Autism Spectrum Disorders

Child First Paediatric Therapy provides an interdisciplinary team of therapists including:
Occupational Therapists
Speech Pathologists
Physiotherapists.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders including Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDP – NOS) require early intervention to give them the opportunity to participate in life to the best of their ability.

Child First Paediatric Therapy provides an interdisciplinary team of therapists including Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, and Physiotherapists.  Some children with Autism will use only one of the therapies but other children will have a combination of therapies to meet their goals.

Our therapists have expertise in treating children with Autism who have a wide variety of needs. They use a combination of intervention strategies to meet the needs of the child and their family including:

  • Sensory Integration
  • Child Led Interaction Approaches (DIR Floortime and Connect Therapy)
  • Picture Exchange Communication Strategies (PECS)
  • Social Stories
  • Key Word Signing (Makaton)
  • Developmental  Model
  • Perceptual Motor Therapy
  • Behaviour Modification
  • Play Based Intervention
  • Social Skills Training

We work to a Family Centred Model of treatment so parents are a vital part of the team in the assessment and treatment process.  Discussions with you are essential to develop priorities for treatment.  Your child’s therapist will provide and support you to implement therapy strategies into the home environment.

The therapy programs are goal orientated and will be directed towards your child’s specific needs.   Intervention may include:

  • Assisting your child to interact and communicate at home and at pre-school or school
  • Helping your child learn to play
  • Improving your child’s fine motor skills such as learning to hold a pencil, cutting and pasting or playing with blocks and Lego
  • Improving your child’s gross motor and coordination skills such as catching a ball, riding a bike, playing soccer
  • Developing your child’s ability to tolerate sensory stimuli such as washing hair, cutting fingernails, eating a variety of food textures, tolerating loud or background noises