Parents have the power to help their child with autism

A world renowned autism specialist Susan Bryson was once noted to have said this. "The brain is so much more plastic when a child is young... There's now evidence showing that behavioural interventions can enhance connections between brain cells." Bryson was at the time doing a test study on a new parent-based treatment for children with autism at the IWK health Centre in Halifax in Canada. She was then studying the benefits of treating children in the presence of their parents. The parents, too, were taught how to employ the special intervention techniques themselves. Intensive intervention for a child with autism suddenly became accessible and affordable with this new idea. This early intervention method was named Pivotal Response treatment, which was found to be highly successful with preschool children with autism. Parents are taught the method and were encouraged to use the techniques with their child at home. Children with autism were taught in familiar surroundings of their own home rather than at the therapist's office. Bryson's idea left the parents empowered to be able to help their children themselves. Personally, I totally believe in Bryson's home treatment idea because there's no one more motivated and more available than parents of a child with autism. No matter how many private therapists are available out there, the cost of hiring one just to do an hour job once a week seems futile to me. From my own experience, I find that my willingness to be heavily involved in giving my time and attention to the progress of my child with mild autism simply works. Therapists and other professionals are willing and able but paying for their time may not be within the means of most families. I believe parents are the first and foremost responders to their child's needs. They do not need to wait in long lines for professional intervention. The key is to believe that they can and make that time to contribute to the progress of their child. Seek outside help if necessary but do not just wait for your child to move up the waiting list for professional help. Parents can do much on their own. Learn, take courses, attend workshops, watch the therapists, if any, at work with their child and employ the techniques any time when presented with the opportunity. Parents have the power to bring about progress in their autistic child's life especially in the early years. No doubt.