Community
Therapy
Services,
P.C.
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Speech Therapy - Children participate in speech-language therapy with specific goals written for parents (and school input where appropriate). Some families come weekly and others opt for more intensive treatment. Communication goals might include developing effective communication strategies, empowering parents and other communication partners, communicating in play, developing play skills, communicating with peers, reading and responding to social cues, developing social strategies, and others. Interventions might include the use of Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) or other picture systems, signing, communicative temptations, social stories, auditory training, and augmentative devices. Social Skills Groups - These groups are happening at CTS, both during the day for younger children and after school for school-age children. At CTS, we are careful about finding the right mix of children. For some, that means bringing in their own natural communication partners (siblings, cousins, friends from the neighborhood or school). Goals are written with parents to address specific needs of group members. They might include responding to other people, expressing ideas to peers, waiting for a response from peers, negotiating deals, taking turns, knowing when to persist or let go of an idea, and interpreting facial expressions and voices. Music Therapy - Music is time ordered and can help to establish routines while maintaining flexibility. Instruments and music activities establish and maintain social interaction, eye contact, and participation. Music can be incorporated into a school routine and allow for participation in a successful environment. Physical Therapy and Autism - The physical therapist at CTS can work independently or in concert with other CTS specialists to help parents provide a cohesive treatment plan. The physical therapist's input may be important in issues such as posture, toe-walking, balance, low muscle tone, and uncoordination. Current Therapeutic Approaches - At CTS, we keep our staff up-to-date on the latest treatments and philosophies so that we can interface with other professionals in a child's life and so that a child's CTS therapists can help families make good treatment decisions for the child that also meet the needs of the whole family. Some of our families are using Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), ideas from TEACHH, applied behavior analysis (ABA, Lovaas, or Pyramid), Greenspan's Floortime play, Sensory Integration, Auditory Integration Training, private or public school programs, and others. Other Types of Treatment - Many of the autistic children we treat at CTS also participate in medical or nutritional interventions based on recommendations of their physicians. These include vitamin-mineral therapies, aggressive allergy management, nutritional management, and pharmaceutical treatments including secretin therapy and others. Click here for our Community Times article on treatments for autism. Autism Research Institute: www.autism.com/ari CAN Foundation: www.canfoundation.org Center for Study of Autism: www.autism.org Information on Autism: www.autism-info.com Pyramid Education Consultants and the Picture Exchange Communication System: www.PECS.com
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