Parenting
Early intervention for children on the autism spectrum
Receiving an autism diagnosis for your child can be a confusing and overwhelming time. There is much to make sense of and lots of information to digest. Melissa Wall, Psychologist and Autism Partnership’s Queensland Clinical Director, explains what early intervention is, why it’s important and what quality services should look like.
What is early intervention? Early intervention refers to therapeutic support given to young children and their families to promote the child’s best start in life. Early intervention can significantly impact a child’s ability to overcome challenges, learn new skills and make meaningful progress.
Why is it so important to start early? The earlier the intervention, the better the chance of it making a real difference in a child and family’s life. The ideal time to begin is in the early formative years of the child’s development (e.g. from birth through preschool). Intervention at this time has been shown to enable children to maximise their skill development and set them up to be effective learners throughout the rest of their lives.
Who would benefit from early intervention? Children who experience developmental concerns or delays can benefit from early intervention. • Some children experience only a small number of challenges (e.g. anxiousness in crowded places or they are unsure what to say to their peers). For these children, focussed intervention, working on these 1 - 2 areas only, may be appropriate.
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• However, for many young children with autism, there are usually significant delays across multiple developmental areas. In addition, parents sometimes describe challenging behaviours such as severe melt-downs, running or wandering away, high anxiety or inflexible adherence to routines that can significantly impact the child and their family’s well-being and quality of life. For those children, intensive intervention can be clinically appropriate.
Your Local Families Magazine August / September 2022 www.familiesmagazine.com.au
