An<unk> ic three-year-old points to fish in an aquarium, as part of an experiment on the effect of intensive shared-attention training on language development. The main goals when treating<unk> ic children are to lessen associated deficits and family distress, and to increase quality of life and functional independence. In general, higher IQs are correlated with greater responsiveness to treatment and improved treatment outcomes. No single treatment is best and treatment is typically tailored to the child's needs. Families and the educational system are the main resources for treatment. Services should be carried out by behavior analysts, special education teachers, speech pathologists, and licensed psychologists. Studies of interventions have methodological problems that prevent definitive conclusions about efficacy. However, the development of evidence-based interventions has advanced in recent years. Although many psychosocial interventions have some positive evidence, suggesting that some form of treatment is preferable to no treatment, the methodological quality of systematic reviews of these studies has generally been poor, their clinical results are mostly tentative, and there is little evidence for the relative effectiveness of treatment options. Intensive, sustained special education programs and behavior therapy early in life can help children acquire self-care, communication, and job skills, and often improve functioning and decrease symptom severity and maladaptive behaviors; claims that intervention by around age three years is crucial are not substantiated. While medications have not been found to help with core symptoms, they may be used for associated symptoms, such as irritability, inattention, or repetitive behavior patterns. ABA Therapy Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is used to improve social behaviors in a meaningful way. The implementation of ABA practices rely heavily on scientifically proven measures to show impact on an individuals behavior. ABA Therapy uses evidence based practices and strategies to replace socially inappropriate behaviors with behaviors that are more desirable or deemed socially valid. The long-term objective of ABA therapy is to increase behaviors that will help an individual with<unk>  function independently and appropriately in society. ABA strategies helps to decrease behaviors that negatively effect an individuals learning in participation in daily living. The strategies used in ABA are used as a form of management and does not work as a cure for<unk> . ABA therapy is a flexible form of therapy that is used uniquely based on an individuals needs. When developing an intervention plan using ABA techniques, practitioners create plans that are individualized for optimal success. ABA instruction can also be provided in diverse location including at home, in the classroom, and in the community. When developing ABA strategies specific to an individual with<unk> , teachers and practitioners create individualized plans by understanding the function of the individuals behaviors. This is completed through formal and informal assessments. First, the antecedent of the behavior must be identified. This tells teachers and practitioners what happened before a behavior occurs. The next step is to discover the behavior that occurs as a result of the antecedent. Finally, a consequence is provided after the behavior. A consequence is what occurs after the behavior is presented. This method is referred to as the A-B-C's, and helps to understand the individuals behavior and how to best address it. An example of a consequence to a behavior is positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is a popular type of ABA therapy that is used to increase desired behaviors. This is achieved by adding something meaningful in response to a behavior. For example, providing social praise to an individual after he/she appropriately waits their turn, instead of having an outburst. In this example, the negative behavior that is being replaced is the outburst. By following ABA practices and providing a valued response such as social praise, the individual is more likely to repeat the preferred behavior of waiting their turn. The goal of ABA strategies is to help an individual with<unk>  to achieve overall success and independence in order to ensure quality of life. Although supported by science and evidence based practices, implementation of ABA strategies are not limited to professionals. ABA techniques can be practiced with natural supports such as family members, community partners, behavioral therapist and more. Additionally, skills can be practiced in various opportunities that are not limited to a office or classroom setting. Education Educational interventions often used include applied behavior analysis (ABA), developmental models, structured teaching, speech and language therapy, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy and cognitive behavioral interventions in adults without intellectual disability to reduce depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Among these approaches, interventions either treat<unk> ic features comprehensively, or focalize treatment on a specific area of deficit. The quality of research for early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI)—a treatment procedure incorporating over thirty hours per week of the structured type of ABA that is carried out with very young children—is currently low, and more vigorous research designs with larger sample sizes are needed. Two theoretical frameworks outlined for early childhood intervention include structured and naturalistic ABA interventions, and developmental social pragmatic models (DSP). One interventional strategy utilizes a parent training model, which teaches parents how to implement various ABA and DSP techniques, allowing for parents to disseminate interventions themselves. Various DSP programs have been developed to explicitly deliver intervention systems through at-home parent implementation. Despite the recent development of parent training models, these interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in numerous studies, being evaluated as a probable efficacious mode of treatment. Welsh Government's code of practice on provision of<unk>  services. Early, intensive ABA therapy has demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing communication and adaptive functioning in preschool children; it is also well-established for improving the intellectual performance of that age group. Similarly, a teacher-implemented intervention that utilizes a more naturalistic form of ABA combined with a developmental social pragmatic approach has been found to be beneficial in improving social-communication skills in young children, although there is less evidence in its treatment of global symptoms. Neuropsychological reports are often poorly communicated to educators, resulting in a gap between what a report recommends and what education is provided. It is not known whether treatment programs for children lead to significant improvements after the children grow up, and the limited research on the effectiveness of adult residential programs shows mixed results. The appropriateness of including children with varying severity of<unk>  spectrum disorders in the general education population is a subject of current debate among educators and researchers. Medication Medications may be used to treat ASD symptoms that interfere with integrating a child into home or school when behavioral treatment fails. They may also be used for associated health problems, such as ADHD or anxiety. More than half of US children diagnosed with ASD are prescribed psychoactive drugs or anticonvulsants, with the most common drug classes being antidepressants, stimulants, and antipsychotics. The atypical antipsychotic drugs risperidone and aripiprazole are FDA-approved for treating associated aggressive and self-injurious behaviors. However, their side effects must be weighed against their potential benefits, and<unk> ic people may respond atypically. Side effects, for example, may include weight gain, tiredness, drooling, and aggression. SSRI antidepressants, such as fluoxetine and fluvoxamine, have been shown to be effective in reducing repetitive and ritualistic behaviors, while the stimulant medication methylphenidate is beneficial for some children with co-morbid inattentiveness or hyperactivity. There is scant reliable research about the effectiveness or safety of drug treatments for adolescents and adults with ASD. No known medication relieves<unk> 's core symptoms of social and communication impairments. Experiments in mice have reversed or reduced some symptoms related to<unk>  by replacing or modulating gene function, suggesting the possibility of targeting therapies to specific rare mutations known to cause<unk> . Alternative medicine Although many alternative therapies and interventions are available, few are supported by scientific studies. Treatment approaches have little empirical support in quality-of-life contexts, and many programs focus on success measures that lack predictive validity and real-world relevance. Some alternative treatments may place the child at risk. The preference that<unk> ic children have for unconventional foods can lead to reduction in bone cortical thickness with this being greater in those on casein-free diets, as a consequence of the low intake of calcium and vitamin D; however, suboptimal bone development in ASD has also been associated with lack of exercise and gastrointestinal disorders. In 2005, botched chelation therapy killed a five-year-old child with<unk> . Chelation is not recommended for<unk> ic people since the associated risks outweigh any potential benefits. Another alternative medicine practice with no evidence is CEASE therapy, a mixture of homeopathy, supplements, and 'vaccine detoxing'. Although popularly used as an alternative treatment for<unk> ic people, as of 2018 there is no good evidence to recommend a gluten- and casein-free diet as a standard treatment. A 2018 review concluded that it may be a therapeutic option for specific groups of children with<unk> , such as those with known food intolerances or allergies, or with food intolerance markers. The authors analyzed the prospective trials conducted to date that studied the efficacy of the gluten- and casein-free diet in children with ASD (4 in total). All of them compared gluten- and casein-free
Autism
Schizophrenia
Tourettism
Reactive attachment disorder
Puberphonia
Intellectual disability
Selective mutism
Lesch–Nyhan syndrome