The Autism Institute

The goal of speech therapy is to help your child communicate effectively with other people across all environments. This may take the form of using gestures, simple signs, verbal speech, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

Some other common things speech therapists can help with:

• Nonverbal skills, such as signs or gestures
• Forming speech in a clearer way
• Communicating thoughts and feelings clearly
• Understanding and responding to questions
• Discerning facial expressions and their corresponding emotions
• Noticing and understanding body language
• Feeding and swallowing
• Stuttering

Most public school districts across the country begin accepting student registration in early spring, usually in March or April. Some school districts may even start as early as January or February. The exact start date will vary depending on where you live and the type of school you decide to enroll your child in.

It depends on your child’s specific needs, the types of school options near you, and your family’s budget and values. As your child grows and matures, their educational needs may change over time which may require you to re-evaluate their school placement.

Check out our complete school guide for tips.

Yes! Visiting a school in person will give you an opportunity to get a better idea of what your child’s school day will look like and ask important questions.

The occupational therapy process includes an OT evaluation before care starts. Here are the four steps your family can expect when starting occupational therapy:

1. Complete OT evaluation. An occupational therapist first identifies your strengths and needs through a thorough OT evaluation, also known as an OT assessment or screening. You’ll answer questions about you your skills, and you will most likely demonstrate these skills via hands-on activities with the therapist. Evaluations can last 30 minutes to a couple hours.
2. Approve OT plan. The therapist develops a care plan with individualized goals and customized interventions based on your needs. You can also share any specific goals or concerns before approving the OT plan.
3. Start therapy sessions. The therapist works directly with you, using various strategies and exercises to systematically improve areas of limitations and to build upon your strengths. If there are others part of your care team, the therapist may teach strategies for supporting your individualized needs at home and may recommend tools and techniques to use at home, in the community, or in the classroom to help you thrive.
4. Monitor your progress. You can expect ongoing progress monitoring and communication to ensure you're achieving your short and long-term goals.

Even if a provider offers parent training, it may look different from one provider to another. For example, an in-home provider might conduct a parent training session directly following a therapy session with your child to help explain what they’ve been working on with your child. At larger organizations, you might have a support group of families who are dealing with similar issues.