Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be helpful for people with autism who suffer from severe mental health issues that do not respond to other treatments.
Many people with autism also have other mental health issues such as bipolarity and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This case study describes the use of ECT to treat a 38 year old man with autism who suffered from prolonged and severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms as well as hypochondria. The man did not respond to drug therapy or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The patient’s health was restored after ECT.
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Please comment on this autism topic.
Responding to neurofeedback
Feb 1, 2011 by AnonymousI used neurofeedback for my daughter for about a year, when she was 14. She was gong though a lot of changes at the time, very anxious. She also has other disabilities a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4, celebral palsy and has had a stroke she walks with a limp after intensive therapy for many years. We used Conductive Education, a Hungarian technique for children with motor disorders.
The results of NFB were-she was more verbal after NFB and surprisingly her balance, gait and ability to move around improved noticeably. She also had noticeable changes in cognitive behaviour and ability to communicate.
Unfortunately she decided she no longer wanted to stay hooked up to the electrodes and TV and we had to abandon the treatment. We are using acupuncture at present, along with Neurolink, massage and homeopathy. She is now aged 20 years.
Music dance
Mar 8, 2010 by john-smithI have good news for you, Richie and others, inquiring about the use of dance/movement therapy with autistic individuals. I am a dance therapist in Austin TX and there is plenty of valuable use of dance, movement and rhythm for individuals with autism. The concepts are that a person is not merely his/her brain; obviously we are connected through mind, body, and spirit. Therefore if a person can connect with another through movement, then behavioral and cognitive change can result if the neurological patterns are stimulated through dance and movement. Of course, dance is a form of self-expression and release, as well. Engaging in dance and movement can help in that manner, whether it is dancing with the therapist or creating a form of self-expression and having the therapist guide the movement patterns into another shape, rhythm, or form to encourage a different behavior or thought process. Btw It's really nice to discuss with you. I am happy but now I am collecting the php for my friends and other persons. Because I my aim to provide best and knowledgeable material. And I hope you will also like and help me to continue this
Responding to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Jan 21, 2010 by AnonymousSince very little information is provided here on CBT (though you can certainly find alot from searching the web) I thought I would add some. I am not very knowledgeable about autism so I am not sure how effective a treatment CBT would be. It would require the client to be able to process ideas and have some basic self-awareness of his/her thinking - i.e., they need to be able to think about their thinking.
The reason for this is that in CBT, one examines, with the help of a skilled teacher (CBT is largely a learning experience), one's habits of thinking going down to one's fundamental attitudes and beliefs. I think that all of us have some thought patterns and attitudes that are not helpful (some schools of CBT call them irrational). With the help of the teacher, the client learns which of his/her thoughts, beliefs and attitudes are helpful and which are harmful. They then work on practicing changing the harmful ones to more helpful ones. Since behavior is largely a function of our thinking, one would expect the behavior to change as a result, and that is the idea but we must remember that we have been practicing our thinking and behavior pattens for a long time and they don't usually just change suddenly. It's easier to change the thoughts first and then practice with the feelings and behaviors until they begin to feel as natural as the old less functional ones did.
If the autism is not so bad that the client cannot do this kind of mental processing I imagine CBT could be very helpful, especially in combination with other therapies. The hardest thing I have found is locating a good CBT therapist. My experience comes from the Albert Ellis - Maxie Maultsby school of CBT that whent by many similar names. Ellis began calling his method RET for Rational Emotive Therapy. Maultsby modified RET to make it easier to use by lay groups and for self-counseling and called his RBT for Rational Behavioral Therapy. While I and many people I know found RBT extremely beneficial and also teachable to others, it never caught on. Currently Dr. Aldo Pucci is carrying on the RBT tradition with his Rational Living Therapy and CBT itself has become a respected form of therapy, though there is no clear definition and you will find many different types of therapists who call themselves CBT therapists. In my opinion, good CBT is systematic, makes sure it goes to the heart of the clients thought and attitude patterns, successfully helps the client challenge and change unhelpful or irrational thinking patterns and attitudes and prescribes practice that will make those changes stick. Again my opinion, the CBT therapist has to know his/her method very well and have applied it successfully to themselves. This is not a do as I say, not as I do approach! So if you use a CBT therapist and after a few sessions it doesn't seem to be working, don't assume CBT won't work. It may be the therapist so see if you can find a better one.
Good luck with CBT
Robin Alexander, www.transthought.org
Free Sound Therapy Home Programme
Jan 21, 2010 by AnonymousDr. Alfred Tomatis, a French otolaryngologist, is recognised as the modern day originator of sound or music therapy. In the early 1950's he developed an effective therapy method using altered music to treat conditions such as auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and autism. Another French doctor, Dr. Guy Bérard, developed a similar method, Auditory Integration Training (AIT), which has found many followers in the USA. From personal experience I know that many clients report improvements in understanding, speech, balance, behaviour and emotional well-being after just two or three weeks of daily sound therapy.
Sensory Activation Solutions (SAS) is an organisation with Centres in the U.K. and Turkey that provides a unique service for children and adults that face learning or developmental difficulties. When the established educational, psychological or medical services fail to provide adequate support, the SAS methodology often can provide practical solutions that result in noticeable improvements in daily life.
You may be interested to check out their Free Sound Therapy Home Programme. Their Auditory Activation Method builds on the pioneering work of Dr. Tomatis and Dr. Bérard and has been specifically developed with the aim to improve sensory processing, interhemispheric integration and cognitive functioning. It has helped many children and adults with a wide range of difficulties, ranging from dyslexia and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder to sensory processing disorders and autism. It is not a cure or medical intervention, but a structured training programme that can help alleviate some of the debilitating effects that these conditions can have on speech and physical ability, daily behaviour, emotional well-being and educational or work performance.
There is no catch, it's absolutely free and most importantly often effective. Check it out at: http://www.sascentre.com/uk/uk_free.html.