Who Is This Program For?

These teaching methods can be used by anyone who spends a lot of time with a child. We have designed this program for parents to use with their own children. But you may be able to get others to help as well. For example, some brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, or babysitters have learned to use these methods. The program may also be helpful for teachers. If more than one person uses some of these methods with the child, she may learn faster. Of course, whether or not these methods are used with your child is up to you. Anyone teaching your child must have your permission as a parent first.

We are asking you to act as the child’s teacher in this program. But you are not only the teacher; you may also be her  mother or father. It can be very hard to balance these roles as teacher and parent. In addition to giving you methods for teaching your child new skills during playtime and other daily routines, we will also talk about setting up special learning sessions. When you are having these more structured learning sessions, you have to be consistent, and ask the child to do her best.

At other times during the day, it’s important not to reward unwanted behavior like tantrums. This can easily happen even when you don’t mean to. Doing that can undo some of the progress you make in the learning sessions. It also won’t help your child to learn how to cooperate (do as you ask) or to tolerate frustration.

But – if you are a parent, or one of the child’s main caregivers, the child’s relationship with you is the most important in her life. It is very, very important that she see that relationship as happy and loving. She needs to trust you to meet her needs as best you can. So, be sure to give lots of hugs, kisses, and praise. Show enthusiasm during your learning sessions and throughout the day. Show lots of happiness at her progress. Comfort her when she’s sad, upset, or hurt. A warm, trusting relationship between you and your child, where your child is emotionally attached to you and gets comfort, safety and fun with you, is the basis of any intervention you use.

If you have professional providers to help with your child’s learning, you can focus on teaching your child during your daily routines. You can provide plenty of chances to practice the new skills she is learning. If you do have a provider working with your child, talk to them about the things you’re working on in this program. And remember, all parents are their children’s most important teachers.

If your child is learning slowly, or engages in a lot of difficult behavior, that does not mean that you are not a good parent. Sometimes relatives, neighbors, or friends, think that any difficulty in learning or behavior in a child is because of poor parenting. This is not usually true. But – if your child is having difficulty with learning or behavior, you may need some special skills to help her. We hope that you will learn some of these skills in this program and that learning some of these skills will give you more confidence in your ability to help your child. We want this program to empower you – to literally give you the power to help your child grow and develop new skills.

If you think your child may have autism, or your child already has this diagnosis, sometimes relatives are not willing to talk about this with you. Or they may think that a child has autism or other difficulties with learning or social interaction because you did something wrong as a parent, or you do not discipline the child enough. These things are NOT what causes autism. We suggest that you explore the website of Autism Speaks. You will find their sections on signs and symptoms of autism, and on what causes autism. At the bottom of every page is a link to get that page in Spanish.

Here is an excellent article, from the Child Mind Institute in New York, about how to discuss and explain autism to family and friends.

Some parents are concerned about the possibility that vaccines can cause autism. There is a lot of medical evidence that this is not true. This issue is dealt with in detail by both Autism Speaks, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Both organizations have web pages that describe all the scientific evidence concerning this issue, written for families. This is a link to the American Academy of Pediatrics page. Or you can go to the AAP general parenting website (linked), put vaccine safety in the search bar, and then scroll down to Autism.

To get to the Autism Speaks page concerning this issue, go to the Autism Speaks website and click on What causes autism, which has a quick summary and a link to more detailed information.

If your child got an autism diagnosis recently, you may still be dealing with your first reaction to this diagnosis. Each parent’s journey to their child’s ASD diagnosis is unique. Each parent will have their own reaction to their child’s ASD diagnosis. All parents want to help their child gain skills, make progress and grow. Autism Speaks has a section on reacting to the diagnosis (linked) that you may find helpful.

The wait lists for professional services can cause significant distress for parents, especially since the earlier services start, the better. A main goal of this OPT-In-Early program is to give parents some specific ways to help their child while waiting for professional services, or in addition to professional services.

Also helpful for many parents is connecting with advocacy organizations and parent support groups and we encourage parents to do that in addition to using this program and finding professional services.

Many parents find the materials available in English and Spanish through the advocacy organization Autism Speaks helpful. They have a toolkit focused on actions parents of young children can take in the first 100 days after an ASD diagnosis. This link (linked) takes you to that toolkit.

Where can you find out more about your child’s rights to intervention or special schooling?

The law about your child’s rights to intervention is called IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Part B covers school-aged children (ages 3 to 21).

Part C covers Early Intervention (from birth to the child’s third birthday).

Every state in the US has an Early Intervention (EI) program. The programs can be quite different across states. They can also differ between different districts within each state.

Every city and town has a “special education” department in their public school system. Special education programs use special teaching methods and usually have lower student-to-teacher ratios. This usually starts with an evaluation by school personnel. The purpose of this is to decide whether a child is qualified to receive special education. If the child is found to need special education, the evaluation should also include recommendations. The school’s special education team will write a document called an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). This plan will have goals for your child in each area of need.

Autism Speaks describes your child’s rights for Early Intervention (EI) and for public school services. It also describes how to start the process of getting these services. The links have that information.

An important thing to understand is who can make the diagnosis of autism. A physician (a person with a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree) can make this diagnosis. A licensed psychologist, with a Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree, can also make this diagnosis. In either case, this is considered a medical diagnosis. This should allow your child to get autism therapies. A medical diagnosis may also make it more likely that private or state health insurance will cover at least some of this therapy.

If your child is not yet 3 years old, therapy will probably be provided by your state’s early intervention system (unless you choose a private agency). Most early intervention sites will evaluate your child’s development in various areas. These areas could include movement, thinking, and language. They will have a cutoff for how delayed your child has to be in one or two areas to get intervention. Some early intervention programs will also evaluate your child for autism. This is considered an educational diagnosis. Most early intervention programs will accept (or may even require) a medical diagnosis of autism, in order to plan services.

If your child is 3 years old or older, the public school system is required by law to provide any needed special education services. If you get an autism diagnosis from someone in the public school system, such as a school psychologist, this is also considered an educational diagnosis. When will your child qualify for special education services? Your child will need the educational diagnosis of autism plus a finding that they need special services for difficulties with academics or behavior in school.

If you and the public school agree on an individualized educational plan (IEP), you do not have to pay for these services.

Do you have to pay for early intervention?

This may be different from US state to US state. When there is a fee, they are generally low and based on income.  But all states must provide at least some services to your child for free.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also has important and useful ASD-related information for parents in English.

They also have that same information in Spanish (linked).

CDC also has a list of Early Intervention programs with their phone numbers state by state. Here is the link to that information.

There is another question that may come up if you live in the United States. What to do if the main language spoken in your home is not English, but early intervention and school services are in English?

There are two issues that come up in this situation:

1) Is it harmful to your child to be exposed to two languages? Some parents and professionals fear that teaching two languages at the same time will result in slower learning. There have been several research studies that show that this is not usually the case. And it may be good for your child to be able to communicate with you or with other relatives in your home language.

2) How can you understand the services your child gets from the early intervention or public school systems? While these services are usually given in English, the public school or early intervention system has to provide an interpreter if you need one. This will help you understand what services are being offered. It will allow you to participate in the Planning and Placement meetings with the school. They must also provide written information to you in the language you read. If possible, you might want to learn a few key words or ideas in English. This will allow you to help your child practice some of the things they learn in school.

Your child’s pediatric provider is very important as you explore interventions. The AAP explains the idea of your pediatrician’s office as your child’s Medical Home.

One medical issue that autistic children may have more than the general population is difficulty with gastrointestinal (GI) functions. In particular, they may have constipation, diarrhea, or discomfort in their belly. Autism Speaks addresses these issues here.

Another issue that we don’t cover in this program is sleep problems, which are also common in children with autism. If this issue is severe, you may need specialized help from a sleep clinic, but a good way to start addressing these problems is available from Autism Speaks.

Well child visits to the doctor and dentist (check-ups) are very important for all children. Your child with autism may be frightened or resistant to these important visits. Here are specific suggestions for preparing your child for a doctor visit.

Pathfinders for autism

 

The ideas that we present in this program can apply to all children, whether they are learning slowly or fast. Children learn at different rates from one another. And the same child will learn different skills at different rates. For example, one child may learn to talk early but learn to walk late. Another child may walk early but talk late. If your child is having difficulty with some area of development, using this program may not make your child learn as fast as another child. But it should help you teach her more effectively. Change can be slow and take time, but even small gains can be very important.

 What Will We Teach?