Autism
Support for the Child
When a child has been diagnosed with autism a lot of parents are left with a feeling of “being scared” and the question of “what to do next?” Your child will likely fit into multiple diagnostic categories of the DSM5 and may experience sensory irregularities, gross or fine motor difficulties, anxiety, perplexing behaviours, communication and interaction difficulties, be non-verbal, self-harming, out of reach, and more. When doing some research, parents soon learn that there are a variety of therapeutic modalities to choose from but how do you know which one will be best for your child? At Unique Learning you do not need to choose! As we are trained in multiple award winning approaches, we can offer our clients an “integrative” support program tailored towards the individual’s unique needs. First an in depth assessment will be done to gain insights in how the child’s brain/body is functioning. The goal is to determine the strong but also the weaker developed areas of brain functioning so that we can find the root causes as to why certain behavioural patterns have developed. The next step will be to create a therapeutic neurodevelopmental support model for the client so he/she can achieve the most optimal functional-emotional-educational outcome. Approaches used at Unique Learning:
|
Did you know that something as simple as "drinking with a Crazy Straw" can help with sound sensitivity?
|
Support for the Parent
When a family member is diagnosed with autism, communication and simple daily tasks can become huge challenges, leading to deep frustration within family members. At Unique Learning we regularly organize sessions to help parents, grandparents and siblings understand autistic behaviours and guide them on how to respond to these in the most supportive way. We also offer coaching sessions for those living and working with individuals on the spectrum who are seemingly “out of reach”. Support for the School At Unique Learning we have a strong educational background and are well aware that setting educational goals for individuals on the spectrum is not easy. Additionally there can be many perplexing behaviours showing up during classroom time which can be hard to deal with. Usually these behaviours are signs of stressed neural systems. It is our experience that when the school team has some understanding as to how we work with our client, and can implement some simple techniques and principles, it can open up many doors for stress-free learning and progress. At Unique Learning we gladly work together with school teams as well as other therapists working within the school system. |
Testimonial from a teacher:
"T. is doing really well. We have noticed that completing certain HANDLE activities (Joint Tapping, Face Tapping, Blanket Roll and Skull Tapping) during quiet time seems to really help him for the rest of the afternoon. We notice that his attention is much more focused and he is calmer which makes it easier for him to engage in and enjoy play activities." Erin |