Autism Services
Children's Specialized Hospital
Autism Center of Excellence
Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Center of Excellence for Autism is dedicated to providing comprehensive and compassionate care for our autistic patients and their families. We provide a wide variety of medical and therapeutic diagnostic and treatment services, early intervention, and early developmental screenings. We welcome families to access the services they need to support their child’s development and well-being.
CSH ABA LLC
- Early Intervention services are provided primary in the home for children from birth to three-years old who have developmental delays involving two or more of the following areas: cognition, language, fine motor, gross motor, social/emotional and self-care. No formal diagnosis is needed to receive these services.
Feeding and Nutrition Therapies
- Our feeding and nutrition therapies coordinate specialized speech, occupational and/or psychological treatment for children who only eat a restricted range of foods or who have trouble with eating due to sensory, behavioral or motoric difficulties. CSH offers both an outpatient and intensive program depending on your child’s individual needs.
Medical Services
- Our pediatric medical specialists help to coordinate medical management and they include developmental behavioral pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, psychiatrists, physiatrists and pediatric primary care physicians. Learn more about Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Neurology, Psychiatry, Physiatry and Special Needs Primary Care.
- Occupational therapy focuses on helping kids participate in everyday life activities including play, eating, bathing, and dressing as well as participation in school, family and community functions. Therapists are also equipped to address sensory issues which are common with ASD.
- Physical therapy for children with ASD often focuses on improving posture, alignment, breathing, strength, movement coordination and motor planning.
- Individual and family therapy services help improve child and adolescent behavior, mood management, sibling and family issues, reactions to the diagnosis, and/or advocacy issues.
- The Severe Behavior Program at CSH – Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education and Services (CSH-RUCARES) provides intensive and highly specialized services to children and adolescents with ASD who frequently engage in destructive behaviors such as aggression, self-injury, and property destruction that post a risk to self, others, or the environment and cannot be safely and effectively treated in a less intensive program and/or with medication.
- Speech and Language therapy is provided to build a child’s ability to follow directions, understand language, communicate, take turns, have a reciprocal conversation, and/or improve nonverbal communication (such as eye contact and joint attention).
Social Skills Groups
- Groups are available for kids ages five through adolescence with ASD who are needing limited supports. The groups focus on building peer friendships. Groups are typically run weekly for a series of weeks. Kids who participate in the social skills groups generally show significant improvement in social skills and reduction in problem behaviors. Dyads may be arrange for children with social concerns who are not ready for a formal group setting or whose functioning in more limited.
- Experts from CSH provide quick and free virtual developmental screenings for children ages 1 to 5 years old via phone or video. Each screening takes approximately 30 minutes and includes an interactive questionnaire and conversation between caregiver(s), child and CSH staff. Note, that a diagnosis is not made. Families receive valuable resources about early childhood development and recommendations regarding diagnostic evaluations, if needed.
