Help With Autism

When parenting an autistic child, the key to fostering their development is having patience and keeping your cool. Autistic children suffer from underdeveloped social and communication skills, and sometimes learning a simple practice or process can take a lot more effort. If parents practice patience with their children, they’re more liable to teach them over time.

When parenting a child with autism, it’s also important to avoid lingering on one particular subject for an extended amount of time. If an autistic child can’t learn something, or doesn’t want to learn something, often no amount of effort on the part of the parent will help them to learn it faster. It’s wise to take all learning step by step, and ensure that difficult subjects are learned over time rather than making an attempt to cram it all in at once. With patience, understanding, and a cool head, you can help your autistic child develop into a more functional adult; just remember that it’s not going to be easy, but the results are spectacular!

Autism is a complex developmental disability that often becomes visible in the first three years of a child’s life.  Autism is a ’spectrum disorder’, meaning that it covers a set of behaviors and affects individuals differently and to various degrees of severity.  There is no single known cause for autism, though studies indicate that genetics are a contributing factor, as well as certain harmful toxins introduced in a child’s life.  In American children, the prevalence of autism is about 1 in 150, and the number is much higher in males at 1 in 94.  Families with autistic children face a lifetime of support, and as the number of autistic children increases, it’s important to also increase autism awareness amongst the general population.  If autism is recognized early in a child’s life, it is possible for children to develop into functional adults, working through their autism.  However, there is no known cure for autism. 

To recognize autism, look for lack or delay of spoken language, repetitive use of language or motor mannerisms, little or no eye contact, and lack of interest in peer relationships.  Autistic children lack certain important social skills, and autism often manifests most clearly in this respect. 

Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in several childhood vaccinations, has been proven to increase the risk of autism and several other neurological disorders.  Though research on this subject has been restricted because of private medical records, the research done has shown that vaccinations can cause damage.  Though childhood vaccinations are important to prevent certain illnesses, with the risk of autism or more serious conditions it doesn’t seem worth it.  Parents need to be aware of the dangers of thimerosal, and the vaccine damage that can occur from standard vaccinations. 

Major corporations have tried to cover up the dangers of thimerosal, but through increased awareness, parents can spread the word and create a network of valuable knowledge for the prevention of serious neurological disorders.

Though severe cases of autism tend to be immediately apparent in children, less severe cases can be difficult to identify.  Some children will only exemplify having two or three traits of autism.  The two most obvious traits of autism include impaired social interaction and communication, and restricted or repetitive behavior.  These can appear to manifest in children of school age, but in reality have existed since birth.  Parents must be cautious to monitor children who exemplify either of these behaviors, and consult a doctor if necessary.

Children with less severe cases of autism are more likely to move on to lead normal lives.  However, autism treatments for these children are still required, as they will need to learn the skills necessary to become self-sustained.

Science has yet to find a way to effectively prevent autism, but there are many preventative steps that can be taken both during and after pregnancy, based on the results of past studies. It has also been shown that treating and diagnosing an autistic child as early as possible may better help the child socialize and learn communication skills. So while the causes of autism are still relatively unknown, here are some rules of thumb to follow:

• Insist on early autism screening if any behavioral problems (such as not using language as a form of expression) are noted before two years old. Typically-developing children should be babbling and using hand gestures by 12 months, using single words by 16 months, and beginning to string words together by the second birthday.
• Ask for genetic testing if the child has a lack of social or verbal development before age two.
• Schedule metabolic testing to prevent the onset of autism; heavy metal poisoning has been linked to autism, so a child’s bloodstream should be checked for metal toxicity.
• Look into the possibility of vaccinations containing trace amounts of mercury causing autism; but remember that the evidence for these claims is inconclusive. Consider these studies with caution.
• Avoid eating foods that may have an unsafe level of mercury, such as seafood, when pregnant.

A new study by UC Davis researchers about important autism news may have discovered why autistic children have trouble imitating others; they spend less time looking at the faces of people who are modeling new skills.

The study employed eye-tracking headgear and software that measures the point at which a child is looking when learning a task, according to medicalnewstoday.com. The study showed that autistic children focused on the action that was being demonstrated (and rarely looked at the face), while typically-developing children looked at the face often to check for information about what to do, or how to respond. The finding is considered significant because autistic children have trouble learning from others, and this may be a key as to why.

The VH1 Classic music television channel has developed a campaign called Rock Autism, intending to educate parents and build awareness about the disorder.  Musicians such as Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, Ronnie James Dio of Dio, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil of Motley Crue, Roger Daltrey of the Who, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin appear in a public service announcement that runs frequently on the channel and on its parent channel, VH1.  The intention of the campaign is to help educate parents, providing them a forum while building autism awareness on the campaign website and their Facebook page.  Another primary focus of VH1 Classic Rock Autism is raising funds for autism research, advocacy, and support organizations.  VH1 Classic Rock Autism has consciously targeted the age-30-and-over demographic most strongly because this population is at the primary age to start families, and with autism rates still rising, education is the best defense for potential parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders.

VH1 Classic Rock Autism’s webpage lists many other resource groups and links to autism information and news about the disease and the campaign’s efforts as well as spotlighting the efforts of other cable channels to educate the public about this disorder.  MTV’s popular documentary program “True Life” has an episode entitled “I Have Autism”, and children’s channel Nickelodeon has broadcast a special Nick News report called “Private Worlds:  Kids and Autism”.   Clips for both of these shows can be accessed from the MTV and Nickelodeon websites and are also linked through the VH1 Classic Rock webpage.

Autistic teenagers may not act like other people you know or even each other, because the severity and range of symptoms can vary so much from person to person.  Autistic teenagers can have issues with verbal and emotional expression and may be more comfortable communicating with hand gestures or seem unemotional.  Some may prefer solitude and seem like they may not want to make friends, not reacting to social cues like the body language of others or refraining from group activities.  Some autistic teens appear passive and withdrawn, where others seem to be more aggressive and have tantrums when they are frustrated because expressing emotions in more acceptable ways is difficult. 

Some autistic teenagers are very sensitive to sensory stimuli and may draw back when hugged or startle when they hear a sudden noise.  Many are more comfortable with a regular daily routine because change makes them anxious.  In more severe cases, an autistic teen will fixate on objects or ideas or display repetitive motions like rocking.  Autistic research shows that the above traits are all part of the disorder, but research also classifies autism as a spectrum disorder because of the different spectrum of ways it can affect each person who has it.
 

Rett syndrome symptoms include cognitive impairment and difficulty with socialization, which generally improves by the time the child enters school.  The rate of head growth is slower in those who have Rett’s and may include microcephaly (a very small head) as well as small hands and feet with repetitive hand movements such as wringing.  Girls with Rett syndrome are prone to stomach problems and up to 80% also have seizures.  About half of females are not ambulatory.  Scoliosis, failure to grow, constipation, and lack of verbal skills are also very common manifestations of Rett’s syndrome, which occurs much more commonly in girls.

Rett syndrome is one of the disorders commonly identified as being under the umbrella of autism, along with Asperger’s syndrome, sensory integration disorder, and several others. 
Autism treatments are always changing as autism awareness becomes more prevalent.

Autism information begins with the first published academic paper identifying autistic children.  The paper was published in 1943 by Leo Kanner and was titled “Autistic Disturbance of Affective Contact”.  Before Kanner’s observations were recorded, such children were being classified as emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded.  Kanner’s work pointed out that these children often demonstrated potential that did not allow them to fit comfortably into either prior diagnosis.  His response was to invent a new diagnostic category called Early Infantile Autism, sometimes called Kanner’s Syndrome.  Hans Asperger essentially made the same discoveries at the same time independently of Kanner in his academic paper “Autistic Psychopathy in Childhood”.  The difference in the subjects being studied by these two pioneers was that Asperger’s subjects had speech, so Asperger’s Syndrome is often still used today to classify autistic people who have speech.

The word “autism” already had a meaning before Kanner coined it as a diagnosis:  “escape from reality”.  It is speculated that Kanner appropriated this word because he believed that the classified children were either actually trying to escape from reality or gave that impression.  Other terms have applied to what we now call autism:  childhood schizophrenia, infantile autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Kanner’s Syndrome, and other autism spectrum disorders have also been identified, such as Sensory Integration Disorder.