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Speach Therapies or Communication Interventions
Speach therapy can help a child with autism improve language and social skills to communicate more effectively.
The inability to communicate, verbally or non-verbally, is a core deficit in Autism. Children with Autism are often engaged in repetitive activity or other behaviors because they cannot convey their intent any other way. They do not know how to communicate their ideas to caregivers or others. Helping a child with Autism learn to communicate their needs and ideas is absolutely core to any intervention. Communication can either be verbal or non-verbal. Children with Autism require intensive intervention to learn how to communicate their intent.
Communication interventions fall into two major categories. First, many autistic children do not speak, or have little speech, or have difficulties in effective use of language.Social skills have been shown to be effective in treating children with autism.Interventions that attempt to improve communication are commonly conducted by speech and language therapists, and work on joint attention, communicative intent, and alternative or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods such as visual methods.Little solid research supports the efficacy of speech therapy for autism;AAC methods do not appear to impede speech and may result in modest gains.A 2006 study reported benefits both for joint attention intervention and for symbolic play intervention,and a 2007 study found that joint attention intervention is more likely than symbolic play intervention to cause children to engage later in shared interactions.
Second, social skills treatment attempts to increase social and communicative skills of autistic individuals, addressing a core deficit of autism. A wide range of intervention approaches is available, including modeling and reinforcement, adult and peer mediation strategies, peer tutoring, social games and stories, self-management, pivotal response therapy, video modeling, direct instruction, visual cuing, Circle of Friends and social-skills groups.A 2007 meta-analysis of 55 studies of school-based social skills intervention found that they were minimally effective for children and adolescents with ASD,and a 2007 review found that social skills training has minimal empirical support for children with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism.
Music Therapy
Music therapy uses the elements of music to let people express their feelings and communicate. Two small studies have reported short-term improvement in verbal and gestural communication skills of children with autism from a week's work of daily sessions; no significant effects on behavior problems were observed
Occupational Therapy & Physical Therapy
Occupational and physical therapy can help improve any deficiencies in coordination and motor skills.ccupational therapy may also help a child with autism to learn to process information from the senses (sight, sound, hearing, touch, and smell) in more manageable ways.
Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback attempts to train individuals to regulate their brainwave patterns by letting them observe their brain activity more directly. In its most traditional form, the output of EEG electrodes is fed into a computer that controls a game-like audiovisual display. Neurofeedback has been evaluated with positive results for ASD, but studies have lacked random assignment to controls.
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About Dr. Lu
Dr. Lu completed his medical education and training in China. (The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Shandong University Medical College respectively) Over 20 years clinic and research experiences in both medical school and hospital, Dr. Lu learned both West Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine including modern medical technology, acupuncture, medicinal herbs, and specializing in neurology. After years practice and accomplishments in China, Dr. Lu was invited as a visiting assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine in 1991. After excellent achievements in research program funded by NIH and NSF, Dr. Lu decided to become a Chiropractic Doctor in order to introduce the Traditional Chinese Medicine to the Western culture. Obtained Doctor Degree of Chiropractic from Parker College of Chiropractic, Dr. Lu became a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic and board certified Acupuncturist and began his practice in Dallas Texas since then. In 2007 Dr. Lu was voted the best acupuncturist in City of Richardson by Living Magazine. |
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