Autism can be overcome. Dr. Ivar Lovaas of the UCLA Autism Clinic is among the leading authorities on early intervention and has studied autistic children for 30 years. His clinical research, published in 1987, revealed that nearly half of very young children treated in an intensive, in-home behavioral program achieved normal intellectual and educational functioning by first grade. Intensive behavioral treatment programs are effective because they compensate for learning deficits and reduce repetitive or self-injurious behaviors that interfere with learning. Through positive reinforcement, young children acquire the ability and the desire to learn to do well.
Parents are the best judge of treatment programs for their children.
It took nearly a year to get a firm diagnosis and another to learn about this program. After three months of treatment, he is talking and looks at us. He's making rapid progress, and we have much more confidence that his language will be strong enough to carry him into mainstream programs. He had no language and threw tantrums frequently. He delighted in bizarre behaviors like twirling leaves.