Health Tip: Therapy Options for Children With Autism

Health Tip: Therapy Options for Children With Autism
(HealthDay News) - Autism is a brain disorder that begins inearly childhood and affects communication, social interaction and creativeskills.
No treatment has been found to help all people with autism, accordingto the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.But the agency suggests options that may benefit many autistic people:
Take your child to see a speech pathologist, who can evaluate thechild's ability to communicate.Start therapy as early as possible, preferably during the preschoolyears, which are an intense period of speech and languagedevelopment.Music and sensory therapy may help children better respond toinformation they sense.In the short-term, medication may help improve attention span and cutdown on unusual behaviors. But long-term medication use is often difficultand not beneficial due to side effects.