Frequency of sessions for autism

[Pacsl]

How much SLP intervention do children on the autism spectrum need? Of course it will differ from child to child, but around here in the Northwest I am finding that people are recommending 10 hours of individual tx a week, in addition to any school programs, ABA, OT, etc! This to me is going a bit overboard! I generally see kids on the spectrum twice a week for an hour, maybe 3 times! (And to be honest, I can get burned out on even this frequency.) These kids usually have very full schedules as it is. Parents are trying to cram in 25 hours of ABA alone. I would like to know what others recommend as far as individual/group SLP treatment.

[daviskj]

I agree, that is WAY TOO MUCH, the children I see generally recieve 3x30"wk or 2x45wk...and these are kids who have tons of ABA ontop of it...it works best if you can collaborate and with the ABA person & caregivers, and maximize the overall benefit....I believe that many of these children benefit from an integrated approach to language development...this helps with generalizing across staff, settings, and contexts-- in this way the SLP can also provide the very undervalued service of consult and direct service.

[kelcorrell]

I work for a grade school and have several (5 diagnosed, 1 suspected) students with autism. They range from severe-profound to very high functioning. Our school is "fully included." [Which in our district, just means there are no self-contained classrooms.] I have also worked with other children with ASD in summer school.

I think the amount of time you service a child will definitely depend on the child (and the other services that are being offered). Some of the very high functioning children, I only see for 2X20 mpw. Many of these children do not seem to have a long attention span, so I feel that they have "lost it" by the time a 30 min session is over. My more involved students are often seen 5x/wk (20min/session). I usually make my minutes as "direct/consult" for more flexibility. This has been quite beneficial for my student that is severe/profound, as some days I use his consult minutes to prepare his materials for PECS.

I do not have any children using ABA at the time, but I would think that those children would benefit more from the consultation. Due to the time involved in ABA, I would see the SLP as more of the director of the communication goals, and whoever is doing the ABA as the implementer. The SLP's job would be to make sure that carryover is occurring.

[MCL]

In New York State, I am pretty sure that a student classified as Autistic, is guaranteed 5x30 a week. This is mandated in Part 200.

[marieglovr]

I work with several children with Autism and other spectrum disorders and have found that working closely with the teacher and para's who work with the child works best for me. I see the children an average of twice a week for 30 mins, but also give the materials to the teacher for work in the classroom. I also am invited to the class parties, field trips and other activities which are additional langauge times. We use PECS with many of the students as both a communication system and as a part of a TEACH schedule.