Autism Speech Therapy
What Is Autism Speech Therapy?
Autism speech therapy at Camino behavioral health works with We Need to Talk and More! LLC to address challenges with language and communication. It can help people with autism improve their verbal, nonverbal, and social communication. The overall goal is to help the person communicate in more useful and functional ways.
Communication and speech-related challenges vary. Some children on the autism spectrum are unable to speak. Others enjoy speaking but have a hard time understanding body language and facial expressions to continue holding a conversation.
An autism speech therapy program begins with autism testing by a speech-language pathologist to assess the person’s communication strengths and challenges. From this assessment, the SLP creates individual goals for therapy. Common goals may include improving spoken language, learning nonverbal skills such as signs or gestures, or learning to communicate using pictures or technology.
Autism speech therapy plans may include:
- Strengthening muscles in the neck, mouth, and jaw
- Matching a picture with its meaning, such as emotions with correct facial expressions
- Understanding body language
- Making clear speech sounds
- Responding to questions
- Adjusting tone of voice
- Using a speech app to produce correct words
- Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC)
Some people with autism find that using technology to communicate with pictures is more effective than speaking, known as Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC). Examples of AAC include:
- Sign language
- iPads, tablets, or other speech-output devices
- Picture exchange communication system (PECS)
An autism speech-language pathologist can help teach someone how to use AAC and identify which method (if any) is right for them.
Social Skills
Speech therapy can help people work on goals related to social communication. Autism speech therapists from We Need To Talk and More! LLC sometimes offer social skills group sessions and may work on coaching children in different settings. This includes how to communicate in relationships, like with friends, and appropriate behavior at school.
Who Provides Speech Therapy for Autism?
Our Autism Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) from we need to talk and more! LLC have master’s degrees and are specially licensed to practice through the state of New Mexico. Speech therapists’ names have the credentials “CCC-SLP” after them. This stands for Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) and is a credential through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), indicating that a speech therapist has achieved excellence in academic and professional standards.
An autism speech therapy assistant may provide speech therapy services. This is someone with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, who has been trained and supervised by a certified speech-language pathologist. The assistant works with a child with autism to practice their skills and to work towards goals written by the autism speech therapist in the ABA treatment plan.
Is Speech Therapy for Autism Covered by Insurance?
When it comes to speech therapy for autism, it’s essential to speak with your independent insurance provider to understand what percentage of care is covered under your plan. In many cases, private health insurance covers speech therapy services, although specifics can fluctuate.
Young children can receive autism speech therapy through their Early Intervention Program. Early intervention is offered to children up to age three (3) who are not growing or developing as expected. These services can be free or low-cost based on your family’s income.
At Camino behavioral health services, we’re proud to provide our services for free to all Medicaid recipients.
Albuquerque Autism Speech Therapy
Certified autism speech therapy programs are run by a multi-faceted group of professionals from Camino Behavioral Health and we need to talk and more! LLC. Registered behavior technicians, ABA specialists, Autism spectrum therapists, Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA), and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are all part of the team. We are responsible for working together in order to help our patients meet their treatment goals. To find out more about Camino behavioral health services or to speak with one of our autism speech therapists today, call (505) 302-5383.
