Residential Treatment Center for Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder
In recent years, the diagnosis referring to High Functioning Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, was removed from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual in favor of Autism Spectrum Disorder. This approach has taken into consideration that Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect many areas of an individual’s life, but that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all description of what these challenges might entail. Residential treatment centers for teens on the autism spectrum embrace this “big-picture” perspective by focusing on teaching teens adaptive skills and building their self-esteem using elements of positive psychology.
The guide is meant to be comprehensive, but as such, not every section will be applicable to everyone. Instead, we invite you to click on the links in the table of contents to jump to the sections that most interest you.
How Does New Focus Academy Support Teens on the Autism Spectrum?
As a residential treatment center for teens with autism, New Focus Academy empowers teens by developing a plan of action based on your child’s individual strengths and needs. Our structured schedule allows for a safe, predictable atmosphere and supportive social environment for teens who struggle with social skills and changes in routine. We believe a supportive community is essential for each student to connect with peers and embrace skills learned in group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, recreation therapy, and an academic environment.
Using our Autonomy Development Model, we focus on teaching core principles that guide our students to make healthier, more self-aware choices that will help them become more independent. We recognize that working with neurodiverse teens involves taking an equally diverse therapeutic approach where we continuously re-evaluate what level of support they might need. The heart of our program rests upon teaching teens to value community, respect, dedication, integrity, responsibility, and gratitude. These principles relate to the way they show up in relationships, in therapy, and in the greater community.
What are Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Teens?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that has a wide range of symptoms across multiple categories. Signs typically appear during early childhood and affect a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. For some teens who had previously been diagnosed with multiple other mental health struggles, recognizing that they might be on the spectrum narrows down the number of accurate diagnoses. However, it is still possible and not uncommon for a teen on the spectrum to be diagnosed with other co-occurring disorders, like ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, or specific learning disorders.
Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder may include:
- Problems with social skills: Teens on the spectrum generally have difficulty interacting with others and often are awkward in social situations. They generally do not make friends easily. They have difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations with others.
- Sensory sensitivities. Many teens on the autism spectrum struggle with hypersensitivity to sensory input and different sensory processing speeds. This may mean they tune out some sensory experiences or shut down based on the intensity of the input they experience. Sensory processing difficulties can relate to anxiety in social situations, selective food preferences, and aversion to certain textures or fabrics.
- Unusual preoccupations or rituals: They may develop rituals that they refuse to alter, like getting dressed in a specific order or eating foods a certain way, and become distressed with any changes in schedules.
- Communication difficulties: While they may have an expansive vocabulary, teens with autism often struggle with understanding metaphors or sarcasm. They tend to have problems understanding language in context. Their verbal skills are usually better than their nonverbal skills. They may be able to carry a conversation but have trouble making eye contact, using facial expressions and gestures, and understanding body language.
- Problems with perspective-taking: One of the roots of social struggles in autistic teens is related to trouble taking other people’s perspectives, not necessarily showing empathy. As they have a hard time reading other people’s nonverbal cues, it can be difficult for them to guess what other people might be thinking or feeling. They are also more likely to assume that other people have similar experiences and interests as they do.
- Limited range of interests: Many teens on the spectrum develop intense, almost obsessive, interests in a few areas, such as weather, video games, or a specific celebrity. Those with special interests in a particular area, such as an academic subject, have the potential to be considered an expert in that field, even if they perform differently in other areas. Recognizing these strengths can help set teens on the spectrum up for high-functioning, successful lives and careers.
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When Does My Autistic Teen Need Residential Treatment?
Transitions during adolescence are typically perceived as more stressful for teens on the spectrum. Between social pressures, a stressful academic workload, extracurricular activities, peer pressure, friendships, relationships, bullying, and physical changes due to hormones, they may feel very isolated. These increased social demands may trigger or escalate coping behaviors commonly used by teens on the spectrum–such as rigid thinking, self-stimulatory behaviors, and social withdrawal. These can become more isolating over time.
While signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder are expected to be present over the lifecourse, it is often not diagnosed until adolescence or young adulthood, when social situations and adaptive skills become more complex. Even for teens who were diagnosed when they were younger, the skills that they learned when they were first diagnosed may not help them prepare for greater independence. Families are often heavily involved in advocating for their child in a school setting and offering social support through their personal friend groups. However, it is realistic to expect that a parent’s role may change over time, as they try to empower their child to advocate for themselves. Residential treatment offers support for teens and their families as they navigate this transition.
How Do Residential Treatment Centers Address Learning Disorders in Neurodiverse Teens?
Students with social-cognitive deficits process information differently than students without these deficits. This means these students learn and interact differently than their peers. These learning differences can create educational challenges that can lead to a life long struggle to gain independence.
The mission of New Focus Academy is to provide individualized instruction in a supportive environment that promotes self-determination, resiliency, and excellence in learning. Our entire curriculum is focused on Small Class Sizes where Life Skills Development and Team Projects accelerate independence and relational skills. Our goal is to help students develop foundational study skills and life skills that are transferable beyond a classroom setting and into adulthood.
Our Functional Academics curriculum includes:
- Life Skills: self-assessment, critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making
- Functional Math: using calendars, counting money, budgeting, measuring
- Functional Language Arts: reading instructions, identifying important information, reading schedules, using adaptive tools independently
- Community-Based Living: using public transportation, shopping, time management, planning for emergencies
- Social-Emotional Learning: emotional regulation, social and physical boundaries, internet safety, job-specific skills
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The Effectiveness of ABA Therapy for Autism
A Guide to Finding Help for Autistic Teens
Rooted in Fear: Anxiety in Autistic Teens
Forget Birds and Bees: How to Approach the Topic of Puberty with Pre-teens with High-Functioning Autism