Did you or your children receive early intervention?

[Nervous nelly]

Just wondering how many here received early intervention- speech therapy, ABA therapy, OT, or other therapies, or if your kids received any therapy. It’s interesting to me that in the past most people didn’t recognize autism unless it was severe, and now people are diagnosing and pushing early intervention as early as 18 months for even likely mild cases (delayed use of language and gestures). Wondering how effective these interventions are and how they’ll change the way autistic people are down the road.

 

[BrokenBoy]

Just wondering how many here received early intervention- speech therapy, ABA therapy, OT, or other therapies, or if your kids received any therapy. It’s interesting to me that in the past most people didn’t recognize autism unless it was severe, and now people are diagnosing and pushing early intervention as early as 18 months for even likely mild cases (delayed use of language and gestures). Wondering how effective these interventions are and how they’ll change the way autistic people are down the road.

I was diagnosed at 3 or 4. No treatment tho.

 

[Autistamatic]

It depends on what the "early intervention" intends to achieve. Many of them are variants of ABA which has the result of traumatising the child and the adult they become leading to depression, anxiety, cPTSD and even suicide.

Any "therapy" that aims to alter the child's behaviour artificially to be more "normal" has the potential for dire consequences. However, an autistic led therapy that helps the child understand how the world works and assist them in understanding it and negotiating it their own way, has the potential to succeed. Sadly these are few and far between.

So the answer, for now at least, is they are not very effective and actually often create further problems both for the autistic person and the society they are a part of, further down the line.

 

[inkfingers]

I wasn't properly diagnosed until I was 18 (I'm 19 now), but as a child I was suspected to have PDD-NOS, although I was never diagnosed with that. My mom had me go to a group therapy for making friends and social skills, I think. I don't think I paid any attention, or even tried to make progress in therapy. I honestly didn't even care about having social skills. All I cared about was that at the end of each session, I could pick out a "prize" like a small knick knack toy, sticker, that sort of thing. So, I did therapy on and off as a kid, but I didn't make any progress socially (that I know of). I was always the odd ball, and I still am, and I'm ok with that.

I think if I had an autism diagnosis earlier it might have helped me and my parents to deal with and prevent my meltdowns. I had frequent, and sometimes violent meltdowns as a child, and it was frustrating because I didn't have the maturity or vocabulary to ask for help, or to explain what I was feeling. This led to frustrations and sensory overload and meltdowns where I would throw things and hit myself and generally cause a ruckus.

I think it would have been very helpful, or at least easier, if I was diagnosed earlier in life.

 

[the_tortoise]

I received no early intervention, but I did some OT for sensory processing issues in my early twenties -- it was quite helpful. Changed how I process vestibular information, taught me ways to meet sensory needs. (Didn't get rid of sensory processing differences entirely -- not by a long shot.)

 

[shysnail]

I was diagnosed at 11 (so perhaps not as "early" as you're talking about) and received CBT to try and help me with my anxiety. It didn't work for me. I didn't want to be there, I didn't see what it was going to achieve, and it just left me feeling like I must be abnormal and bad that I had to go and see a psychologist every month.

As such, I'm pretty skeptical about how useful therapies are for children, when they don't even necessarily really know what they're getting therapy for. I'm much more open to it for adults (certain types of therapies, like CBT. Not autism 'fixing' therapies like ABA) who have chosen to be there because they want to be.