More children will be diagnosed this year with autism than AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined and Every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed with autism. - Autism Research Institute

Common Definitions

Speech Therapy
Treatment of speech defects and disorders, especially through use of exercises and audio-visual aids that develop new speech habits.

 

Occupational Therapy
A form of therapy in which patients are encouraged to engage in vocational tasks or expressive activities, as art or dance, usually in a social setting.

 

Physical Therapy
The treatment or management of physical disability, malfunction, or pain by exercise, massage, hydrotherapy, etc., without the use of medicines, surgery, or radiation.

 

Applied Behavior Analysis
ABA is defined as the science in which the principles of the analysis of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior, and in which experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for change in behavior.

 

Referenced from:

speech therapy. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 05, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/speech therapy

occupational therapy. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved August 05, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/occupational therapy

physical therapy. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved August 05, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/physical therapy

Cooper et al.. Applied Behavior Analysis. p. 20.