Autism Treatment Options

Empowering Educators: The Crucial Role of People in Enhancing Special Education Programs

The success of special education students relies heavily on the dedication, expertise, and collaboration of the professionals who support them. From teachers and paraprofessionals to therapists and administrators, the people involved in delivering special education services play

Streamlining Special Education Programs: The Importance of Effective Procedures

In the intricate tapestry of special education, procedures serve as the threads that weave together the various components of a program, ensuring a seamless and effective delivery of services. These procedures, which encompass everything from IEP development and compliance to da

Transforming Learning Spaces: Enhancing Special Education Environments for Student Success

The physical environment in which learning takes place can have a profound impact on the success and well-being of students with disabilities. From the layout and accessibility of classrooms to the incorporation of sensory-friendly elements and assistive technologies, the design

Transforming Special Education Through Effective Practices: Insights from the 5P Framework

At the heart of every successful special education program lies a set of practices that are both effective and compassionate. These practices, which encompass everything from instructional strategies and behavioral interventions to progress monitoring and collaborative planning,

Maximizing Student Success: The Critical Role of the Products & Teaching Tools Used in Special Education

When it comes to supporting students with disabilities in special education programs, the importance of using the right products and teaching tools cannot be overstated. From curriculum materials and assistive technologies to adaptive equipment and sensory aids, the resources ed

How to Conduct a Comprehensive Special Education Program Evaluation: The 5P Framework

Are you a special education director or curriculum coordinator looking for a comprehensive approach to evaluate and improve your special education program? Do you want to ensure that your services are effectively meeting the diverse needs of your students with disabilities? A cl

How Can I Get Funding for Homeschooling My Autistic Child?

The financial burden of homeschooling special needs or autistic children can be a significant challenge for many families. The cost of educational materials, extracurricular activities, field trips, and membership fees can add up quickly, even more so now with the rising costs o

Acceptance and Commitment Training: New Tools to Help Parents Support Autism Treatment

Acceptance & Commitment Training (ACT) is an area grounded in behavior analysis that is bringing a more compassionate, values-based approach to behavioral treatment and skill development for autistic children.

What Is MTSS and How Does It Help Struggling Students?

MTSS stands for a multi-tiered system of supports. It is a data-driven, tiered framework, also referred to as a multi-tiered process or model of supports, that is designed to help schools identify struggling students early and intervene quickly. Besides focusing on giving studen

ABLLS Vs. VB-MAPP Assessments: What’s the Difference?

Two of the most common assessments used to evaluate autistic children are the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS) and the Verbal Behavior - Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP). These assessments are very similar, but some differences may ma

IEP MEETINGS: What Can I Request for My Autistic Child?

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a legal document that is developed during a meeting between parents and school staff for every child eligible for special education. This plan includes a child’s strengths and weaknesses, educational needs, goals, and the services needed to

Mental Health Empowerment: Providing Compassionate and Client-Centered Support for People With Autism

How can stakeholders use principles of self-determination, individuality, and compassion to support individuals with autism and their self-directed mental health care pursuits?

What Is Discrete Trial Training?

Many children with autism do not learn skills spontaneously and may need extra help and specific teaching to learn things that may come naturally to their typically developing peers. They often need highly structured, repetitive instruction that requires them to actively engage

Autism and Dance Therapy

Dancing is a universal language, and many on the autism spectrum can easily learn it.

Our Autism Journey From Special Education to Mainstream Classrooms

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), every child with special needs has the right to be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE) , which is the general education classroom as a first option. Working toward a more restrictive environment

The 2-Step Approach to Preventing Disruptive Behaviors for Children With Autism

Functions of Behavior and Antecedent Strategies

Autism Service Disparities for People of Color

Changing Our Practices to Catch Missed Diagnoses and Gaps in Treatment How do service disparities impact neurodivergent people and what can we do to provide wider and more inclusive care?

What is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)?

PCIT is an evidence-based treatment for young children with behavioral problems and can be an effective intervention for children with autism.

Equity for Serving Our Rural Students

I’m from a small town in rural Kansas with no stoplights and the nearest Walmart is 30 minutes away. My father was a rancher with 200 head of cattle and my mom was a teacher at the nearby—and only—school.

Support Groups for Autistic* Children, Teens, Young Adults and Parents

Support groups and social clubs for children, teens, and young adults with autism provide a safe environment for people with shared experiences to connect and participate in a supportive, understanding community. No matter what your child's or student’s needs are, there are simi

Helping Your Autistic* Child Develop Emotional Intelligence

Children with autism are often lacking in the area of emotional intelligence. The good news is that scientists now better understand the biological reasons behind why autistic individuals face challenges in this area. By understanding the science, and understanding that emotiona

Can Sign Language Help Autistic Early Learners Develop Communication Skills?

The short answer is Yes! There is strong research support for teaching sign language to all young children, autistic or non-autistic. Sign language can be used to help encourage verbal language development, but it should not be used as a replacement for teaching children to spea

How to Use Video Modeling and Video Self-Modeling to Help Your Autistic Child

Have you ever wondered how we learn new skills–or how most children seem to pick up on the natural progression of getting a haircut, going to the dentist, or brushing their teeth? While many children grasp the typical flow of these activities and automatically learn from watchin

Supporting Students in the Least Restrictive Environment

When developing a child’s IEP, the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is one of several components that must be determined regarding placement. LRE has been a part of federal special education law since 1975. It has continued to recognize the benefits for autistic children or t

Where Do I Start With My Nonverbal Autistic* Child?

First words are a milestone that many parents eagerly await for their young child to achieve. For most children, the first word is spoken around 11-13 months of age. However for some children, especially those children eventually diagnosed or currently diagnosed with autism, a d

The Pros and Cons of Using Teletherapy for Autism Evaluations and Diagnoses

Using teletherapy to assess and/or diagnose autism is becoming increasingly common. In recent years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have adjusted our way of life to what we now refer to as the “new normal.” Many events, routines, structures, and normal daily activities have tr

What Are the Three Levels of Autism?

We often hear people reference "high-functioning autism" and "low-functioning autism." But in fact, those who work with children with autism tend not to rely on labels such as "high functioning" and "low functioning." While it is recognized that autism occurs on a spectrum and a

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) for Autism

What It Is and Why It Is Important for Students With Autism Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is really about implementing a new kind of school-wide culture. Positive behavior strategies and social-emotional learning (SEL) are becoming more common in schools

Three Must-Haves for BCBAs to Create Effective Family Collaboration

As BCBAs we need to include three must-have areas in our family collaboration models, to make real progress in therapy.

Practical Strategies for BCBAs to Make ABA Financially Accessible to Families

Therapy can be an expensive journey to helping your autistic loved one succeed and grow. BCBAs need to dive into practical strategies now more than ever to help their clients and families access ABA services financially. No matter what the barriers might be for your clients’ fam

Does My Autistic Child Need Occupational Therapy?

Assessing Fine and Gross Motor Skills Can Provide the Answer Motor skills are essential for children to explore, interact, and learn from their environment in order to develop cognitive and language skills. Because motor skills develop early in young children, deficits in these

Supporting Play in Early Childhood: Specific Strategies for Autistic Children

Without a doubt, play is an essential foundation for a child’s development, especially throughout the early elementary years. Engaging in fun, enjoyable, and imaginary play is often a natural part of life for typically developing children; however, for autistic children, the acq

Using Applied Behavior Analysis Interventions to Motivate the Classroom, Promote Cooperation, and Improve Behavior

You may have heard the phrase “ABA can save the world!” While Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) works well on an individual basis, I have found that those same techniques and interventions also work well in the classroom. In fact, the use of ABA interventions in the classroom can

School Guide to Expanding Medicaid Reimbursements for Special Education and Other Health and Behavioral Services

NOTE: New Guide Just Released to Help Schools Give Care to Children Covered by Medicaid Is your school or district doing all it can to take advantage of these new funds? Any eligible service you are not currently billing for is money lost. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Ser

Autism and Teletherapy: It’s Working!

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So You Want to Be a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)?

Everything You Need to Know About Starting a Career as an SLP There is a growing need for SLPs in the U.S. SLPs work in a variety of settings including private practice, public and private schools, hospitals, specialist offices, and nursing and residential care facilities. New o

Can ARIS Work for an Autistic 29-Year-Old?

Using t he ARIS® Academic Readiness Intervention System With My Brother, Tommy. With ARIS, Skill Development Can Happen at Any Age Early intervention is the prime advice for education and life skills in the autism community, but should intervention ever truly stop? Although clin

So You Want to Be a BCBA?

Maybe you’ve been working with an autistic child or adult and you’ve decided to make a career out of it. There are plenty of related jobs in fields like education and speech, but one of the most sought-after positions for supporting autistic people is that of a Board Certified B

Teletherapy and Teletraining: A Solution to the Shortage of Qualified ABA Therapists

Concern has been expressed regarding a shortage of qualified Applied Behavior Analysts to meet the demands of a growing ASD population and also about the quality of training available to such providers. The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has increased dramatically

Facing a Critical Shortage of ABA Therapists? Teletherapy Can Help

Who's Who on the IEP Team?

Learn What Each Specialist Does in Order to Make the Most of Your Child’s IEP Team When you show up to your child’s IEP meeting for the first time you may be wondering, “Who are all of these people?” You probably know the classroom teacher and the special education teacher, but

Early Action Is Key to Getting Support for Your Autistic Child

Falling Through the Cracks: Better Identification and Integrated Treatment for Autistic or Other Special Needs ELL Students

Research indicates that ELL students who should be classified with disability status are being overlooked. The good news is that increasingly, educators are integrating ELL and special education services in a culturally responsive manner. As training programs for both teachers a

Our Top Picks for Encouraging Gross Motor Skills for Autistic Children: Let the Great Outdoors Be Your Natural Playground!

Use these therapist-selected, parent and teacher-approved, and kid-tested ideas to help your autistic child continue to develop gross motor skills! Spring has sprung! Tired of being inside? Spring is a great season to step outside with your autistic children and reap all the ben

Physical Therapy and Autism: Questions and Answers

Autistic children can often benefit from physical therapy. What does working with a physical therapist entail? And how can I work collaboratively with a physical therapist to best help my child?

Teletherapy for Autistic Children: Research-Based Best Practices

STAGES® Learning worked hard at building an online distance learning platform designed specifically to provide teletherapy to autistic children. Distance Learning, also called remote learning for autistic children, has been proven to be effective as a therapeutic intervention fo

Devil or Angel? The Process of Diagnosis for Autistic Children

What is ‘diagnosis’ anyway? Why have a diagnosis? How do I know if my child’s autism diagnosis is accurate? Could it be something else? Where do I go for answers? These are some of the questions that parents, therapists, and teachers ask about an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) d

A Guide to Data Collection for Applied Behavior Therapy (ABA) for Autistic Children

This step-by-step guide is focused on teaching new skills using ABA therapy for an autistic child. Today we are going to discuss the basics of collecting data when teaching your child new skills. Data collection is a necessary part of any applied behavior analysis (ABA) program.

Coping Strategies: Find What Works Best For Your Autistic Child

Use zones of regulation and occupational therapy insight to find the best coping strategies for your autistic child. The phrase “coping strategy” can be thrown around often in the autism (ASD) community. But what are they? How do we find the best ones for our children? How do ea

What Is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and How Can It Help My Autistic Student?

Two Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) explain Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and how to determine the level of support needed to ensure success for each autistic child. ABA is a common practice used with Level 1 autistic individuals. The practice of ABA mainly focuses o

10 Best Practices for Providing Teletherapy for Autistic Children

How to Provide the Most Effective Teletherapy Possible for Autistic Children For special education teachers and therapists of autistic students, teletherapy, also called E-therapy or remote learning for autism, provides a great alternative to in-person sessions, but also present

A New Homeschool Curriculum for Autistic Children: ARIS

Homeschooling is not always easy, but it can provide many benefits for children with autism. In the first two years of the pandemic, researchers found that home environments were frequently advantageous for autistic children because they reduced the amount of social and sensory

Acupuncture and Autism

Acupuncture treatment may help your child’s autism symptoms. Acupuncture is a treatment where needles are inserted into the skin to target certain nerve or pressure points. Research has shown acupuncture to be an effective treatment for children with ASD in areas of verbal commu

Positive Pedagogy: How to Bring Positive Psychology into Special Education and Inclusive Classrooms for Students with Autism

How can you help your students discover stillness? joy? authenticity? Positive psychology is the science of well-being, which applied, can bring more positivity and happiness into your classroom. Try investing in these easy “rituals,” or habits, to transform your classroom into

Parent Strategies for Helping Children with Autism Cope with Transitions and Changing Routines

Transitions from one activity to the next can be difficult for any child, especially if they are being asked to leave a preferred activity to instead do something they need to do. While some behaviors in response to transitions may look similar between neurotypical children and

Parent Strategies to Help Children with Autism Cope with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

In this article, we explore Sensory Processing Disorder (also called sensory integration or sensory sensitivity), and how these issues can be alleviated and treated, and strategies parents and caregivers can use at home and school to help ease day to day life. Stages Learning Ma

How to Bring Positive Psychology into Special Education and Inclusive Classrooms for Students with Autism

How can you help your students discover stillness? joy? authenticity? Positive psychology is the science of well-being, which applied, can bring more positivity and happiness into your classroom. Try investing in these easy “rituals,” or habits, to transform your classroom into

How to Prepare For Your IEP Meeting - For Parents of Children with Autism

Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are defined as written plans outlining a program designed to meet the unique needs of one child. Walking into an IEP meeting prepared will help you and the school design the best plan for your child. Children with autism have distinctive nee

Five Principles of Positive Psychology to Transform Your Parenting with Your Child with Autism

Positive Psychology is a novel and accessible science that focuses on cultivating well-being, positivity, and happiness in the lives of individuals and families. Positive Psychology can help transform the way you parent your child with autism. Change can be created by investing

Music Therapy for Children with Autism

Choosing the Best Program for Your Child Benefits Overview Music has been an enriching and meaningful way for people to engage with each other throughout time, and music can provide powerful, multi-sensory experiences for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is espec

Can Horseback Riding Help Children with Autism?

The Benefits of Equine Therapy What is Equine Therapy?

It Takes a Team: 4 Steps to Building a Stronger Therapy Team

For students on the Autism spectrum, having a strong and reliable therapy team to support individual needs can be an important factor in student success. When members of a therapy team are collaborating seamlessly, a student is more likely to have high quality support across all

The Therapeutic Power of Pets for Children with Autism

Jackson Tillman is in third grade, lives in Kentucky, and has autism. The biggest challenge Jackson’s family has is that when a situation becomes overwhelming Jackson bolts, and when Jackson is with his grandmother she can’t keep up. That’s where Jackson’s buddy Mateo comes in.

Using Sensory Tools to Help Kids Focus and Concentrate

Using sensory tools in your practice can provide a more focused, content and alert individual. Whether you are a specialist using ABA, speech and language techniques, occupational therapy interventions or teaching lessons, keeping the sensory needs of your children in mind while

A Closer Look: Pivotal Response Training (PRT)

Overview Pivotal Response Training (PRT) is a variation of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) type therapy. It focuses on more comprehensive “pivotal” areas such as increasing a child’s motivation to learn, initiate communication, and monitor their own behaviors. This focus on mo

A Closer Look: Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI)

Overview EIBI is a type of Applied Behavioral Analysis focused on children under five years of age. New research has shown that while intensive behavioral interventions work well with all children, children starting before the age of two were likely to make the most significant

Effective Treatment for Autism: It’s Never Too Early to Start

There are many promising treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Decades of research and a recent synthesis of 6 major research reviews indicate that the therapies listed below are all based on solid research.