Archive for March, 2011
Sounds being a part and parcel of our day to day life, we should learn to control it especially in a learning environment while dealing with an autistic child with sensory problems. Sound can be both a blessing and bane for an autistic child. As every autistic child is different from the other, you should keenly observe what type of reactions are produced by each individual under auditory sensory stimulation.
Frightening and loud sounds of our routine daily activities hurt the growth process and are the most difficult type of sensory stimulation in an autistic child. You can never teach an autistic child by threatening or frightening. Even during toilet training the child may be scared by the sound of toilet flushing which can be over powering. You can try a potty seat a little away from the actual toilet till they are accustomed to it. Another illustration is the local and crunchy foods.
Find out if the autistic child is a picky eater and observe specifically which food he or she blatantly refuses to eat. Loud sounds of food in the mouth while crunching can hurt the ears of the autistic child. The remedy for your autistic child will be to give alternative soft foods in the place of crunchy carrots, apples or potato chips. The loud sound of the vacuum cleaner can also hurt the ears of the autistic child. If necessary carry out these activities while the child is not in the room or provide ear plugs for the use of the child when the surroundings grow too loud.
Sounds can also cause fixation. A few children always hum and appear fixated on the sights and sounds of lawn mowers. You can use this fixation for their benefit by reading stories of lawn mowers and using the humming along with a song. Music teaches the autistic child in a great way as sound is a form of nonverbal communication. Parents and teachers should definitely use this tool in a learning environment. See particularly that sound works for you and your child. You can surely and beneficially help the child by catering to his specific requirements since autism is a difficult disorder to cope with. You can thus enable the autistic child learn to manage the sounds of every day existence.
Hopeful parents are under the illusion that autism can be cued or controlled if only its origin is traced. But unfortunately, in spite of their best efforts, scientist, have not discovered a single reason for autism in children. It is quite likely that in distant future autism may be linked to a specific gene abnormality. The source for autism is not a single fact or but many in a child’s world. As autism never be cured or prevented we can at best help autistic children and adults by understanding them properly and compromise to make the world comfortable for them and ourselves.
There are a few things that do not cause autism like bad parenting. Such thoughts are only a myth. Mothers also were blamed, in the past, for traumatizing their children with cold parenting methods which was thought to lead to autism. This is also a myth and false. Malnutrition is also not a cause for autism though food allergies occur in many autistic children. A few of them derive benefit by taking daily vitamins.
Autism and brain interlinked and in autistic children the brain is larger and “wired” different by than a typical brain. Differences take place in many parts of the brain and we cannot target one specific malfunction but rather a general brain malfunction. Autistic children exhibit immune deficiency also. Though evidence for this is weak, research is on.
Many autistic persons have problems due to immune deficiency which may be genetic. Autism is not the fault of the parent but was found some where on the family tree and parent had to raise more than one autistic child. Autism is also linked to vaccinations but the link is under study. The benefits of vaccination more than compensate the risk of autism. Don’t deprive the child of vaccination out of fear. Take the advice of the doctor.
The cause of autism is steeped in mystery. As we cannot cure or prevent it we can best treat these people with tolerance and understanding. More and more knowledge about autism will help. The more you know the better you can help the autistic person. Autism is a very complex problem and better options will be available for treatment as researcher develops new knowledge of how it affects the body. Let us hope that on some day we can cure this complex and complicated disorder.
