Empowering Parents of Children with Autism: A Personalized Approach to Home Care

Parents and caregivers who have a child with autism often ask “What can I do to help my child at home?”.

Every child with autism is an individual with unique strengths and needs. This is why personalized care is so valuable in supporting children with autism and their families. A quality ABA Therapy plan is developed based on the unique needs of each child and their family. Getting your child access to therapies as recommended by their pediatrician is key. An individualized therapy plan and consultation from a licensed professional (such as a BCBA, SLP, OT, Feeding, etc.) will provide strategies for addressing identified goals.

In order for therapy to be most effective, it is important for parents and caregivers to be familiar with their child’s goals to help teach new skills throughout each day. In addition, here are general suggestions to help your child:

Look for opportunities to promote communication based on your child’s wants and needs, and honor the various forms of your child’s communication. Praise and reinforce attempts to communicate whenever possible.
Expose your child to as much functional language as possible. Talk about and describe items in your child’s environment, talk about what you are doing, and ask questions.
Catch your child “being good” and provide descriptive praise. Tell them what you liked about what they were doing.
When giving corrective feedback, use “do” statements instead of “don’t” statements as much as possible. It’s so important that children are taught what they should do, instead of just what not to do.

Each child has their own potential and developmental timeline. It’s not possible to predict what your child’s outcome will be.

Focus on the accomplishments (big and small) and embrace your child’s strengths!