![]() ![]() We specialize in the use of evidence-based behavioral therapies, including applied behavioral analysis (ABA), parent management training (PMT), and a next-generation version called Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT link) that was pioneered at the Child Study Center. “Treatment goals include increasing ability to communicate and interact with others, enhancing attentional and academic skills, and fostering adaptive skills in day-to-day settings,” Chawarska says. They also include helping children with their worries and anxieties, rigid rituals, and repetitive behaviors, and in managing their frustration. These services help families cope with the diagnosis and develop the advocacy skills necessary for supporting their child’s emotional and educational development throughout life.Īutism treatment is always individualized to a child’s needs, including age, developmental status, and particular symptoms. “For parents of young children who are learning for the first time that their child has autism, we provide parents with extensive support in accessing treatment services for their child as well as parent support groups and parent training programs,” says Chawarska. “We can have conversations in the future.” It is also, he says, the beginning of a relationship. “We try to get an understanding of the family’s perspective so we can provide the information that’s going to be most useful for them.” “Receiving a diagnosis of autism is a difficult time for a family,” McPartland says. A detailed report is produced for each child, with specific recommendations to help the family, the educators and therapists and other providers. Parents are encouraged to take part in the assessment and, at the end of the two days of evaluation, to meet with the team to discuss the results and how they inform the child’s education and treatment. The evaluation team includes a speech and language pathologist, a child psychologist, and a child and adolescent psychiatrist. A pediatrician or specialist referral is welcome, but not necessary.Īt our Developmental Disabilities Clinic, autism evaluations involve two days of interviews, assessments, and examinations. She sees this as an encouraging sign that parents are more aware of possible signs of autism and pediatricians are more responsive to their concerns.Ĭhawarska advises parents to seek an evaluation from a specialty center such as Yale Medicine’s School-Age Developmental Disabilities Program at the Child Study Center or a state agency, such as Connecticut Birth to Three. Most children with autism are diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 5, but Chawarska says that she is now seeing many more children at earlier ages, often before age 2. “Some also notice that their child doesn’t seem to enjoy silly games like peek-a-boo, doesn’t laugh when the parents make funny faces, and doesn’t even seem to particularly enjoy being together.” ![]() “Parents may notice that the child doesn’t babble as much as other children, does not look at people, does not enjoy giving or showing things to others, or respond when their name is called,” says Katarzyna Chawarska, PhD, director of the Developmental Disabilities Infant & Toddler Program and the Yale Early Social Cognition Lab. About 44 % of people with autism have average to above average intellectual abilities.Įarly signs of autism may include language delays and a disinterest in engaging in social interactions. Sometimes it brings intellectual challenges, but for others autism leads to exceptional talents in a particular area, such as art, music, or math. “We want to get connected to families and children so they can benefit from help as early in life as possible,” he says.Īutism affects everyone differently. ![]() Early intervention programs help equalize their opportunities, shaping learning experiences to their unique needs while also helping them adapt to the world in which they live.Įarly diagnosis can make all the difference, says James McPartland, PhD, a Child Study Center psychologist, and director of the Developmental Disabilities Program and the McPartland Lab. Those differences affect how children with autism learn, not only academically, but also about their environment. They tend to be fond of repetition and sensitive to sensory information (such as touch, temperature, or noise), and often have strong fixations and unusually intense interests, such as in airplanes, bugs, or calendars. Children with autism aren’t as motivated by social cues, such as eye contact, facial expressions or words and gestures. For people with autism, social interaction is challenging their primary orientation may not be toward people. ![]()
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