Building your child's Autism team.

The Parents Role:

Documenting and Communication

At the beginning of your Autism journey parents should:

1. Create a binder that contains: pictures of your child inserted front & back,

- business cards, contacts pages, Active program summary or Individual Education Plan (IEP)

- Communication pages, recent consultants/assessments by discipline/ Correspondence,/Accounting for

Funding agencies

2. File ( Retroactive or by year)Consultants by discipline: psychology,education, SLP, OT/PT, Medical, Program summaries, IEPS, Communication pages, Data and numbers, Accounting

3. Communication Books: light thin pages frequently, current and active only, any daily data

- program tools, social stories, cartoons., calendar and schedules, copy of Active program summary

- contact numbers.

Retrieved from ACTcommunity.ca/autism-manual(2016)

The Professionals

There are several professionals who play a vital part in your child's autism treatment in otherwords they are your Autism team.

Behavior Consultant:

A board-certified Behavior consultant must

a master's degree or doctoral degree in ABA or a closely related discipline with an emphasis on Applied Behavior Analysis.
Supervised experience implementing behavior analysis interventions for children and youth with ASD.
A commitment to following the ethical principles of the professional association.

Practices to expect from a Behavior Consultant:

listening to family priorities and concerns,
observing the child or youth with ASD in their home or where they go to school regularly,
respectfully consulting with other professionals as needed
Develop a system for collecting objective data about the skills and needs of the child or youth with ASD.
Create a behavior plan of intervention focusing on specific developmental skills, including:

- imitation,

- receptive and expressive language,

- fine motor abilities,

- Academics,

- self-help and independence

(2016) www.actcommunity.ca/autism-manual

Behavior Interventionists/Therapists: work under the behavior consultant to implement programs directly.

Speech Language Pathologist: have expertise in language development.

- receive training in how to assess, diagnose and treat children and adults with all types

of communication and swallowing disorders.

- work in a private practice, school districts, health units, hospitals or child development centres

- may have training and experience in augmentative and alternative communication, swallowing problems, Apraxia or other motor speech disorders intervention for children with autism depends on.

Occupational Therapist: (OT): address age-appropriate functional living skills: dressing, feeding, play, postures, and positioning.

Child Psychologist: assists behavioral or education programs with medication management of co-morbid symptoms of anxiety, ADHD, aggression, insomnia, and many more.

Education Therapist: assists with the school-based team in academic modification aimed at the assessed learning disabilities.

Nutritionist: works coordinated with OT and SLP for facial-oral sensory motor issues. Help with the weird eating habits of the kiddos - review that the basics are being provided.

Educators: preschool teacher, classroom teacher, or principal, or certified education assistant.