a woman is trying to prevent autism self-injury

How to Safely Manage Self-Injury in Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Repetitive motions like arm flapping, nodding, and stomping may be early signs of autism spectrum disorder. These movements have the potential to escalate into more violent behavior, causing self-injury. Violence and self-injury can be the most difficult symptoms of autism spectrum disorder witness and experience. While rather common, these behaviors are considered nonsuicidal, often involving…

a mother and child work on listener responding together

What Is Listener Responding?

Communication is rooted in our ability to listen and respond to one another’s verbal cues. We answer questions, follow directions, and voice our own opinions by listening to others who, in turn, listen to us. For those with autism spectrum disorder, language skills like listener responding may develop more slowly or need language skills training…

a parent works with his child with non verbal autism

 What Is Non-Verbal Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder covers a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders. This may include communication and speech delays and difficulty articulating or understanding language. These difficulties with receptive language, the ability to understand spoken words may result in self-isolation or atypical verbal behavior at a young age. Every learner on the autism spectrum presents different strengths…

early intervention for autism is working for this young child

Benefits of Early Intervention for Children with Autism

Autism spectrum disorder affects 1 in 4 children across diverse backgrounds. With signs and symptoms presenting as early as six to eight months of age, early intervention for autism can ease stress for children and parents. Applied behavior analysis, also called ABA, is an effective tool for helping parents, children, therapists, and educators assess a…

communication and autism often go hand in hand

Ways to Communicate with Children with High-Functioning Autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ADS) can present symptoms in children as young as six months of age. Often these symptoms make both verbal and non-verbal communication difficult. While some children on the autism spectrum may not speak at all, others may have difficulty physically articulating language. Many children with ADS have trouble understanding body language and…