PREFESSIONAL THERAPIES
Physical Therapy services are provided by an individual licensed by the Arizona Board of Physical Therapy Examiners pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”), Title 32, Chapter 19.
Exercises and activities used in physical therapy include those that enhance equilibrium, posture, and strength while also developing motor abilities.
For instance, this kind of treatment works to help a child develop physical strength and control so that he or she can play with other kids more readily.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by mobility issues, and many autistic kids need physical therapy.1 However, there is now insufficient proof that some therapy can help autistic people with their movement abilities.
What Does a PT Do?
Your PT will evaluate you and determine your requirements during your initial treatment session. They will enquire about your pain or other symptoms, your mobility or capacity for daily activities, your sleep quality, and your medical background. The goal is to identify your condition's diagnosis, the underlying causes of it, and any limitations it has caused or exacerbated before creating a care plan to address each.
The PT will conduct examinations to evaluate:
How fluidly you can bend, reach, and grab
How well you can climb stairs or walk
Your heart's rhythm when you're moving around your alignment or stance
Speech Therapy services are provided by a qualified Speech-Language Pathologist or Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (“SLPA”) that holds a license issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services (“ADHS”) pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”), Title 36, Chapter 1940.
A developmental illness that impacts a person's capacity for learning, behavior, communication, and social interaction is autism, often known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A quarter to a third of autistic individuals are hardly speaking or fail to acquire functional language.
In order to assist autistic persons communicate and interact more effectively, speech therapy can be helpful in helping them develop or enhance their speech and language abilities.
This article examines the advantages and efficacy of speech therapy in the treatment of autism.
Benefits
Speech therapy for autism seeks to help patients communicate more effectively. However, this goes beyond simply learning to speak.
Below, we go through the advantages of speech therapy for autistic persons.
Prelinguistic capabilities
Early intervention therapy is frequently provided to autistic children. Pre-language abilities, such as eye contact, gestures, and other vocalizations that help youngsters communicate, can be developed with the assistance of SLPs.
Speaking without words
Many children with autism have trouble interpreting tiny social signs in body language. They can detect these bodily signs with the use of SLPs.
In order to improve their communication, they can also look into augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which uses things like gestures, image cards, and technological gadgets.
SLPs receive training and practice using AAC systems with kids who have autism. A research from 2021 claims that AAC systems aid in and improve communication.
Another technique SLPs use to encourage communication in autistic children is the image exchange communication system (PECS), which is a similar system.
Using PECS encouraged autistic youngsters to make requests, according to an assessment from 2020.
Learn more about autism that is nonverbal.
Fluency of speech
Additionally, SLPs can assist autistic kids with fluency concerns including cluttering and stuttering. They can assist the kids in speaking more fluidly and naturally.
Speaking needs the synchronization of several structures, or articulation. The muscles in their mouth, jaw, and neck can be strengthened by SLPs to assist autistic children have greater control and coordination or to better make sounds and sound patterns.
