14 Feb Autism and cognitive behaviour therapy
Posted at 02:55h
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a popular treatment for autism. It is common for sessions to only involve the patient and the clinician, but studies show that parental involvement can have a positive impact on the effectiveness of the therapy.
Dr. Jonathan Weiss and Jessica Janerone discuss the former’s study on the effect of parents participating in CBT.
What We Learned from this Video:
- A study conducted by Dr. Weiss shows that there is an increase in the effectiveness of CBT when the parent is involved in the sessions.
- Parents indirectly benefited from partaking in these sessions, improving their own mental health and perception of their children.
- When Jessica’s son Noah was finally diagnosed, it helped lay out a clear path for what she could do to help him.
- When she first took him to CBT, Jessica had difficulty practicing with him at home.
- After taking part in Dr. Weiss’ study, she noticed a marked improvement.
- Parents looking to have this same interaction should ask therapists and clinicians how they can be involved in the therapy and help their child.
- Parents should feel free to ask their therapists if they can sit in on sessions, and should also have no problems questioning if the answer is no.
- The study has allowed Jessica to learn which tools and strategies to use depending on the situation at hand.
- Parents can get more information by contacting their regional autism advocacy organization.
Parental involvement in CBT doesn’t stop at the therapy sessions; as Dr. Weiss and Mrs. Janerone said, it is a round-the-clock daily task. Check out our shop for useful tools and products that you can use at home during therapy and outside of therapy.