Autism-Articles

Has your child been diagnosed with Asperger Autism? There are many children who have this disorder and although it may be rough in the beginning it is possible to live with it from now on. Asperger autism is a developmental disorder that can make it hard for your child to interact with people including yourself. When a child is socializing, they may feel out of place and awkward, sort of like you do when you are put on the spot. This is just one of the symptoms of Asperger autism. Other symptoms include a routine that your child does not want changed and socialization skills. Asperger autism is a disorder that lasts a lifetime. When a child with Asperger becomes an adult they may have more of an understanding about what they are feeling and what they need to do in order to function in the society. They may not be able to handle crowds of people to socialize but they may be able to socialize in a small group. They will also have a better time at communication. A c...

All children, but particularly those with sensory processing disorder, can benefit from movement activities in the classroom that provide input to the proprioceptive receptors in the joints and ligaments. In addition to providing exercise, these types of "heavy work" movements make it easier for the child to focus and attend. For the child with SPD, it's vital to get proprioceptive and deep pressure input throughout the course of the day as part of what's called a "sensory diet" of activities. It is not enough to get plenty of exercise and calming input before or after school, or during one session of OT. Most children with SPD need to be encouraged and guided to get the input they need throughout the course of the day. There are many ways to help kids get this input within an ordinary classroom and school building. The child who is a sensory seeker will likely eagerly participate and even find her own ways to get the input she senses...

Starting a new school year is always difficult for any child with autism or Asperger's syndrome. The change from the routine of summer to the new routine of the school year can lead to meltdowns, anxiety and other problems. Let's face it, our loved ones with autism spectrum disorders like routine... the same processes over and over again. The same faces. Getting up at the same time. Wearing the same clothes. Eating the same food...and seeing the same familiar faces. But as a new school year starts, these things change. Wow do they change! Many children, whether autistic or not, have challenges adjusting. But for a child on the spectrum the adjustment can be overwhelming. How to Ensure a Successful Start of the School Year for a Child with Autism Here are 5 tips to ensure a smooth transition and start to a new school year. 1. Communicate Ensure open lines of communication. Speak with teachers, guidance counselors and the principal. If possible, contact your ...

I am the proud mother of two young children that were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder a few years ago. One is now in grade one and the other will register for kindergarten in the spring. As a teacher, I already had some experience with IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) meetings which helped me a great deal with my son's first IEP. I was able to also inform my husband which also did a lot of research on the matter so he was already well prepared to face our son's IEP. Over the 17 years of teaching experience that I possess, I soon discovered that most parents tend to lack both information and confidence in their role and what type of services they can obtain for their child. One of the sad things that I also have learned is that depending on the school, the services vary and if you do not ask for them, you will not necessarily have them offered to you either. Both my children are situated on opposite ends of the spectrum, my daughter being on...

Your son with Asperger's is refusing to go to school. Your sensory sensitive daughter is constantly testing your patience when it comes to mealtime. Your six year old with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is throwing tantrums like clockwork. Your four-year-old child with PDD is not responding positively to potty training. Is there anything about these scenarios that you can relate to? There are bound to be certain times for any parent when everything feels overwhelming and being the parent of a child on the Autism spectrum brings yet another set of challenges with it. On occasions such as these you may wonder how you are going to carry on and make it to the next day. If you are facing a situation that makes you feel as if you are moving through quicksand, I have three words for you - it will pass. There are times during these challenging years that may seem never ending but in retrospect, you may someday find yourself asking, "Where did all the time go?...

(For easier reading and flow, I have used he/him/his throughout this article. Obviously these words are interchangeable with she/her) "That alternative treatment is unproven by medical science. Don't waste your money. Wait until the research has been done and published in peer-reviewed medical journals." That's easy for you say...you don't have to live with a child with autism day after day, and see him wasting away in the face of his hidden potential. A child who held the promise of being a normal, intelligent child, who is now trapped under the mask of autism. I am talking about the child with autism who can't communicate. He bites his fingers, bangs his head against the wall, huddles in the corner of his bedroom covering his head with a blanket and moans, as he tries to shut out frustrating environmental sounds, sights and smells that he can't make sense of, or internal sensations and pain that he can't communicate. If you try...

Today, there are a very large number of food supplements on the market. These products can help us to be healthier by giving our bodies the added nutrients they need. It is especially important for people with autism to have a proper diet, because they are more likely to have problems with nutrition than most of us. It can be very helpful for them to take supplements to help balance their nutritional state. Two proteins that have been found to potentially worsen the symptoms of autism are gluten and casein. In many autistic children gluten and casein, seem to cause the production of natural opiates in the brain. This can make foods that contain these proteins practically addictive! For this reason, the first step toward treating autism with food supplementation is to adopt a diet free of gluten and casein. Of course, having a healthy balanced diet is very important. Because autistic children are usually very affected by routines, a healthy diet should be institut...

It seems like common sense that a well nourished child is a happier child. Many parents have noticed moody or cranky behavior in their young children before meal time or after school when they arrive home hungry. For an Autistic child, however, who may not be able to accurately communicate his or her needs, this hunger may go unnoticed. Or they may not want to eat and may have many food aversions. For these reasons, integrating nutrition therapy into treatment for children with autism is critical. In many cases, nutrition is not an integral part of overall therapy at diagnosis. Yet many parents who eventually seek out this information on their own, are getting nutrition information from questionable sources. Some parents may not take nutrition therapy into consideration at all. Autism is complex and involves a spectrum of challenging behaviors, so it is natural for both parents and caregivers to initially focus directly on controlling those behaviors. In many cas...

Horse therapy as a therapy model for autistic children is now a topic of debate. For clinically disposed experts, horse therapy does nothing more than introduce an additional stimulus into the mix. There are others who believe that with proper training, horse therapy holds great potential in treating autism. Parents of autistic children have had many therapies and medications tossed their way, with hopes of reaching their children on a whole new level. Many parents are now looking after the potential of alternative methods for their children's condition despite all the promises of many therapies and medications. Even though the autistic aware community has become increasingly focused on horse therapy, this is still considered a new but promising therapy model for children with all type of disabilities especially autism. Horses are of course majestic animals that carry with them a fabulous tale of potential, wonder, and amazing feats. Horse therapy as a therapy...

Schedules are an essential part of a child's life, they are important to use with children because children will not have to wonder what happens next in their daily routine and they will be able to anticipate activities that they will have to do each day. Schedules are necessarily important for all children however they are extremely essential for children with autism. Autism makes it so that the child has to have a set pattern and structure throughout their day. Schedules help and do extremely well with this. Children with autism often go through their day full of anxiety and this schedule helps reduce that. If a child with autism does not have a set and structured schedule each day it will make things hectic and dysfunctional for the child and the caregiver. Even though it may be easy for you to remember doctor appointments and other necessary activities you have to do, a child with autism does not have that natural ability of remembering things like that. ...

Believe it or not, schedules play a very important part in every child's life. Children like schedules because it permits them to anticipate what will happen when. But having a schedule is particularly important for the autistic child. Autistic children need a sense of structure which helps to overcome the feelings of anxiety they typically have. They know what to expect during the day and what activity they will be during at what times during the day. The lack of a schedule in an autistic child's life can make things very hectic, both for them and for you. If you are the type of person who just "remembers" doctor appointments and other commitments and does whatever activity feels right at the time, then good for you but you are going to have to change that for the benefit of your autistic child, where autism almost requires structure and a schedule. Many autistic children exhibit many problems in reading, in which case you are encouraged to use ...

Sometimes trying to come up with activities for autistic kids that will be fun, educational and not cost a lot can be a struggle. So it's reassuring to know that there are a number of possibilities out there, it's just a matter of finding some that will appeal to your child's personal tastes. The following are examples of popular activities for autistic children between the ages of 7 and 11. Indoor Activities: - Singing - autistic children gain a number of benefits from singing. Children who are non-verbal can hum, make sounds, or play musical instruments such as whistles, tambourines, drums, kazoos, or small keyboards. Repeating sounds, making up new tunes, or even learning educational lyrics can be very useful for helping kids to learn and may also provide them some much-needed sensory stimulation - the same they would get from yelling, only more pleasing to the parental ear! Mimicking one another's notes and tunes can be an important social expe...

Dolphins are one of the most intelligent animals in the world. Researchers found out that they can help people who suffer from neurological disorders, especially autistic children. Dolphin therapy is claimed to increase speech and motor skills of children with autism, however, it's still a controversial topic. Dolphins are popular in human culture because of their friendly appearance and loveable attitude, in Greek myths, dolphins are helpers of the Minoans, messengers of Poseidon. Recently, Dr. Ken Marten at Sea Life Park in Hawaii demonstrated that dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors, and, they are also sentient, fully conscious, with complex language of their own. Nowadays, Dolphins are among the most popular choices of animal-assisted therapy for children with autism, Down's syndrome, depression and other developmental disabilities and psychological problems. In dolphin assisted therapy (DAT) programs, kids on the Autism Spectrum could swim w...

Dancing with autistic children teaches them rhythm, exercise, movement and most of all will encourage them to climb out of their isolated world where it is a challenge for them to communicate and socialize. Rhythm dancing to music will enable children with autism, to communicate to peers, help with motor skills, teach them to follow instructions, and keep time to the music. Most autistic children have a repetitive behavior. By teaching them to dance with music, they will use their repetitive behavior to learn new music, words, beats, and interact with others. This gives them an opportunity to release their frustrations that most of them have. The choices of music that should be selected is chosen as to how, the autistic individual will respond to what has been given to them. For example, some might enjoy a good loud beat that will be acceptable and others may want to hear soft soothing instrumental music. There are those who simply enjoy singing with solo voices ...

When it comes to treating children with autism, many schools seem lost in the dark. In fact, many schools have no set plan in place, putting kids in special classes where they receive minimal teaching. ABA therapy offers schools a uniform teaching method that offers significant benefit. As the only form of autism treatment covered by most insurers, This therapy is simply the most effective treatment. When your school is trained to provide this therapy, it can provide significant benefit to students with autism. When ABA is introduced into the school system, guidance counselors, teachers, and other support staff are all educated in how the therapy works. This ensures that everyone the child deals with throughout the school day is teaching the same principles. Since ABA requires repetition and consistency to be most effective, this ensures the best possible results. The method is also quite common in homes, and parents are often brought into support team meetings s...

Autism and school are becoming a hot topic for school boards and parent groups right across the country and around the world. This is because the occurrence of autism in children is increasing at an alarming rate. Educators today are seeing an exponentially higher number of autistic children in their classrooms than a decade ago. For that reason, an increasing number of parents and educators want to ensure all children receive a positive educational experience. As no two autistic children display precisely the same autism symptoms, it becomes impossible to create a standardized program that creates positive experiences for children with autism at school. Therefore, it is likely that in order to receive the best possible education an autistic child will need to undergo an ever-changing educational strategy throughout their entire learning career. For example, while some students on the spectrum may be able to keep up with peers on an academic level, they may expe...

Our children with Autism need friendships for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are the same as our typical children. Some of those reasons are a bit different for our children. Of course children with Autism need friends to be able to practice social skills. They need to learn to share and take turns. Friends are many times with people longer than siblings. Siblings share location and parents. Friends share interests and time. It is a bit more complicated when our child has Autism. They sometimes do not seem to really want friends. Our children like spending time alone. Many of our children like the quiet. There is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes. Even most of the time. The only problem is that they are missing out on a different type of relationship. Friendship is different than the relationship between us and our children. It is also different than the relationship between siblings. It requires different skills. Sometimes parents are years down th...

No matter what autistic child we are talking about, they will most likely have problems with organization. This is not to say that they are stupid, because they are not, it's just a simple problem that children with autism (and Autistic Adults) have, no matter if they are super intelligent. So with such problems people would think that they have to crowd the autistic child, telling them to do something, being almost on their back about what not to forget. But this unfortunately is not the best way to get the most from your autistic child. Just remember that your autistic child is just like you, they are human! Do you like your boss or your spouse always being on your back? The answers are obviously no, but just imagine what your autistic child feels. Where you or I could say, stop annoying my, or go away, your autistic child most likely can't even articulate what they want to say to you, which would most likely be... "Get Off My Back". This is g...

If you have an autistic child, then you are aware of the many challenges you face raising your child. With the behavioral problems that many autistic children suffer from, raising an autistic child may feel like two full-time jobs at times. Educating an autistic child is also a difficult task that must be fully thought out. While public schools are funded to handle children with special needs, these locations are not always the best arenas for autistic children. One of the reasons that home-schooling your autistic child is a good idea is because special education programs may lump autistic children in with others who have maladaptive behavioral problems. Remember, autistic children have behavioral problems due to their developmental inability to properly function normally in social situations. If they are placed in with others who have emotional problems they may regress instead of progress. However, if home-schooled, parents can control the social influences tha...

Autism is currently affecting 1 in 150 children, but children who suffer from the effects of Autism are much higher. In a family with more than 1 child who have a child with Autism, the effects on the non-autistic sibling can be life long. For a family whose Autistic sibling is the eldest, it creates an entirely different family structure with the younger non-autistic child either taking on a caregiver or guardianship role or emulating the behaviours of the child with Autism. Children with Autism take up a lot of the parent's time and energy often leaving little for the younger non-autistic sibling. Sometimes a non-autistic younger sibling feels that they have to compete for their parents attention and that the extra attention somehow means that the child with Autism is the more loved child. This can lead to resentment of their disabled sibling and sometimes negative behaviour. To these children, any attention is better than no attention - even if it is negat...