autism

The siblings of kids with special needs are indeed given a unique set of circumstances. Younger children may grow to teach their older siblings many different things and can truly be a crucial element in obtaining more typical attitudes and behaviors. Kids with spectrum issues that may not socialize in a typical sense can be exposed to social situations because they are in house. You must try and let your typical siblings live as normal a life as possible. Having an autistic in the house does effect everyone to some degree. There are groups to help the siblings cope and understand why their brother or sister behaves as they do.

Home Schooling is becoming a popular alternative for many kids. It can be useful for spectrum kids whose placement alternatives in their districts just are not working for them. When I was trying to make my son’s public school placement work I would keep him home on the days that he was not getting the concepts being taught and teach it to him then send him back the next day. Luckily he is in a private school now that is meeting his needs. That route is expensive and it is not always that easy to find a private school that works for your child either. Complete home schooling is a major undertaking for parents. It can be combined with applied behavior analysis (aba) principles. It is important if you choose this route to keep your children exposed to the outside world as much as possible.

There are numerous medications to treat the various symptoms accompanied by having autistic spectrum disorders. Most of them are not tested on children under six years of age. Unfortunately, because symptoms vary as do reactions to medications there is no exact formula to give anyone that will work for everyone. Sometimes trials have to be done to see how your child will react to the various types of medication. It is important to keep some type of log to determine what worked and when. As your child changes so might their pharmacological needs so it is important to keep a watch to observe any modifications they might need.

When kids are in the 3 to 5 year old bracket it is helpful to try and coordinate therapy into play time. Some sensory therapies can be done simply by buying large bags of raw beans and/or rice and filling big containers. You can start by having the kids just sticking their hands in it. Many kids will take time to enjoy this activity because of various texture aversions so it can be gradually introduced. You can use toys in the rice and make mountains and caves. Kitty litter boxes are good for foot play. As your child is able to tolerate it you can get one of those huge buckets and actually put them in it. This activity while keeping them engaged also works to integrate nerve endings which can calm down over active senses.

Bill Gates obviously liked computers and look at him. He seems happy and ( for those who don’t know) is one of the more famous asperger’s syndrome members. Temple Grandin another famous “aspie” has often spoke on the importance of the autism community in the development of computers and many other things. Although as children some of their fixations need to be modified to deal with every day life they do not have to give up their passions entirely. They are gifted in their hyper focusing abilities and later in life can use these interests to develop their careers.

Because of all the information available today people are more educated about autistic spectrum disorders then ever before. The children growing up in today’s public schools are exposed daily to children of all different types of special needs. Hopefully through this awareness will become tolerance. However, it seems that there is at least one in every group that can be just a mean kid. Why are they mean? Who knows, maybe someone is mean to them but it really does hurt when it’s your kid that some one is being mean to. Basically, if they are not being physically harmed you have to take a step back. You truly can not control or stop another kid’s behavior unless they are causing or you think could really cause physical harm. It seems approaching some parents can do more harm then good. You can notify the school if you feel it warranted however, but again truly examine the situation before you over react. Sometimes things are better off left to blow over.

Social behavior is a constantly challenging piece in dealing with autism. Cues that are simply innate to the typical individual sometimes have to be taught to those in the spectrum. Because of the nature of socializing, new life lessons are always popping up and need to be dealt with. There are situations that can not always be pre-taught. One method that can be used as a teaching tool are social stories that discuss what happened using different characters in similar situations and what they could have done to deal with things in ways that are socially appropriate. As our kids age what was considered cute at one point may not be appropriate behavior as they age. This goes for all children and many adults too.

I think social training can be beneficial to everyone. We did various social groups for years and I can see how it has helped my son to deal with people in many different settings. I would like to find one that mixes more typical kids into the group because that could allow our kids to see how society at large handles various situations. I have often discussed this with moms of typical children who actually feel that the school districts are doing them an injustice by not providing this service to all children. Conflict resolution and patience are not necessarily inborn to anyone.

Young children with and with out autism can tend to reverse their pronouns or use them incorrectly.  It starts out cute but I remember being afraid that nobody would ever be able to understand my son’s wants or needs.  He would say things like:  You want a glass of water,(meaning he wanted one).  It was one of the more frustrating hurdles because pronouns are constantly changing when you are speaking to someone.  The strategy that we used was to make index cards that said, I, We, You ect and hold them up when they were appropriate and keep switching them when we spoke.  Although in the beginning of this process he was very confused and slightly frustrated, with in time he did get it.

It has always bothered me when parents try to keep their children’s differences associated with autism a secret. When my child was diagnosed the word autism came along with such a stigma that many parents opted to not tell schools or summer camps what was “wrong” with their child. Therefore instead of getting the extra help that they might have needed the people working with their children just considered them problems. It is not a sin to be different it is a sin to not allow them to be taught and treated in a way that they can feel comfortable and safe. Autism does not get better by itself and burying your head in the sand will not help your child.