BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR AUTISM AND ITS SYMPTOMS

           It is 9:00 am; Raymund is busy helping Aira, his teenage sister, change clothes and select the best trousers. Afterwards, he spoon feed her with her favorite cereal, drizzled with carrot bits. Aira, a 17 year old girl, hardly speaks continuously in any meaningful manner, she just enjoy watching television all day long and often focuses on toys scattered around. Understanding jokes and any ideas are beyond her comprehension. She can communicate but mostly by mumbling and gesturing. Sometimes, when her brother snatches her toy, she shouts, cries, screams and throws any object within her reach.

SYMPTOMS

Aira is one of thousands of early adults and children suffering from developmental disability called autism. This behavioral disability impairs communication and social ability. Along with autism spectrum disorder problems or pervasive developmental disorders it shares one of the following symptoms

• Repetitive behaviors such as stacking of toys and lining of cans.
• Tantrums like screaming, yelling and shrieking.
• Social communication problems such as difficulty in starting in conversation or responding to humor and abstract ideas.
• Cognition delays or impairment starting from infancy to adulthood.
• Savant giftedness possessed by few autistic adults. To illustrate, an individual may have photographic memory to remember thousands of telephone numbers or date and year combinations.

TREATMENTS

      BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

On the other hand, there are treatments such as medical and behavioral therapy for autism available that may lessen or help autistic individuals recover.

 First, autism behavioral therapy may include speech, cognition and psychological treatments. Autistic individuals undergoing in this therapy will have significant improvements over time.

• Autistics speech therapy – This method helps autistic in nonverbal and abstract communication skills. Practitioners may use operant conditioning in this treatment. They use speech pragmatics to teach when and how greetings like “how are you or hello” should be said. They train individuals to learn non verbal skills with the use of electronic media, visual aids and flash cards. In addition, practitioners may assist autistic people in grasping abstract ideas such as love, fear, freedom and anger.

 MEDICAL THERAPY

Secondly, medical therapy is anything about administering drugs to lessen or prevent autistic symptoms such as seizures and convulsions. 

·       Antiepileptic drugs – Helps in minimizing or preventing convulsions and spasm caused by seizures

·        Psychoactive drugs – Alters person’s mood and consciousness.

·        Dietary supplements – Vitamins, minerals, probiotic drinks and beneficial fats.

The combination of continuing therapy and autism support groups is an effective way to help autistic people recover. It is more effective than just relying in one single medication. Groups such as behavioral therapy forums can serve as focal point to bring people together to enhance and further the welfare of children and adults born with autism.