Autistic Spectrum and Therapy Continuing Education

Some children have some special needs that require some type of therapy. One of the most common of these special needs is autism, which is a spectrum disorder. Children who have been diagnosed with autism will fall on different levels of this spectrum and will be on different levels at different times in their lives. Therapists can take therapy continuing education courses to help parents understand the diagnoses better.

What is autism? Autism is a spectrum disorder of the brain that hinders a child's ability to communicate, form important relationships, and respond appropriately to his surroundings. It also makes it more difficult for him to form emotional bonds with even the closest of family members, as well as understand the thoughts, needs, and feelings of others. Some children on the autism spectrum are more functioning while others are not. Sometimes, with the passage of time, or changes in a child's life, they will go up and down the spectrum and appear to be more, or less functional.

Children who have been diagnosed with autism will not usually follow the same pattern as child development as their peers. They will often start acting differently and fall behind the other children as well as lose some of the skills that they had previously acquired. Symptoms can start appearing as early as 18 months and the earlier the diagnosis, the easier it will be to treat.

If a child has been diagnosed on any level of the autistic spectrum, he will often start avoiding eye contact and appear not to hear you. He may also stop talking. As they grow up, they become less aware of their surroundings, sometimes provoke others, and become inaccessible. They often start doing repetitive actions such as head banging, hand flapping, and rocking back and forth. Sometimes these actions are more harmful such as eye gouging and other forms of mutilating themselves. These children often need to follow daily routines and schedules so that they know what to expect each day.

In years past, children with spectrum disorders were sent away to institutions, but now most of these children are able to attend school with their peers and learn important life skills in the classrooms with the help of therapists in their classes. Each child will come with an Individualized Education Plan so that the therapists know what the goals are for each child.

When a therapist is looking to renew his license, there are many things that they will need to learn to make sure that their knowledge is up to date. Therapy continuing education courses will help them learn how autism is diagnosed, identify its causes, medications, identify those disorders that come with autism, and be able to describe the behaviors and skills that a person with autism will show.

Because more children are being diagnosed there is more of a need for therapists so more therapy continuing education courses will be needed as more therapists are going into the field.