As we were talking my hubby told me that recently he met one of his colleague’s child who was suffering from autism, when he was about to explain more, our aromatic food came and thus in no time we finished it and had a good time talking and not knowing that time was going ahead of us, we were laughing and talking and then decided to return home when we felt it was late… driving back home, of all the things we spoke wanting to know more about autism was in my mind…. I asked my hubby darling what exactly happens to the children suffering from autism, to which he replied ‘nandu if I keep explaining everything to you, there will be no fun, why don’t you look upto yourself’ I felt he had a point, I felt a need to find myself and let him know about my small knowledge.
First thing what I came to know about autism after checking lot of references was it is a disorder in neural development which impairs social interaction and communication, at the tender of 3 years or below. In simple it is a disorder in brain restricting the children in behaving and adjusting according to the social environment. Most of them think they are mentally challenged, which is not true. When most of them think it’s a difference in a behavior of a child, other set of people think it is a disorder, for everything we have pros and cons in the world, which isn’t unusual…. Parents of autistic children certainly have many worries. They wonder if their children will be able to achieve, if they will be able to be independent, and if they will be able to be happy and enjoy life.
Repetitive behavior is a common factor with the children having autism syndrome disorder (ASD). Some people are affected with fairly mild symptoms and signs of autism. Many of these individuals learn to live independent lives. Others are more severely affected and require lifelong care and supervision. Some people are affected with fairly mild symptoms and signs of autism. Many of these individuals learn to live independent lives. Others are more severely affected and require lifelong care and supervision. There is no specific reason what causes Autism, apart from the fact that it is a complex disorder. The common myth surrounding autism is people with autism never smile, never express their emotion or never make an eye contact, just as every person is unique, so does a person with autism manifest his/her feelings in a different way.
It is believed that in most cases brains of autistic children grow faster than usual which is followed by slower or normal growth in the childhood. Various studies and research have been done to understand Autism better, and all these prove just one thing, that Autism is a disorder in the brain which affects the child in various ways. Important thing to be noted here is race, ethnicity and socio-economic background of an individual doesn’t affect in the occurrence of autism.
No proper cure is known for autism, nor a therapy which works for all those with autism. Accepted interventions may or may not work for some. When parents notice the below things, it’s more or less the right time to seek a treatment or an advice.
Not gestured, pointed, or waved as an infant, by age 1 year.
Not spoken a single word by age 16 months
Not spoken a 2-word phrase by age 2 years
Experiences any loss of language or social skills at any age
The above signs must alarm the parents instead of just watch and see attitude. These signals might a type of disability if not autism. Prompt diagnosis and intervention at an early stage is important for all kinds of developmental disorders including autism.
According to me, the two most important questions which parents should ask the doctor without fail during consultation are:
Are the child’s social skills developing?
Are there any resources available to support the child?
There is an interesting therapy for autism which is also known as complementary therapy, this provides an opportunity for the child to develop social and communication skills. Although there is little scientific evidence that these therapies increase skills, many parents and therapists describe noticeable improvements in a child's behavior and communication abilities, as well as a sense of enjoyment.
•Art therapy offers the child a nonverbal way to express his or her feelings.
•Music therapy involving singing helps develop the child's speech and language skills.
•Animal therapy, such as horseback riding and swimming with dolphins, improves the child's motor skills while increasing self-confidence.
•Sensory integration focuses on normalizing extreme reactions to sensory input. It tries to help the child reorganize and integrate his or her sensory information so he or she can better understand the external world.
Parents having child autism needs to understand the feelings of the child and must be patient at all times, though it is difficult and provide the continuous support and motivation to the child, this way the child might find it easy to mingle in the social world and find friends, though support from the family is advisable at all time.
Let’s be more aware of autism, and when we come across children with autism, let’s have a positive approach towards them and lets treat them with compassion.
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