Hours of Intervention for Children with Special Needs

Today, while browsing my personal notes, I remembered some questions that  parents of children living with ASD had asked me when I first began my awareness program in Nigeria. I have decided to share the answers to these questions here on my blog. The question I'll be dealing with today is, "how many hours of intervention should my child receive?"

A good way to plan for a child's therapy would be to start with a weekly schedule. In this, you'll have to consider how your child's day is spent. Try to provide a reasonable balance between intensive therapy, periods of less intensive activities that are still structured, and make allowance for your child's need to have periods of free time and family time.

Research shows that many children would do well with direct instruction of thirty or more hours per week. This could be in form of one-on-one teaching. Parents should also consider the quality of teaching and the degree of structure provided outside the formal therapy hours.

The length of the sessions for therapy could be kept between two and three hours, however, it can also be adjusted to provide maximum benefit. In addition, play dates should be used to generalize skills and provide opportunities for observational learning.

In the end, the therapy may be reduced when the child begins spending part of the day in school.