Early intervention services

-help children from birth to 3 years old (36 months) learn important skills like therapy to talk, walk, and interact with others

Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

There are many different treatment/ therapy options:

-uses a series of trials to teach each step of a desired behavior or response
-positive reinforcement is used to reward correct answers and behaviors. Incorrect answers are ignored.

Pivotal Response Training (PRT)

-aims to increase a child’s motivation to learn, monitor his own behavior, and initiate communication with others

Verbal Behavior Intervention (VBI)

-focuses on teaching verbal skills

Occupational Therapy

-teaches skills that help the person live as independently as possible
-Skills might include dressing, eating, bathing, and relating to people

Sensory Integration Therapy

-helps the person deal with sensory information, like sights, sounds, and smells

Speech Therapy

-helps to improve the person’s communication skills.
-For others, using gestures or picture boards is more realistic

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

-PECS uses picture symbols to teach communication skills. The person is taught to use picture symbols to ask and answer questions and have a conversation

Some families choose to not treat their child because there is not a cure. They don't want to spend the money on improving the situation because there is no guarantee that the treatment will help the child and it cannot be completely cured.