Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder Support for Townsville & North Queensland

Alliance Rehabilitation are highly skilled at providing therapy to children and their caregivers in order to help them meet and overcome challenges.

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that affects brain development and impacts social interaction and communication. It impacts how people think, feel, interact with others, and experience their environment. The disorder involves repetitive and restrictive patterns of behaviour. It presents as persistent deficits in social communication and interactions, across multiple contexts, including social reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviours, and skills in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships.

ASD begins in early childhood and causes difficulties functioning in social and work environments. Although there is no cure for autism, early treatment and intervention can benefit a child greatly and give them the best quality of life. Autism is not an illness and a diagnosis of ASD does not stop people from living a good life. However, allied health intervention can help to ease symptoms and encourage independence for daily living.

Originally there were three terms used to identify the different types of ASD – Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. These terms are no longer used and are all consolidated under the umbrella term Autism Spectrum Disorder. The symptoms of these disorders are ranked from mild to severe impairments within social communication and restrictive repetitive behaviours. This change improves the specificity of the criteria for diagnosing ASD as well as allows for more focused treatment targets for the impairments identified.

Diagnosis

In Queensland, an ASD diagnosis is given by a pediatrician, with inputs accepted from an occupational therapist, a speech pathologist, or a psychologist. Having your child assessed and diagnosed early allows for more time for therapy and early intervention. Parents and caregivers can feel overwhelmed following a child’s diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and may also need extra support. Autism Spectrum Disorder is only diagnosed when social communication deficits are accompanied by excessively repetitive behaviours, restricted interests, and insistence on sameness.

For further information or resources visit Autism Queensland.

Signs and Symptoms

There are a wide range of symptoms and severity for ASD. People with ASD experience hyper or hypo reactivity to sensory aspects of their environment.

Social Interaction

Challenges developing friendships or prefers to play alone
Impaired understanding and use of non-verbal communication
Problems with social and emotional reciprocity and empathy
Impaired ability to identify social cues
Discomfort in complex social situations

Communication

Communicate honestly and directly
Difficulty with small talk, understanding sarcasm, or jokes
Taking extra time to understand spoken information
Using sounds, or signs to communicate instead of spoken words

Leisure and Play

Non-traditional play such as repetitive lining up of toys
Preferring to do things in the same way
Comfortable socialising through technology

Sensory

Aware of sounds, smells, taste, touch
Feeling overwhelmed or distressed by too many sensations at once
Discomfort with touch
Issues with food tolerance

Thinking

Uneven pattern of thinking abilities
The ability to focus on one thing for a long time
Difficulty switching from one thing to another
An ability to notice patterns others are not aware of

Emotions

Overwhelming connection to others
Repeating movements to show excitement or to help cope with stress
Delay in learning to regulate emotions
Difficulty understand how non-autistic people think in situations
Extreme anxiety
Meltdowns or shutdowns from being overwhelmed

Fine and Gross Motor Difficulties

Clumsiness
Poor handwriting
Problems with independent living skills

Therapy support for different life stages

Early Years

For children on the autism spectrum, it is important to access early intervention services to improve their quality of life. Accessing allied health services during their formative years can improve their developmental and social skills and lead to fewer complications in the future.

It is also an important time to provide family-centred therapy to encourage support in their home environment with family-based interventions.

Primary School

The primary years are incredibly important due to the nature of a child’s development. Allied health services support a child’s social and emotional well-being and help them gain confidence and an understanding of the world outside of their home environment. The therapy is family-centred to encourage parents and carers to develop the necessary skills and abilities to manage any issues that may arise during these years.

We work with children at our practice or at their school to meet the individual needs of the child. We work to encourage the child to value their own strengths and help them learn to cope with stress and unexpected situations.

Highschool & Adolescence

The adolescent years play an important role in transitioning to adulthood. There are many developmental stages that arise during this time such as cognitive and emotional changes, psychological changes, social changes, as well as physical changes. Our services prepare the child and their support team for adulthood by reinforcing the skills they have been developing.

We tailor our therapy to the individual and encourage their confidence and sense of identity to ensure they have the tools to deal with any pressures that come with being a teenager.

Adults

We encourage the development of a persons’ skills and confidence to ensure they can successfully live independently within the home and community. We aim to improve their self-confidence, as well as their emotional and physical wellbeing through our client-centred approach to therapy.

We can provide support, information, and services to help a person achieve their goals by encouraging their own strengths and abilities.

Building a Care Team for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Understanding the cognitive difficulties associated with ASD is an important way for clinicians to know what approach to take in care. Our therapists at Alliance Rehabilitation are highly skilled at providing therapy to children and their caregivers in order to help them meet and overcome challenges. Emotional regulation education, social skills training, speech therapy, and improving daily living skills are fundamental in assisting children to reach their full potential.

Psychology

Psychologists can help with social and emotional regulation for participants with ASD and can provide tools for support. The development of these skills and tools will help improve adaptive functioning and reduce anxiety. Emotion management with a psychologist can also help to identify triggers and provide strategies and models for parents and caregivers to carry over into the home.

A psychologist is able to provide assessments to help support a diagnosis or can provide education to help explain a diagnosis. Psychologists provide Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which assists with social skills training, relaxation strategies, and resources to navigate issues. Read More >

Support for the whole family unit is also available (including parents and siblings). “Siblings can often be overlooked, which can lead to feelings of isolation. If this continues, children can become vulnerable to a range of emotional and mental health problems. However, if siblings are acknowledged, and connected to sources of support, they are likely to become more resilient.” Siblings Australia

Speech Pathology

Speech pathologists’ study, diagnose, and treat communication disorders including difficulties with speaking, listening, understanding language, reading, writing, social skills, fluency, and voice. They work with people who experience dysphagia (difficulties with feeding and swallowing) and communication difficulties (difficulty talking, reading, writing, or understanding people).

A speech pathologist will do an assessment, identify any deficits, and work to develop a rehabilitation plan to meet your goals. This can include exercises, strategies, and techniques to help with difficulties around three areas.

Speech – refers to the physical ability to produce speech sounds. Activities include drill-based activities to target speech sound errors and articulation problems, as well as, identifying a list of key phrases to get across what you want to say consistently and clearly.
Language – Developing receptive (understanding what others are saying) and expressive (verbal expression, the words we actually say) language to improve communication. This includes following instructions and helping find the right words.
Social skills – Developing skills such as turn taking, making friends, participating in conversation, eye contact, and interacting with peers.

Our therapists use Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) in sessions which helps individuals with non-verbal ASD, and speech difficulties communicate. They use communication boards, low and high-tech AAC (different apps and devices), and visuals to aid in communication.

Our speech pathologists can provide you and your family/ care team with education and necessary tools for how to overcome or how to facilitate communication issues. Read More >

Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapists work with people affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder by optimising function and independence for daily activities. They can provide sensory assessments and develop a therapy plan to target any deficits which will help you reach their goals. An OT can help develop skills and confidence with managing day to day activities and improve concentration and focus.

An OT can: assess any difficulties, provide education, adapt activities to improve abilities and independence, as well as teach strategies and techniques to overcome any problems.

A sensory profile is completed if there are reporting’s of sensory sensitivities. This is a questionnaire completed by a parent or carer and gathers information surrounding areas which need addressing. The occupational therapist will then develop a therapy plan which relates to the specific preference, incorporating whether they are seeking, avoider or low registration to sensory input.

If activities are successful, this can then help with improving engagement, attention, and concentration, as well as the ability to follow instructions and reduce meltdowns/improve behaviours.

Driving can provide challenges for people with ASD. They can be slow to identify hazards, experience anxiety, and have difficulties with planning and motor coordination. Our occupational therapists can provide driver training for anyone with ASD who would like help in getting their learner or permanent license.

Alliance Rehabilitation also offers Tyromotion sessions. This is a robotic and computer assisted therapy which provides upper limb therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, and maintenance. This equipment makes therapy fun and effective, especially for people with ASD. Read More >

Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology

Sometimes physiotherapy or exercise physiology is recommended for ASD to help improve movement and balance issues. When people with ASD experience motor skill difficulties, such as sitting, crawling, or walking within expected timeframes our therapists can provide activities and exercises to improve this. Delayed motor skills can present as difficulty with:

Throwing, catching, or kicking a ball
Jumping, hopping, or skipping
Playing on a playground
Playing games or sports and keeping up with their peers
Participating in community recreational or sporting programs
Learning new physical skills
Sitting in a chair properly, or for very long without fidgeting
Clumsiness or frequent falls

These issues can present due to underlying motor difficulties such as low muscle tone, poor core strength, poor posture, tight muscles, or delayed achievement of balance reactions. An exercise physiologist or physiotherapist can assess the overall functioning and reactions, present recommendations, and develop an exercise program to improve and support physical skills and endurance. Read More About Physiotherapy or Exercise Physiology >

Dietetics and Nutrition

Some people with Autism Spectrum Disorder find mealtimes challenging due to a variety of sensory and environmental factors.

This includes:

Rigid structures and routines around mealtimes
Consistent intake of a limited variety of foods
Only like foods with a particular texture, smell, colour, or taste (often white)
Find it overwhelming to experiment with new foods or make changes
Have a difficult time sitting still for a meal
Some medications can cause changes to appetite

An accredited practising dietitian and nutritionist can help identify gaps in your diet and provide practical solutions and therapies to increase your range and ensure you are meeting your needs.

Our dietitians at Alliance Rehabilitation are trained to increase food range using the Sequential Oral Sensory approach to feeding. Our Dietitian’s engage in food play activities to help anyone with ASD improve the enjoyment of mealtimes.

The Sequential Oral Sensory approach integrates motor, oral, behavioural, medical, sensory, and nutritional factors to manage feeding difficulties. It encourages positive changes and identifies any recommendations necessary to your growth and wellbeing. Read More >

Social Work

Social workers can provide support, counselling, and information to families and people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our social workers can help you navigate the health care system and provide community resources. They can also assist with applications for support, such as to the NDIS, and advocacy during your rehabilitation. Read More >

How is Alliance Rehabilitation different?

We are a community rehabilitation facility and work across multiple disciplines to provide a comprehensive and holistic team approach. Our community approach allows us to tailor a program to each individual and ensure we are meeting your goals.

Our clinicians collaborate to aid in your rehabilitation, and we provide a comprehensive assessment, therapy planning, and monitoring to ensure you are experiencing the best quality of life. Care for someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder can overlap between disciplines which is why having a multidisciplinary support team in one place is so important.

Referral Options

There are multiple ways to book in to see our team – a lot of the time, participants are not registered with the NDIS and come to us for information to help them on their pathway to getting a diagnosis and to facilitate pre involvement with allied health input. Our clinicians can write letters of support and our social workers and NDIS coordinators can provide assistance with the application.

Attending under Medicare and Private referrals are the most common for this and provide an overview of the services we offer. The referral streams best suited for Autism Spectrum Disorder are:

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Alliance Rehabilitation is a registered NDIS provider and we aim to provide all Australians under the age of 65, who have a permanent and significant disability, with the reasonable and necessary support they need to enjoy an ordinary life and achieve their goals. We have a dedicated coordination team to assist in your rehabilitation journey. NDIS sessions typically run for one hour and are funded under your plan. Read More >

NDIS Early Intervention

Early intervention support is available to children aged 0-6 to receive support and funding through the NDIS. This ensures children can receive support immediately, without a diagnosis, during their developmental years before applying for an individualised NDIS plan. The aim for this program is for children to have access to help as early as possible which may lead to fewer issues in the future. Read More >

Medicare (Bulk Billing) Cancel

We offer bulk billing Medicare services under a GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangement. This allows you to have five allied health visits per year, resetting in January. You can use these five services over any specialty. Your general practitioner can help you find out if you meet the eligibility criteria for a care plan as they are for chronic disease management or, a medical condition likely to be present for at least six months.

When your GP has completed the plan and the referral – you are able to have up to five bulk billable sessions. You have the option to continue to see us privately once your sessions have run out. Each Medicare session is only 30 minutes. Read More >

Private and Corporate

We accept all private and corporate referrals. We have an online referral form you can fill out and we will contact you or you can call and book. We also accept referrals through Medical Healthcare Plan, CTP and other insurers, private health funds, and community organisations such as My Aged Care. Initial sessions are one hour and following sessions are scheduled at the clinician’s request. Read More >