Autism

What is autism?

	Autism is a developmental disability which usually manifests during the first three years of an individual's life. It is characterised by:
	Slow development of language skills
	Inability to initiate or maintain a conversation; children may repeat what others say or use words or phrases inappropriately
	Short attention span
	Difficulties in social interactions; preferring to spend time alone than with others
	Almost obsessive interest in one particular area or thing
	Little interest in making friends
	Less responsive to social cues such as a smile, or eye contact
	A lack of spontaneous or imaginative play
	Aggressive behaviour and/or self injurious behaviour (although this is not always the case)
	Possible tendency to be either overactive or passive
	Exhibition of repeated body movements such as rocking or hand flapping
	Child may arrange their toys in exactly the same way each time after play
	Unusual responses to people
	Unusual attachments to objects
	Resistance to changes in routines
	Sensitivities in the five senses
	Little or no fear of danger

As with other disabilities, the severity and extent to which an individual is affected can vary greatly. Medically, there are no 'tests' for autism. It is diagnosed based on observations of a child's communication skills, behaviour and level of development. Other medical tests however, may be ordered to rule out or identify possible other disabilities which cause symptoms similar to those of autism.

Are there different types of autism?

Autism is one of the disorders grouped into the general "Pervasive Developmental Disorder" category. Disorders in this category are characterised by severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development. Some of these include autistic disorder, asperger's disorder, rett's disorder and childhood disintegrative disorder.

What causes autism?

It is thought that autism is linked to biological differences in the brain. It is not a mental illness and is not caused by bad parenting or psychological factors in the child's development.

How does autism affect a child?

Autistic children are no different to you and me in terms of feelings and reactions. The only difference is the way in which autistic children express these feelings and reactions. Mostly this is through their behaviour.

Sensitivity

Some children have extreme sensory oversensitivity, and this usually becomes obvious if the child tends to flick their fingers in front of their eyes, or cover their ears with their hands quite frequently. Oversensitivity can make things such as trips to the mall difficult. Your child might have a tantrum or exhibit other signs of 'bad' behaviour due to the resulting sensory overload.

For children whose senses are highly sensitive, day to day classroom sounds such as the public address system, bells and fire drill alarms can cause intolerable amounts of pain. These effects can be minimised by removing autistic children from the classroom before a fire drill and slightly reducing the volume of the public address system. Masking tape or duct tape can be used to muffle the sound of bells just enough to make the sound tolerable.

Children with autism might show intense dislike or preference for particular foods. This is also due to sensory oversensitivity. For example, the sound of potato chips crunching can hurt their ears. Pay close attention to your child when he/she is eating and observe which particular foods cause them pain. Avoid these and encourage them to eat everything else.

Parents should also avoid clothes made of harsh, "scratchy" material which can cause extreme discomfort for children with sensory oversensitivity. Soft cotton is the best idea, and make sure to wash new clothes several times before your child wears them.

Echolalia

Echolalia is the term used for autistic children's tendency to repeat what has been said, or sing an entire TV commercial. These children need to be taught to understand the meaning of the words they are repeating, so if a child says 'banana', give them a banana immediately. Or if they sing part of a breakfast cereal advertisement at the breakfast table, give them the cereal. Echolalia is also used to verify what is said.

Fixations

Autistic children's fixations should also be used advantageously. For example, a fixation with aircrafts can be used to motivate children to complete maths problems involving aircrafts or read books about them.

Repetitive Motions

Their repetitive motions are used to shut off sights and sounds which cause pain or confusion. Because of this, they need to be kept engaged, with careful attention being paid to not causing a sensory overload. Do not let your child spend hours in front of a television set or playing video games. They need to be encouraged to be active participants in the world around them. 

What can be done to help children with autism?

Early intervention is the first vital step in helping children with autism. Parents and teachers can also help affected children by being understanding, supportive and well informed about their child or student's specific needs, strengths and weaknesses. Information should be presented to the child visually, not just orally, and the child should be placed in a highly structured environment as much as possible. Basic living skills should also be taught early since they are imperative for the child's future independence and freedom in the community.

Other ways to help autistic kids can be found at http://members.spree.com/autism/autism1.htm. Following is a brief summary:

	Not letting autism affect the high expectations a parent or teacher would place on any child. Never assume that just because your child it autistic it means he/she cannot perform at a particular task.
	Using a positive approach, and reinforcing appropriate behaviour with praise and rewards.
	Not letting a question to go unanswered or an instruction uncompleted. Make sure you get a response from the child, even if it means using prompts or gently nodding or shaking the child's head for him/her.
	Paying attention to behaviours which are appropriate and relevant, and ignoring behaviours which are inappropriate or seem to be random and have no connection to what is going on. Also make sure you specifically praise your child or student for an appropriate response, for example, "Yes Sarah, what Chris said was funny!"
	Speaking slowly, clearly and specifically at first, and then increase your talking speed as the child gets older. Avoid nonliteral speech, such as "take a seat" unless you are sure the child understands that that means to sit down, and not literally take the chair.
	Informing the child of upcoming changes. For example "the school bell will ring in five minutes" or "when you are finished with the puzzle it will be time for math worksheets."
	Not raising your voice, or threatening the child with negative consequences.
	Not allowing behaviour problems to succeed in escaping demands.
	Not giving in to rigid routines or fixations.
	Establishing, reinforcing and expecting the Learning/Attending protocol (making sure you have your child or student's full and ready attention before teaching them something).

And remember that "when we say a person cannot learn, we are actually saying that we cannot teach him!"

http://members.spree.com/autism/autism1.htm also suggests that in order to truly help a child with autism, "we must believe that he is a person first, not a "behaviour." He is a person with autism, not an "autistic" person. Look beyond the behaviour to the personality, to the personal qualities, to the "soul" of the person with autism."

So don't let autism be a lead weight on the wings of your child or student. Work with them, understand them, appreciate them.... and the world will be a much better place for your efforts!!