About therapies and supports for autistic children
Therapies and supports can help autistic children develop well and reach their full potential in areas like communication, social skills, daily living, and mental health and wellbeing.
Below is a summary of the main types of therapies and supports for autistic children, using behavioural, developmental, family-based, medical and alternative categories.
This is just one way to categorise therapies and supports. Some therapies and supports belong in more than one category or combine elements from several categories.
The therapies and supports you choose will depend on your child’s individual needs. Ideally, professionals will work with you to find an approach that builds on your child’s strengths and the way they do things. This personalised approach can help your child learn, develop and thrive.
Behavioural therapies and supports for autistic children
Behavioural therapies and supports focus on encouraging positive behaviour in autistic children. They also aim to reduce behaviour that might interfere with children’s learning or social interactions.
These therapies are based on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). They often involve structured, repetitive activities that help children learn specific skills and navigate specific situations.
Examples of behavioural therapies and supports include:
- Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
- Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (EIBI)
- incidental teaching
- Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)
- Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).
Developmental therapies and supports for autistic children
Developmental therapies and supports help autistic children’s overall development by focusing on their communication, cognitive, daily living and social skills. This includes skills for forming positive, meaningful relationships with other people.
These therapies help children learn skills in both everyday and structured settings. They’re often child led, which means that children’s interests and motivations guide the learning process.
Examples of developmental therapies and supports include:
- Developmental social-pragmatic (DSP) model
- DIR/Floortime Model
- PACT (Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy)
- Responsive teaching.
Combined therapies and supports for autistic children
Some therapies and supports combine elements from behavioural and developmental therapies. This kind of approach can often help autistic children a lot, because it takes the strongest elements of other therapies and uses them in a way that suits children best.
Examples of combined therapies and supports include:
- Early Start Denver Model
- JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement and Regulation) therapy
- SCERTS Model
- TEACCH.
Family-based therapies and supports for autistic children
Family-based therapies acknowledge the important role of families in autistic children’s development. They’re based on the idea that autistic children do best when both they and their families are supported.
These therapies aim to empower families by establishing partnerships between them and the professionals who work with their children. Also, these therapies often involve training parents to use special techniques during daily interactions with their children. This might include techniques for understanding and responding to their child’s communication, modelling skills and behaviour, or using specific instructions.
Because they focus on families, these therapies can help children learn and develop in their homes and communities.
An example of family-based therapy is More Than Words.
All therapies and supports work best when parents and carers work together with health professionals to help their child.
Therapy-based supports for autistic children
Therapy-based supports focus on skills or difficulties in specific areas of development and wellbeing. They’re often used in combination with more general behavioural or developmental therapies and supports.
Here are examples of therapy-based supports:
- Speech pathology – this therapy focuses on language development and social communication skills. It might include supports like Functional Communication Training (FCT), Key Word Sign or the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
- Occupational therapy and physiotherapy – these therapies focus on developing movement skills for daily life. Occupational therapy helps with fine motor skills, sensory processing and daily living activities. Physiotherapy helps with gross motor skills and physical movements like walking and coordination.
- Psychological or psychiatric therapy – these therapies can help children manage mental health problems like anxiety or depression. Psychological therapies include cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Psychiatric support includes medicines like typical antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics.
If you’re considering these types of therapies, it’s important to choose therapists who are experienced in working with autistic children. These therapists will better understand your child’s individual needs and how to meet them.
Medical therapies and supports for autistic children
Medicines that have been prescribed by a doctor can sometimes help autistic children, particularly when children have behaviour, emotional and learning challenges that interfere with their:
- health and wellbeing
- ability to learn and progress
- daily life and the daily lives of their family.
Medicines might be prescribed to help manage specific symptoms, including:
- aggressive behaviour
- anxiety
- obsessive behaviour
- hyperactive behaviour or overactivity
- seizures
- sleep problems
- tics.
Medicines should always be part of a broader, individualised treatment plan that includes other therapeutic supports.
It’s important to work closely with health professionals to consider carefully the potential benefits and risks of any medicines for your child.
Alternative therapies and supports for autistic children
Alternative therapies and supports for autistic children include a broad range of therapies that mainstream health and autism professionals don’t use.
This is because there’s little or no evidence to say that alternative therapies help autistic children. In fact, a lot of evidence shows that some of these therapies:
These therapies and supports – even the ones that do no direct harm – also use time, energy and sometimes money that families could otherwise spend on established therapies that do help autistic children.
Examples of alternative therapies and supports include:
Other therapies and supports for autistic children
This category includes therapies and supports that don’t fit into the categories listed above. So far there isn’t much quality research on the effectiveness of many of these programs.
Examples of this type of therapy include:
- music therapy
- sound therapy
- Lego Therapy and play-based therapies
- animal-assisted therapy.