Training parents aids autistic kids' language

Last Updated: 2005-10-13
By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Training parents to better communicate with their autistic preschoolers can spur children's language development, according to a study of one such training program.
Though parental training courses are a growing part of managing autism spectrum disorders, there has been little evidence from clinical trials that the approach aids children's language, behavior and social skills.

"The evidence base has been very limited, so our study is a major contribution," Dr. Helen McConachie, of the University of Newcastle in the UK, told Reuters Health.

Specifically, she and her colleagues found that a program known as More Than Words helped parents build their 2-, 3- and 4-year-old children's vocabularies. The program, which was developed by Canadian doctors, teaches parents how to interact with their autistic children in a playful way-using "fun" words, games, musical speech and other tactics to aid their language development.

The findings are published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Read article at:
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2005/10/13/eline/links/20051013elin002.html


For information and resources on autism, please visit: www.AutismConcepts.com.