April is Autism Awareness Month 2020
Pensacola, Fla. (March 26), 2020 – During Autism Awareness Month 2020 Lakeview Center wants to help educate the community on the disorder to help improve lives. Here are a few facts:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic rates are 1 in 59 children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Establishing a communication system for the family is a great first step. Visual supports such as daily schedules or token boards are often helpful.
- Community supports such as Autism Pensacola, Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD), applied behavior analysis (ABA), speech and language, and physical/occupational therapies are helpful.
- Four behaviors that parents can can model to help their children accept and make friends with peers on the Autism Spectrum include:
- Be patient. Pause. Allow your child time to process things and respond.
- Be flexible. Not all children will respond to social interaction the same way. Just because a response doesn’t meet your expectation doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Play along and have fun.
- Use gestures to support your words.
- Be kind—always.
Call Jessi Truett, ABA program director, at 850. 469.3726 to learn more about Autism treatment and support.