Sadia Atif calls Early Intervention a "Golden Key". She discusses why Early Interventions are successful and help in child's development.
Screening and diagnosis are done, and your doctors have confirmed that your child has autism. Now what? You must start your child’s autism journey as soon as a diagnosis is done. The earlier you start, the more effective it would be for your child.
If your child is below 3 years, then continue reading and you can start with Early Interventions. If not, then check our “Treatment for Autism” section.
What is Early Intervention?
Early intervention refers to acting on the information that you have and seeking help from concerned doctors as soon as your child is diagnosed with autism. In fact, appropriate steps can be taken even before a formal diagnosis is done. Once your child is diagnosed, at whatever age, delaying the treatment will only harm the development process of the child. Here are some of the strategies for early intervention:
- Family training
- Speech therapy
- Hearing impairment services
- Physical therapy
- Nutrition services
- No meaningful two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months
- Any loss of speech, babb
Why is it important to act early?
Signs of autism can be identified in toddlers who are as young as 18 months old. Early intervention is proven to have a lifelong impact and more positive effects on children who have been receiving the treatment from a very young age. It is highly recommended that the moment your child gets diagnosed, relevant steps are taken without losing any more time.
Why Early Intervention works?
Early intervention can help improving a child’s IQ, speech and social interactions. When a child is less than 3 years old, their mind is more acceptable to change. Infant brain has more potential to learn and pick up certain habits that can help them later in life. Over time, the brain’s ability to adapt to change diminishes.
Early parental involvement is also one of the keys that can greatly benefit the child. Use of specially designed exercises and strategies at home such as individualized goals, playing with toys and communicating can prevent children from developing difficult behaviors later on. Through early intervention, you can give your child a fighting chance.
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