Autism 101: Act early. Smile later.

When it comes to starting autism treatment, the early intervention bird gets the worm.

According to the Mayo Clinic, many children show “hints” of autism in their first year of life. Clearer signs can be seen when children reach the ages of 2 and 3. Not surprisingly, children are typically diagnosed by doctors around that same timeframe.

Signs and symptoms of autism can vary greatly from child to child. But the American Academy of Pediatricians encourages parents to trust their instincts if they feel something might be wrong early on. Any social, communication, or behavioral differences you see in your children should be reported to your pediatrician as soon as possible.

These developmental milestone checklists can give you a better idea of how your child is developing, based on things most children can do by a certain age.

It’s important to know as soon as possible if your child has autism, because research shows the earliest experiences of a child play a critical role in how their brain develops. For example, a child’s early social and emotional development is a prerequisite for developing cognitive and language skills as they grow.

Early diagnosis of autism makes early intervention possible.

In 2019, another research study found that an autism diagnosis becomes stable starting at 14 months of age. That’s exciting news for parents, because children could start treatment much earlier than before and reap the benefits of early intervention.

The gold standard early intervention for autism is ABA therapy. When started early, as young as two years old, ABA therapy and other interventions for autism can have major, long-term positive effects on a child’s symptoms and later on their skill development.

Time and time again, research has proven the gains children can and do make when they receive early, intensive intervention for autism. Just take a look at these findings:

  • Children aged 1, 2, and 3 years old all made significant gains after one year of intense behavioral intervention. Those who started therapy before turning the age of 2 achieved the greatest gains in social, cognitive, and language development. (Research in Developmental Disabilities, The New England Center for Children, 2014)
  • Gains that children make from early, intensive intervention are maintained two years later. (Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2015)
  • Young children who receive early intervention can achieve large gains in social, cognitive, and language development, with the greatest gains shown in children who started therapy prior to their second birthday. (Research in Developmental Disabilities, 2014)
  • Children receiving early, intensive intervention on average had I.Q.s 11 points higher and exhibited 20 more daily living skills than children who did not. I.Q. and adaptive behavior are predictors of long-term functional outcome in individuals with autism. (Journal of Pediatrics, 2013)
  • Eight-year-olds who received early intervention therapy displayed fewer aberrant behaviors and social problems. (Behavior Modification, 2007)
  • Half of the children in one study who received early intervention therapy were succeeding in regular education classrooms by the age of 7. (American Journal of Mental Retardation, 2005)

Don't wait and see. An autism and ABA therapy expert can help.

As soon as you get an autism diagnosis (or even earlier if possible), seek treatment immediately. When you think about it, an extra year or even six months of early intervention is practically a lifetime for a young child, so don’t wait!

Here at The Behavior Exchange, we’ve been helping children with autism and their families for more than 20 years. Our highly accredited, early intervention autism services benefit children as young as two. Children often start in our One-on-One Therapy before graduating to B.E.E.S., the Behavior Exchange Early start program. It’s tons of fun like a preschool, where children build social skills and work on their individual goals at the same time.

Give your child the brightest future possible. Get started today! Contact us now or go to BHCOE.org to find an accredited provider near you.

The Behavior Exchange is proud to be a Behavioral Health Center of Excellence® with the highest accreditation possible. You can find us in Plano, Frisco, and Prosper, Texas, as well as in Boulder, Colorado.

Recent Posts

Categories

Categories

Archives

Archives

Copyright © 2022 The Behavior Exchange. All rights reserved. |   Privacy Policy

Ashvina attended University of Bombay and graduated with a Bachelors of Commerce. She got her Montessori Diploma in 1985 and taught ever since. Ashvina came to TBE in January of 2016 as Admin Assistant. During the years she got the opportunity to learn and work in different departments such as HR, Finance, Office Manager and Executive Assistant. Last summer TBE bought billing in house and her current focus area is Revenue Cycle Management. She is detail oriented and enjoys working with people. Ashvina volunteers to deliver meals to seniors and local shelters on the weekend. She loves to spend time with her family and grandkids. Ashvina loves her job because she enjoys hearing different points of view, and she feels her contributions help fuel the direction of our company.

Working with children comes naturally to Angela. Her mom was a special education teacher for 30 years and often had Angela join her for Take Your Child to Work Day. And in high school, Angela spent every summer as the nanny for a little boy with an autism spectrum disorder. It was this experience where her passion for working with children with autism started to blossom.

From there, she went on to graduate from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences. She learned about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in a non-normative development class and from that moment knew that ABA would be her life’s work.

Angela moved to the DFW area shortly after and began working at The Behavior Exchange as a therapist. She worked on her Master’s in Behavior Analysis at the same time. A year after graduating, she earned certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Now, as a Clinical Director at The Behavior Exchange, she brings a life-long passion to her work, holding a special place in her heart for children with limited language skills and working closely with families to develop healthy sleep habits.

Danielle’s passion for working with families is deeply personal and from the heart. Her younger brother has an autism spectrum disorder, and through their journey as a family, she found her purpose in life as an advocate for individuals with special needs.

After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, Danielle began volunteering at The Behavior Exchange. She saw passionate therapists, meaningful change for clients, and families with hope for the future. After a summer of volunteering, she officially joined the team as Director of Admissions and found her home with The Behavior Exchange family.

With her extensive experience working as a client advocate with insurance providers, Danielle perseveres to help individuals of all ages and abilities receive the services they need to reach their full potential. She feels truly honored by each and every family who entrusts The Behavior Exchange to be part of their journey and is committed to the organization’s core values, mission, and goal of being a beacon of hope for the community.

Adam has always had a passion for helping individuals of all ages thrive and reach their full potential. He’s also an enthusiastic musician, songwriter, leader, and devoted family man, who has been helping children and team members grow with The Behavior Exchange since 2010.

Prior to joining the team at The Behavior Exchange, Adam was a mortgage loan consultant and grad student, pursuing his master’s degree in Education at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 2013 and also earned a graduate academic certificate in Autism Intervention. The following year, after years as a Behavior Therapist and seeing first-hand the power of ABA and the meaningful impact it can have on children and their families, Adam became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He then commenced from the Stagen Leadership Academy after completing the Integral Leadership Program (ILP), a 52-week practice-based program designed to develop executives serious about transforming themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

Adam is truly grateful to be a part of a dynamic, inspiring and compassionate team, and he’s dedicated to bettering the lives of all children and their families through the delivery of the highest quality of ABA services, while supporting the amazing team at The Behavior Exchange.

Soraya is from South Africa and moved to Texas in 1996. She graduated from The University of Texas and pursued a career, at that time, in Education. Soraya taught at a Montessori school for a few years and then took on a leadership role.

During her time in the education system, Soraya realized her passion was to assist children with special needs. So she joined The Behavior Exchange as a therapist, transitioned into a supervisory role in 2017, and a year and a half later, was promoted to Clinical Operations Manager.

She quickly learned the ins and outs of ABA operations and scheduling and successfully collaborates across departments to ensure The Behavior Exchange continues to provide quality services to clients and their families. She’s thankful to be part of such an amazing organization and excited to see what the future holds.

You could say Walter’s career started when he spent hours as a young child drawing superheroes and coloring maps. This passion, along with extraordinary swimming skills, landed him a full swimming scholarship at Texas Christian University, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Graphics.

During the next 13 years, his design and art direction skills, conceptual-thinking abilities, and marketing-savvy know-how were honed at a few prestigious advertising and marketing agencies around the Dallas area. In the mid 2000s, he helped his wife Tammy Cline-Soza (founder and CEO of The Behavior Exchange) create a unique and concise brand for her new business. From logos and websites to uniforms, brand voice and visuals, Walter has been the main creative force for all things The Behavior Exchange.

Aside from giving birth to The Behavior Exchange brand, Walter is helping Tammy raise two amazing, beautiful children, River and Sierra. In his spare time (the two minutes he’s got per week), you can find Walter illustrating iconic landmarks of Dallas and Texas or looking around for this next open-water swim. Once he gets back in shape.

After 20 years of building The Behavior Exchange, literally from the ground up,
Tammy couldn’t be more proud of the team, culture, and organization that it has become.

As a family helping families, The Behavior Exchanges looks for opportunities that will make the biggest impact and produce life-changing outcomes – for clients, families, and even for team members. Tammy believes that if a team, a family, a community takes care of each other, the possibilities are endless and the relationships built along the way can make life more enriching and challenges easier to navigate. You could say her goal has been to build a kind of utopia full of support, love, and expertise that brings the best services possible to the community and ensures more families have access to those services.

Tammy and her family have dedicated their lives to the mission of The Behavior Exchange and continue to grow, learn, cultivate, challenge, support, and create better models for success. To that end, she is committed to her own leadership development and actively participates in advanced training, mentoring, and deep self-exploration on how to live out her purpose to love and support her family and help others reach their full potential. She takes her position very seriously and tries to serve as a channel for what the universe wants to come to fruition.

She also loves travel, gardening, being creative, MUSIC!, tennis, yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, being in nature, adventures, and more than anything, spending time with her husband Walter and their two beautiful children, River and Sierra.