The Positive Effects Of Growing Up With Autism

Having a child given a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a very stressful event for parents. It is imperative to understand that there is much that can be done for both parent and the child. From the current literature we know that parents of children diagnosed with autism worry about many things like lifetime dependency to family dissonance. We know that these parents are distressed and angry, the parents of children with more unusual behaviors feel a lot more stressed than the parents of children with fewer unusual behaviors. However, having a strategy to approach it correctly and to get the best possible help for your child is probably the most important step, one can take to relieve stress and to aid the child’s development.

In the early 1900’s autism was a completely misunderstood concept and any child who was living with it was assumed to be living with “childhood schizophrenia” and developed much slower than children without autism. A four year study of Donald Triplett gave Dr. Kannar a better understanding of what autism was and what it caused certain people to do. The main question was, does it affect the child’s development? Living with autism can affect a child’s development due to the fact that they don’t have a long attention span, can cause them to have a repetitive behavior, along with trouble in social situations whether it be verbal or non verbal.

Every single day in my life I think about the person who has probably changed my life completely: my brother. I can truly say that if he had not been around this whole time, I would probably have been a totally different person that I am today. I believe having a relative who has autism can really change your perspective about life. My whole life I have asked myself what would have been of this life if he had the chance of having one, how could he maybe behave differently, communicate, socialize with people, what kind of things we could have done together. I think having a disorder like this, it is a limitation, however, we must try to live the best dealing with this. Because they are not in this alone, we are all in this together supporting

A lot of people don’t realize the challenges of living with a child who has been diagnose with Autism can be. It is a twenty-four-hour seven day a week job no vacation, no sick time and no pay. From the time the child is diagnosed it is a constant worry especially if the parents don’t know much about the condition. It starts with continuous Doctor visits, social services, and therapy sessions, just to figure out how serious the condition may be and what level of the disability the child has and this is only this beginning. Next, to find the tools the child needs to overcome the disability, like learning development and cognitive process, social skills, comprehension capabilities, and many more depending on the severity of autism.

Leo Kanner (1943) believes autism is a result of emotional deprivation. He notes that parents of autistic children are intellectually and analytically oriented, but lack emotional warmth (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009).Some psychodynamic theorist believe autistic children were born normal, but became autistic after experiencing painful interactions with hostile or cold parents (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The term autistic implies a failure to effectively relate to the environment. Autistic individuals are perceived as elusive and distant (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Behavioral programs are most effective with autistic children and are used to teach them language, communication skills, self-care, and adaptation to the community (Hansell & Damour, 2008).

Autism is a rare disease that can be characterized by a “neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by the inability to relate to and perceive the environment in the realistic manner.” (Anthes, 1997) The signs of autism are mainly found in infants to young children usually between the ages of newborn to two years. The main symptoms that are discussed are “impairment in social interaction fixation of inanimate objects, inability to communicate normally, and resistance to changes in their daily routine.” (Anthes, 1997) Autism is a very understood disease but one thing most people do not know is that autism not only effects a child’s life mentally and physically, it also effects their social ability to have friends, play normally and even grow up

In this paper, I will be discussing the disorder of Autism, a sever disorder that affects the function of the brain. It causes problems in such areas as social contact, intelligence, language and speech impediments, along with ritualistic or compulsive behaviors, as well as different responses to the environment that an autistic individual may have different than individuals not having autism would exhibit. I will be discussing generally about the history and description of autism. Also I will be discussing the charactistics that mark an autistic individual, the actual treatment that an autistic person may receive, risk factors that an autistic person may encounter, and interventions/treatments activities that an individual who has autism may take part in. I feel that by doing all of this that I will gain a greater sense of understanding for individuals with autism. I will be giving this information to you by going through each topic that I have outlined in the introduction and explaining what each means and how they affect an individual with autism.

In another study, research was focused on how the family’s choices, social life, and other activities are affected by that fact that one of their children has autism. This study was performed through 9 families who all had a boy with autism, and these participants provided information through interviews and information about their family life. Some parents along with teachers and other specialists came up for the routine while others allowed their child to be a decision maker in what they wanted. In both cases, it seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance of it being a total success or needing more work. Once a routine was found successful, it became an integrated part of the family life. Parents had other siblings become part of the routines and moved things around in their own lives to help the child have better success

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

Moreover, kids who are on the Autism spectrum, and families of kids on the spectrum have very limited options in the middle east, for the lack of education has resulted in a scarce of well-equipped and trained facilities, orgs, and special educations classes that can help children learn basic everyday life activities; even if these facilities are available, the expenses are way beyond what an average Middle Eastern family can afford, and these few facilities are very difficult to reach. Not only is access limited, but there is also no legal support to demand the right if these individual’s. Many of the stereotypies that characterize autism can be reduced, or managed through ealry intervention, and lack of Access negates any possibility of behavioral

Psychological disorders are complex in nature and often the least understood. Children or adults who are autistic have a hard time fitting into society, because they do not understand how to sort through their feelings or communicate with others to tell them. They seem to be relatively smarter than others, they just don’t know how to use their knowledge or if they learn to use it autistic people seem to accelerate in one area.

Parents of children with ASD encounter a variety of unexpected- emotional, physiological, and financial challenges in their lifetime. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders often have “elevated levels of depressive symptoms and psychological distress” (Meltzer, 2010, p. 362) and are at “a heightened risk for mental health problems” (Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2011 p. 337) not only compared to parents of neurotypical children; but also in contrast to parents with children with Down syndrome, an intellectual disability, fragile X syndrome, and development delay (Meltzer, 2010; Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2011).

Significant experiences in my life influenced my decision to embark on a journey to become a marriage and family therapist. Possibly, the most influential experience involves countless medical appointments, multiple misdiagnoses, and an extraordinary will to persevere. Seven years have passed since my son was initially diagnosed with autism. Today, I still find it challenging to describe the intense emotions that I felt during the first few weeks following his diagnosis. The despair, grief, guilt, and hopelessness that I felt are indescribable. Prior to his diagnosis, I worked tirelessly to obtain the help my child desperately needed. Being a parent of a special needs child leaves little to no option of failing; hence child has taught me to be strong even in the most difficult and darkest times in my life. Furthermore, encountering the unique challenges of raising a child with autism inspired me to help other families and individuals experiencing hardship.

When I was kid in elementary school I always wondered why there were students who walked around my school that looked and acted differently. I understood everyone was different or unique, as my teachers would say, but these kids more unique than usual. When I got to high school I was able to expand my understanding for why there were students who were different. Now that I am in college not only has my understanding, I am also able to apply what I’ve learned in a real setting if ever needed to.

Financial burdens are an obvious upset to families with autistic children, on top of the already heavy expense of having a child there is now medical costs and often counselling. Sen and Yurtsever (2007) reported that families often feel “shock, denial, suffering, depression, guilt, indecision, anger, shame, bargaining, acceptance and adaptation” upon discovering they have a child who suffers from ASD. This disorder has effects on their daily “lifestyles, social relationships, economic situation, health, and goals or expectations for the future” (Norton & Drew, 1994; Sen & Yurtsever, 2007). “Autism is the most common neurological condition diagnosed in children and it is now