Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show Autism Spectrum Disorder is the fastest growing developmental disability.

Since autism is measured on a spectrum, no two cases are the same. One individual may be high performing in one area, while another could have difficulties. Autism interventions are treatments and therapies designed to help people on the autism spectrum function more efficiently.

“Interventions really change the behaviors of individuals with autism,” Dana Renay, Chief Executive Ally of the Autism Society of Indiana, says. “A child could start out being nonverbal and then with intervention, they could become higher functioning in that area.”

Melissa Dubie, an educational consultant at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism goes to school districts to train teachers and administrators in 27 evidence-based autism interventions.

“It’s really more than just going to a workshop,” Dubie says. “It’s more of us going in and modeling for the staff what to do and then coaching them how to do it so that when I leave, they feel empowered to do it themselves.”

The Foundation for Autism Resources (FAR) began after educators, therapists and families in the autism community expressed the need for quality therapy for children whose families don’t necessarily have the funds.

“There’s no cure for autism, a child’s not going to outgrow autism, but interventions can make all the difference in how autism manifests itself as a child grows,”  FAR Director Shana Ritter says.