This is a sponsored post for UnitedHealthcare. All opinions expressed are my own
If your child has been diagnosed with autism, it’s a great time to start looking at autism therapies. If you’re stuck, I’ve got a great list for you.
After my daughter was diagnosed with Autism, it was hard for us. It was a day that none of us will even attempt to forget with that level of being emotionally exhausted. I had so many take home papers and so many things on my to-do list for what’s next and I was overwhelmed at the thought of doing any of it – we all were. It was easily one of the hardest days for our family.
When we were finally able to get collected and decide to move forward, we started looking at therapies for her. There is an overwhelming amount of therapies out there so I urge you to take a deep breath and just take it one step at a time. You, your child, and your family will get through all of it.
Types of Autism Therapies
If you’re not sure where to begin as far as therapy goes, I have a list for you. Keep in mind that every child will be different. They all have unique qualities about them and their diagnosis. It’s best to explore all your options figure out what works best for you and your child. What works amazingly well for my daughter, may not work at all for you child. Try them out and see what works best! It’s a learning experience for all of us as we adventure through using trial and error. Below I’ve listed out some options for children with autism and how each one can help.
Occupational therapy: an occupational therapist is there to help develop skills for handwriting, fine motor skills, and activities of daily living skills.
Speech therapy: a speech therapist helps your child learn spoken language and/or nonverbal communication skills.
ABA therapy: applied behavior analysis focuses on techniques that help guide learning and bring out meaningful and positive change in behavior.
Social Skills Classes: social skills classes offer an opportunity for kids with autism to practice social skills with each other on a regular basis.
Hippotherapy: hippotherapy is the practice of using horse riding in a therapeutic way. This helps kids with autism walk, talk, connect, focus, behave and learn which inspires them to live life as fully, productively, and independently as possible.
Psychotherapy: psychotherapy use a variety of techniques to help children who experience anxiety, depression, OCD, or other psychiatric systems that cause problems for the autistic child.
Floor time therapy: floor time activities derive from the idea that we as parents can help our children by meeting them on their level to expand circles of communication.
RDI therapy: relationship development intervention therapy is a family-based, behavioral treatment designed to address autism’s core symptoms by appreciating all perspectives, coping with change and integrating information from multiple sources such as light and sound.
PEC therapy: picture exchange communication is used with nonverbal autistic children to learn to communicate without words so that they can make choices and communicate their needs and minimalize their behaviors so that they can be a much happier child.
Aquatic therapy: using swimming as therapy increases the effectiveness of all other forms of treatment by learning better balance, communication skills, sensory issues, and oral motor skills. You can learn more about aquatic therapy here.
So, what if you’re having some trouble deciding?
It’s not uncommon to be overwhelmed at all the different options out there and trying to figure out which ones will work best for your family and your health care coverage.
UnitedHealthcare has some great resources to help. With their Quick Care Quiz, you can learn the different health plan terminologies to help you explore the best health care options for you and your family. Insurance terminology can be overwhelming in itself. I know I often find myself confused when it comes time to explore our plans and figure out coverage and copayments. UnitedHealthcare also has an awesome Printable that you can save for quick reference on costs and tips for visiting your doctor. They also delve into helping you find the best medical facility for the type of care you are seeking. When it comes to different types of therapies and medical care there are so many different options out there that this tool is amazing at helping you simplify your search!
Plus, when you take the quiz you have a chance to win their weekly prize of $100 or monthly prize of $500! Extra cash for the holidays while learning your medical coverage options – major win!
If you’ve had a recent autism diagnosis, finding good autism therapy is super important. I hope that this list has helped you get off to the right path so you can start trying out some autism therapies for your child!
More Autism Resources
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