Is It Necessary To Sacrifice My Child's Enjoyment Of Early Childhood To Obtain Quality Intervention For Autism?

Oct. 23, 2008 -- Question: Is it necessary to sacrifice my child's enjoyment of his/her early childhood in the interest of obtaining sufficiently intensive intervention for autism?

Answer: A child's enjoyment need not be sacrificed in addressing early intervention approaches. Early intervention really should be programming for success. We should be building upon the child's strengths, we should be focusing on child motivation and incorporating that into the learning opportunities.

We also should be taking many small steps so that the child has an opportunity to be successful. We should focus on functional skills. If we're focusing on functional skills that are appropriate to that individual and the individual is able to utilize the skills in their environment and feel more and more comfortable in their environment, again, the learning is going to take place very naturally.