”“Parents see that all their hard work was worth it. When a child achieves something, this is the payoff- it is so rewarding.”

Laurie Sherman-Prusko MA, CCC-SLPGoldstar Therapist

What are some signs that my child may have ASD?

What skills are taught in ASD services?

How can ASD services benefit my child?

What are the signs that my child may have ASD?

Autism is a social communication disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with others. Children with ASD have difficulty using verbal and nonverbal means to meet their daily needs, such as making requests. They also have difficulty using language for social purposes. Some children with ASD may be nonverbal; others may develop language that is highly repetitive with imitation of words, sentences, or sounds, scripted speech, or unusual tone or inflection.

Your child may have ASD if they struggle in any of the following areas:

  • Initiating and maintaining communication or social interaction with a familiar adult or child using sounds and/or words
  • Participating in familiar routines
  • Displaying affection with a familiar adult
  • Taking turns during activities
  • Ability to regulate stress or anxiety
  • Communicating personal likes and dislikes through verbal and non-verbal actions
  • Separating comfortably from parents for routine activities
  • Playing both independently and with other children 
  • Transitioning smoothly between activities 

How can ASD services benefit my child?

ASD services are specially designed to help develop a child’s social communication and sensory processing skills. Our specially trained staff understands that core deficits in these areas will significantly impact a child’s ability to participate in their daily routines. Services will  include collaboration between a variety of interventions such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, feeding therapy, behavior modification, and special instruction.

Goldstar provides specialized programming for children with or at risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Our therapy is developed using the core principles of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions, which has proven to be the most effective at helping young children with social-communicative deficits.

Using a research-based parent teaching model, our therapists coach families on how to teach their children throughout their daily interactions and routines. Families learn to use their children’s interests to embed skills in naturally-occurring social interactions through imitation, modeling, and prompting.

Goldstar is an eager partner with state and county-wide initiatives to improve evidence-based ASD interventions in Early Intervention. Over several years, we have capitalized on the online training program, Autism Navigator, enrolling dozens of our therapists in The Autism Navigator ® training. Goldstar is also at the forefront of a new initiative in Philadelphia County to pilot a specific, evidence-based parent coaching model, Project ImPACT (Improving Parents As Communication Teachers).