Groups for Autistic Children Help Remove Barriers

The development of social skills is a deficit common among children and teens with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, this challenge doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t wish to socialize with their peers and other people around them. The goal of autism social groups is to provide autistic individuals with the tools and support they need to develop the ability to interact with others in a meaningful way. 

Common Social Challenges

Social skills are essential for everyone, including people with autism. Failure to develop these skills early can lead to consequences that range from poor academic performance, peer rejection and depression. 

Those that facilitate social skills groups can attest that children and teens with ASD benefit from peer-to-peer groups. Some common social challenges that autistic youngsters face: 

• Initiating conversations and taking turns
• Processing others’ thoughts, emotions, facial expressions, and body language
• Addressing disagreements
• Recognizing and understanding unwritten rules of various social situations
• Sharing interests with other people within their age range

Ways To Learn

Today, many social skills groups for autism exist to help children and teens with ASD acquire or hone their social skills. A typical intervention strategy begins with understanding someone’s current social functioning level and identifying which skills they lack or they have but don’t exhibit or perform well. These assessments allow facilitators to choose and implement the most suitable intervention strategies. Because social skills can’t be developed overnight, continuous evaluation, monitoring, and modifications (whenever needed) are essential. 

Here are some of the strategies used to remove social barriers among autistic children and teens: 

Peer-mediated interventions. Autism social groups provide a specially structured environment where participants can experience successful social interactions — from initiating talks to responding to conversations. Experienced and trained mentors facilitate these interventions to oversee activities appropriate for the participants’ age group and level of social functioning. 

Thoughts and feelings activities. One key to successfully having social interactions is by having the ability to understand and process the other person’s thoughts and feelings. These activities are designed to enhance these very skills. Besides helping participants identify different emotions (e.g., happy, sad), mentors also teach the “why” behind them. 

Social stories. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to impart social concepts and rules. But for it to be effective, it must be done in a way that matches the audience’s ability and comprehension level. 

Role-playing. Also referred to as behavioral rehearsal, role-playing activities provide autistic youngsters with opportunities to practice the social skills that they’ve previously learned. In this type of intervention strategy, the scripts can be pre-developed, impromptu, or a combination of both. 

Video modeling. Considered by occupational therapists in Princeton who closely with kids with ASD agree this is the most effective strategy, this involves letting the participants watch a particular behavior-demonstrating video. After it is shown, the child or teen must mimic the behavior displayed by the character in the video. 

If you’re a parent or a guardian seeking social groups for high functioning Autism, know that there are many ways you can help your autistic child learn social skills. Apart from finding trustworthy groups that offer social skills intervention programs, you should be a role model and show them how to act in social situations appropriately.

Common Sounds Kids Struggle to Pronounce

The development of speech and language skills varies from child to child. However, there are certain age-range milestones that, when not achieved, may possibly imply future speech and speech-learning difficulties.

For instance, according to experts that offer speech therapy for toddlers, at the age of 6 to 12 months, a baby should be able to babble and repeat sounds. By age 1 to 2 years old, they may be able to say the sounds of p and b among others. By the time they’re 5, their speech should generally be easy to understand though they may still struggle to pronounce “th” sounds.

In this article, we’re rounding up the most common sounds kids may find hard to pronounce.

K.

Most providers offering speech therapy services in Madison NJ, would agree that many youngsters struggle with saying the k sound (as in cake). Often, what they do is replace it with a t sound (as in tate).

L and r.

Even among older children, you may encounter individuals who can’t properly pronounce these sounds, especially when they’re in the same sentence (as in the lion is roaring). As a substitute, they tend to use a w sound (as in the wion is wawing).

Zh.

This sound is found in many complicated words. For instance, the second g in garage and the s in decision. Even for native English speakers, this is one of the most difficult sounds to learn.

Voiced and voiceless th.

Ask any Speech and language therapist, these sounds are some of the most challenging to learn for children. The voiceless th is the sound used in words like “thumb” and “thank you”; voiced th, in words like the and with. Often, kids use f and v sounds as the respective replacements (as in fumb, fank you, va, and wiv).

Consonant blends.

It’s also challenging for children to pronounce consonants used next to each other clearly. For example, instead of saying “stay” or “stop,” they will say “say” or “sop.”

Multisyllabic words.

In speaking to a few Speech Language Pathologists in NJ, it’s common to jumble or shorten words and phrases with too many syllables. For instance, instead of saying “spaghetti,” they may say paghetti or pagshetti.

Ways You Can Help

Getting help from a speech pathologist in NJ is one of the best ways to help your child who’s struggling to pronounce certain sounds at their age.

Pediatric speech therapy is a specialized form of rehabilitation that helps children recover from speech disorders. Speech therapists assess and help children develop their speaking skills through unique exercises and activities designed to improve their ability to communicate. They also work with parents like you and teachers to ensure that children receive the best treatment plan.

Apart from relying on early interventions from a speech therapy clinic in New Jersey, you can be a role model on how to pronounce sounds properly. Help your kid practice reading at home and be patient about their situation. It’s important not to force your child to learn hard phonics sounds. With a professional by your side, be there to guide them until they get better diligently.

How Speech & Occupational Therapy Helps Autistic Kids

For every 35 children you meet in New Jersey, odds say that one child will have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is according to a 2021 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And if you’re a parent to a kid with ASD, providing them speech and pediatric occupational therapy in NJ can help make life better for them.

What is ASD

ASD is an umbrella term for lifelong developmental disabilities that affect how a person communicates and relates to others. People with ASD often have difficulty forming relationships and may experience challenges with social communication and repetitive behaviors.

What is Pediatric Speech Therapy

Speech therapy (ST) is a field that focuses on patients who have communication problems. Those who specialize in pediatric speech therapy are trained to work with children who struggle with verbal speach due to physical disabilities, neurological disorders, developmental delays, or other reasons.

From initial evaluation and creating a personalized plan to implementing that plan, the goal of a speech therapist is to improve someone’s ability to communicate — verbally, non-verbally, and in social settings. Some of the skills required to achieve this objective are:

• Strengthening the muscles used in speech
• Making clearer speech sounds
• Modulating tone
• Improving facial expression
• Responding to questions

This is particularly helpful for autistic kids as they immerse themselves in autism social groups in Morris County. Such social groups are designed to help children with ASD engage with their fellow youngsters and gain a better understanding — not just of body language but of emotions as well. It’s also an environment where they can learn how to initiate conversations and empowered to grow in these endeavors.

What is Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy refers to the holistic treatment that helps people with disabilities achieve their highest level of function. When you allow your autistic child to attend occupational therapy sessions, you’re allowing them to receive professional guidance on how to do daily activities, you and I may take for granted, more successfully.

Pediatric occupational therapy starts with a proper assessment of a patient’s skills. Patients with ASD, the skills they’re being evaluated for include social, cognitive, sensory, motor, and cognitive skills. A pediatric occupational therapist then crafts and rolls out an individual treatment plan. This plan may include several interventions, such as:

• Physical exercises that enhance motor development
• Learning activities that focus on sensory integration
• Strategies that help foster a patient’s emotional growth
• Cognitive behavioral approaches to correct erring behaviors while reinforcing positive ones
• Social groups participation to encourage interaction with peers

How These Therapies Can Help Autistic Kids

Occupational and pediatric speech therapy in Madison NJ plays a vital role in unlocking the full potential of an autistic child. If your little one is suffering from ASD, enrolling them in these therapy sessions can enhance their overall development.

One of the key contributory factors that make these therapies helpful is the presence of a personalized treatment plan. This plan is made according to your child’s unique needs. But while this plan may comprise various interventions — one thing is a staple: the need for social immersion. It’s an opportunity to put your kid’s skills to the test in a real-life situation while getting authentic support from fellow autistic kids and other people concerned.

Occupational Therapy For Kids That Don’t Want OT

If you are observant, some children would frequently say “no” to what their parents (or other adults in their surroundings) ask of them. Sentences like “No, I don’t want to do it” or “No, I find it too hard to do” are a staple in their conversations. In science, this condition is called Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), and one way to help address it is through occupational therapy for kids. 

What Is Pathological Demand Avoidance

Professionals who specialize in pediatric occupational therapy in NJ often have kids with PDA as their patients. 

PDA is a profile of autism, and it’s a condition where a person has a high level of anxiety that causes them to avoid situations that they perceive as threatening, overwhelming, or frightening. 

Children express PDA through various behaviors — from shouting, crying, hiding or running away to remaining silent. In worse cases, PDA can cause them to have panic attacks, agoraphobia, social phobia, and other mental health issues. In the long run, kids who suffer from PDA are often unable to function properly at home or school. 

What Is Occupational Therapy For Children And How It Can Help

Pediatric Occupational Therapy (POT) is a field that focuses on helping children develop their physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and communication skills through a carefully planned set of exercises, activities, and techniques. 

POT is a kind of professional intervention that addresses an array of conditions, including PDA. But apart from that, it can also fix problems surrounding sensory receptions, failing to quickly learn new concepts, developmental disorders, and birth-related injuries obtained after birth or while growing up. 

An occupational therapist for kids offers lots of benefits:

They help children handle everyday routines (e.g., brushing their teeth, going to the bathroom, wearing their clothes)

They resolve sensory perception and process-related problems

Therapists guide kids on how to communicate better and engage with other people around them

They facilitate exercises that can stabilize children with motor skill problems

They help kids relearn previously known activities

Ways to Address PDA In Kids

Professionals offering pediatric occupational therapy follow a certain framework when resolving PDA in children. This is called PANDA, which stands for 

• Pick battles, 
• Anxiety management, 
• Negotiation and collaboration, 
• Disguise and manage demands, and 
• Adaptation. 

Occupational therapists find the most suitable “challenge” and help their patients accomplish it through activities that follow this framework. 

For instance, if a child needs sensory support, the therapist can recommend activities that will help the child exercise their senses (e.g., carrying a bag, jumping on a trampoline). If a youngster has trouble communicating their thoughts, the use of a puppet (or toy or a pet) has proven to be beneficial. Such an aide can be used to demonstrate a particular task or be used by an adult to help the child accomplish a task. 

Addressing PDA in kids also requires flexibility. Occupational therapists generally advise parents to offer a choice when asking a child to do something. For example, instead of simply asking, “Shall we brush our teeth?” You could instead say, “Would you like to brush our teeth before or after breakfast?” This way, you can engage with your kid while exploring their preferences and interests. 

When a kid completes a task, occupational therapists also recommend giving praise and rewards — and explaining to the child the benefits of accomplishing that task so that they can be motivated to do it again.