Authism Therapy for Kids It can be expensive to care for an autistic child. Therapy can be costly and is not always available or accessible. However, it has been shown that parents and caregivers can provide therapies that lead to improvement and build skills while helping them bond with their autistic kids.1

While you can't "cure" autism—either at home or under a professional's care—parents can provide aspects of six well-established, risk-free therapies on their own without investing a lot of time or money. These therapies include:

Play therapy Speech therapy Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Floortime Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for aggressive behaviors This article explains these approaches and how to get started by reading, watching videos, or attending classes online or in person. It also discusses how parents can work with a trained therapist until they feel ready to take the lead or provide at-home therapy to supplement professional care.

Play Therapy Play therapy is exactly what it sounds like: learning through the process of play. Autistic children are more likely to play alone and repeat actions over and over, rather than engage in pretend play.

Therefore, the goal of play therapy is to build social interaction and communication skills and, in the long run, to enhance children's ability to engage in new activities and symbolic play.2

You can start by connecting with your child through simple chase-and-tickle games, bubble blowing, or sensory activities such as:

Swinging Sliding Wriggling through a tube Finger painting or footprint painting Mud play: mashing, scooping, and making things from mud Sand and water play: Mix sand and water in a large bucket; add shells, plastic fish, and rocks to splash, swirl, and play with. As your child's abilities grow, you may be able to build toward taking turns in back-and-forth games, collaborative games, or even make-believe.