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Early intervention for toddlers with autism refers to the time at which therapeutic services begin to treat the symptoms of autism. There are a variety of services that a child with autism may require. These services can include any or all of the following:

• Speech Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Behavioral Management
• Nutritional Therapy
• Medication
• Educational Strategies
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy

Deciding which types of therapies or strategies to use for early intervention is something that needs to be decided by you, as the caregiver or parent of a child with autism. A good place to start exploring all of the early intervention options is by talking to your pediatrician.

What is Early Intervention?

Early Intervention is one of the most effective ways to prepare your child with autism for the years ahead. Your child needs to be able to communicate, listen and learn, respond to adults and peers, and behave appropriately in social settings whether on the playground or in some other public setting. It is also important for your child to understand boundaries and positive ways to behave and communicate within your own family unit as well. 

The earlier you start intervention services, the greater the chances are for your child to get a good start in school. This is important because creating a positive experience when a child first starts to attend school just may set the tone for the school years ahead. If a child with autism has a negative start at the beginning of their school years, it could hinder them from learning and acclimating to the school environment for an extended period of time.

By starting intervention services as soon as your child is diagnosed, your child will start to learn and adapt to the norms and expectations that they will encounter wherever they go. These skills need to be taught because many of the social norms that we take for granted are very difficult for toddlers with autism. Skills that may not come naturally to a child with autism include introducing yourself to a new friend, sharing, being empathetic, reading facial expressions, appropriate responses and so on.

If your child with autism has social skills deficits, communication deficits, physical deficits, emotional deficits, and/or behavioral deficits it is in the best interest of the child and for your family to address these deficits early. Early intervention can equip a child with autism with the tools and the skills that they will need to learn, be a part of the classroom community, play with peers, socialize and make new friends, control impulses, focus, communicate feelings, share thoughts, and take part in classroom discussions.

Can early intervention cure autism?

Toddlers diagnosed with autism can make significant strides in their behavior, communication, and social/emotional health with early intervention. However, autism is a lifelong diagnosis. Autism doesn’t simply go away- it is managed.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is diagnosed by the patient meeting certain criteria. The DSM-5 (The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition) explains that in order for a child to be diagnosed with an ASD (autism spectrum disorder), they must have persistent deficits in social communication and interaction, restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, and intellectual impairments that may or may not include a language impairment.

Autism is diagnosed by your pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, or/and other specialists who are trained to identify deficits in your child’s development. 

Treating autism is a process. Early intervention is vital to the process because if a child is given the right treatment and guidance as early as possible, they may be able to make enough social, communication, and behavior improvements to be almost indistinguishable from their school-age peers.

This will vary from one child to another depending on the severity of their autism, of course. A child with mild symptoms who is struggling with socially appropriate behaviors may require minimal support. While children with severe deficits in their ability to learn or communicate effectively may benefit from several years of treatment. In either case, early intervention is the best strategy for helping a child with autism to overcome these deficits in social, emotional, communication areas, and in learning socially appropriate behaviors.

Given enough attention, there are toddlers who are diagnosed with autism at an early age who no longer fit all of the criteria for autism at an older age. Does that mean that they were never autistic? Did their autism magically disappear? No, autism does not magically go away. The goal in delivering proper treatment to children with autism is to get them to a point in their lives where they can interact with others, learn independently, live independently when they are older, and communicate effectively. Some of these changes can happen very naturally as a child develops and learns by observing others. Behavior therapy adds to that learning by addressing specific deficits that are hindering their independence and their ability to communicate and learn.

Where can I find early intervention services?

If you suspect that your child has autism, or if your child has recently received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder there are many options for early intervention services.

The most obvious place to start would be to ask your pediatrician for suggestions or referrals. If working with your pediatrician is not helpful or possible, your next best option is to seek out assistance from your local health department.

Most states have free screening programs for toddlers with developmental concerns. These programs target children that are showing signs of developmental delays between the ages of birth to three.

To acquire Early Intervention Services, qualified professionals will evaluate and assess your child for delays or deficits in their development. Once it has been determined that your child qualifies for services, the frequency and intensity of services is determined with the needs of the child and the family in mind.

Early Intervention Services include whatever specific services are needed to support a child with autism with deficits in areas such as:

• Physical Disabilities
• Hearing and Vision 
• Developmental Disorders
• Family Counseling
• Health Services
• Medical Services
• Nursing Care
• Speech and Language Therapy Services
• Psychological Services
• Transportation
• Social Work Services
• Physical and Occupational Therapy Services
• Nutritional Counseling

Families are entitled to many of these services at no cost. For the costs that are not covered at public expense, Medicaid and private insurances can often cover the cost of whatever services are needed. The cost of these services is determined by the family’s income and works on a sliding fee scale.

With increasing awareness and support for ABA services, there are increasingly more and more programs available to help with the cost of ABA therapy. Your state’s department of health is a good resource to start from when seeking services.
If your local department of health does not have resources for early intervention, Autism Speaks is an organization that is dedicated to autism advocacy. This organization is a great place to start when seeking services, information, or funding for services.

Early Intervention With Circle Care Services

Circle Care Services in New Jersey is an ABA agency that serves the needs of children with autism and the needs of their families. Circle Care works with several insurances to provide applied behavior analysis therapy at little to no cost for families in need.

Circle Care Services is staffed with highly qualified professionals that can come alongside you and your child to determine exactly what your child needs for the best possible outcome. Circle Care offers preschool readiness programs, social skills groups, individualized therapy in the home, at school or in a clinical setting.

Whatever your needs are, we can help. Give us a call at Circle Care in New Jersey to set up a consultation and evaluation for applied behavior analysis therapy. Our Board Certified Behavior Analysts will assess your child and develop a specific treatment plan that is designed to meet the needs of your child while meeting the needs of your family as well.

Give your toddler with autism the best start possible. Start them on the right path to learning and growing at the earliest sign of delay. Help your child to reach those developmental milestones and goals that will help them in school, in their community and long into the future when they become adults.

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Educational instruction that is delivered in such a way that it meets the unique needs of each individual is known as Specialized Education. Specialized Education is specifically targeted towards individuals who have developmental deficits that may cause learning or/and attention deficits.

Specialized Education: What is it?

We will describe various aspects of Specialized Education such as classroom modifications, curriculum modifications, and additional physical or academic support.

Classroom Modification

This includes things such as floor padding, wall padding, wheelchair ramps, and access to bathroom facilities, additional safety measures (outlet covers, locked cabinets), and easy access to each learning center.

Curriculum Modification 

This is also known as differentiated instruction. It is the addition to or the simplifying of an academic lesson to make the lesson understandable and manageable for each individual student. This could include the use of tangible objects for counting in a math lesson (adding to) or it might require scaling things down by covering all the words but one in a sentence while learning to read (simplifying).

Physical Support 

Many children with special needs require major assistance with daily tasks like eating or toileting. Other children with special needs may require minor physical support for anxiety or attention deficit disorders and may find it helpful to have fidgets to squeeze or perhaps an adult to make physical contact (hand on the shoulder) to redirect them back to the task. Each child is different in their needs which is precisely why each program is specialized for each child.

Academic Support

Children with special needs often have processing and comprehension delays which can make learning difficult. With specialized education, those specific deficits are identified and targeted for treatment and assistance so that the child is equipped with new skills for learning and understanding.

The Importance of Early Intervention

One of the best ways to help a child with special needs is to start finding the right help and resources as early as possible. Children who struggle with communication, learning, language skills, social skills, or/and behavior are more likely to succeed if they receive intervention during their toddler and preschool years.

Children with autism require similar early intervention services with the addition of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) services to set them up for the highest chances of success by improving educational, emotional, and behavioral skills.

The most important types of intervention generally fall into these frameworks:

Behavior Modification 

This process uses ABA services, and it is very important. Without being taught socially acceptable behavior, it is difficult for a child with special needs to know what the social and behavioral expectations are for sitting in a classroom, listening to a teacher, or how to interact with a group of peers. These core or foundational skills are called pivotal skills because there are so many other skills that rely on the mastery of these foundational skills. Without basic pivotal skills (sitting still, using eye contact, actively listening, having calm hands, and calm bodies, taking turns to speak, etc)- it becomes very difficult to learn anything new.

Speech and Language Growth

Children with autism often have delayed speech and language deficits. Early intervention using ABA combined with speech therapy is a winning combination to promote better communication. Proper communication skills create a stronger likelihood of developing healthy and happy peer relationships in school and in the community. Children with autism need to be intentionally taught to interact, express needs, express emotions, navigate and resolve conflict, and solve problems. When these skills are taught at an early age, a child with autism will experience more positive interactions with peers and ultimately will be included in more activities and special events.

Academic/Learning Intervention

It stands to reason that if a child is taught better communication skills, they will find it easier to ask for help with academics and struggles in school. This is important because just like there are pivotal skills for behavior, there are pivotal subjects for academic learning. Reading and the ability to manipulate numbers are two of the most important foundational skills for children in the preschool and elementary school years. Reading could be considered a notch higher in importance only because reading provides additional help with mathematics later on if there is any struggle with more advanced math.

Without going into a lesson on brain development, let’s just say that there are stages and windows of opportunity for the most successful learning in various areas. With reading and math, it is important to have a good head start by the time a child enters kindergarten. That doesn’t mean memorizing multiplication tables and reading chapter books. But, a child between the ages of 3 and 5 should be counting and reciting the alphabet. Closer to kindergarten there should be some association of sounds with letters and some simple adding (one apple and another apple are two apples).

Children with autism sometimes have significant delays in learning due to an inability to focus or neurodevelopmental problems that may hinder learning. These difficulties take time and patience to work through and having solid pivotal skills is key in helping a child through these difficulties. This is specifically why ABA is so important for this population. A behavior analyst can assess a child with autism and identify what each individual child needs to overcome deficits and achieve success.
When a child understands and accomplishes a task at school, they feel good. They feel included with the students who understand and their behavior will reflect this.

How Do I Know If My Child Qualifies for Specialized Education?

Childhood Development has distinct stages and milestones (see the previous blog). This is useful information because it can be hard to determine if something that your child is doing is normal for their age, personality, or if there is a genuine concern for their growth and development.

As early as possible, see your pediatrician with any concerns that you may have. Some parents have noticed concerning behavior before the age of one and had an autism diagnosis before the age of two. This is advantageous because this allows for early intervention in all areas: behavior, speech skills, motor skills, communication, and learning.

If your child has already started school, that’s okay. Start from where you are. Talk to your child’s teacher, school psychologist, school admin, or whoever you need to speak with to get your child tested for learning deficits. Simultaneously, see your pediatrician, who can evaluate your child for neurological concerns such as ADD, ADHD, Autism, or PDDs.

Once you have your child evaluated and diagnosed, your school can help with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and make any accommodations that might be necessary to help your child. For example, your child may require a smaller population with more attention for a couple of grade levels or more. 

Outside of school, a diagnosis of any neurodevelopmental disorder that affects learning can help you to secure ABA therapy services, speech therapy services, occupational therapy services, or whatever else your child requires for early intervention services.

These types of learning deficits are not something that should be self-diagnosed or applied as a label to a child who hasn’t been evaluated properly. Not only will that affect your child negatively, but without proper evaluation, it is nearly impossible to secure the appropriate resources for helping your child.

The Benefits and Where to Find Specialized Educational Services

Early intervention prepares a child for a greater chance of being successful in all areas of life. Teaching skills at a young age in a natural and playful way makes learning behavior, communication, and even academic skills fun for children. This is what ABA is all about.

ABA uses a child’s natural environment to shape and build the skills that a child with autism needs in order to participate and interact with peers of the same age.

If intervention happens early enough, it can significantly reduce the need for specialized education and support in the future. All hope is not lost with older children, but this becomes more difficult with a later start. With all neurodevelopmental disorders that affect learning, earlier is always better.

Circle Care Services in New Jersey is an awesome example of the innovation in education that is currently developing. Circle Care Services is an ABA Therapy provider that offers social clubs for older children and a preschool program that provides early intervention services in a school setting.

Circle Care’s preschool program begins with an evaluation by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The BCBA will identify the areas that your child with autism is currently struggling with and create a specialized program that will help your child with their social, academic, and behavioral skills. Your child receives all of this while in a classroom setting with other peers of the same age. This eliminates the need to have ABA services after school when your child is already tired from a long day.

The preschool program also allows for close and careful guidance in a natural setting as the behaviors are taking place. Your child’s therapist can guide, correct, redirect, and reinforce all of the appropriate behaviors and skills as they happen.

If this sounds like a good fit for your child and your family, we would love to help. Circle Care is ready whenever you are. Give us a call and set up a consultation today.