THE BIG PICTURE: Focusing intervention for autism

Gail J. Richard, PhD, CCC-SLP, a former chair, professor emeritus and director of The Autism Center at Eastern Illinois University, emphasizes the importance of incorporating all aspects of development when targeting treatment - including not only the speech profile but also social, sensory, and motor. These separate factors all play different imperative roles throughout the child’s life; roles that may affect how they function in the real world. For example, furthered education may be effected by a decreased ability to perform executive functions tasks (initiate, plan, organize materials, and manage time and academic expectations). As stated by Richard, “their strong intellectual potential cannot be realized without an infrastructure to facilitate their success.” (Richard G.J., 2017). By assessing all aspects of development, therapists can focus their intervention on the big picture and gain the best results possible. At Therapyland, all areas of discipline approach their treatment goals with this theory in mind. Whether it’s physical, occupational, language, speech, feeding or behavioral, the target is consistent with the ‘big picture’ – generalizing skills with each child’s unique ‘real world’ factor in mind. The vast collaboration amongst disciplines further facilitates this objective.

To dive more into this educational read, check out the full article ASHA leader published in their latest magazine: http://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2615520&resultClick=3