Autism affects three main areas of one’s life: social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive or ritualistic behaviors. These areas become extremely critical during the teenage years as young adults are trying to find their place in the social world. Autism can make this more challenging. Some common signs of one living with autism can include the following:

• Difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling
• Trouble interpreting facial expressions, body language, or social cues
• Difficulty regulating emotion
• Trouble keeping up a conversation
• Inflection that does not reflect feelings
• Difficulty maintaining the natural give-and-take of a conversation; prone to monologues on a favorite subject
• Tendency to engage in repetitive or routine behaviors
• Only participates in a restricted range of activities
• Strict consistency to daily routines; outbursts when changes occur

Once your teen has been properly diagnosed, you can immediately begin creating a plan to help them cope with the symptoms of autism in a healthy way. Sometimes the support and care they need will extend beyond what you can offer them at home. You should consider looking into the wide variety of treatment options available to help your teen.

Choosing the Right Treatment

When it comes to autism treatment, there is a large of therapies and approaches. Autism therapies can focus on some or all of the following:

• reducing problematic behaviors
• building communication and social skills
• dealing with sensory integration problems, motor skills, emotional issues, and food sensitivities.

With so many choices, it is extremely important to do your research. You should talk to experts and ask questions. Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to choose just one type of therapy. The autism treatment that you choose should meet your child’s unique needs and symptoms. This often requires a combined treatment approach that incorporates several different types of therapy.

Common autism treatments include:

• behavior therapy
• speech-language therapy
• play-based therapy
• physical therapy
• occupational therapy
• nutritional therapy

New Focus Academy can help

New Focus Academy is a residential treatment center for boys ages 12-18 who struggle with autism spectrum disorder or other neurodevelopmental disorders. The program utilizes positive reinforcement to increase the student’s self-esteem and independence. The skills they learn at New Focus will help them learn to have positive social interaction, organization, and improve their self-management skills. Students are given the opportunity to gain the confidence they need to foster and maintain healthy relationships and lifestyle habits. We can help your family today!

Contact us at (844) 313-6749.