Archive for January, 2013

A child never shows any signs of autism during birth and it takes time to note the marked and different behavior. The parents and the caregivers become aware of this different behavior before the child turns three.

The common warning sings and indications of autism are:

1) When the child does not like when held close or embraced.

2) When the child is unable to recognize objects on its own and cannot name when asked by the time the child is twelve months old.

3) When the child not join while you play peek-a-boo and cannot relate it.

4) When the child becomes violent even for a common matter and has a destructive behavior like banging his/her head against any physical thing.

5) When the child repeats a particular behavior like opening and closing drawers or doors continuously.

6) When is more attracted with the parts of the plaything rather than the actual mechanism of the plaything.

Whenever you detect such indications in a child it is necessary that the parent or the caregiver seek the help of a doctor. An early intervention and assessment helps in the treatment of the child efficiently.

Specific body pose, facial expressions are signs of autism. The child remains aloof and does not mingle with other children and does not have an eye to eye contact. They do not emote naturally both during joy and sorrow and also do not respond to feelings of the other person.

Autistic children do not speak or at times have delay in speech. People or children with autistic features have difficulty to have a good flow while talking and tend to repeat some words again and again. So the person has a hitch while talking and continuing it. Swaying of the body, shaking and wringing of hands are also indications of autism behavior.

Autistic children and adults are obsessed with parts of the object than its main action. They set a specific routine and stick on to it at any cost. Any modification in the routine disturbs the autistic person. This can be from the normal activity in day to day life and also in the other practices.

Autism is a neurological brain disorder exhibited by one or many children in your neighborhood. Some look very normal and show autism through their sudden outburst or strange behavior. This holds good for us as whenever we take our son to the store or to doctors chamber his uncontrollable behavior shows he is an autistic child.

We feel very awkward when after repeated warning and requests the child behaves strangely with people looking at him amazed. There have been embarrassing situations that make us pass rude comments as they do know that the child is autistic. This is because of the unawareness in the society.

So here are a few lines on autism. It is a serious neurological brain disorder which starts from infancy by the age of three and persists till adulthood. Autism impairs the social and communication skills of the affected children. They have other behavior problems like insensitivity to the surroundings, repetitive behavior, lack of response to touch even by parents, self stimulating activity like rocking, spinning without feeling giddy, self wounding are a few major behavior problems.

All autistic children are unique and the level of autism differs from one child to another. So this variation in autism is Autism Spectrum Disorder.

I would like to share the experiences I have with my seven year old autistic son who lacks speech and shows me things by pictures and gestures. His bad temper is due to the lack of communication. Guess how you would feel when you cannot express yourself clearly even when in pain and also feel very sensitive when patted or caressed.

My love for my child has helped me to face the problem bravely despite the fact some think bad parenting is the cause for autism in children. Lack of awareness in the subject of autism makes people say that the child needs discipline and autism is an excuse for many parents. This upsets me but one would know the pain only when they have an autistic child in their family.

There was a time when we felt we were a misfit in the normal society but we have braved the war on autism and after seven years my son is able to wave hello and bye-bye with the behavior therapies we followed. So autism does not affect us and come as an excuse for our normal and happy life.

Unfortunately there are millions of parents who love and support their autistic child in spite of being unhappy situation. It is sad to say that medical insurance does not cover the expensive and most needed therapy for these children. We feel upset when assistive technology and sensory integration are not included in our childrens educational program.

So, as a request to the society I would like to say that whenever you see an unruly child in the store or in public place never comment on the upbringing of the parent. It could be an autistic child unable to respond to the situation which needs your love and affection and not humiliation.

There has been a clear-cut increase in autism rate in United States. A data which shows 1person in 10,000 in 1970s now shows as 1.5 million autistic people. So a company has started a reading system for the autistic person which is a blessing in disguise for the parents and caregivers who can now improve the reading skills of their autistic children with its assistance.

A fellow worker at Colorado University Dr. Temple Grandin who is the writer of two books on autism has done a considerable research in this subject and how to teach such autistic people and children. She says “Many people with autism are visual thinkers,” She was an autistic child herself and says that she does not think in languages instead think visualizes in pictures which runs in her thoughts.

The Readent learning system formulated by SFK Media built it with this idea. All classic children movies are encoded as “Reading Movies,” and as the actors speak the text is available on the screen which helps the autistic to improve their vocabulary and also understand the language.

The modern approach for teaching, reading by The Readent for autistic children includes all notes by proficient like Dr. Grandin and other scientists. Len Anthony Smith, chief executive officer of SFK Media says that the interactive wordplay dictionary and the quizzes and games for knowledge have a very good impact on the autistic learners.

Grandin gives the following guidelines for teaching children with autism.

As people with autism have problem with remembering long chain of talk it is better to voice one command at a time. They follow the commands better when written down on a piece of paper.

To teach number concept use real visual methods like set of blocks with different size and color from 1 to 10. To teach fractions use wooden fruit cut into half and quarters.

Autistic children with less motor skill have problems in writing efficiently and this problem is solved by letting the child to use the computer to type the matter.

For children with problem in remembering the key board placed near the screen will be of great help.

For children who have difficulty in speaking flashcards help them to relate words and pictures. For children who have difficulty to follow the drawings, real objects and photos facilitate in their learning.