Speech Therapy Products - National Autism Resources
The goal of speech therapy should be to improve useful communication. No one treatment method has been found to successfully improve communication in all individuals who have autism. However, the best speech therapy for autism usually, begins early, is individually tailored, targets behavior and communication, and involves parents or primary caregivers.Some Types of Speech & Language Therapy for Autism Include:
Working with a Speech and Language Pathologist
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) conduct evaluations, work with individuals with ASD to treat speech and language deficits, (motor speech, semantics, and pragmatics (verbal and nonverbal language social language). For non-speaking individuals, SLPs design augmentative and alternative communication systems. Not all SLPs are trained in working with autistic kids so it is important to make sure your SLP has adequate training.
“According to data from ASHA's National Outcomes Measurement System (NOMS), two thirds of preschoolers with ASD showed gains of one or more levels on the Spoken Language Production Functional Communication Measure (FCM) following speech-language pathology intervention. FCMs are a series of seven-point rating scales ranging from least functional (Level 1) to most functional (Level 7) designed to measure improvement in a variety of clinical areas. Similar gains were also seen in two other frequently treated areas–spoken language comprehension and pragmatics with 72% and 63% of children achieving one or more levels of progress respectively. Furthermore, NOMS data reveal that children who made functional gains in these areas received approximately 2-5 times more intervention (depending on the disorder being treated) than children who did not.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Treatment Efficacy Summary.
To view the full summary click HERE
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