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Autistic Behavioral Therapy

Autistic Behavioral Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Therapy for autism can help children improve communication and social skills, reduce disruptive and harmful behaviors, and provide healthy coping skills.

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Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of Autism in Children

Autism in children is not something that needs to be fixed. Instead, therapy for autism helps your child interact with their environment safely by encouraging healthy coping skills, increasing stress tolerance, and building a strong support system.
  • Delayed language development

  • Difficulty with social interactions

  • Lack of Interest in playing

  • Narrow range of interests

  • Repetitive behaviors

  • Difficulty in communication

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Sensory Issues

Sensory Issues

Hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity (low sensitivity) are common in children with autism and can include sensitivity to light, noises, different textures, tastes, and smells. Being forced to interact with one of these overwhelming senses can cause mild to extreme distress. Children with autism might experience sensory issues such as:

  • Not wearing certain clothes because of the way it feels on their skin.
  • Covering ears, running away, or crying when confronted with loud noises.
  • Only eating chosen safety foods and a refusal to try new foods. 
  • Increased distress and decreased stress tolerance when under florescent lighting. 
  • Strongly preferring activities with safe sensory experiences.
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Resistance to Change

Resistance to Change

Children with autism don't do well with change, and will often experience distress when their routine is changed. This routine change could be as small as leaving ten minutes earlier, or not having their safety food for breakfast, and can result in tantrums, self-harm, crying, or refusal to go along with the changed routine. Signs your child is resistance to change include:

  • Crying or tantrums when routine is changed. 
  • Refusal to go along with changed plans, even if warned about change. 
  • Will engange in repetitive play or routines when left by themselves. 
  • Is distraught when changes outside of their control happen.
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Communication Difficulties

Communication Difficulties

Autistic children communicate in ways different than their non-autistic peers. Instead of relying on facial expression, tone, story telling, and sentences to communicate, an autistic child may use minimum words or no words. One goal of autistic behavioral therapy is to provide more communication methods to children so they can effectively communicate their needs. Children who struggle with communication may:

  • Cry, fall to the ground, or throw tantrums in response to not getting their way.
  • Not form full sentences, answer with one or two words, or be nonverbal.
  • Speak in a cadence and tone different from that of their peers. 
  • Have difficulty making eye contact and reading or forming facial expressions. 
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Low Social Involvement

Low Social Involvement

Children on the autistic spectrum may not show interest in engaging with their peers and may prefer their own company. They tend not to engage in play with peers or pretend play. They also may show an aversion to being around peers, social anxiety, or a strong preference for their known caregivers. Therapy for autism will help increase a child's tolerance for their peers and teach important skills such as parallel play.

  • Prefer to play by themselves using toys or repetitive motions.
  • Dislike being touched or approached by peers.
  • Difficulty sharing toys or space. 
  • Makes no effort to get to know or play with peers or other adults. 
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Meet Our Autism Therapists

Our team of skilled autistic therapy specialists offers holistic care for your child to develop positive traits and a quality life for their better future.
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All kids need is a little help, a little hope and someone who believes in them.

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Therapy for Autism

Children with autism learn different than their peers. That's why therapy for autism at Lifebulb was designed to set them up for success with positive reinforcement, modeling behavior, new skill development, goal reaching.

ABA Therapy

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a common behavioral therapy used to treat Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by addressing destructive behavior and encouraging the growth of healthier behaviors. By breaking down behaviors into small steps and using positive reinforcement to encourage the development of positive, healthy skills, ABA helps a child become more self-sufficient in daily adaptive tasks, communication, and social skills.

    • Natural Environment Training: Integrating therapy into an individual's everyday routines and activities (Example: learning to wait their turn while playing with a peer)
    • Verbal behavior therapy: Utilizing language to address particular communication and social skills (Example: Learning to say "help" when they are frustrated)
    • Incidental teaching: Leverages spontaneous, teachable moments as they arise (Example: Teaching hand washing after hands are dirtied playing) 
    • Functional communication: Aims to instruct alternative communication methods for individuals facing challenges with verbal language. (Example: Teaching pointing to desired objects)
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for autism is a great choice for older children or for children with higher levels of communication ability. It helps people with ASD spot and change negative thoughts and behaviors that mess with their daily life. It's about teaching coping strategies, boosting problem-solving skills, and improving social abilities. CBT for autism might employ techniques such as:

    • Learning social skills: Identifying appropriate responses and behaviors in social situations.
    • Emotion regulation: Understanding triggers and healhty, safe ways to deal with intense emotions. 
    • Mindfulness and relaxation techniques: Learning what helps them calm down and how to advocate for themselves.  
    • Confronting negative thoughts: Unlearn the negative biases and thought patterns affecting our self-esteem and self-worth. 
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Floortime/DIR therapy

DIR Therapy (short for Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based), also known simply as Floortime, is a great therapy technique for younger children or children who don't yet have the cognitive or communication skills to engage in more verbal-based therapies. It is a play-based therapy that emphasizes the growth of emotional and social skills and relationships with peers, family members, and caregivers. Floortime therapy involves the following techniques:

    • Playing with the child: Floortime allows the child to lead in play, giving them ability to initiate play and control how the activity unfolds. 
    • Responds and shapes child's communication: Any attempt at communication made by the child will be be responded to and encouraged. 
    • Increases emotional and social skills: Gradually, the complexity and level of communication and emotional regulation will increase.
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Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is often a crucial part of therapy for autism. It helps a child improve communication and language skills by teaching receptive language, expressive language, pragmatic language, and non-verbal communication.
The techniques involved in speech and language therapy may include:

    •  Training in social interaction: practicing social communication skills in both structured and natural settings.
    • Therapy through play: utilizing play to encourage language and communication growth.
    • Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) approaches: employing alternative communication methods like sign language or communication devices for individuals facing verbal language challenges.
    • Therapy focusing on articulation: enhancing speech sound production for individuals with speech sound disorders.
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Therapy for Autism
Our Autistic Therapy Specialists Are Here To Help

We can help your child strengthen their communication, social, and emotional regulation skills so they can tackle any challenge thrown their way.

How does it work

Getting started with autism therapy at Lifebulb is easy with these three, simple steps. Have any questions? Our team is always a phone call away to support you.

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Check Your Insurance

Check Your Insurance

Book Your Online/In-person Therapy Session

Book Your Online/In-person Therapy Session

How it Works

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Get Matched With An Experienced Autism Spectrum Disorder Specialist

During face-to-face therapy sessions, your child can receive hands-on support from a licensed autism specialist. This can also include parent-training, ensuring you have the skills you need to continue building upon your child's successes.

Online Counseling

Virtual therapy for autism spectrum disorder can be highly effective and easy. It takes out the need to commute to a therapist office and increases comfortability, which can increase the success of a session.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Therapists that don't enjoy their workplace are often, unfortunately, unable to provide their clients with the best possible level of counseling and anxiety therapy. That's why at Lifebulb, our therapists are our top priority. This means that your counselor or therapist can provide you, their client, with the best online therapy service because they enjoy the work they do in online autistic behavioral therapy sessions with you, where they work, and who they work with.

ABA therapy is a systematic and evidence-based intervention that uses positive reinforcement and other behavioral techniques to teach and reinforce positive behaviors. It has been shown to be effective in improving communication, social skills, adaptive behaviors, and academic skills in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is often used in conjunction with other therapies to provide a comprehensive treatment approach.

ABA therapy sessions involve a therapist working with a child with autism to break down instructions into smaller steps and provide positive reinforcement for correct responses. The therapist will track and analyze the child's responses to identify the most effective prompts and reinforcements. This approach can be applied to a wide range of behaviors and skills that individuals with autism may need to learn or improve upon.

Behavioral therapy is an intervention for autism that aims to enhance behavior by applying principles of learning and reinforcement. Its foundation is the concept that positive reinforcement can modify and improve behavior, while negative behaviors can be diminished or eliminated by withholding reinforcement, also known as extinction.

There are several types of behavioral therapy for autism, including:

  • Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
  • PPivotal Response Treatment (PRT)
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  • Social Skills Training (SST)

Each of these approaches has its own strengths and limitations, and the choice of therapy will depend on the individual needs and goals of the person with autism.

CBT and ABA are both effective in improving behavior and functioning in individuals with autism. CBT is used to address emotional and cognitive issues, while ABA is used to address a wide range of behaviors. The choice of therapy will depend on the individual needs and goals of the person with autism, as well as their age, cognitive ability, and other factors. It is essential to consult with a qualified healthcare professional to determine the best therapy for each individual.

Speech therapy can be an effective intervention for individuals with autism who experience communication difficulties. Speech therapy Autism can help improve verbal communication, nonverbal communication, pragmatics, and alternative forms of communication. Speech therapists can work on grammar, syntax, sentence structure, vocabulary, body language, gestures, facial expressions, pragmatics, and alternative forms of communication. A qualified speech therapist can work with individuals with autism speech therapy for autistic preschoolers to develop a personalized treatment plan that addresses their specific communication challenges and supports their overall development.

Caring for an autistic child with behavioral issues can be difficult, but there are many effective strategies and ASD therapy for children that parents and caregivers can use to help them. These child therapy for autism include establishing a consistent routine, utilizing positive reinforcement, incorporating visual aids, providing sensory input, seeking professional assistance, and prioritizing self-care. It is important to recognize that every child with autism is unique, and what works for one child may not work for another.

By remaining patient, consistent, and supportive, it is possible to manage behavioral issues and support your child's development and well-being by therapy for autistic teenager.

Your first session with a Lifebulb therapist or counselor won't simply be a background or demographic information-gathering session. We know deciding to get help is a big deal and a difficult step.

That's why our first offline or online autistic ABA therapy session with you will be about providing you with the help you're seeking and proving that the autistic spectrum therapies and their process can work with the right effort and commitment from both sides.

When you book an online autistic behavioral therapy session with your therapist or counselor, our team will email you a confirmation of your appointment date and time with a link to the virtual aba autistic therapy room. Click the link and log in to the virtual therapy room a few minutes before your session, and your therapist will meet you there.

Therapy is often a long-term process that can help in improving overall mental health. It has been demonstrated that therapy can enhance feelings and behaviors and is associated with healthy adjustments to the brain and body. There is never a guaranteed "cure," but therapy helps make positive lifestyle changes.

Our Resources

Look over our expansive list of carefully curated resources to learn about autism spectrum disorders.