Article: Rapid prompting involves continuously asking questions to the autistic person, and letting them answer using writing, pointing to a letter board, speaking, or whatever works best. It encourages the autistic person to communicate and engage with the world more. RDI focuses on developing skills such as theory of mind, independent thinking, consideration of others, and more. It is a long-term therapy. Behavioral therapy can teach rote tasks using extrinsic rewards, and can be useful for concrete skills such as hand-washing, listening to the word "stop," and tying shoes. Unfortunately, there are many stories of goals that involve compliance, forced normalization, and abuse. Choose therapists carefully and make sure the focus is on teaching your loved one skills, not on forcing them to conform. CBT is a form of talk therapy that can help identify distorted thoughts, such as "Everybody will laugh at me if I flap my hands" or "I am a burden to my family," and evaluate their accuracy. An occupational therapist can work with you and/or your loved one to provide strategies to meet the autistic person's needs. A sensory diet is a set of activities to do at home, like climbing trees, finger painting, swinging, blowing bubbles, et cetera. It can help meet the autistic person's needs and acclimate them to various stimuli. It can also be a lot of fun. The therapist can also help redirect harmful stims (e.g. hitting one's head) towards ones that fulfill the same need without causing harm (e.g. hitting a pillow, applying deep pressure to the head). There is no scientific evidence that any of them are helpful at all, some involve specific risks, but certain people find them useful. The following is a list of treatments that fit this category and examples of what they may involve: Energy therapy - reiki, acupuncture, Therapeutic Touch Alternative medical systems - aromatherapy, homeopathy Manipulative and body-based method - deep pressure, acupressure, hydro massage Mind-body intervention - auditory integration, meditation, dance therapy Biologically based therapy - using herbs, special diet, and vitamins Always consult a doctor before making a major change to your own or a loved one's diet or lifestyle. Some alternative therapies, such as chelation therapy or MMS, are potentially deadly. If the autistic person is upset by the therapy, or fails to improve, find a new therapy. From common snake oil peddlers to certified BCBAs, there are people who will distort truths and support ideas that can harm you or your loved one. Trust your instincts, don't let fearmongering make you panic, and don't continue a therapy if you think it is upsetting you or your loved one too much. Therapy should not be extremely painful or distressing. A therapist should take the patient's unhappiness seriously. 40 hours per week of therapy is as intense as a full-time job. This can be overwhelming. Small children do not have adult attention spans. Your child will be fine with 1-2 hours per day or less, and there's no rush. Transparency is a reasonable request. Therapists should not prevent you from witnessing a situation, or dodge your questions. People who claim to cure autism are not being honest. Autism is probably genetic, not caused by vaccines or parasites. Your instincts matter. If a therapist is telling you to ignore your gut feeling, that you're being irrational, or that you would intervene if you saw what they were doing to your loved one, this is a problem.
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Try the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) for developing communication skills, especially for nonverbal autistic people. Consider Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) to teach social skills. Consider behavioral therapies such as ABA, with caution. Try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help with anxiety and depression, which often accompany autism. Try Sensory Integration Therapy and a sensory diet to help with sensory issues. Consider complementary and alternative treatments. Watch for fake therapies and false claims.