A: Many families of children and adults with autism are finding new hope from a variety of treatments for autism.These treatments include (but are not limited to):

• Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are an effective way to prevent problem behaviors typically related to autism. IEPs involve a variety of interventions, including some of those mentioned below, and are designed to help a child or adult with autism to overcome his or her specific problems. Children with autism seem to respond very well to IEPs that are properly designed and systematically implemented.

• Comprehensive Treatment Programs encompass a number of different theories about treating autism. These programs range from specific methods of learning, to applied behavior analysis, to reaching certain developmental goals. In general, children need to be in this type of program for 15-40 hours a week, for two years or more, to change their behaviors and experience benefits.

• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) generally focuses on reducing specific problem behaviors and teaching new skills. Recently, ABA programs have broadened their scope to include interventions for use before or between episodes of problem behaviors, in addition to interventions that are useful during or after these episodes. By showing children or adults with autism how to handle things like a change in schedule, furniture that has been moved, and meeting new people, ABA can reduce the chances that these situations will trigger problem behaviors.

• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBS) is an approach that tries to increase positive behaviors, decrease problem behavior, and improve the child or adult’s lifestyle. The PBS method looks at the interactions between people with autism, their environments, their behavior, and their learning processes to try and develop the best lifestyle for them.

• Pharmacological treatments can also be effective in improving the behavior or abilities of a person with autism. In general, these medications are called “psychoactive” because the drugs affect the brain of a person with autism. Medication is often used to deal with a specific behavior, like reducing self-injurious behavior or aggression, which may allow the person with autism to focus on other things, like learning.

When considering treatment options, it is important that patients with autism be evaluated for co-morbid, potentially treatable conditions, such as seizures, allergies, gastrointestinal problems, or sleep disorders. Treatment of these co-morbid features may not cure autism, but can lead to improvements in quality-of-life for both patients and their families.

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