Did You Know These Facts About Autism?

                

 

There have been many conditions thought history that have been mistaken for something else, and before the human mind was understood, many with mental disabilities were placed in jail. They were deemed a threat and were then heavily medicated. Today, we have a greater understanding of what some people go through, and although different from everyone else, we know there is an underlying reason for it. We know do our best to help people like this instead of persecuting them. When looking back through the history of autism, it is obvious that though it was given a name in the early part of the 1900s, it was largely misunderstood by people for a long time.

Some believe that autism was first noticed as a condition around 1911, but it wasn?t really anything other than a theory at that time. A Swiss psychiatrist by the name of Eugen Bleuler is thought to be the first to use the term. The word ?autism? meant ?an escape from reality? and was based on behaviors he observed in adults and it was attributed to schizophrenia. Though that was false and misleading, it was a step closer to putting a name to a condition that was largely misunderstood.

New information was found from one of the earliest recorded studies of children with autism. From 1938 to the year 1943, a doctor by the name of Leo Kanner studied the behaviors of eleven autistic children. The children he chose to study were ones that seem to withdraw from interaction with others as early as age one. The type of autism that he recorded and named was what would be considered ?classic autism? and is often referred to as Kanner?s Syndrome.

These children were thought to have different characteristics than those classified as mentally retarded. However, at this time it was still largely misunderstood. Some believed parents were to blame, and these children were often removed from the home and placed with others to see if they would ?recover.?

It wasn?t until the 1960s when the disorder was finally being studied and understood for what it really is and the impacts it has on a person. The finger pointing at parents of autistic children reduced as understanding grew, but there was and still is in some cases a lot of misinformation about autism, and many parents feel the need to defend themselves, as if they?ve ?done something? to their child.

Higher functioning autistic children and adults are often said to have Asperger?s. This condition was documented by Hans Asperger in 1944, but was not something that gained wider awareness until later in the 1980s. He described this condition as ?autistic psychopaths? and some of the blame was put on the mothers of these children, claiming that they were cold and heartless. Though we know today that this is not true, it was widely accepted at the time.

Since then, PDD (pervasive development disorder) has been studied and is now more understood. PDD is a blanket term for the spectrum of autistic disorders that are now known today.

The history of autism is a rough one, but that can be said about many of the conditions that affect the mind and the personality. Though more understanding exists today, there is much that is still misunderstood.

Perhaps the most important thing is that parents are no longer blamed for the conditions of autism, and that more treatments are available to help a child with this condition. Recently thinking suggests Autism is an auto-immune condition, and that it can be genetic. There is no cure, but there are programs that can increase communication and socialization skills in some children and adults.

Hopefully by understanding the history of autism we can take steps to progress treatment programs further.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans' brand new Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about autism strategies

Five Autism Types Explained

                

 

Autism used to be the term used for anyone with that particular condition. Today, there are several different sub categories for different levels of disability or function. No two children diagnosed will be the same, but there will be many things that they do have in common. With some high functioning autistics most people may not even be aware that they have autism, while others need assistance in almost any part of life, and they are obviously living a very different life than other children. More is being discovered about each of these different autism types as time goes on.

Asperger?s Disorder

This type of autism is something that you hear more and more about. These children are often misdiagnosed at first, and are thought to have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or perhaps Attention Deficit Disorder. These children are very unskilled with social interactions and have problems with communicating. They have repetitive motions, and are fixated on patterns of all types. They can have above average language skills, though they don?t use them well in social situations. They are often clumsy, as motor skills are under developed. Those with Asperger?s are thought to have a talent that they focus on almost exclusively, and are considered to be highly intelligent. Recent findings indicate that Albert Einstein may have had this condition.

Kanner?s Syndrome (classic autistic disorder)

This particular type of autism was named after a Dr. Kanner. He described and studied it in the 1930s and into the 1940s. This is the well-known type of this condition that is very common. Those with Kanner?s have very limited emotional connection with anyone, and they are very into their own little world. They want everything to be the same all of the time, and this includes routine (sometimes down to the exact minute) clothing, food, and television shows or movies. They can be deeply effected by noises, bright lights and smells. They are generally considered to be low functioning, but how well their mind works is largely unknown because of extremely poor social and communication skills.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

This term is used to describe children who have most of the same symptoms as classic autism. They will need the same interventions and help that autistic children require. The differences between PDD-NOS and autism are minor and usually only obvious to researchers and doctors.

Rett?s Syndrome

Rett?s is a rare and relatively little-known type of autism, and it seems to only happen in girls. This branch of autism was first described by Dr. Rett. These patients often have problems with muscle atrophy, and tend to do repetitive hand motions. They area almost always mentally retarded to some degree. These girls are very low functioning and will need care for most of their lives. This particular type of autism has been diagnosed since the sixties, but in the late 1990s a gene that might cause this condition was found.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

This is also thankfully pretty rare and something that strikes children who appear to have normal development from birth. Usually between two and four years of age this changes. These children begin to regress, and often do not potty train. They will lose the will and the ability to interact with other children, and will lose an interested in play. They will also have problem with the motor skills that were something they at one time had mastered. They will stop talking, or their communication skills will regress to some degree.

Though there are more autism types out there, these tend to be the most common. They are all things that take parents by surprise, and each comes with their own set of difficulties. Most children will need to be cared for long after their peers have established independence, even though the will to be on their own is very strong.

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

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/

Social Skills and Autism - Where's the Best Place for Socialization?

                

 

Your child has autism and you?ve been told that social skills deficits are to be expected. So what can you do to help your child learn how to behave properly, make friends, and get along in the world?

Like me, you may have been told that your child needs to be in a school setting with other children to be socialized. Let?s consider for a minute what kind of social skills a child with autism may learn in school.

1. In a school or classroom setting, your child is exposed to both positive and negative socialization. This isn?t really debated by any of us who have been in school. The question is whether or not the ?good? socialization outweighs the ?bad? socialization.

2. There are typically two placements for children with autism when it comes to schools. Each comes with its own drawbacks as far as social skills are concerned.

For those who are lower-functioning, there is the special ed classroom. If your child is placed in a special ed class, they may actually pick up negative behaviors from the other students. Children who have never said a bad word in their lives come home with all sorts of words that the parents know they didn?t teach their child. Or maybe a child who wasn?t aggressive previously starts imitating the hitting, biting, or screaming of a classmate. That?s not what I think most parents are hoping for when they are told to put their child in school to learn social skills.

If your child is higher-functioning, they may be mainstreamed in a regular ed classroom. Will the typical behaviors of their peers be the positive socialization you hoped for? Unfortunately, many times children with autism become an easy target for bullies who cause them physical and emotional harm. Other classmates, who may be nice enough themselves, may still go along with cruel jokes or name calling at the expense of a child with autism just because they don?t want to be ostracized from their peers. Whether it?s bullying, teasing, or isolation, children who are ?different? and don?t possess the same social abilities as their peers often experience great difficulties just trying to survive a day at school. These children often exhibit signs of tremendous stress and anxiety, depression, and some even contemplate suicide.

So are there any alternatives? Families who are concerned about the educational and social well-being of their children often choose to teach them at home. Home-schooling offers a better opportunity for positive socialization while drastically limiting the possibility of negative social experiences. Home-schooled children are not isolated or ?unsocialized?. Home-schooling simply provides the opportunity for parents to expose their children to a variety of social situations when they feel their child is ready to handle them. Most communities have home-school groups that offer park days, sports teams, special classes or lessons, as well as informal get-togethers for home-schooled children.

It must be noted that children with autism do not learn social skills simply by being with typical peers regardless of the setting -- school or home. In order to master social skills, autistic children require specific instruction and opportunities to practice skills first in settings with one other child, then with two children, then in small groups, and then in large groups. To place a child with autism into a classroom situation (or any group situation) and assume that they will learn beneficial social skills just because other children are present is not supported by research or real life (See point #4 in the open letter from Dr. Ivar Lovaas, autism expert, at http://featbc.org/why_lovaas/letter.html).

Common sense tells us that we don?t teach a child with autism to swim by throwing them into the deep end of a swimming pool and telling them to start swimming. Likewise, if we want children with autism to ?swim? in the social world, we can?t just put them in a situation that virtually ensures their failure. We must teach them step-by-step and give them plenty of time to practice their social skills in a supervised setting. We can accomplish this via one-on-one play dates with peers, social skills small groups, sibling/parent relationships, community outings, etc.

So the next time someone suggests that you should put your child with autism in school simply because of their need for socialization, consider exactly what that means for your child. There?s not much compelling evidence to suggest that inclusion in school settings is accomplishing positive socialization or excellence in education for most children, especially children with autism. We can do better at home.

Mary Gusman is an educational consultant and an expert in the area of home-schooling children with autism. With over 8 years of personal experience home-schooling her own son with autism, she offers nationwide educational and home school consulting services to families with special needs children. Mary can be contacted via her website at http://www.ochomeschooling.com/specialneeds

Autism: An Incurable Developmental Disability

                

 

Developmental disability is an expression employed to refer to serious life long impairment that substantially reduces one or more of one's life functions. Such disabilities might adversely affect one's ability to make an independent living, ability to learn or move or express. One of such disabilities is Autism. If a child is autistic the signs are visible within three years of his or her birth. How pronounced are the symptoms varies from case to case and so the affect of the impairment on one's daily activities.

They have problems expressing themselves through speech and cannot speak well in most of the cases. An autistic child does not like playing with other children. He or she would rather find a small corner for himself or herself and confine to playing his or her own set of games that might appear very strange to any onlooker. They are very sensitive to light and loud noises and react to being subjected to them.

At times, they might behave as though they were deaf. They would not even respond to their own names. On other occasions, you name them and the head turns. It is primarily because on the occasions they do not respond, they are in their own world and have completely shut the rest of the world out. So, they are not receptive to external sounds or inputs naturally.

They can sit focusing on a single object for hours on one end without bothering to look around. It has also been found that some of them demonstrate exceptional fearlessness. For instance, an autistic may not budge even at the sight of a car dashing towards him or her at a very high speed.

The autistic children behave very differently. They do not like being cuddled or even touched. And if you smile at them, they might just keep staring at you unsmiling as though you were a dead wall.

They dislike socializing like anything and wish to live in the world of their own making. There are no known causes or cures for autism. We can only hope that someday we'll be able to find what exactly goes wrong with these people and how can they be cured, if 'cure' is the right term here.

Till that time all we can do is try to understand them and make them happy. Though they shun company but they still like being happy as much as any of us. However, it's not so easy to make them smile, for they smile only when they know you understand them and their very own, private world. Therefore, the key is understanding. Forget not, autistic might be similar in behavior but are still different as individuals. So, what works with one may irritate the other. Be careful, cautious and persevering.

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

Dan! (defeat Autism Now)

                

 

In 1995, a group of thirty scientists and physicians were selected to try to get together and defeat autism. These forward thinking researchers were chosen due to their experience working with autism and hailed from the United States and Europe. Not satisfied with the available treatments for autism, this meeting of the minds was created to embark on a new pathway to understanding autism and finding different ways to treat it. Today the group still meets to share what they have discovered and further our understanding of autism.

It took them a year but the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) conference produced some sterling results. What they were able to come up with was a 244-page manual entitled Biomedical Assessment Options for Children with Autism and Related Problems. This manual was a progressive and cutting-edge approach to the treatment of autism and did not rely on using various drugs to treat autism. It was a more holistic approach that involved various components including diet, intestinal function, vitamin deficiencies, excess proteins, viruses, vaccinations, antibiotics, probiotics, amino acids, and more. Nearly every possible angle was researched in order to come up with the answers that had been obscured by conventional treatment for so long.

Autism is not a well-understood condition. According to research it is a biological disorder that affects the brain. However, the causes of the disorder are not fully understood. There appears to be a variety of causes that are in someway related. Autism usually has a strong effect on social functioning. Cases can range from mild to severe and over the years more and more autistic people, children especially, have been able to attend school in regular classes and thrive in such environments.

DAN! was created in order to address the limitations of available treatments and the understanding of the disorder. The participants wanted to move away from traditional thinking and invent their own paradigm. It seems to have worked! If this approach to the treatment of autism interests you, then you can find out information about how to contact a DAN! practitioner quite easily. The first step is to visit www.autismwebsite for information on DAN! and access to scientifically-researched information on autism. Within the website you will find tons of resources that will give you a better understanding on the mechanizations of autism. There are also a variety of scientific papers and studies that you can review. In addition, there are helpful links to detailed lists of DAN! practitioners in the United States and around the world. There are not just thirty anymore! Since the revelations from the DAN! conference have become public more and more medical professionals around the world have adopted the suggestions the original doctors and scientists discovered.

Not every DAN! practitioner is a medical doctor, although the lion?s share are physicians. However, since the treatments are fairly new there is no information about the competency of the DAN! practitioners. In the future this may become a reality, but the best way to go about finding a DAN! practitioner near you is to do your own research. Ask around. Read up on the topic. This is an important step in helping a loved one with autism and your own education on the topic should come first and foremost. The list of DAN! practitioners can be found at https://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/dan/dan.htm.

If you want to find out more information about DAN! don?t fret. There are a ton of resources on the web that discuss the effectiveness of DAN! and how to go about finding someone who understands the group?s findings and can help you apply it to your loved one. You can find personal stories and testimonials, journalistic articles, and many other resources that stand as a testament to DAN!

Rachel Evans has an interest in Autism. For further information on Autism please visit http://www.essential-guide-to-autism.com/autism.html or http://www.essential-guide-to-autism.com/blog/2006/09/05/dan-defeat-autism-now/ .

Play for children with autism

                

 

Kids with autism really benefit from learning through play but many of us are unsure about what we should do - but with Sensetoys to help, getting started is easy!

Most of us have limited time to spend looking for the kinds of toys and activities that will help to develop the children in our care. When my second son was diagnosed with autism I spent a lot of time looking for suitable toys for children with autism. I was looking for activities to entertain him and stimulate his development in particular his play and interactive skills but it was really hard to find them.

I worked hard and built up my collection of toys for autistic children and activities and my knowledge of how to employ them. I soon realised that I was not alone in finding it difficult and that other parents of autistic children would also benefit from a one-stop parent friendly shop or catalogue to get both advice and resources to help their children develop their language and play skills. This led to the launch of sensetoys.com a website packed with products and ideas for parents and carers of all young children but especially those with special educational needs.

The range of products includes thick wooden jigsaw puzzles with large chunky pieces and simple non-stylised pictures, lovely fabric shaped beanie bags to teach shapes and colours in a fun and tactile way, large chunky tactile shapes with big holes to encourage threading activities, cause and effect toys such as the wooden Jumping Shapes game, the Waggy Garden with its slanted posting panel so a child can see the shaped holes more easily and of course lots of tactile sensory balls such as the squirmy wormy ball.

Sensetoys helps parents find and choose which toys they need, explains how to use them and why they can work so that parents and children get the most from each product. So if you're looking for help to get started, visit www.sensetoys.com

Lesley established SenseToys after many fruitless searches for toys and activities to help with the special needs of her two sons - her eldest suffered a language delay through glue ear and her second son Edward has an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).

As a parent, the early stages of learning about and coming to terms with even the mildest of special needs are extremely difficult and stressful times. One of the greatest frustrations is

How We Talk to Children with Autism

                

 

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

I'd like to discuss how we talk to children with autism. One of the things that strikes me is the wide range of what is considered acceptable. I'm not talking about teaching methods. Specifically, I'm talking about the tone and volume in which we speak to these children. I know that they're often difficult to reach and may require multiple attempts to get them to attend or to understand what is being said to them. I also understand that this can be frustrating and confusing at times, but it's everyone's job to stay calm and talk to them in a reasonable manner.

There are many teachers and therapists in special education that would never speak harshly to any child. However, I've heard many speak to children with autism in ways that no regular education program would tolerate, and it seems that this practice is still widespread. My theory is that this habit of loud, cruel voices has been accepted for so long that no one questions it. It's left over from the days when persons with autism were yelled at, slapped and cattle-prodded to get them to comply.

Everyone knows that being spoken to harshly and punitively can break a person's heart, spirit and self-esteem over time. Our children are no different. They need to feel loved, accepted and cared for. Cruel and abusive tones alone can be harmful, even without negative words attached.

My suggestion is that we ask our teachers to speak to our children with kindness and respect. At times when firmness is called for, everyone can still speak kindly while staying firm. It's all in the choice of tone and language.

We want our children to grow into their full potential. It can't happen if they're feeling anxious or depressed or if their self-esteem has been damaged. We need to lay the foundation first- love, trust, respect, acceptance and kindness. Then we can build instruction over that foundation, taking care not to displace it. If you think about it, it's all relatively common sense. We all learn and become our best in this kind of supportive and accepting atmosphere. Our children do too.

Sandra Sinclair, www.autismvoice.com

Sandra Sinclair is a parent of a child with PDD-NOS. Sandra assists parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. She is also author of Newly Diagnosed Autism Spectrum - A free mini-course with 7 clear steps you can take to help your child with Aspergers, Autism, PDD-NOS, and other autism spectrum disorders. http://www.autismvoice.com/blog/7StepstoHelpChildrenwithAutism