Uniqueness With Autism

                

 

All children are unique, and this is especially true in the case of autistic children. Due to the knowledge being gained on the increasing range and complexity within the autistic spectrum it is being widely recognised that each child has their own particular character traits. As with any child, they deserve every opportunity and assistance to help them in dealing with their autism and to develop into mature and useful members of society.

Unfortunately, the general conception is that anyone who is ?different? has to be of a lower level of intelligence. This could not be further from the truth with autism, as it is now being acknowledged that autism itself frequently brings with it a higher than average level of intelligence. There are an increasing number of cases where children have displayed a high degree of talent in the arts and musical fields. These areas are also highly effective in helping the child to develop their own gifts in other areas. The use of music for example, can be helpful when creating a calming environment for the child concerned. Creative activities can also be utilised to develop dexterity and motor skills whilst keeping the child?s mind active. Providing a number of varied activities can be especially effective in improving the concentration on any given task.

The frustrations and tantrums that are so characteristic of the autistic child are often due to the inability of being able to fully express themselves to others. Coupled with a lack of understanding of their situation, this has led to children being labelled as badly behaved or out of control. Finding ways to help them communicate their needs and frustrations leads to an improvement in behaviour. Each child is born with their own special characteristics that are unique to them. Instead of trying to have each one develop and conform to a pre-conceived ideal, they should have the opportunity to grow and to express the particular gifts they have been given. This does of course, need to be guided to fit within certain parameters in order for our society to work and also develop. In the case of autistic children this is of particular importance to enable the child to realise their full potential. Although autism does bring a very real set of different challenges, with the appropriate help and guidance from others, autistic children can be helped in developing their strengths towards making a positive contribution to the family and society as a whole.

Rather than ?writing off? an autistic child we need to seek ways to recognise and develop the individual talents within their character and to do all that we can in order for them to realise their aims in life. Given time and understanding the autistic child can grow into a loving and truly unique person.

For more articles http://www.caringforautism.com

Main Signs and Symptoms of Autism

                

 

The autistic disorder is a spectrum of many converged symptoms affecting attention, perception and thought. The condition varies from mild to severe and the shown behavior is inappropriate for the age.

Autism is classified as a condition belonging to the disease group called pervasive Development Disorders. The three major areas affected by autism are behavior, communication and interaction. When at least six of the symptoms of these areas damage occur, a temporary diagnose of autistic disorder can be established. Further testing is necessary. Children that do not exactly match autistic criteria are usually classified as suffering from a pervasive development disorder.

All autistic patients suffer from the impossibility of interacting with others and communicating with them. Autistics are characterized by aloofness, desire to be alone, and difficulty in being around people. They cannot express their needs and wishes and use gestures and pointing instead of language. Children with such problems reject the society and this one rejects them back. They need life-long care and special attention according to their personal needs.

Autistic patients have difficulties with integrating senses. They show an abnormal response to one or more sensory movements; receive sounds like painful and light hurts them. Other senses like touch, balance, smell or taste are disturbed as well and their reaction to pain is frightening and painful. They are though very sensitive to non-routine behavior and hardly get used to changes in their environment. They show a repetitive behavior and can continue doing one thing in spite of others trying to talk to them.

Although playing is used as a form of therapy, most of the patients prove an impaired behavior towards play, gross motor skills and little eye-contact. In spite of their well developed hearing sense, they act as deaf and ignore verbal cues, react by extreme distress without any actual reason. Hypo- or hyperactivity characterizes their actions and they always resist changes in their routine.

Instead of using normal logical language, autistic children repeat particular words or phrases; this is known as echolalia. Other major signs are abnormal laughing or giggling and the evident speech and language absence or delay.

Autism makes patients resist cuddling and show strange attachments to different objects. Ways of interacting with people are abnormal and they show tendencies to spin objects. The knowledge of communicating with others seems to be disturbed and they never find the right language or manifestations in a certain context. Children cannot sustain a conversation or understand other person? point of view. They tend to use facial expression and body language instead of verbal communication ways.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about signs of autism please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/signs-of-autism.htm

Most Common Features of Autism

                

 

The autistic disorder is mainly characterized by the impaired social interaction as well as by the refusal of the patients to respond to their names or react to other people?s eye contact. Autistic children can hardly integrate voices and usually look for facial expressions to give them cues about the behavior. They are unable to understand or show feelings and their behavior has a negative impact on the others.

Most of them cannot express themselves by voice; the ones who do that will refer to their own person by name instead of ?me? or ?I?. They engage in repetitive actions and can even reach to self-hurting behavior. Normally, autistics do not show interest in other people?s topics and talk in own favorite topics.

Autism makes his patients vulnerable to all types of sensors. Their reduced response to pain turns into anxiety while listening to an abnormal sound. They mostly hate being touched and usually resist cuddling. Autism symptoms are developed in the first three years of life and last life-long. The most important features of autism are impaired social interaction, limited interests and actions and communication problems. The autistic disorder varies from easy forms with children able to develop basic language skills, to a severe form when patients cannot communicate at all.

The development problems beside other children their age start at about 18-36 months when they reject persons, loose language or social skills they may have already accumulated. In time they get to hardly engage in social interactions and avoid eye contact; autistic patients like to be alone, resist affection or accept hugs passively. Parents are most affected by the child?s lack of attention or joy at their sight.

These patients tend to live a wildly life as facial expressions or gestures do not mean anything. They hardly get to understand the feelings or wishes of others and usually respond only to routine questions or cues as they are unable to differentiate different people?s actions and feelings. Autistic disorder makes patients resist changes in their routine environment and even react aggressive by breaking things, attacking people or hurting themselves; their tendency of doing these things occurs mostly when they are upset, angry or when something bothers them.

Most of the autism sufferers remain silent during their lives; some of them though seem to begin talking in the first 6 months when they suddenly stop developing. Some develop delayed language skills but most of them must be taught to communicate by signs and special equipments. Those who manage to learn a few words cannot bind them into sentences and mostly use them senseless or in repetitive order. A characterizing feature of autism is echolalia making the patients repeat words or phrase they have heard even several weeks before. It usually goes by at the age of three. Autistic children confuse pronouns and change the meaning of ?me? or ?I? according to the person speaking.

Early and proper treatment and care is essential for them to learn at least basic skills and communication means.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about signs of autism please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/signs-of-autism.htm

Find Out The History, Symptoms and Treatment Of Autism

                

 

Autism is known by several different names. Some call it autism, others call it Autistic Spectrum Disorder, and others refer to it by what is typically known as a ?lighter? form of autism, Aspergers Syndrome or Aspergers Disorder. The disorder is usually identified by a marked delay in a child?s areas of communication and social interactions. While autism is not only found in children, it can typically be successfully identified during the first three years of a child?s life.

Autistic spectrum disorder is a difficult affliction to diagnose. There is not a physical ailment that can be readily seen, such as a broken arm or open wound, yet the affliction can be much worse than either of those if untreated or even worse, if it goes undiagnosed for a long period of time. Since it is difficult to diagnose, various tests are performed on the patient to determine if certain sets of criteria are met which would define autism. For this reason, the diagnosis of autism is a relatively subjective process that typically requires specialists in this area to accurately determine.

For several decades, autism has been known as one of the most severe neurological disorders pertaining to the normal development of a child?s communications skills, ability to focus and concentrate, and general social interaction skills. For a long time, it was thought to be relatively rare, but more recent studies estimate that approximately 1 in every 150 children are afflicted by it to some degree. Sometimes the ?degree? is almost undetectable and does not present a major challenge to that child as they develop and grow, but for others, it will clearly present them with challenges.

There is not a currently known cure for autism, but once it has been diagnosed and the severity of it determined, there are things that can be done to minimize the effects of it. Sometimes this may include prescription medications. Although the results are not yet definitive, some scattered reports of success have been noted with secretin treatments for both children and adults. Common treatments include special education with trained professionals who understand autistic spectrum disorder, which would also include behavioral interventions and dietary changes.

A prevailing thought, although not yet definitive, is that autism is a neurological or psychological disorder that is inherited. It has been concluded, however, that autism is not a reflection of parenting skills, where the lack of a nurturing mother would be a cause of autism. Some studies have indicated that a dietary change can have a notable positive effect on the autistic patient, like changing to a glutin-free diet. Other studies have shown that going through a process to remove mercury from the system had a very positive effect. But again, these studies are currently inconclusive.

Yet other studies have focused in other areas. For example, one thought is that the production of testosterone plays a role in autism, which would partially explain why such a dramatically greater percentage of males versus females are afflicted with ASD.

Since autism is difficult to accurately diagnose, sometimes the affliction which might be labeled as autism is actually Aspergers Syndrome, which simply put, is just a milder form of autistic spectrum disorder. For more information about Aspergers Disorder, you may wish to visit Aspergers Syndrome Explained to get more insights. Also similar would be many of the symptoms of yet another related disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, and you can get more information about ADD at All About Attention Deficit Disorder.

Bottom line: watch your children and know the signs of autism, since early detection and accurate early diagnosis provides your best chances to minimize the detrimental effects.

Jon is a computer engineer who maintains web sites on a variety of topics based on his knowledge and experience. You can read more about Autism and Autistic Spectrium Disorder (ASD) at his web site at Autism Explained.

Autism Linked To 100 Genes

                

 

Autism is a debilitating condition that is poorly understood and badly managed. However, inroads are being made into its understanding.

Scientists have new reason to believe that autism is linked to around 100 genes. The study has also shown that autism is more common in today?s world than previously thought - and also more complex as a disease.

Victims will often have missing sections of DNA, or copies of existing DNA. It affects 1 in 150 children, and is considered genetic. No one knows yet for sure what causes the disease, but good progress is being made.

Symptoms of the disease include difficulties in behavior, social interaction, inability to think correctly or speak, and more serious things that severely debilitate the victim. The effects of autism are so variant that mapping the exact cause to the disease is tough work. Years have study have shown that exposing radiation to cells will produce similar effects as autism would on a cellular structure- suggesting cell mutation.

Normal diseases that are genetic will show that other family members have the same genetic pattern concerning the disease- not true with autism. About 2 out of 14 autism victims have relatives with the disease, which is a significant number.

The disease itself is very mysterious, and something that will only be unravelled in time. Things are still at a relatively early stage of development and more time and scientific energy will be needed before the picture is fully understood. Researchers hope to make a breakthrough soon after mapping the human genome.

Eric Hartwell oversees "The World's Best Homepage" intended to be a user-generated resource where YOUR opinion counts. Anybody can contribute and all are welcomed. Visit us to read, comment upon or share opinions on weight loss and obesity and visit his associated site articles for free.

Find Out If Your Child Could Have Autism

                

 

The topic of autism has been a major hot topic in the news lately, going from episodes of Oprah and also on the evening news. Some communities are even having autism awareness festivities to bring attention to autism.

Why all the hubbub? Autism has been discovered to affect about 1 in every 156 students, depending on which research report you read. This is an incredible statistic and you should be concerned about it. Do you know what the signs of autism are? Do you know what steps you should take if your child has autism?

These are all good questions and they require an answer. First of all, you need to do your homework, do your due diligence, and find out exactly what autism is. Even if your child if affected with autism, it may not be severe enough for you to even notice, but it is something that could grow more pronounced over time, and you need to be prepared to take action and get it diagnosed early enough to make a difference.

One of the problems with autism is that the diagnosis of it is not an exact science. In other words, it is easy to diagnose a broken arm. You can see it, the xrays confirm it, and the doctor or physician knows exactly how to treat it. But on the other hand, autism is not nearly so well defined, and the diagnosis of it often depends on the number of signs of autism that the child represents, and even then can be a subjective call.

One of the primary signs of autism is lack of social interaction. That does not mean that the child is a computer nerd, but that the child clearly has problems, real problems, in social interactions. The verbal speech patterns are also affected, and an unreasonable delay in when your child starts to speak coherent words and phrases could also be a sign of autism. Children with autism have a very difficult time meeting your eyes or looking you in the eyes when you are speaking to them. In the more severe cases of autism, you may see intense concentration on a particular object, even something as simple as a puppet or a ball. This concentration is to the exclusion of all else in the autistic child. Although the signs of autism vary from child to child, it is well known that boys are much more frequently affected by autism than girls, where some studies indicate that the ratio is as high as 4 to 1.

Autism is thought to be a neurological disorder, where the messages coming into the brain in certain areas get scrambled or are not delivered properly. Studies have shown that this is not a hereditary thing, so there is not a need to feel guilty if your natural family tendency is to lean away from social interactions. Yes, you will probably feel guilty if your child is diagnosed with autism, but now is not the time for guilt, now is the time to make plans and arrangements to make things easier for your child and to put them into an environment that will accommodate their affliction.

Do your homework and understand what autism is. If you have reason to suspect that your child has autism, then get them checked out by a trained professional. Like most diseases, early diagnosis will provide your best opportunities to deal with it effectively.

Jon is a computer engineer who maintain a variety of web sites based on his knowledge and experience. For more information about Autism, please visit his web site at Understanding Autism.

Hyper-Visual in a Verbal World - Autism and Communication Disorders

                

 

A child or adult with Autism or a Communication disorder will have difficulties fitting into our extremely verbal world. These difficulties can create isolation from others and threatening walls of silence. However, there is a specific sub group of people diagnosed with these disorders who have a hyper-visual system. In these cases, when the visual system is harnessed, teaching communication becomes much easier.

I Rode the Train, I Want to be an Engineer
Hyper-visual people are experiencing visually when speaking. Their communications may appear to be almost nonsensical rambling but in fact they are following a very logical pattern. The difference is the pattern followed is visual rather than verbal. The exchange below illustrates this point.

I asked Mark, a college student, ?How did you get here today??
He replied, I took the train in from Long Island. My family went to the beach (Mark was seeing himself on the train but did not say this). Maybe I will be a engineer. The reason I like engineering is that there are serious problems. (Mark was thinking about being a transportation engineering and designing train tracks and freeway intersections) I have always been good in math. When teachers are difficult to understand. (Mark is seeing himself at school doing well except when the teacher is confusing and then associating to a video he watched about Einstein)Like Dr. Einstein- There was an exhibit on Einstein at the history museum did you see it?

Mark was attempting to answer my question but his picture mind took him on quite a ride as one picture blended into the next from the train- to a vacation to an engineering career to Einstein, at the museum. The expected answer was ?TRAIN?. This very verbal illustration demonstrates how the visual pathway can create leap-frog thinking-which to verbal people can seem like impulsivity.

Instead of negotiating the world with verbal reasoning, a visual person often negotiates with patterns. As a result the ?sameness of routines? becomes the template to make sense of the chaos of everyday life. We refer to these visual learners as ?Mavericks.? We often ask Mavericks to adjust to changes in schedule or adjustments in plans based on how we typically explain things - by talking. These words can create more confusion and frustration as they may not be processed at the speed expected. This lag in processing time can create resistance, immature behavior, odd play, tantrums or reluctance to participate. As a result the normal teaching methods that are based on processing incoming language can fail.

Sequencing & Associating
Visual people often use the brain?s Associator to form memories. They learn of a new idea and they relate that idea to their own knowledge base. The opposite of the Associator is the Sequencer from the verbal pathway.

The Sequencer is rigid and ordering, one sound following another to make a word, words produced in specific order to form grammatically correct sentences and ideas linked in order to make paragraphs.

The Associator is time-independent and the Sequencer is very time based. Understanding consequences depends on a time based understanding of cause and effect.

My son, Whitney, at age 4, wanted to jump off of the roof to fly like Superman, without understanding, from verbal reasoning, the danger involved. Whitney would sit mesmerized watching Disney?s Snow White as if he were deaf. In fact, at times, I could scream in his ear and he could not hear me even though all of the parts of his ear to brain physiology were judged to be normal. At these times his visual brain powered by his associator were shutting down his verbal sensory system.

If the pictures drive the thought, children can appear to be oblivious to cause and effect. They may disregard threatened consequences. Often Mavericks feel that they must complete the pattern to finish the thought they have developed through the associator before they can transition to the next idea. If the thought is disrupted the Maverick may hit a wall and resort to talking with lines from a movie or echoing what was said or get stuck like a broken record and repeat the same thing over and over again.

With the appropriate training, Mavericks can learn effective verbal communication. The teaching methods must first then harness the visual system first before moving forward to teaching communication.

Dr. Cheri Florance is a brain scientist with training and clinical experience in how to teach the brain to replace symptoms of communication and language disorders. In her books, Maverick Mind, (http://www.penquinputnam.com) and A Boy Beyond Reach (http://www.simonschuster.com), she describes how she taught her own autistic son, Whitney to replace disability with ability and become symptom-free. To learn more about her own personal journey and successful methods visit her complimentary Learning Library at http://www.ebrainlabs.com

 

Autism or Language Disorder? Diagnosis Based On Symptom Analysis

                

 

The analysis of symptoms is very important. Autism is a symptom-based diagnosis made by observing a specific cluster of symptoms known to characterize this psychiatric disease. Usually mental health practitioners obtain a description of the symptoms by interviewing the child and parents and by observation.

The preferred practice patterns established by The American Speech Language and Hearing Association (www.ASHA.com) recommend that a parent interview, a family history and a thorough symptom analysis be the first step in evaluating a child with a language disorder.

Symptoms of Autism & Language Disorder Look Alike

Let?s take a look at how the symptoms of Autism and the symptoms of a language disorder compare. Listed below are symptoms of autism from the Autism Society and symptoms of language disorder from the ODE Language Handbook. For additional information on symptom comparisons go to www.ebrainlabs.com

Autism Society

• Insistence on sameness; resists change
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• Unresponsive to teaching methods
• Sustained odd play
• Tantrums

ODE Language Handbook

• Can?t alter behavior to the needs of situation. Perseverates, resists change.
• Relates poorly to peers, reluctant to participate, has few friends.
• Unresponsive to normal teaching methods.
• Behaves immaturely ? engages in odd play.
• Behavior problems.

You will note that these symptoms can look alike but for different reasons. The cause of the symptoms can be very important in how we plan an intervention. If the cause is that the language system is under working or working erratically because of a hyper-visual system, then we need to harness the visual system first before we move forward to teaching communication.

Managing a Misfit

Our world is a very verbal place. We use communication skills to read the paper in the morning, relate to our families, learn at school and exchange ideas at work. Communication is how we share our unique souls with the world and it is the most complex function of the human brain. With deficits in the human communication systems, it can become very difficult to ?fit-in? socially, to thrive academically and to develop intimacy with loved ones.

These difficulties with fitting into the verbal world can create isolation from others and threatening walls of silence. Instead of negotiating the world with verbal reasoning, a visual person often negotiates with patterns. As a result the ?sameness of routines? becomes the template to make sense of the chaos of everyday life. We often ask Mavericks to adjust to changes in schedule or adjustments in plans based on how we explain by talking. These words can create more confusion and frustration as they may not be processed at the speed expected. This lag in processing time can create resistance, immature behavior, odd play, tantrums or reluctance to participate. As a result the normal teaching methods that are based on processing incoming language can fail.

Having a communication disorder can result in a very complex life, socially, academically and vocationally. Having worked with children and adults who have trouble processing and producing language for nearly 40 years, I understand how many symptoms can emerge from the frustration, anxiety, tension and disappointment that can occur every day. The first step in helping your child is to assess the root of the disorder. This then enables you to employ the most suitable intervention.

Dr. Cheri Florance is a brain scientist with training and clinical experience in how to teach the brain to replace symptoms of communication and language disorders. In her books, Maverick Mind, (http://www.penquinputnam.com) and A Boy Beyond Reach (http://www.simonschuster.com), she describes how she taught her own autistic son, Whitney to replace disability with ability and become symptom-free. To learn more about her own personal journey and successful methods visit her complimentary Learning Library at http://www.ebrainlabs.com

 

Role of Homeopathy in Autism

                

 

Autism is considered a spectrum disorder because symptoms and severity vary from individual to individual. Autistic children express differently from each other.

Autism is characterized by failure of the child to develop communicative language or form proper social communication. But they show motor and other skills far beyond that of a mentally retarded child.

Some of them are obsessively pre occupied with inanimate objects such as lights, running water or spinning objects. Some of them gradually develop extreme talents such as in mathematics and these are retained mostly throughout the life.

Studies of people with autism have found abnormalities in several regions of the brain which suggest that autism results from a disruption of early fetal brain development

Now we come to the point of what homeopathy has to offer to the child so that we can help the child to lead a better life. One of the important facts is that in homeopathy we have these symptoms covered by different remedies and can use the symptoms expressed by the behavior of the child for the selection of the medicine.

It is very important to get a proper history of the patient and the importance of observation comes into play even the minutest detail can help in deciding the remedy. Peculiar symptoms are required so the parents should observe the Childs behavior in details and note them down in a book.

Here I would like to illustrate a case of autism which we treated

A young girl of seven years was brought to us, with the following complaints:

The child would sit in a corner, for hours and days together. She had no interest in food, play or studies. This attitude was there from childhood. When I first saw her in the clinic, I observed that her face was flat & showed no expressions. This child would not mix or play with anybody and always wanted to stay alone. She would sit alone, as if she was in her own world and had nothing to do with the worldly affairs.

She took no interest in her studies. [There was no problem of intelligence, because the IQ was 80 +] She would not emote to anything, there was no reaction from her even if she was scolded, explained or persuaded.

Physical complaints:
Constipation; could not pass stools for 6-8 days. Stools - hard with lot of pain and discomfort. Severe diarrhea when forced to eat. Perspiration offensive 3+, staining the clothes. Sleep disturbed, would get up a number of times, occasional weeping & talking during sleep.

On further detailed study, it was revealed that this child was adopted by the couple, as they did not have any children, after 10 yrs of marriage. The child was bought from an orphanage, and no details were available about her parents or about her background.

Diagnosis : Autism
Based on ?Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders? ?Fourth Edition by the American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, we can classify each of the cases in the following way: A total Of 6 or more items of the following with at least 2 from [1], and one each from [2] and [3] are satisfied by the patient:
[1] Qualitative impairment in social interaction:
? Marked impairment in facial expression.
? Failure to develop peer relationships.
? A lack of spontaneity in sharing interests.
? Lack of social or emotional reciprocity.
[2] Qualitative impairment in communication:
? Marked inability to initiate or sustain conversation with others.
[3] Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped pattern of behavior.
? Encompassing preoccupation with one stereotyped and restricted pattern.

The remedy was selected on the basis of the history that the child was an orphan and this remedy is very useful in cases where there is a feeling of orphaned. Also the other important symptoms that are covered by this remedy were Perspiration staining the linen, Severe constipation and hard stools based on these symptoms the remedy was prescribed.

Prescription
Remedy Magnesium-C (Mag-c), 200 one dose

Follow up
1st week Sleep >> Stools twice during the week and not very hard.
4 weeks Mother reported that the child was more playful would come on the table and would have food with everybody.
10 weeks Child started playing with other children, started laughing, crying and expressing her emotions.
12 weeks The complaints of constipation & irritability relapsed back. Mag-c, 200 3 doses were repeated. Few doses of Mag carb cured the case. The child opened up like a bud opening into a flower.

We treat the cases on the individual basis, keeping in mind the various expressions that are manifested by the child.

Lets us understand how the Magnesium carb personality is:

Magnesium plays an important role in the development of an individual right from conception. Naturally, any disturbance during the developmental phase creates deep and long lasting constitutional effects. If the life is rejected during the development phase in the womb, the effects remain forever. These rejected and unwanted children or orphans may reject the world in the same way as they were rejected

Mag-c has a feeling that he is not appreciated. He might think that parents are quarreling because of him as he is aggressive and troublemaking. He might also feel that the parents think that he is not worth anything so they will leave him.

Mag-c personalities are very aggressive. They have a need to be recognized and accepted if this doesn?t happen in the natural way; they will make their presence felt by their aggressive behavior. They will force you to respect them.

There is also a strong forsaken feeling. The magnesium personalities are much closed and will not let their emotions to be known easily.

Some of the striking features are amelioration from motion desire for open air, yet sensitive to very cold air, He has a desire to be covered in all the stages of fever daily fever in the evening, symptoms return every 21 days. There is also marked constipation.

Magnesium as a group has these marked symptoms and expressions.

- Rejection right from conception
- Children whose mothers have gone through lots of stress or strain of life during pregnancy.
- Unwanted children
- Anxieties
- Rejects the world as a reaction to rejection that he was subjected to.
- Tremendous desire to prove himself
- Occupied with purpose
- Attracting attention of others by doing something unusual.
- Desire to achieve many things in life.

This is a brief explanation of a remedy.
Recently we had a case where the child was a Autistic kid and was very destructive used to get immense pleasure after breaking things. This was wonderfully covered by a remedy known as Tarentula.H which was given after careful analysis and evaluation. After this the child is showing marked improvement. A view of the remedy from the materia medica.

If we know the correct details about the child?s behavior the characteristic expressions the physical complaints we can select the right remedy from the Homeopathic materia medica. This similar remedy should be able to bring about the necessary change required.

We have been treating few cases of Autism spectrum disorder which have been steadily improving .Along with the medication the children also go to special school that helps them to be independent and teach then the things that will help them in the future.

Key measures to be followed
o A correct History of the Child including the Behavior
o Noting down the expressions of the patient
o Physical complaints conditions of aggravation & Amelioration
o Education in special school to make them self efficient
o Approach to the patient based on individuality
o Selection of the remedy after analysis and evaluation
o To consider the response and the likely line of treatment.
o Maintaining a Note book and noting the changes that occur to evaluate the case.

Conclusion
o We can definitely help the autistic children
o Clear detailed history is required
o Differentiate closely related medicines
o Give the medicines till the patient is better
o Get the patient evaluated by a Psychiatrist and Psychologists.

Dr.Santosh Joshi
Homeopathic consultant
Visit us at: www.hhomeopathy.com

The remedies prescribed in the cases should not be taken in any case without the advice of a registered Homeopathic doctor.

Dr Santosh Joshi graduated from the University of Pune India in the year 1999-2000. With a firm grounding in classical homeopathy and the experience achieved by working with senior Homeopaths today he is handling 3 clinics in Mumbai India at Kala ghoda, Mulund and Chembur. He was an active participant in the seminars organized in pune during his college years.He has also given case presentation on Homeopathy.

For more details visit us at: http://www.hhomeopathy.com

The Use of Secretin in Cases of Autism

                

 

Opinions about the effect of secretin when fighting autism are very mixed. While some say it has absolutely no effect on patients, other fervently sustain that the effects are dramatic if not curing the whole disease. Major studies have yet to be done and show any conclusive proof that this treatment either works or is a complete failure. Still, the general opinion is that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

We will follow up now on a doctor?s own little study on a number of patients with autism. Respecting protocols and rules he injected some 70 patients with secretin and observed the long term action and affects that this drug has both on the body and the disease. Families where also involved in observing the slightest of changes, being the fact that they were the people that stood near the patient most of the time.

Results didn?t take long to appear. Some 7 out of 10 parents said that improvements could be seen in their child?s behavior but not anything significant. Out of the whole study group only a near 1 out of 10 kids should dramatic signs the results being difficult to argue with. Another troubling fact in the research is the duration of effect that the secretin had in the children that had a good response to the drug. While for some the effect was short lived, for others this was a touch from God. A particular patient had such a remarkable response to the drug that in only one month was able to talk and act as normal as a child his age would do; improvements continued afterwards with the child being in normal regular education system. It seems that for other patients the secretin effect is only short lived, the administration of the drug being this way continuous if effects are to be the same as in other cases. Results in these patients were noticed even by other people that had no idea of the injection schedule the child patient had. Still minor rashes were present in the child?s behavior but only mild in action.

Seeing this results we must understand that further studies must be done if we are truly to understand the benefits of secretin on so many troubled autistic children. The actual way in witch the drug works on patients must be understood and tested against placebo effects. With the help of technology, modern medical science and good doctors results should be found.

Usage of the drug is still not recommended until the whole effects and side effects are fully known.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about signs of autism please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/signs-of-autism.htm

 

Does Your Child Have Autism?

                

 

To find out if your child is manifesting the symptoms of autism consider the following assessments:

1. Your child shies away from or repels human contact or affection:

An autistic child does not want to be hugged. They usually stiffen when held. They are not comforted by being held or cuddled.

When an autistic child is having temper tantrums or is anxious, it is better not to hug the child to provide reassurance and comfort, instead, give the child his favorite toy or transfer the child to a less stimulating environment.

2. Your child is usually stimulated from within and not by the outside world. He or she have difficulty in processing external stimuli:

The ability to receive stimuli from the environment is blocked so the child:

a. is unable to differentiate self from the environment thus the reversal of pronouns, the child talks about himself in third person.

b. has delayed development of self-help skills, such as feeding, dressing and toileting.

c. has difficulty or inability to learn expressive communication: echolalia, mutism.

d. is unable to enjoy meaningful relationship with the outside world: does not respond to people or other environmental stimuli, may be unable to make eye contact.

e. is aware only of himself and engages only in self-stimulated acts: plays alone for hours, withdraws from other children but may advance to parallel play.

f. turns to inanimate objects: attachment to a security blanket.

3. Your child develops stereotypic body movements:

These may consist of rocking, spinning, hand flapping, and other repetitive activities.

4. Your child shows obsessive desire for sameness:

An autistic child usually adheres to routines and rituals and has great aversion to changes.

5. Your child shows impulsiveness:

A child with autism may engage in temper tantrums when interrupted in his or her activity.

6. Your child shows inclination to self mutilation:

An autistic child can sometimes engage in head banging especially during tantrums.

7. Your child shows heightened withdrawal manifested by refusal to eat.

8. Your child exhibits More severe motor clumsiness associated with lower IQ.

9. Your child develops schizophrenia or seizures.

10. Autism is sometimes associated in some degree with mental retardation. Although accurate IQ measurement may be difficult to obtain due to the lack of language in these individuals, 60% of children have an IQ less than 50; 20% between 50 and 70; and 20% have an IQ greater than 70. Autism is more common in males than females by three to one.

The author, Jose Feliciano, is personally involved with autism having a family member with this disorder. To get more information about autism, visit his website at MyAutisticBoy.com.

Autism, Probiotics, And An Ideal World

                

 

In an ideal world my son would be voicing his opinions, making decisions, going out with his friends, learning to drive, furthering his education, managing his finances and hopefully turning into a well adjusted, sociable young adult. However, this is not an ideal world.

My son has autism.

He is almost eighteen years old and I wonder, like all mothers, what the future holds for him.

We're certainly not going to have long debates about anything because my son rarely speaks. When he does it's just the odd word or phrase and you have to be a good detective to appreciate his "clues". He does try hard though and also mimes, gestures and occasionally writes or shows you what he wants.

His language has deteriorated since he started to have seizures. We're not sure if it's the medication affecting his speech or the seizures themselves but either way his language is not as clear as it used to be. It means his audience has to try harder to understand.

Of course, as his mother I often know what he wants without him doing anything more than just glance in a particular direction or look at me. Other mothers will know what I mean. It's sort of a sixth sense, a special bond.

Jodi is settled in a wonderful school where he has been for almost fifteen years. The staff all know him and he knows them. It's comfortable but he can't stay there for ever.

He doesn't really have friends although he does have various groups of people whom he sees regularly. He's happy to spend time with them and the feeling is reciprocated.

One such group is Lantern Dance where he goes for weekly dance sessions. Jodi is made to feel very welcome amongst the integrated group consisting of mums, dads, fit young teenagers, supple adults, professional dancers and other special needs people. Music and dance seem to fit with his autism somehow as his whole life appears to be set to rhythm.

He also attends two special needs youth groups where he has the opportunity to do "normal" things like karaoke, pool, badminton, dancing, cinema trips, bowling, restaurants, trampolining, swimming, etc.

It's wonderful for him but he's still considered a child. At least he is until he's nineteen and then it all changes. Overnight he will be transferred into the hands of "adult" services and it's scary.

It's difficult enough to get the appropriate help as a child but it's much worse for adults. We've been lucky with Jodi so far but there are many parents who feel the needs of their child have not been properly met. With autism on the rise and a lack of resources things are unlikely to improve. Professionals, teachers, social workers all agree.

Unfortunately, autism isn't something people just grow out of. There are, of course, many interventions you can try to improve the quality of life for your child and we've tried many. Today I was told he's a "lovely young man" and a "credit" to me so obviously some, if not all of them worked.

Certainly we saw changes almost immediately with some things, others took much longer and you get to the stage where you are not sure if it's doing any good at all but you daren't stop it "just incase".

Our most recent and significant improvement for Jodi has been his diet. After years of eating a very self restricted, nutritionally useless, diet we introduced him to an amazing Probiotic formula called In-Liven and now he eats just about anything including fruit and vegetables. Best of all we don't have to concern ourselves with the gluten problem which has plagued him for years. This is common for people with autism and is the inability to break down the proteins found in wheat.

Jodi's diet used to consist entirely of acid forming foods which provided a wonderful breeding ground for pathogenic (bad) bacteria as they cannot live in a medium of less than pH 4.2.

The probiotic we use contains the full thirteen lactobacilli family found in nature and which have found to be beneficial against pathogenic bacteria, parasites and Candida ? again another big problem for people with autism.

Lactobacilli are rapid and effective colonisers and such prolific lactic acid producers they are soon able to lower the pH of the intestine making it inhospitable to pathogenic bacteria.

The body should have a bacteria ratio of 85% good bacteria to 15% bad bacteria. For most people it is the other way round. Only when the good bacteria have been re-established will intolerances go away and good health be restored.

Certainly Jodi is incredibly healthy now and hasn't suffered from the spots and acne associated with most teenagers. He's changed in many other ways too. Many people have made positive comments. They can't put their finger on exactly what it is just that he's different somehow. If you believe, as I do, that the gut is the second brain, then I'm sure the probiotic superfood he uses has much to do with it.

Complete with 26 certified organic living wholefoods and 18 amino acids, it has been pre-digested for three weeks prior to bottling so gives up its nutrients as soon as it enters the body. That's one of the biggest problems getting nutrients from food - time.

Although food takes about 72 hours to pass from your mouth to your anus it is only actually in your gut for about 12 hours so a lot of work needs to take place in a short amount of time.

Bacteria cover every available square inch of your intestinal tract and break down the food. I always envisaged them as having teeth and acting like a sort of mini Pac Man as in the very old video games. However, that's not the case.

Instead they produce enzymes and these are responsible for every metabolic process in your body ? all the building and all the repair. They are the molecules that digest food and deliver nutrients. Unfortunately the body cannot produce them and they have to be replenished.

You can find enzymes in raw food like fruit and vegetables but they get killed off at 116 degrees. Since my son never ate raw food and wouldn't touch fruit and vegetables he didn't get any natural enzymes. It's no wonder he struggled.

Now, however, he gets the enzymes from the probiotics and the nutrients from the wholefood culture they are grown in, as well as all the other vitamins, anti-oxidants and immune stimulators. It shows.

Next week we go to look at a possible semi residential placement for him. I don't want him to go but he has a need and a right to grow up and to make his own way in the world without having me with him all the time. I feel happier now his seizures are under control with medication and his diet has improved so much. My biggest fear whenever we went anywhere was that he would go hungry because he couldn't get the type of food he would eat. Invariably I took food with me and always our suitcases were much lighter on the return journey.

As for him going to a residential home I tell myself it will be like my "normal" son going off to university. He needs to have fun, to learn new skills and mix with people his own age. More importantly he needs to become more independent. After all I won't be around for ever. I know it doesn't always work out that way but in the normal scheme of things I should die long before he does. Then what? The earlier he learns to live without me the better.

I know it's for the best. It just doesn't feel that way. As I said, this is not an ideal world.

For information on the World's First probiotic super food certified organic to food standards see http://www.probioticsforhealth.com

Jean Shaw is the author of I'm Not Naughty - I'm Autistic - Jodi's Journey and Autism, Amalgam and Me - Jodi's Journey Continues see http://www.jeanshaw.com/

Hope For Autism - The Concept Of Symptom Free

                

 

I first developed the concept of becoming symptom-free of disability when I was working on my Career Development Award from The National Institutes of Health. As a brain scientist working for the most rigorous medical research facility in the world, I discovered that many disorders thought to be due to permanent brain malfunction could actually be improved to a symptom-free status.

Brain Based Communication Disorders

At this time, many years before my own autistic son, Whitney was born, I was studying 4 populations:

1.Preschool Children With Language Disorders

My staff and I evaluated 600 Head Start children per year for 12 years and provided a multiple therapy approach to help children become ready for school. Our average Headstart child was 2 years behind and was within normal range after 20 sessions.

2.School Age Speech-Language impaired Children

We evaluated thousands of children as an outreach program to private schools and offered hospital based outpatient treatment for children who were having trouble at school due to language processing disorders.

3.Stutterers

I treated thousands of stutterers world-wide and wrote Stutter-Free Speech (Charles Merrill Publishers), which lead to awards from The White House and an Oprah interview.

4.Brain Damaged Hospital Patients

I provided rehabilitation team services to in-patients and out-patients with brain injuries and strokes. My work was honored by many federal agencies, and featured on the cover of USA today. My articles are recommended by The American Speech & Hearing Association as examples of Best Practices.

Changing the Brain

All of these populations have symptoms in attention, memory, listening, reading, writing or speaking. At the time of our research in stuttering for example, this disorder was thought to be a chronic life long disability. Therapy was organized around support groups to manage living with the problem or therapy to desensitize you so you did not feel as bad when you stuttered. I headed a research team working on helping stutterers become symptom free which resulted in changing how therapists view stuttering world wide. As a result, I began to see other populations of the communication-impaired differently and started setting goals for symptom free with all of my patient groups. From this research we learned how to make step by step plans to change the brain to reduce or eliminate symptoms.

Turning Disability to Ability

We found that the fastest way to reach a symptom free goal is to evaluate and train positive behaviors. With stutterers for example, instead of working on getting the stuttering to stop, we worked on teaching the behaviors that would compete with stuttering and replace the behavior. Now we do that with the symptoms of autism. We teach the attention, memory and communication skills that compete with autism to replace the symptoms. As a result, we are able to turn severe disability into life long ability.

Dr. Cheri Florance is a brain scientist with training and clinical experience in how to teach the brain to replace symptoms of communication and language disorders. In her books, Maverick Mind, (http://www.penquinputnam.com ) and A Boy Beyond Reach (http://www.simonschuster.com ), she describes how she taught her own autistic son, Whitney to replace disability with ability and become symptom-free. To learn more about her own personal journey and successful methods visit her complimentary Learning Library at http://www.ebrainlabs.com.

 

Top 5 Common Symtoms Of Autism In Children

                

 

There are more and more children being diagnosed with autism today. There are new forms of higher functioning autistics being diagnosed, and that leads to higher numbers. Many times children were labeled as being shy or painfully introverted when they really had autism. Though the lower functioning and more common form of autism are easily spotted, those with Asperger?s were often missed or dismissed. Parents that know more about the different symtoms of autism in children will have an easier time recognizing if their child needs further evaluation.

Social Relating: There is a common thread that seems to connect all children with any form of autism. These children have problems relating with others, and in particular, have problems with their peers. They struggle to relate, and they have huge anxiety when trying to form or keep relationships. This causes large amounts of frustration, and many end up alone, avoiding those feelings. They can?t really relate to many things emotionally, though that is different for higher functioning children. In many cases, group activities are just too much for them.

Communication: Some with autism never develop any type of verbal communication. There are others who begin to talk, but then regress. Higher functioning children can have a great vocabulary, but are limited in how they choose to share it. Many of them choose to use gestures rather than talk at all. Those who have some skill might latch on to phrases that they hear and repeat them over and over.

Reaction to Stimulus: Another symptom of autism in children that parents often notice early is that they seem to have exaggerated reactions to many things, or that they have no reaction at all. Many respond to things in the most inappropriate manner. They may cover their ears at tiny sounds, or they may not even blink if a horn were to go off nearby. Some have problems with touch, and seem overly sensitive when touched by others. They may seem like they are in pain from a slight brush of the hand or a simple hug. Others can react violently to bright lights maintaining eye contact can be difficult.

Unusual Behavior: There are many different types of problems that appear in autism. Behaviors are often over-the-top and out of whack with others of the same age. They have a tendency to over-react to things and have tantrums at the slightest variation in schedule. They might be misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder before the proper diagnosis is found. Repetitive motions and actions are also quite common.

At Play: There is some play involved for some children with autism, but some do not play at all, at least, not in the traditional way. Many who do play will play on their own most of the time. They often feel great frustration and anxiety when they are expected to play in a group or with one other child. When they play on their own, it is marked by the repetition of the same motions or action. They appear to be in their own world while at play, and may ignore everything exclusive of the thing they are doing.

Many of the symtoms of autism in children are obvious right away, but they can remain hidden. Some function very well, and these things might not come to light until they are in school or pre-school. When a parent thinks there might be something wrong, they should look for evaluation. No matter what the diagnosis might be, it is smart to remember that some mistakes are made, and some children are said to have autism when they don?t, or that they don?t when they do. If the diagnosis seems wrong, consult with another doctor when there is a change in symptoms.

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter about aspergers and discover more on the signs and symptoms of autism.

Autism: The Range Of Function

                

 

Autism is a syndrome that comes from exhibiting certain combinations or patterns of behavior. Low functioning autism is the term used to describe autistic individuals that are not able to function or deal with every day life. Normal to high functioning autism is used to describe people that exhibit autistic behaviors that are in fact able to deal with real world activities and normal day to day life. Many people diagnosed with autism end up living in less then ideal conditions. Autism is a developmental disorder, that affects many areas of human function such as language, and the ability to communicate. It affects self-help skills, coordination, and the ability of an individual to learn.

Common Behaviors

There are several common traits that will aid in the diagnosis of autism. These traits include, the tendency to stay in isolation or be away from others. Autistic individuals will have a hard time making friends and will seem very awkward in social situations. An autistic person will very rarely look some else in the eye. They will be very naive and easily swayed or manipulated. They are often quite gullible. When an autistic person speaks they will often so so using very formal language. They may speak in a monotone and their use of body language may be very poor. (such as nodding "no" while saying "yes". Autistic people will generally prefer common routines, they may be very literal in their use of language and may remember and recite a lot of detail without having a lot of understanding. They may also exhibit hyper- or hypo- sensitivity of the senses, have odd tastes in food and clothing as well as very fine or very grossly exaggerated motor coordination.

The more of the above traits an individual exhibits the more severe the case of autism is said to be. In some cases the above symptoms may become helpfully in certain disciplines like science, math, and engineering. These disciplines require a lot of memorization and many autistic's are quite proficient in these subjects as a result.

Autism and ADHD?

There has been some discussion on about a genetic as well as behavioral link between ADHD and autism. Some experts believe that ADHD should be put considered as a form of autistic spectrum disorder. It is quite common to have children diagnosed with both ADHD and autism together. In children, the two disorders seem very much alike. As the individuals age, the disorders grow and become more apparent. Children with ADHD will often develop normal social skills and be able to communicate with their peers and with others. Autistic children however will continue to show symptoms even as they age. there is still much to learn about the autism spectrum. Even with current advances in technology and medical science, a cure for this condition remains a mystery. The more we study the sooner we will understand the disorder and be able to help those who are diagnosed with this condition.

Kerry Ng is a successful Webmaster and publisher of The Autism Info Blog. Click here for more helpful information on Autism: http://www.autisminfoblog.com/

Finding A Doctor Who Understands Autism

                

 

Even if bedwetting isn?t a challenge for you, finding a doctor who understands autism may be an obstacle you?ll need to overcome. Why? Unless a doctor has had experience with autism, it will be unlikely that they will be able to help effectively diagnose and treat the condition. Autism is not a simple pervasive development disorder that can be fixed with medication or a few trips to the psychiatrist. It is a serious disorder that affects people differently, making each case specific to the individual.

Therefore, regardless if you or your child?s pediatrician suspects autism, it is imperative to your child and their future that they are referred to someone who specializes in diagnosing and treating autism spectrum disorders. This means your child may require more than one medical professional who specializes in autism.

The following is a list of medical professionals that might make up the multidisciplinary assessment team an autistic child requires:

? Child psychiatrist ? Can help determine the initial diagnosis, prescribes medications, and helps an autistic deal with social relationships and developing emotional behavior.

? Clinical psychologist ? Specialist who understands the impact and nature of autism and other development disability disorders. They may conduct a psychological assessment test and assist with the training of social skills and modifying behavior.

? Development pediatrician ? treats children with health problems related to handicaps or delays in development.

? Language/speech therapist ? Helps to improve communication skills, focusing on language and speech.

? Occupational therapist ? Focuses on helping those with disabilities develop daily practical and self-help skills such as eating and getting dressed. They may also focus on fine motor skills, sensory integration and coordination of movement.

? Physical therapist ? Helps a child improve their coordination and motor skills by strengthening muscles, joints, nerves and bones

? Social Worker ? Can help arrange treatments and services and can provide counseling services.

Once you find the professionals your child needs, it is imperative that you work closely with them. The reason is because although professionals have experience with autism, you are the most experienced when it comes to the specific information regarding your child?s needs and abilities.

To effectively work together with professionals you need to:

? Educate yourself ? Learn as much as you can about autism

? Prepare yourself- Write down any questions or concerns you have regarding your child, autism or treatment and address them with the professional(s)

? Open communication ? You don?t have to agree with everything a professional says. If you disagree with a recommendation voice your opinion.

If you are unsure where you can find the right professionals that specialize in autism, the following are some helpful suggestions:

? In your community ? Visit your health care provider, hospital, or pharmacist and ask them if they know anyone who specializes in diagnosing and treating autism. You can also contact your government?s health department. Just remember, even if you are referred to someone, this may not be the specialist you are looking for. Don?t be afraid to find out their experience before making a commitment.

? Internet resources ? The internet is a fantastic resourced and has plenty of useful and helpful information about autism, understanding and effectively helping autistics, and how to get help in your community. Some excellent websites you can check out include:

o Autism Society of America (http://autism-society.org)

o Autism Treatment Services of Canada (autisim.ca)

o National Autistic Society (http://nas.org.uk)

o http://AutisimHelpForYou.com

o http://Autistics.org

? Support group ? Getting involved in a support group that is designed to reach out to autistics and their families can be extremely helpful for finding a professional, as you can ask fellow members for recommendations. Support groups also provide you with encouragement when times are tough, and allow you the opportunity to discuss autism with others who know what you are experiencing.

For more help and advice regarding autism treatment or subscribe to a free newsletter on the autism resources site.

Autism: A Difficult Developmental Disability

                

 

The expression 'developmental disability' stands for the kind of impairment that interferes with a person's ability to perform one or more vital functions of life. Since such disabilities are of extremely serious nature, they might adversely affect the affected person's ability to earn an independent living. Autism is one of such disabilities. In an autistic child, the symptoms are quite visible right from the time when he or she is three years old. In most of the cases, these kids have difficulty speaking and cannot speak clearly. An autistic child is much of loner and does not enjoy playing with other children. He prefers to stay alone and play all alone. They often confine themselves to a small corner and keep playing their very own games, which might look very strange to an outsider. They do not light bright light or loud noise, and if subjected to such disturbances, they might react rather violently.

Many a time, when you are speaking to them, they wouldn't even pay attention to what you are saying. You might take them for deaf. But they are not essentially deaf. Chances are that they would not pay any attention to what you are saying for a very long time and then suddenly react to your talk with a smile or even a hearty laugh, or by simply saying something in reply to what you said. They may not even respond to the sound of their own names at times. But then, on other occasion you might find them looking bang in your face if you called them by their names.

The basic reason for their not responding is not that they do not 'hear' but that they are too self-immersed to take note of what you said. At such occasions they cut the external inputs out and take no cognizance of what is being spoken.

Autistic children are difficult to manage because of their unpredictable behavior. They might be an impressive picture of tolerance on one occasion while on the other you might find them extremely irritable and short tempered.

The best way to get along with them is to be patient, receptive and willing. So, far there is no cure for autism. Therefore, all that we can do is wait. Wait, patiently.

To read more articles on disabilty, disability and health, disability services and disability access visit http://www.about-disability.com/

The author writes articles on different topics. To get more disability articles visit http://www.about-disability.com/

Parenting Autism- Getting Past the Sadness

                

 

It's very common for a parent of an autistic child to sometimes feel quite sad about his or her child's autism. After all, every parent wants his or her child to be accepted, to live a happy life, and to make all of their dreams a reality. In fact, you may have experienced an overwhelming feeling of sadness upon hearing of your child's autism, as our society has long held the idea that your child's condition is tragic and incurable.

But I invite you to look at things in a different way. Perhaps you can look at your child as not tragic or incurable, but rather, as unique and remarkable.

In our society, people who are different are often seen as unfortunate, sad cases. But if you think about it, your child is probably a pretty amazing person. His autism is actually a part of who he is, and he's probably not sad about it at all, unless society has convinced him otherwise.

Imagine if our society held autism up as an incredibly marvelous thing. In that case, most of us would be pretty happy about our child's autism, right? Our child would still be autistic, but our perception of what that means would be different, and so would our resulting emotional response.

In either case, society is telling us how we should feel- happy or unhappy. But in reality, no one else can dictate your feelings, unless you allow it. You truly decide how you feel from moment to moment. You decide if you're going to buy someone else's idea about how you should feel. And yes, you can decide to be happy or unhappy, despite what everyone has told you. You can decide to be happy now, without waiting till your child is recovered. I'm not talking about denial, where you're pushing down feelings and pretending they're not there. I'm actually talking about making the decision to be truly happy.

That doesn't mean that you give up on hoping and trying for more. If you can hope and work for your child's best outcome without making your happiness dependent upon it, and if you fully accept your child as he is now, even with his autism, then your child will feel that acceptance and positive expectation, and will respond by believing in himself.

No matter how many gloom and doom predictions others make about your child, you ultimately decide what you believe. Making the decision to fully accept your child and to be happy now, while trying for the best possible outcome will give your child what he needs- lots of learning opportunities in an accepting and loving environment.
Sandra Sinclair is a parent of a child with PDD-NOS. She is author of ?Newly Diagnosed Autism Spectrum?- A free mini-course with 7 clear steps you can take to help your child. http://www.autismvoice.com/blog/7StepstoHelpChildrenwithAutism

Building Self Esteem In Children With Autism And Asperger Syndrome

                

 

Children with autism have a much harder time with their self-esteem. They often perceive the constant correction of their behaviors and their social interactions as criticism. The frequent visits to doctors, or speech therapists, or OTs, the testing and the stream of interventions that we try with them can easily leave them feeling like they're under the microscope, a specimen that warrants investigation, a person who needs fixing.

Expressive and comprehensive communication also have a direct impact on a child's self-esteem. These are areas that do not come easily to children or adults with autism/AS. Understanding subtle jokes and participating in human interplay, actions natural to their neuro-typical peers, further increase their feelings of 'not fitting in' and erode their self-esteem.

Combine all this with the expectations of siblings and the all-too-frequent bullying interactions from many peers and it's easy to understand how devastated a child with an autism spectrum disorder can feel.

What can we do? It's critical for us, as family members, educators, and professionals to learn strategies and techniques! In our not-too-distant past, institutional placement was the standard intervention for people with autism/AS. While that is not the case today, we still encounter lack of understanding and appreciation for the unique qualities of the person with ASD. Everyone, especially these visual learners, need a constant reminder of how special they truly are. We must find ways to give them their own Teddy Bear (or dinosaur!) so they will feel "L.C.B." on their own.

It Starts with US

But how do we really build their self-esteem? It starts with us examining our own ideas of how we view children with autism/AS. We must believe in their value ourselves before we can ever change their minds. These kids know when we're faking our compliments or arbitrarily handing out encouragement because the therapy book says we should give 5 positive comments to each correction. It involves empathy, walking in their shoes, rather than sympathy; no one wants to be felt sorry for. Each child is a gift, with his or her own special qualities. We just need to look for these special gifts, tune into the child with our hearts, and bring their essence out.

It Goes on to Others

Knowledge is power and no where is it more powerful than in helping people better understand what it's like to have autism/AS. Explain autism to everyone involved with the child. This will increase their empathy and provide opportunities for genuine praise and encouragement. Explain autism to the child, too, when he is able to understand his disability. Who are we really kidding, other than ourselves, when we pretend a child does not have the autism label or we try to camouflage it? Who are we hurting? It's the child with autism who is hurt in the long run.

Go to conferences, read books, research and share information that takes into consideration the many sensory, social, behavioral and communication challenges faced by the child at his/her functioning level. Armed with this understanding of how the disability affects the child, you and others can better find ways to help him or her fit in.

Remember to teach extended family, educators, other parents and professionals all you can to help integration and provide a deeper understanding when trying to teach particular skills. Be intuitive when advocating for children and persistent in your approach, though not abrasive. Having a positive mental attitude, especially when advocating, helps others want to cooperate with us. After all, who wants to deal with anyone cranky?

Bridge the interactions between peers and the child with autism. Visually and verbally interpret what you think they both are thinking and/or feeling based on your own experiences when you were their age, and your understanding of autism.

By teaching others about autism, more people will become aware of this invisible disability. When people understand empathetically, they will more naturally accept the child with autism, as he is. This is often effective in reducing or eliminating bullying from peers, too.

Learn to correct behaviors by sandwiching the correction in the middle of positive feedback. For example, "Sammy, you are doing a great job cleaning your room. If you pick up the clothes over there it would look even neater. Boy, you sure are a good listener."

Be Positive!

Children with autism often times have an incredible sense of humor. I have to stop myself from laughing so my own son doesn't feel like I'm laughing "at" him, causing him to feel inadequate. Sometimes I'll even say "I'm not laughing at you, Jonny, I'm laughing with you."

Stress the positives! Look for the good in every child, even if you don't see it at first. Pretending to be Pollyanna can only help, but make sure you're genuine in what you say. Stress the good effort your child is making, if he hasn't yet achieved a goal. Show your confidence in his abilities by telling him that you believe he can succeed. Saying things like this that may not be 100% true initially will contribute to your child's trust and belief in himself, raising his self-esteem and encouraging self-motivation to continue trying.

Model a mental attitude of "things are great". Express yourself in the positive, rather than the negative. Kids with autism/AS are masters at copying what others say, so make sure they're hearing things that are good for them to copy! When we say, "you are great!" to a child often enough, he, too, will believe it and feel valued for who he truly is.

Encourage children to share their thoughts and feelings; this is so important and often sheds new light on existing situations. My son, Jonathan was temporarily removed from the bus after cutting the seat. At first we thought he was acting out, so we had him write an apology to his bus driver. When we read his letter, we discovered that he was being bullied by another student on the bus and that it had been going on for quite some time. We intervened appropriately. The other child was reprimanded and Jonny was taught appropriate methods of expressing his anger in the future.

Balance the Physical with the Mental and Spiritual

Like most people, kids with autism feel better about themselves when they're balanced physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Since they are often very picky eaters and gravitate towards junk food, it's important to try supplementing their diet. Also, provide regular physical activity, when possible, to relieve stress and clear their mind. Set the stage for success by acknowledging their achievements - however small - and reminding them of their past accomplishments. Keep their life manageable and doable, refraining from overwhelming them with so many activities that they become too challenged physically and mentally to succeed at anything. Provide choices to them frequently so they understand they have a say in their own lives and even let them be in charge sometimes. These are all great ways to build self-esteem!

Don't overlook giving them opportunities to connect with their spiritual side through religious avenues or by communing with nature. This can help them feel purposeful, that their lives have meaning and connected with their source.

A strategy that helped raise Jonathan's self-esteem, especially in overcoming his victim thoughts and feelings, was spiritual affirmations. Using affirmations took some time, but we found that it brought calm and peace to Jonathan and our family.

Dr. Jerry Jampolsky, author of Love is Letting Go Of Fear and founder of the Center for Attitudinal Healing, offers many principles I find helpful in teaching us to love ourselves, thereby enhancing self-esteem, both in ourselves and then with others. Some of his principles include:

" The essence of our being is love
" Health is inner peace
" Live in the now
" Become love finders rather than fault finders
" Learn to love others and ourselves by forgiving rather than judging
" We can choose to be peaceful inside regardless of what's going on outside
" We're all students and teachers to each other.

Part of Jerry's message is that by focusing on life as a whole, rather than in fragments, we can see what is truly important. His concepts, when embraced, positively affect how a child with autism thinks and feels about him or herself. Anger, resentment, judgment and similar feelings are all forms of fear. Since love and fear cannot co-exist, letting go of fear allows love to be the dominant feeling.

Look for the Miracles Daily, there are miracles and good things happening all around us. Learn intimately the challenges that children with autism/AS face in their everyday lives. Be on their team by tuning into who they truly are - unique expressions of divine light. Empower them to be themselves, perfectly okay with who and how they are. Do this by loving them for who they are now, today, not who you think they should become, after ABA, or speech therapy or learning 'appropriate' social skills. Consider that children and adults with autism/AS are wonderful beings here to teach us empathy, compassion, understanding and most importantly, how to love. Most importantly, do whatever it takes to include them in life rather than merely integrate their presence.

In genuine star sapphires there are tiny imperfections and inclusions that reflect light perfectly to form a star in the stone. Each child with autism is like this precious gem, unique in every way. Without the tiny inclusions, there would be no star. It is our job as parents, educators and professionals to "bring out the stars" in all of our special children by shining the light on their natural beauty. In so doing, we see their different abilities rather than their disabilities. And, then they will see them, too.http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/buildingselfesteem.html Karen Simmons is a mother of six and author of Little Rainman, a story of autism told through her son's eyes. Her most recent releases are "Peace of Mind for Autism" a CD to help instill calm in people with autism/AS or associated with autism, and "Surrounded By Miracles", a story told by loved ones about Karen's near death experience.