Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism Treatment and Therapy in Toronto

What is Autism?

Autism is a developmental disability that appears in early childhood, and can cause significant social, communication and behavioural challenges. There are many effective virtual and in-person treatments and therapies in Toronto that can help reduce symptoms and maximize the child’s abilities.

What are Common Autism Symptoms and Challenges?

Children with autism may show the following symptoms and/or face these challenges:

Challenges in Social Skills

• Avoid eye contact and have flat or inappropriate facial expressions

• Prefer to be/play alone

• Do not share similar interests with other children of similar ages

• Difficulty understanding personal space boundaries

• Avoid or resist physical contact

• Difficulty understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings

• Cannot be comforted by others when they are distressed

Challenges in Communication

• Delayed speech and language skills – may use other means of communication (i.e. pointing, using objects, shifting their gaze)

• Repeat words/phrases/actions (i.e. say the same things over again)

• Give unrelated answers to questions

• Use few or no gestures (i.e. does not wave goodbye); may not understand gestures, body language or tone of voice

• Speak in a flat, robot-like, or high-pitched voice

• Difficulty understanding jokes, sarcasm, teasing, etc.

• Difficulty with back-and-forth conversations

Behaviours

• Repetitive behaviours with objects (i.e. line up toys/objects, or play with the same toys in the same way every time)

• Very organized

• Require certain routines and resistant to change (i.e. eats the same food everyday); may become upset over minor changes

• Repetitive body, arm, hand, or finger movement (i.e. flap hands, rock body)

• Hyper- or hypo-sensitive to sensory input (i.e. smells, sounds, textures, sights, tastes)

  • Hypersensitive or oversensitive (i.e. this child may cover their ears when they hear loud sounds)

  • Hyposensitive or under-sensitive (i.e. this child may have delayed responses to injuries)

Autism in Girls

The characteristics in girls are very similar to those in boys, however they tend to be slightly less noticeable in some situations. Girls also tend to have a greater awareness of the need to socialize, and therefore show increased social imitation skills and a desire to interact with others.  

How to Support Children with Autism?

• For sensory input:

  • If the child is easily overwhelmed by their surroundings: have a cool down/quiet zone where they can take a break

  • If the child needs more stimulation in the environment: provide the child with toys that are extra-stimulating (i.e. playdough, stress ball)

• For communication:

  • Use a visual schedule for the child to keep with them to ease transitions into next activities

  • Provide written rules or pictures of expectations of behaviour, and incorporate social narratives to explain the rule – children with autism may show an increase in compliance if they understand why the rules exists

• For social skills:

  • Use role-play or videos to teach perspective-taking and nonverbal cues (i.e. body language)

• For emotional regulation:

  • Use emotion cards with pictures of faces to teach the child basic emotions and how to identify their emotions

  • Teach the child self-regulation strategies for when they are feeling upset (i.e. take deep breaths, count to 20, play calming music)

Autism Support for Families

For individuals and families in Toronto struggling with autism, there are a variety of in-person and virtual treatments that may be beneficial, including:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy

• Autism behavioural therapy for kids

• Social skills training

• Emotional regulation training

• Play therapy

• Integrated play groups

• Autism parent training program