Autism is a significant communication and social interaction deficit within a variety of the following contexts:

  • Difficulty starting or maintaining a pragmatic communication, limited range of interests and lack or any skills in social interaction.

  • Difficulty understanding the non-verbal communication commonly used in social communication, limited or nonexistent eye contact or facial expressions.

  • Difficulty discriminating appropriate behavior within social contexts.

  • Difficulty playing games that require the use of the imagination, also a lack of interest in people related activities.

  • Limited and repetitive activities and behavior patterns that can be exhibited in: Echolalia, Repetitive behavior manipulating objects, Compulsive need to follow routines or rituals, resistant to changes.

Programa NACE para niños con autismo - Instituto Fonemi de Puerto Rico

  • Sensory disorder and hyper or hypo sensitivity behaviors, such as strong attraction to lights, constant movements and noises.

Available programs for children with autism:

Tomatis® therapy program for auditory processing deficit- Many studies have confirmed the fact that children with autism present auditory processing difficulties. This is the major cause for their difficulties in the development of the language, echolalia and the need for constant noises to self-stimulate the auditory processing.

Tomatis® therapy program for auditory sensorial deficit includes:

  1. Tomatis® auditory therapy
  2. Sensory stimulation
  3. Speech and language therapies specialized for children with autism

Its benefits:

  • Improvement in auditory attention.
  • Improvement in auditory discrimination.
  • Improvement in auditory comprehension of directions, vocabulary and general language development.
  • Reduces or even eliminates the auditory stimulation or the constant need to make noises with their mouths, objects or high pitch shouts.
  • Reduces or even eliminates their constant gibberish talk.
  • Reduces or even eliminates the echolalia or the tendency to repeat what they hear.
  • Improves question understanding.
  • Development of verbal language depending on age and difficulty level diagnosed at the time the therapies were started.

NACE Program: “Children with autism communicating effectively”. Children with autism and other related disorders lack effective communication skills. If your child’s use of language is inconsistent or uses random words when he/she should be using sentences or communicates using body language or if you have to understand what he/she wants in the middle of shouts or tantrums, the NACE Program would be the perfect choice. It is an intensive therapeutic program designed and focused in the development of the most important skill human beings need: communication.

NACE Program includes:

  • Communication development using the PECS system of interchangeable cards
  • Social skills development using DIR Floortime® model
  • Parents trainings using Hanen’s More than Words program
  • Auditory process development using the Tomatis® Auditory therapy
  • Coaching for parents sharing the program’s techniques

Its benefits:

  • Help children focus
  • Help children imitate
  • Help children in comprehension
  • Help children in purpose play
  • Help children to socially play
  • Help children to interact with people
  • Help children communicate to express not only a need but the social pragmatic aspect as well