Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

There is no doubt that raising a child with autism is challenging. There is endless research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but a very limited amount on the costs and benefits of caring for a person with the disorder. In order to gain a comprehensive perspective on the biggest challenges parents and caregivers of autistic children face, a look into the private lives of these families and close networks is necessary. The only way to give support and provide the much needed services required to help, one must ask them what the most difficult parts about managing autism are. Below examines three of the most common struggles these families face when trying to understand and help their autistic children develop into the capable people they are certainly able of becoming.

Autism can be a very challenging experience for any family. Beginning at the diagnosis process, up until adult life, this mental inception is an experience that will break you emotionally and physically at some point. Completely disregarding the things that these families go through would be an atrocity to human compassion. By obeying the “Golden Rule” that we are taught as children will show us that autistic people have a potentially unprecedented level of intelligence. In order to observe this, one needs to push past the mental barriers that are instilled due to their perception of the world.

The first three years of a child’s life is the most important and central time for the brain’s development. Autism is a disorder that can be diagnosed during the infant or toddler stage. Children can be diagnosed with autism by having different impairments such as social interaction, pattern of behavior, eye contact and speech impairment. Having the child being diagnosed with ASD can change a parent’s life view. Parents can learn different things in order to help their child. Parents will be provided by health providers different treatment, different placement in education and knowing about the different risk factor to make a difference for their autistic child now and in the future.

Do you ever wonder why some autistic children act differently from others? Autism Spectrum Disorder affects three different areas of a child's life; it affects social interactions, communication skills, and their behaviors and interest. Every child is different and has their own way of expressing themselves (Autism Response). Some children may have better social skills than others. Autistic kids do not know how to express themselves so they do so through their different behaviors. Many autistic children are even nonverbal and will make different noises to communicate. It is very easy for a child with Autism to get upset because of their sensory, emotional, and cognitive difficulties. Sensory problems, emotional difficulties, and uneven cognitive abilities are all symptoms of Autism. Some more than others, but these are the most common symptoms of Autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder). For example, many of Autistic children can not express themselves like others who do not have the disorder. In many instances, it is very frustrating for both the child and whomever they are speaking to. If the child doesn't babble, coo, gesture (point, wave, grasp) by 12 months, doesn't speak not one single word by 16 months, and doesn't say any short 2 word phrases on their own by 24 months old they may have autism (Autism Spectrum Disorders Health Center). If a child is not showing any fine motor skills by 12 months, and not

Every single day is a struggle for an autistic child and his or her family. Autism affects all aspects of a child’s life from their ability to show affection to their family to being able to do simple tasks such as communicating and thinking in ways that we take for granted. Autism is defined as a developmental disability in which children experience abnormalities in social functioning, language, often act in puzzling ways, and usually appears before the age of three (Mash &Wolfe, 2010). Although the exact causes of autism are unknown there does seem to be a strong genetic component. Having a child or family member with autism is a constant battle of emotion and frustration. Everyone wants to help the people they love when they have

“Don’t think that there is a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal,” Claire Scovell LaZebnik wrote of living with a child who has autism. Autism has been made to look like a grand epidemic. Autism is nothing of the kind. There are plenty of people with autism that are high-functioning and can live on their own, and autism is made to seem like a bigger deal than it is. Many would argue that medicines are needed to treat autism, that autism needs to be ended. There is always a better way.

No one can mentally prepare themselves for the news of their child being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. It will be difficult to live with autism because it is a complex developmental disability (“What Is Autism?”). This would make it very hard for children to do things that we define as easy. There are countless of things that people with autism have trouble doing. For example, they may have problems making/maintaining eye contact, holding a conversation, have trouble with reasoning, and have difficulty planning something (“What Is Autism?”). This may be why we hold people affected by ASD to a very low standard because we think they cannot do anything we can. Normally something like this would have a cure but autism does not have a cure because no one knows the cause (“What Is Autism?”). This is very unfortunate for people that have to solve every problem they get differently because they have autism.

Therapy or counseling: psychotherapy is an important tool for dealing with the emotional impact of autism, and family counseling is helpful for dealing with marital and communication issues. Support groups: for many parents and family members, autism support groups can be life changing. Talking with other parents of autistic children improves mood, and helps with acceptance and understanding of the disorder. Accepting help: parents and family members should look for help and support from every source possible. Caregivers must remember to take a break and spend time caring for their own needs. It’s important to remember to take care of yourself, this helps make one a better caregiver by reducing

Children With Autism Children with autism have the possibility to improve greatly, and some even overcome the effects of autism if appropriate therapies are begun early enough. A multifaceted disorder, autism has long baffled professionals and parents alike. At a point in time, doctors gave parents absolutely no hope for the recovery of their children. But recently, new treatments and therapies have shown that improvement is possible. With early intervention, intensive care, some children have if not fully recovered, improved, and have been integrated into schools, indistinguishable from their peers.

Treatment for autism is usually a very intensive, comprehensive undertaking that involves the child’s entire family and, of course, a team of professionals. Some treatments may take place in your home. Some of these treatments may be based in your home with professional specialists and trained therapists or may include training for you to serve as a therapist for your child. Some programs are delivered through a specific center, classroom or preschool. It is not unusual for a family to choose to combine more than one treatment method. Many families use, specialists, family, friends and supporters. Intervention can involve behavioral treatments, medicines or both. There are many different treatments for ASD, the first one, Behavioral Management Therapy, tries to reinforce wanted behaviors and reduce unwanted behaviors, it also suggest what caregivers can do before, during, and after problem behaviors. Another treatment is, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, this focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. During this specific treatment specific goals will be set. The next treatment option for autistic children is Early Intervention, this program helps children gain the basic skills that they usually learn in the first two years of life, like, physical skills, thinking skills, communication skills, social skills, and emotional skills. Another treatment includes Educational and School-Based Therapies; this treatment consists of the different programs in a school environment. Joint Attention Therapy id another treatment used to treat ASD children, this therapy focuses on improving specific skills related to shared attention, such as pointing, showing and coordinating looks between an object and person. Next, Medication Treatment is used to not cure ASD, or all of its symptoms but to

This discussion paper aims to highlight the importance of imaginary play for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Furthermore it aims to highlight the need for further research on the effectiveness of the Learn to Play program as an effective imaginary play intervention tool.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex set of neurological developmental disorders which are ultimately defined by it diagnosis. ASD is usually characterized by social-interaction difficulties, communication challenges and a tendency to engage in repetitive behaviors (Bailey, Phillips, & Rutter, 1996). The challenges autistic people face start very early on, sometimes barriers are put by people who are supposed to help them the most: their parents or guardians and the health professionals (Ford, Hamilton, Meltzer, & Goodman, 2008), studies had found parents are hesitant to label or even treat their children accordingly to their diagnosis, because they fear it would lead to the stigmatization, rejection and devaluation of their child,

I am very passionate about working with kids with autism. They have such amazing personalities and I feel like people don’t see past the disability to the unique person they are. For several years I worked at a residential facility for kids on the spectrum. I was a direct care staff that worked one on one with them to work on their goals their treatment plan was focusing on. My passion to help kids with autism comes from my previous experience working with these kids and watching them grow and learn new skills. This transformation that I watched happen and helped be a part of with these kids made me want to help more kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are a lot of skills that need to be taught to these children. Socialization, communication, and positive behavior are just a few kids with autism need help improving. I believe that the earlier that you teach a child these skills the more successful they will be. Early intervention has had a positive outcome within many research experiments that professionals have done. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) also requires schools to teach kids with disabilities alongside typically developed kids as much as possible.

Students with autism can become overwhelmed very easily by even minor deviations from the routine. It is important to be sensitive to the way autistic children function so that their potential can be reached.

Growing up I helped my mom with twins, one had autism and the other one had autism and cerebral palsy. From a young age I was around children with disabilities and saw them as children who just need extra help and sometimes extra supervision. While I was helping my mom with the twins, I saw how they learned that if they threw fits and disrupted class and they would get to leave. They learned like other children without disabilities that certain behaviors would get them what they wanted.