Updated August 19, 2014.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

Should your child be receiving behavioral therapy?  Play therapy?  Social skills therapy?  Speech therapy?  Occupational therapy?  Sensory integration therapy?  Physical therapy?  How about music therapy?  Art therapy?  RDI?  Sonrise?  Floortime?  SCERTS?  Any and all of these may be helpful, though there's no way to know which is likely to be the MOST helpful for your child.

But there is one thing all these therapies (and many others) have in common.

  A secret ingredient that is almost certain to make a significant different in your child's development, social skills, engagement, and understanding.

This ingredient is free, it can be administered at any time, and you can provide it yourself, with or without the involvement of a professional.

What is this magical autism treatment?

Here's the secret: positive time spent, one-on-one, with a caring adult.

Yes, it's true.  This one "miracle treatment" really can make a difference for your autistic child -- and, as a side benefit, it can also improve your parenting skills, enhance your relationship with your child, and may even improve your cardiovascular health (assuming you actually get up and DO something with your child).

Why is positive, engaged, one-on-one time with an autistic child so important?

Children with autism have only a few core symptoms in common; these include challenges with social (verbal and nonverbal) communication and sensory differences.  This means it's tougher for them to  explore human relationships, build ordinary play skills, or exercise their imaginations.

  By spending positive, one-on-one time with an autistic child -- whether you're playing, taking a bath, singing, or actually providing a particular type of therapy -- you're helping that child to work on and improve those critically important abilities.

Of course, it isn't always easy to connect with or stay connected with an autistic child.  Unlike most typically developing children, kids with autism may not ask for attention.  They may not even welcome it.  It can be hard to convince an autistic child to play a particular game, sing a particular song, come sit in your lap, or even carry on a conversation.  Many children with autism appear to be living in their own world, and few actively seek out adult approval or conversation.

So how do you make that all-important connection?  Here are just a few tips for getting started:

• Shadow your child's therapist, and watch what they do.  When they get that spark of interest through a particular toy, activity, or song, make a note of it.  After a while, you'll have a useful list of successful tools for capturing and holding your child's interest.
• Watch your child.  It is very unlikely that your child will be doing nothing at all, all day long.  What is he doing?  If he's watching TV, what shows does he love?  If he's playing with trains, how does he play?  Which engines does he choose?  A child who likes Sesame Street may well respond to a grownup who is offering to play with a toy Elmo.
• Experiment.  Many children with autism love chase games, tickling, and other exciting but non-verbal activities.  Others prefer to sit and look at pictures, swing on swings, or pop soap bubbles.  By trying different activities you'll build up a list to get interaction started.
• Use play therapy techniques.  Structured programs such as Floortime and RDI, use structured forms of play to build skills in children with autism.  Designed for parents and therapists, these techniques give you a direction and tools to use so that you're not entirely on your own.

A daily dose of positive, caring attention makes a difference for any child.  For a child with autism, it can become the key to development and growth.  Is it really a "miracle?"  That's for you to decide!