Autism-Articles

Every family has expectations and dreams for their children. We all want our children to have a better education, and better life than we have. When parents hear a diagnosis of autism, shattered dreams and expectations are the new reality. Their lives and the life of their child will be charting new territory. No family is ever ready for that diagnosis. A variety of emotions come to surface. You have the child you dreamed of, but the future you envisioned is now gone and replaced with what? It is a type of grief and the feelings are very real and intense. You grieve for the life you had dreamed of. The normal steps of grief fall in place, denial, anger, quilt,and acceptance. Anger is a common feeling when the child you love so much has autism. You are incredibility sad, and feel like you are alone, bereft of support. This is the time that it is so important for the parents to bond and work in unison to do whatever the child needs. This includes intervention, early scre...

After packing three bright orange shirts in the luggage of my ten year old son so that his grandparents could locate him easily during a trip, I accidentally discovered what psychologists and color advocates have known for years. The color orange is a terrific color for children with Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's Syndrome, named after the Austrian physician Hans Asperger who first identified the characteristics in the 1940's, is a disorder falling in the autistic spectrum characterized among other things by a lack of social skills and eye contact, obsessive interests, clumsiness, ticks or compulsive behaviors, and an unusually expansive vocabulary. Being a disorder and not a disease, there is no "cure" for Aspergers, but that isn't to say that there are not treatments or that children with Aspergers can't learn to modify their behavior to better fit with their peers. And color is a subtle therapy that can be consciously used to help them ...

One of the questions I am most frequently asked is, "Can you tell me about the IEP?" If you learn nothing more in my articles - I hope you will remember this - the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) basically outlines the path your child will take while s/he is in school. This is a mandatory, legal document. The IEP team (school personnel along with you and people you request to attend) must meet at least one time per year. During this meeting your child's goals for the next year are discussed and adopted. So, how do you prepare for the IEP? First, I suggest you study (over and over) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004. Next, you need to take action - after all, you are your child's advocate. The first item on the list is this: do not wait for the date of the IEP team to meet. Go to your child's school frequently. Meet with the teacher. Discuss the goals in the IEP and ask how well your child is progressing in each one. If your c...

Adults who continue to suffer with Autism have new and advantageous avenues they can choose from as opposed to years before. The health insurance providers together with the medical health care community offer a variety of services to help enhance the pleasures of life. Granted that many of the services offered are contingent to the state the individual resides, but the majority of services for adults who continue to suffer with Autism are nationwide. 1. Medicaid funded health care treatments 2. Non-vocational community services 3. Sheltered work-shop programs 4. A program to enhance independence 5. Structured paid employment The Medicaid-funded united health care treatments are especially designed for the individual who has the desire to learn and improve to the best of his or her ability. There are a variety of health programs offered that include registered nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, and speech therapists. This Medicaid-funded health ...

Diagnosing ADHD and Autism is clearly the preliminary step to their treatment. Yet vice versa, an effective yet specific treatment can help in confirming and diagnosing ADHD and Autism, by virtue of its results. By definition a test is an assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge or skill in a topic or topics. A performance test is an assessment that requires an examinee to actually perform a measurable task or activity or produce a predictable response to the experience offered by the examiner. Researchers in two separate studies have concluded that hyperactivity in the brain in children with ADHD is causative in an inability of these children to control impulsive hand movements. A study of mirror hand movements on children with ADHD showed that testing the non-dominant hand (successively tapping each finger of that hand to the thumb) produced twice as many mirrored hand movements in the other hand during the test. This was four times more predominan...

Beanbag chairs have been a casual alternative for comfortable, stylish seating since the 1960s. They come in different sizes and colors, and sometimes different shapes, too, so that they mold themselves to whatever shape you sit in for maximum comfort. For many years, furniture manufacturers made bean bag chairs with small polystyrene beads, but because they posed a choking hazard for young children, manufacturers now make bean bag chairs with shredded polyurethane, the same material that lines car cushions. As a result, bean bag chairs are more comfortable than ever, and with a growing array of fabrics and materials for colors, they've experienced something of a resurgence as a viable choice for informal interior décor. However, bag chairs aren't just stylish and comfortable. Many therapists use them in different ways to help people on the autism spectrum cope with sensory processing issues. Many individuals affected by autism have neurological issues that aff...

The rate at which children or victims are diagnosed with autism is on the rise daily. This condition has necessitated the introduction of Individualized Education Plan (IEP) education, which is geared towards providing the autistic child with specialized education that will help him get improvement on his behaviors. Teaching children with autism should be done in a way so as to enable them get the best in school where they study with other normal children. However, the best way of educating children with autism is to give them a personalized attention using the Individualized Education Plan. Special education teachers should be trained to provide teaching strategies for children with autism. It is therefore vital to provide these teachers with all the facilities and encouragements needed to give children with autism special education. In this process, the teachers should be provided with the right educational skills to help them face the challenges posed by Autism symp...

Are you the parent of a child with autism, a learning disability or a physical disability? Are you preparing for your child's annual Individualized Educational Plan meeting? Would you like a short list of important items that need to be discussed at your child's IEP meeting? This article will discuss 15 issues that need to be brought up at your child's IEP meeting to ensure that all important issues are brought up. Issue 1: Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance need to be discussed and put in your child's IEP. Academic and functional levels should be results of tests given to your child, and not teacher observation. Issue 2: Educational strengths and weaknesses of your child. All weaknesses should be discussed and needed educational services should be discussed and written in your child's IEP. Issue 3: District and State Wide testing that your child will be included in. Standardized testing is critical to keep special edu...

Does your child need a Individualized Education Plan (IEP)? If your child is struggling in school and you think his or her needs might require and Individualized Education Plan, start with you child's physician. Has your child had a physical within the past year? Make an appointment with your child's physician to get you on track concerning your child's health status as well as any learning-related conditions that might be a barrier to your child's academic success. Several categories of special education service require information and documentation from your child's physician, so this initial doctor visit is a good place to start. Once your child has had an up-to-date physical and you have talked with the doctor, move forward with these steps: 1)Schedule a conference with your child's teacher(s). A face-to-face conference is better than a telephone or email conference, but one way or another, you need this conference to discuss your concerns a...

As a special education advocate and a special education attorney, I am frequently asked for advice on how to prepare for an IEP. Preparation is key even if attendance by the Parent includes having an advocate present. Here is a top 10 list to consider in preparing for your IEP: 1. Notice: Make sure you've received ample notice from the school district about who is attending the IEP and make sure you have provided notice about who you are inviting. Also, notify the District of your intention to audio record the IEP meeting at least 24 hours in advance. 2. Preparation of Documents: Prepare a document list in chronological order from earliest year to latest year of all relevant documents in a binder that you will bring. Behind the list, include the documents. These documents should go back at least 3 years in time and include past IEP's, classwork, notes from teachers and other educators, previous assessments and other relevant information for the IEP team to know...

Autism is not a disease in and of itself, rather it is a group of symptoms that result in profound disability. Although many people think of all autistic children having the problems. This is not true. There are several common characteristics of autism, but any one child does not show each of them and the degree of severity can vary from very mild to severe. All children diagnosed with an autism type disorder have some combination of developmental delays. The exact combination is what differentiates among the types of autism. This diagnosis is made by a trained developmental therapist of psychologist. There are five recognized types of autism: Aspgergers :Children with this diagnosis usually have high functioning autism. This condition may often be confused with obsessive compulsive disorder or social anxiety disorder. Aspergers is usually diagnosed later than autism. Kanner Syndrome: A child with this syndrome is locked in his/her own world. They have great difficult...

Is it a disability or just a difference as some people who have Aspergers Syndrome claim? We don't know the answer to this question yet. However we know that it is a condition that has some similarities to autism and if caught early some aspects of this condition can be made manageable. Even if it has similarities to autism, Aspergers symptoms are very different from those of autism. According to specialists not every child with Aspergers Syndrome shows the same symptoms. However there are some behavioral differences between children with this syndrome and those without. First of all you must know that Aspergers is categorized as an autism spectrum syndrome. People who have an autism spectrum condition have varying degrees of social and communication problems and have some repetitive behaviors. They also have limited interest to their surroundings. It is very hard for parents who are not trained in this area to make a distinctive diagnosis but they can understand i...

Even though Aspergers Syndrome was defined in 1944 by an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger, its diagnosis was not standardized until 1994. Before 1994, children with this syndrome were not diagnosed because Aspergers was not considered a disorder. Of course there are some reasons for this late classification. Aspergers is a disorder in the spectrum of autism. Good news is it is at the highest functioning end of this spectrum. When there is good news, there should also be bad news which is, it is still a disorder. There is an extensive test for children showing specific symptoms along with their parents. Even after this extensive test, it is very hard to differentiate Aspergers Syndrome from a number of different disorders. Two of the most commonly misdiagnosed disorders are obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Patients with these disorders may show symptoms very similar to Aspergers. Children with Aspergers syndrome usuall...

The teen and young-adult years are difficult for everyone. In a teen with autism many of the problems are magnified to a very great degree. Life is very difficult for both the teen and the parents. Of course much depends on severity of the autism. Just like every other teen, autistic teens go through puberty. The autistic teen experiences the same hormonal changes that every other teen experiences with one major difference. The behavior and abilities of the teen are drastically extreme depending on how the child reacts to the changes. These changes can be either very good or very bad. This is a time that most teenagers experience greater social interaction. For the teenager with autism this is a most critical time. They have not developed the social skills that are age appropriate. They are usually considered odd or strange, or worse excluded entirely by the social crowd. Much depends on whether the teen was even able to attend school, some manage quite well in the spe...

I first wrote this true story about one year ago my daughter is now 19. I am sharing this in the hope of allowing people who have witnessed really bad behavior but have not experienced it firsthand, might be just a little more understanding of children and adults who are "different." My daughter is now 18 years old and things have not improved, and in many ways are worse. Puberty and autism make for a really difficult transition. My girl is high functioning but has a low IQ and still behaves on the level of a 5-year-old. She has an autism spectrum disorder and is unable to respond and behave in a way that an 18-year-old normally would. Because she looks so 'normal' people do not understand her inability to respond and behave in a normal fashion. This causes many conflicts and embarrassments. People often greet her social shortcomings with disdain and frustration. I get many, many dirty looks, and head shaking when we are out in public. I so often hear...

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil ignorance." Walk into a grocery store with a child with Autism and you will feel the full impact of these words. Public places are an extreme challenge. My darling son is eleven and was diagnosed at age 2 with Classical Autism. When I say darling, I am referring to all our eventful trips out the front door and all the fits that ensued. Now don't get me wrong, I love my son dearly, but as any parent can testify, there are moments that you wonder if a full on straight jacket isn't call for. Parents of children with Autism have a tougher road to go. Even as they head into their teen years, an Autism fit still looks like a 3 year old tantrum. The looks, the stares, and comments from the general public do not help the situation. Friends tell you it is not that bad. Books say just let it go. I say educate the masses, but of course I think of all the right things to say in the car on the way home. About five years...

There are many troubling symptoms of Asperger's syndrome, but perhaps one of the most frustrating can be when your child has trouble in public places, such as a store. If you are the parent of someone with Asperger's, you probably already know what I mean. Trying to bring your child to the grocery store can be a nightmare, because they either dart all over the place looking at things and won't stay with you, or they get so terrified they won't even walk or move. Add that to the tantrums that so often happen, the crying, the yelling, the occasional throwing of grocery items around, and it's enough to make any parent run for cover. Other parents are pointing at you, wondering why you can't control your child. So what should you do? First Step: Understand the Causes of Asperger's Meltdowns Well, the first step is to understand why this behavior is happening. The culprit here, more likely than not, is sensory issues. Consider how much is going o...

Let me start this article by telling you this true little story which happened to me recently. It's a pretty typical example of the level of awareness that most people have regarding families who are raising kids with special needs. The fact that I have special needs kids is not usually discussed when I meet someone for the first time, so I cannot even remember why in the world it came up during the situation I'm about to describe, but it did. I was at a social event in honor of a cherished friend and was simply making conversation with a couple of ladies who didn't know anyone. My mom and dad always taught us to look for people who seem alone in the room and make them feel comfortable. So basically that's what I was doing and the topic of kids and school came up. For some reason I explained that two of my children have special needs. One of the ladies (who was very nice, by the way) replied, "All kids have special needs." As I just explained, ...

Children with Asperger's syndrome and/or autism often need treatments to help them improve their communication skills either because they do not speak well or do not speak at all. It can be the most frustrating thing in the world to want to communicate with your child but not be able to. This is obviously very frustrating for the child as well because all of their wants, needs, and feelings are going unexpressed. This can lead to acting out and other behavior problems. Fortunately, there are methods to improve communication skills for those with autism and Asperger's syndrome. 1. Sign language Some people advocate teaching nonverbal kids and adults sign language. Often, they will be able to communicate with their hands what they cannot with their voice. Some parents resist this, thinking that if they teach their kid how to sign, and he or she has a little bit of language, the kid will use the sign language as a "crutch" and never make the effort to sp...

Children with autism display traits and behaviors that when compared to other children in the same age group are significantly different. All children will display some of these behaviors at one time or another in their lives, but the autistic child will typically present these behaviors on an ongoing basis. One such type of behavior is that of repetition. Some autistic children will repeat behaviors over and over again, without stopping. This can include things like flapping their arms repeatedly over and over again, rocking back and forth, and even self injurious behaviors like banging their heads on the wall. These behaviors will often seem out of place when compared to other children. But for the autistic child, they can be a normal part of everyday life. Self injurious behaviors can also be very prevalent in an autistic child. Whether it is cutting themselves, or biting or scratching their arms and legs, they will often have some form of injurious behavior that is...

Noticing your little one is just not right can be a scary thing. Everyone always tells you how wonderful toddlers are and how interactive they can be, and your heart breaks when the months pass and you just know something is not right with your child. You search for answers, you try everything you can to make them come back to your world, only to see them pull even further away. No one ever talks about the fact that not every child is the same. The fact that not every child is going to be that perfect, bouncing bundle of joy that gives hugs and kisses and says I love you mommy and daddy. Instead some of us wake up to discover that our little boy is not the same as their little boy. Our little boy doesn't talk, and maybe he doesn't walk. Our little guy may even avoid contact and shy away from being touched. Our little boys, our wonderful little men, have autism. And our world breaks Autism is on the rise. And with it the stories and the education. A child diagno...

Most of us are born with the ability to tell what other people are feeling, or pick up on the body language they are sending us. For children with autism, this born ability is not there. Children with autism often have a difficult time interacting socially with other children because they don't read cues the same way. Where most children know when someone is directing their attention to you, many autistic children do not. Instead the are in a world of their own, trying to interact best the can. Another thing that autistic children are often missing is empathy. Instead of being able to understand the feelings of those around them, they often come off being cold and callous, because they simply do not understand feelings. And without understanding feelings, they often don't notice when they've done something that upsets their peers. As a result, social interactions when they do occur can end abruptly, with the other child quite upset over something the autist...

Asperger's syndrome symptoms in adults is a topic less often discussed than Asperger's in children -- but it is an important topic because kids with Asperger's syndrome grow up and become adults with Asperger's. Asperger's syndrome is a form of high functioning autism. Irrespective of whether or not an adult has been officially diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, many adults know they have it...either from the symptoms they exhibit or from informal tests that they may have seen on a web site or in a book. Many adults did not have the opportunity to be tested for Asperger's as a child and were never formally diagnosed. Therefore, they did not benefit from early Asperger's treatment or intervention. In many ways, this makes it especially difficult for many adults with Asperger's. There are many unique challenges to being an adult with Asperger's, from social issues to employment to feelings of self-worth. What does it really feel l...

The moment you think your child may have something wrong with them your heartbreaks. You reach a level of fear and uncertainty. Will it be noticeable? Will it make it so they won't have friends? Will they ever marry? The questions pour in, and you're left wondering what the answers will be. The feelings are no different when you think your child may have autism, or be on the autistic spectrum. The main questions on your mind are probably, how can I tell my child is autistic? What are the symptoms? And where do I go from there? Let's start with the symptoms. What are the common symptoms of autism in a child? The symptoms fall under 5 main categories. You may find your child has all of them, or some of them. The thing you need to remember, is autism is a spectrum disorder, which means your child can have all or none of the symptoms, in varying severity. We will cover the first two in this article. Let's start with the first category of symptoms. Difficult...