5 Ways the Doman Method® Can Help Your Child With Autism
by Susanna Di Castro Horn,
Director of Cognitive Development at Doman International
This blog is dedicated to all the children, teenagers, and adults who are on the autism spectrum.
Children with autism spectrum disorder might vary greatly in the symptoms and challenges that they face in life. Their ability to speak, move, interact with others and learn, greatly depend on the severity of their neurodevelopmental delay. Each child is unique. The programs of the Doman Method® are also unique for each child. They are tailored and modified to meet the needs of every child we evaluate at Doman International.
Here are the top five areas of development where children with autism spectrum disorder can be greatly helped by the Doman Method®:
Nutrition and gut health: Intolerance to specific foods, especially milk and dairy products, gluten, sugar, artificial dyes and sweeteners and corn are very common with children with autism. These foods can create difficulty with digestion, high amounts of yeast, and the overgrowth of certain bad bacteria in the gut. With our Nutrition Program, we are able to mitigate digestive problems and food intolerances that many of autistic children have. We use prebiotics and probiotics to balance the bacteria in their gut, and to decrease and eliminate yeast overgrowth that can cause irritability, fatigue, anxiety and low energy levels, as well as other symptoms. We use diet and foods like cilantro and garlic that bind to the heavy metals toxins and gently remove them avoiding strong side effects. We find this natural, and safe approach, yields the best results.
2. Sensory Integration: Many kids with autism experience sensory overload due to visual, auditory, tactile, smell, and taste oversensitivity. We have many programs that improve sensory ability and reduce hypersensitivity. When we reduce the hypersensitivity, we often see a decrease in “stimming” behaviors. We have different programs that decrease auditory sensitivity, which is a major cause of hyperactivity and difficulty in concentration, focus and attention. We treat tactile problems by providing tactile stimulation using different textures and sensations. Oral integration in picky eaters, for example, helps improve the tactility of the mouth and increases the variety of foods they eat. Smell stimulation programs stimulate the limbic system, the area of the brain that regulates emotions, social relations and memory. We have found that sensory stimulation is a fantastic way to help the brain work better, and for the child to learn faster from the world around them.
3. Visual problems and eye contact: Our physical programs improve vision and convergence (the ability of both eyes to work together to form a single image). Improving convergence allows the eyes to work together which makes activities like reading and writing much easier. By improving convergence in children on the autism spectrum, we improve their ability to make eye contact, read, and their depth perception. With improved convergence they will be able to be comfortable in crowded places or in the street, and are more confident when walking up and down stairs.
4. Speech Development: The Doman Method® Oxygenation Program and the Speech Enhancement Program targets the development of language in children with disorganized, poor speech or no speech. Speech development and communication are major areas of concern for most parents. Our Reading and Auditory programs also help a child learn to speak. We find with an integrative and holistic approach including everything mentioned in this article, we can get good speech results.
5. Social Development: Autistic children often have problems in socialization, in the ability to intuit social situations, and behaving appropriately. Our Social Programs teach, in a gentle way, the correct behavior expected from children in social settings. We teach children about mature behavior and following important social rules and guidelines, giving the child the repetition and coaching they need to learn them. By doing this, we can set the children up for social success, teach them social skills and appropriate behavior. We also have programs to teach skills to improve independence inside and outside the home.
To all parents of children with special needs, and especially on the autism spectrum, who want more answers -- please reach out to us. You can contact us for more information at info@DomanInternational.org. You can also visit additional pages on our website to learn more about our work. Our mission is to reach and help as many children as possible. We hope your child can be one of them.