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Types of Autism Interventions, Treatments and Therapies
Introduction
This section provides a list of common interventions designed to help autistic people broken down into different categories.
Like any division the categories below are somewhat arbitrary and subject to change over time. However we hope the categories allow you to see which interventions are broadly similar to which others.
We recognise that there is considerable overlap between many different approaches. For example, many forms of alternative and augmentative communication rely on some form of assistive and adaptive technology.
Over time we hope to describe and evaluate some of the commonly-used interventions, providing a rating which tells you the level of scientific evidence which supports or does not support its use.
Disclaimer
This section does not provide information about every intervention used by autistic people, although we hope you will find it a useful starting point.
The fact that an intervention is listed in this section page does not necessarily mean that there is any scientifically valid or reliable evidence to support its use.
Our descriptions and evaluations do not constitute a recommendation about whether or not an intervention is suitable for a particular individual on the autism spectrum. That is a decision for the individual autistic person - and/or their carers, clinicians and others - to make.
Service-Based Interventions
Education services
Services which are primarily concerned with educating and developing autistic people.
Please see separate section on Behavioural /Developmental Interventions
Employment services
Services which are designed to help autistic people find and keep a job or other gainful employment suited to their needs and abilities. inc. Supported Employment,
Social Care Services
Services which are designed for assessing the needs of, and providing support to, autistic people in the community inc. Advocacy, Residential Care, Short Breaks, Social Groups
Find out more about Social Care inc. Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Standard Healthcare Services
Standard healthcare services are designed to maintain the health and well-being of autistic people and include a wide range of treatments and therapies which are accepted and used by the majority of health care professionals.
Most standard health care providers use a variety of approaches and techniques. For example, occupational therapists, psychologists and speech and language therapists often work together using a combination of behavioural, developmental, AAC and motor-sensory interventions.
Standard healtcare includes Medication, Occupational Therapy, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Speech and Language Therapy (Speech Pathology)
See Standard Healthcare for Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional, Western medicine as practiced by medical doctors and by allied health professionals, such as osteopaths, physiotherapists, psychologists, and registered nurses.
"Complementary medicine" refers to the use of CAM together with conventional medicine.
"Alternative medicine" refers to the use of CAM in place of conventional medicine.
Find out more about Complementary and Alternative Medicine Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Behavioural and Developmental Interventions
Behavioural and developmental interventions include a large and diverse range of educational strategies, programmes and techniques - including most forms of teaching and coaching.
Behavioural interventions are designed to encourage appropriate behaviour (such as getting dressed or talking to other people) and to discourage inappropriate behaviour (such as self harm or aggression towards others). Therapists, teachers and/or parents break down the desired behaviours into small, achievable tasks which are then taught in a very structured manner.
Developmental interventions are designed to target the perceived issues within each child rather than his or her outward behaviours. Therapists and/or parents work with the child's own interests or actions to slowly build engagement, interaction, communication, affection, and then specific skills such as logical reasoning, symbolic thinking etc.
Find out more about Behavioural /Developmental Interventions inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Psychological Interventions
Psychological interventions include a wide range of interventions based on psychology, which is the scientific study of the human mind and behaviour: how we think, feel, act and interact, individually and in groups.
Psychological interventions include talking therapies (such as as counselling and psychotherapy), creative therapies (such as art therapy) and cognitive and behavioural therapies (such as cognitive behavioural therapy).
Psychological interventions also include a variety of behavioural, developmental and educational interventions.
Find out more about Psychological Interventions inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Medications
Medications - also known as pharmaceutical drugs, medicines, or medicaments - can be loosely defined as chemical substances intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease. Some of these substances, such as piracetam, are also sometimes taken as nutritional supplements.
There are various ways in which medications can be classified, such as by chemical properties, mode or route of administration, biological system affected, or therapeutic effects.
Find out more about Medications inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Biomedical Interventions
'Biomedical' is a very loose term that means different things to different people. In practice, most people use the term to refer to a group of interventions which are designed to stop, or at least reduce, the effect of biomedical problems - such as gastrointestinal abnormalities, immune dysfunctions, detoxification abnormalities, and/or nutritional deficiencies or imbalances.
The supporters of biomedical interventions believe that these biomedical problems act as 'triggers' which cause, or at least exacerbate, many of the problems faced by autistic people. They believe that those problems can be solved, or at least reduced, by following one or more biomedical interventions.
There is a vast range of biomedical interventions, many of which are considered to be forms of complementary or alternative medicine by most traditional health care practitioners. Biomedical interventions include diets, nutritional supplements and hormones, the 'off-label' use of some medications, as well as practices such as chelation and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Find out more about Bimoedical Interventions inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Motor/Sensory Interventions
Motor interventions refer to any treatments and therapies which make use of, or which aim to improve, motor functioning i.e. movement of the whole body or parts of the body.
Sensory interventions refer to any treatments and therapies which make use of, or which aim to improve sensitivity to, one or more of the senses.
Some interventions - such as sensory integrative therapy - may be designed to improve a range of motor and sensory functions.
Find out more about Motor Sensory Interventions inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Augmentative and alternative communication is any form of communication that people use if they are unable or unwilling to use standard forms of communication such as speech.
Alternative communication systems are designed to replace standard means of communication. Augmentative communication systems are designed to complement and sometimes enhance standard means of communication.
Find out more about Alternative and Augmentative Communication inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Assistive and Adaptive Technology
Assistive and adaptive technology refers to any products, devices or equipment that are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of autistic people.
Find out more about Assistive and Adaptive Technology inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Other Interventions
Other Interventions include any interventions not covered by the other categoriese on this page such as Animal Therapies, Politics and PR, Relationship-Based Interventions, and Social Communication Interventions.
Find out more about Other Interventions inc Descriptions, Research Studies and Our Evaluations.
Related Pages
- Updated
- 26 May 2022