Mental Health | Another World

Shutting Down for Autism: Innovative or Counter-productive?

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The first global Communications Shutdown, held on November 1, 2010 has drawn both praise and criticism from the autism community and the general public. Some praised the effort by the AEIOU Foundation in Australia for its creativity, while others asked if silence is any way to truly create awareness.

The Communications Shutdown asked people around the world to cut off communication on social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter for one day in order to raise awareness about autism. This shut down was designed to replicate some of the detachment and isolation that people with autism spectrum disorders feel everyday.

Participants in the Communications Shutdown also contributed $5.00 to add a badge and feature to their social network profiles and include their photo in a collage. Proceeds from the Communications Shutdown benefited autism organizations including Giant Steps and the National Autism Association in the United States.

Some adults in the autistic community responded, instead claiming November 1, 2010 as the first Autistics Speaking Day and encouraging autistic individuals and their families and supporters to instead blog about their experiences and speak up. On Facebook, participants posted messages, blog posts, and poems. The focus on using social networking tools for people in the autistic community to be heard.

Many with autism spectrum disorders argue that social networking has provided them with an outlet and a way of communicating. The ability to type and build relationships online has enabled many to form better relationships. Online forums designed for people on the autism spectrum have provided a link for many to communication.

The Communications Shutdown responded to Autistics Speaking Day, stating that although the two events were polar opposites in execution, they really had the same goal of bringing understanding and awareness to autism. Both groups are currently planning for their second annual events in November 2011.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Australia, Autism, Autism spectrum, Facebook, Health, Mental Health, Twitter, United States

Understanding Autistic Behavior – Keen Observation Is The Key

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Kids who do not suffer from autism are in a position to identify their needs and requirements better. If they are feeling neglected, they will walk up to you and hug you or express their emotions such a manner that you can understand it easily. However, autistic kids may not be in the position to express themselves as well as at your other kids.

Despite this, many parents are in a position to quickly sense whether their autistic child is happy or sad. The best way to know more about your child is to observe him or her very carefully at all times. As you keenly observe the child, you will realize that there are certain behavioral patterns which often indicate what the child is feeling.

Your child may throw a tantrum or may constantly walk in short circles without listening to you when he or she feels neglected. Provide sensory perception to the child. All family members should take turns to give the child a hug or all should hold the child together. If this is done, you may find that the behavior pattern automatically comes to an end.

In other cases, you may find a certain behavioral patterns indicate sensory perception overload. Autistic children cannot handle both extremes well. When this happens, you should advise all your family members to back away and gives some personal space to the autistic child. As time goes by, you will find that it is very easy to predict what makes your child happy or sad.

Once you reach this stage, you can take your child out without any fear of problems. This is because of you would identify symptoms well in advance before others and would be in a position to take remedial action before things go beyond control. You can also train your kids to identify these symptoms very quickly.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental, New York Times

The Communication in Autism

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Autism is a crippling disorder for a child to cope with. While there is new information coming out every day about autism it can be said that there is still so much that people do not understand about the subject. If you are someone who has a loved who has autism then it’s important to learn as much as you can about the subject so that you are as informed as the people who are treating the disorder. Here are some things to note.

While there are certainly some reports that could suggest otherwise, but the fact is that autistic kids are rarely violent or aggressive. Now, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when children suffer from tantrums. In a recent study in 2007 it was revealed that children, resulting in two thirds of children, did suffer from bouts of tantrums but did not have a history of aggression.

It could be said that a lot of the acting out for children with autism is due to a lack of communications skills. About a third to half of the individuals with autism do not develop enough speech to meet the same communications that an every day, average person would. They say that many children show this inability to communicate due to the delayed onset of babbling. This can be present in the first year of their life. They also say that unusual gestures and different vocal patterns that the person responsible for them might not be able to decipher.

As a child progresses into the second and third year of life there will be less frequent and less diverse babbling. There will be talking and putting two words together. These lapses and delayed communication is a big part of diagnosing a child with autism. It’s the beginning of a long journey for a special person.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental, United States

Autism Treatment Could Start as Early as 6 Months

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The University of California has been studying the efficiency and effectiveness of Autism treatment in children as early as six months old. Traditionally therapy and treatment does not begin until a child is around the age of two or three. The reason behind this is because doctors and health care workers are unable to officially diagnosis Autism until the child is at least 2 years old. However it is believed that many children may exhibit signs and symptoms as early as 6 months old and that is what the study is focusing on.

During a child’s six month check up the doctor can usually tell if there are signs of Autism forming. These usually include inability to make eye contact, not making noises, not paying attention to loud noises and other issues. The minute that a doctor notices these signs he could initially sign the child up for therapy sessions.

Therapy sessions for a child of six months suspected of Autism is very different then older children. It is based off of pretend play, peek a boo games and other interactive games. These games and activities are all believed to stimulate the mind and in children without Autism has allowed for improved IQ results, social skills and developmental improvements.

At the moment the results of the study are still inconclusive. The children that have taken part are still only 8 to 12 months old. It will take a number of years before researchers will be able to tell if it improves a child with signs of Autism or not. It is the researchers and medical professionals hope that if they are able to intercept Autism at an early age they could potentially eliminate forms of Autism from completely developing and showing up.

Only time will tell what will happen when the tests results come it. At the moment the future looks bright for children with Autism that can get it diagnosed early.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Autism therapies, Child, Health, Mental Health, Social skill, University of California

Recognizing Signs of Autism

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Having a child with autism isn’t easy and diagnosing their condition is just as tricky. It’s a disorder of neurodevelopment that can be widely different from one person to the next. It’s usually something that appears when a child is an infant or in their early childhood. They will begin to show signs and they will only show more as they age. The symptoms that are one way, appear much visibly after a child is six months old. As a child matures to the age of two or three the child will show enough symptoms to be clearly diagnosed.

A child with autism is never so much characterized by one such impairment, but rather, by a series of impairments. There is the impairment of social interaction. There is also the difficulty in communication and there is a serious restrictiveness to their interests and repetitive behavior. If a child accurately shows all these symptoms then you will see a autistic diagnosis.

Social development is one of the easiest traits to diagnose. Autistic people lack a certain and general intuition that other people have easy and take for granted. There is unusual social development that becomes oddly apparent in childhood. They tend to show a lot less attention to the intended social stimuli. The smile and look at others a lot less often and are often not quick to respond to their own name. They are also less likely to take turns with other children. However, they are the type of children who grow very attached to their primary caregivers. These kids suffer from intense loneliness and contrary to what others believe they are far less like likely to want to be alone than they are thought to be. These are just a few of the ways that you can tell if a child has autism or not.

Filed Under: Autism, Causes · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Diagnosis, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Symptom

Working with autistic children

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It requires techniques to work with autistic children to make them skilled at being independent. Autistic children don’t easily learn things fast. They don’t adapt to patterns. A learning approach that reinforces learning time and again will eventually get the autistic child to finally adapt to it. It is very important to have a consistent communication discourse with the autistic child. Any deflection in the communication system will cause confusion for the child.

Autistic children like to work in a routine. This again depends on the routine you have created for an autistic child to follow. By setting up a structured routine, you can guide the autistic child to follow that. Setting up a schedule that has normal daily activities like brushing one’s teeth, eating breakfast, going to school, coming back home, going to bed and so on, can help the autistic child to follow it without any difficulty.

Autistic children like to be appreciated. You have to constantly encourage an autistic child on a job well done. Most autistic children have problems with self-confidence. Constant encouragement can give them encouragement and hope.
Try to observe an autistic child closely. An autistic child might make use of facial expressions or in-orderly hand gesture to communicate. If you closely observe these, then this can give your more stability in communication. Understanding an autistic child is difficult, as almost all of them do not have full control over their facial or bodily movements.

Get autistic children to play. You have to know that an autistic child is still a child. It will need to play like a child. You have to create an environment that supports the child’s motivation to play. When autistic children don’t play, they might get depressed, and vent their frustration on you by throwing tantrums.
Make sure that you understand an autistic child’s bad behavior stimuli. Try to control the presence of such stimuli in the environment, to help the autistic child feel relaxed always.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Disorders, Facial expression, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental

Interesting Research Findings About Autism

Autism is a neurobiological disorder that affects someone’s’ perception and interpretation of his/her social environment. It develops in children by the age of three and it is characterized by difficulties in communication, socializing and repetitive stereotyped interests. Autistic children hardly develop normal relationships with their peers because they do not share similar interests. This is a lifelong condition that can be severe at times. Patients with severe cases of autism require medical supervision and support in their entire life, while those with mild autism can live independently without much support.

Recent research has revealed that autistic individuals have larger brains that are wired as they process information quite differently from people with typical brains. The cold truth is that causes of autism are not yet known, although some medical experts and researchers attribute existence of the disease to a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

Recent statistics show a high probability of families with autistic members giving birth to autistic children. Research points out families with at least one autistic child to be at a higher risk of having more autistic children than families without. Furthermore, it has been discovered that the rate of autism infection in boys is four times higher than in girls. These findings give a genetic basis to the disease although the research is not conclusive.

Some scientists link autism to problems related to immune system although this lacks scientific evidence. Other researchers have attributed the disease to poor nutrition, food allergies, bad parenting and poor brain development. There is however no scientific proof to support these allegations.

Given the fact that causes of autism are not yet known, and the possibility that more than one factors could combine to cause autism, it is necessary to focus on a combination of several treatment options and support researchers in making more discoveries about the disease.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, AutismSpectrum, Child, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental, Research

Smoothing the Road of Autism for Your Child

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While autism is not fully understood, some aspects have been studied to the point that we now know much better how to deal with autistic children to best allow them to thrive. Although this understanding allows for more effective socialization, there are still struggles and occasional outbursts unlike those one might expect from a non-autistic child. However, a few simple notions can smooth the rough road that is autism.

- Create an environment for your autistic child that allows for repetitive behavior, without judgment not criticism. Autistic children prefer to do things that other children might not find at all interesting, such as repeatedly washing the sidewalk off with a hose, or raking the grass. Allow your child the freedom to do what grabs their attention, as long as they are not harming themselves.

- Maintain a quiet, peaceful environment around the home. This will cut down on the incidence of acting out.

- Get the best possible educational experience for your autistic child. There are people who are experienced in dealing with your child’s special needs, and you may not be the best one of them. You may care more for your child than anyone else on the planet – most parents can brag that much – but others have training that you do not. Give in to the facts and trust their experience.

- Do not make sudden changes to the home living environment without first discussing your plans with your autistic child.

- Perhaps most important, treat your child with the same love, care, and respect that you use to treat a non-autistic child. Neither exclude them socially nor give them undue attention each waking hour. Doing so will create unfavorable dynamics when your child is presented with new social situations in which the expected treatment does not materialize.

Use these few tips to get started helping your child down the Autistic road.

Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental, United States

Understanding Autistic Behavior Keen Observation Is The Key

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Filed Under: Autism · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Children Youth and Family, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental

Tips, Advice and Support for Autistic Children and Their Loved Ones

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Research says children with autism show differences in brain and central nervous system development which can cause delays in language, behavior and social skills. Symptoms of autism present before age three and children as young as 18 months can be diagnosed. While there in no cure for autism, it is critical that parents start intervention as early as possible.

Develop a Routine

Watch out for sensory overload in the way of noise, sound, temperature and visuals. Minimize environmental distractions when possible. Develop a consistent routine as children with autism respond favorable to a daily schedule. A wall calender with pictures informs a child of day-to-day activities and goes along way toward establishing independence.

Prepare for Change

Certainly, you want to maintain a predictable environment, but you also want to teach your child to adapt to new situations. You may have to experiment with different strategies. Prepare your autistic child in advance by explaining what he or she can expect to happen. If you plan to go to the dentist, explain to your child what usually occurs during a dental check-up. If you normally take the child to the store, talk about what will happen when your spouse takes your child to the store.

Communicate Clearly

Speak clearly to your autistic child. Explain what you want your child to do in a concise manner and use concrete terms, say “put the books on the desk” as opposed to “don’t leave the books lying around.” Avoid sarcasm, negative talk and words with double meanings. Instead, engage your child in conversation.

Improve Behavior

Teach your autistic child to use gestures or devices to help with communicate. White boards and magnetic letters work wonders as a communication tool. Begin work on communication skills early and be consistent. Improved communication decreases frustration and increases better behavior. Reward your autistic child’s positive behavior with a favorite activity, such as reading or coloring.

Filed Under: Autism, Treatments · Tagged With: Autism, Autism spectrum, Child, Disorders, Health, Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental, Services