child’s symptoms once changing their diet. The diet that has shown results is a gluten free and/or casein free diet. These diets can be quite difficult, especially when first starting out. Both gluten and casein are in the ingredients of many foods, and so it can be a huge learning experience to put a diet into place.

It can also be beneficial to try and avoid preservatives and additives in foods. The number of preservatives and additives in our foods has increased significantly over recent years and you do need to wonder whether that has contributed to the increase in the number of children being diagnosed with disorders.

Fed Up by Sue Dengate is a fantastic book for failsafe diets to help with child behavior disorders

Fish Oil

Many parents have also said to have improvements in symptoms by introducing fish oil supplements. Fish oil provides essential fatty acids which we all need for good brain health. It has been shown that children with autism and related disorders have lower levels of essential fatty acids in their red blood cells.

Fish oil can help to improve language and learning skills in your child and can also help to reduce behavior problems.

Conclusion

These are some of the treatments available to autistic children and the treatment required may differ from one child to another depending on the severity of their symptoms.

It is important to set up a treatment plan to suit your child as with the proper treatment your autistic child can thrive.

What Is Autism?
Symptoms of Autism