LIVING WITH AUTISM AND ASD
Building a better life with Autism and ASD
(Number of sessions subject to circumstances)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms to describe a developmental disability that causes problems mainly in social and communication issues. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. Living with an autistic child can be very challenging for other family members too, who are often frustrated at not being able to have the fulfilling relationship with the child that they crave.
The good news is that prescriptive play therapy is widely recognized as being particularly effective in helping autistic children, specifically with regard to:
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Interpreting facial expressions
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Recognising major feelings and emotions (such as anger, sadness, fear and happiness) and react appropriately to them
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Understanding the cause and effect of behavior and emotion, as well as control their own reactions to everyday events
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Understanding what is inappropriate behavior and how to manage unwanted behavior
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Understanding social rules
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Empathising and seeing things from another person’s perspective
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In working with children with autism and ASD, I follow a number of established and proven diagnostic and therapeutic models, including the DIR®/FLOORTIME™ Model and the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM).
The nature and duration of the treatment prescribed will depend wholly upon the unique circumstances, capability and functionality of the child. Parents are encouraged to participate in the sessions not just to help speed up the intervention, through learning techniques to practice at home, but also to help them better understand and appreciate how their child experiences the world.
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Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
The DIR®/FLOORTIME™ Model
The DIR®/FLOORTIME™ Model provides a framework to understand the functional emotional development and unique profile of each child, along with a guide to create the emotionally meaningful learning interactions that promote critical development capacities.
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DIR®=Developmental. Individual differences. Relationship-based.
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FLOORTIME™=a specific technique of playful interaction with a child, that usually starts on the “floor” but may go on to include conversations and interactions in other places.
This comprehensive framework enables clinicians, parents and educators to construct a program tailored to the child’s unique challenges and strengths. Lora's objective is to follow DIR®/FLOORTIME™ Model so to buld the healthy foundations, necessary for a child to develop social, emotional and intellectual capacities.
Research shown that after two years of internvetion following DIR®/FLOORTIME™ Model procedure, 58% of treated children showed improvement and no longer met the criteria for ASD. (ICDL,2000)
Following closely the Early Start Denver Model curriculm for young children, sessions are fully interactive, with a focus on strengthening and improving "join-attention skills". Children in session will recived effective techniques to help them learn:
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How to interpret facial expressions
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How to recognise some of the major feelings and emotions (such as anger, sadness, fear and happiness) as well as how to react appropriately to their own emotions
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How to empahtise and see things from another person's perspective
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How to understand what is inappropriate behaviour and how to manage undesired behaviour
Parents, helper and silbing(s) are included as part of hte team in order to ensure the chld receive the best support at home, utilzing those "join-attention skills" for the child to continue to use and develop their improved ability.
Developed by Psychologists Sally Rogers, Ph.D., and Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D., ESDM is a comprehensive behavioral early intervention approach, designed specifically for autistic children aged between 12 and 48 months.