Health Articles

This article looks closely at five peculiar or common signs of classic autism, which distinguishes it from other pervasive developmental disorders. Take the time to read it and you will surely learn a thing or two that you previously didn’t, about autism.

1.  When your child doesn’t show any signs of wanting to make friends with other people, even kids their age. As they grow up, in fact, they often never develop even the most basic relationships with their family and other loved ones.

2.  A lot of autistic patients tend to demonstrate a penchant for repetitive and stereotypical language. Often, they would even insist on using their pronouns the wrong way, however much you try to teach them otherwise; oftentimes using the second or third person to refer to himself or herself.

3.  If you already know that your child is autistic, you should not be surprised to find them absorbed, as it were, with certain specific objects or subjects within their vicinity. They could hold on to a toy for no apparent reason and refuse to let go, or they may just appreciate a special holiday in a way that you find hard to grasp.

4.  The strangest symptom you may see on an autistic child is when they tend to line things up. Usually they would pick up the toys you give them or something else and just line them up on the ground the same way they did yesterday and the same way they are likely to do tomorrow.

5.  If you ask me, the most remarkable symptom about a child who suffers from autism is their savant skills. They often display a mysterious and uncommon ability that you don’t find in a lot of other people, usually in the arts or sciences, making you wonder if there really is some super intelligence in there somewhere. There just might be.

There are numerous books on the shelf of the local bookstore that are survival guides for parents of teens. And for good reason! For both parents and children, the teen years are the most trying. We’ve been there so we remember what it is like (though sometimes it seems as if we’ve forgotten). The changes we tend to focus most of our attention on are the outward ones but it is the inner changes that we all go through that can cause the most distress, regardless of the level of ability or disability. For parents, one of the hardest things to face is the lack of control over the situation. This is heightened for parents of teens with autism as many of these kids mature physically on schedule but clearly they are not emotionally equipped to deal with all that this can bring. This can indeed foster extreme reactions and parents need to be prepared.

This is a little known fact, but approximately one third of teens on the autism spectrum will experience the onset of seizures. Even if the teen has never had any kind of a seizure in his or her life, they can begin at this time of life. Thankfully, these usually end when puberty is over but is can be extremely scary during these years. Obviously, if you notice your child having even tremors you should consult a doctor to see if this might be seizure activity. If it is, there are drugs available to treat it and it should be treated as one result of seizures can be a loss in functioning. And, as we parents of autistic children know, it is devastating to go “backwards” when we have worked so hard to keep our child moving forward as much as possible.

One possible positive affect of these extra teenage hormones is that your autistic child might actually have a growth and development spurt. Again, don’t focus just on the outward changes of your child but keep track of how he or she is doing developmentally. You may even notice a new skill or interest appears when there had previously been nothing! Great – take advantage of it and give your child the opportunity to continue to grow and develop. Monitor any changes in your child and keep in close contact with the professionals in your child’s life so that you can ask questions and pass on information as needed.

If your child is not part of a social skills group before puberty, then this is definitely the time to get him or her involved. Here in San Diego CA we have a number of community resources for people with disabilities. Look around your community and you might be surprised at what you find! Remember to find that delicate balance between what is age appropriate and what your child can handle given their developmental level and experience. Getting suggestions from fellow parents of children with special needs, perhaps through support groups, is the best way to quickly find these opportunities and get involved.

Puberty and the teen years are difficult for anyone. When you have a disability it is even more so. Take advantage of people and resources in your community – reach out and give your child the benefit of what is in his or her own backyard. Focus on transitioning from child to young adult and consider what your child needs to learn to be safe. Be patient – this too will pass!
I am the parent of 3 wonderful kids – Sam (21), Lucy (19) and Mac (16). Sam has autism. He is quite high functioning, although the skills and abilities that are prominent today were not always so! Sam is indeed the product of countless hours of therapy, patience, diligence, stubbornness and love by numerous people in many varied settings. My experiences while learning to deal with many different agencies, support groups, professionals etc. led me to my current profession. I have been supporting families for nearly 16 years, 8 as a professional.

Hear a Sibling’s Perspective

Siblings of those with autism are anything but typical. They have wisdom beyond their years. They have a true understanding of what it means to be different. They have learned to compromise, negotiate and are the future social workers and great psychologists of our time.

We interviewed a nine year old boy about what it’s like to have a brother with Asperger’s syndrome. His answers were profound and his clarity of the situation impressed us. Many parents with children on the autism spectrum are concerned with the impact the disorder has on siblings. Adam Aviram, a young child put it all into perspective. He eloquently lets us know what it’s like having a ten year old brother with Asperger’s syndrome.

Typical to Asperger’s, his brother Dean Aviram (10 years old) has a passion. He loves history. He probably knows more than most adults and enjoys in depth conversations about world leaders and past events. Adam, on the other hand enjoys soccer and playing the Wii in his spare time. When it comes to playing with his brother, he tells us they enjoy sharing information. He proudly announced that he and his brother are working on building a time machine. This might not be typical kids play, but it doesn’t faze Adam. In fact, when asked how he thinks the pair would play differently if his brother did not have Asperger’s, he figures that it would be so different, he couldn’t possibly imagine it.

Adam says that he and his brother are really good friends. When asked “What’s one of the best thing about Asperger’s?” he doesn’t skip a beat. He doesn’t have to remember things because he knows his brother will. We agree that must be pretty convenient. When asked “What’s something frustrating about Asperger’s syndrome?” he lets us know that his brother loves the computer, and it’s hard to get him away from it when Adam wants to have fun instead.

Ask an adult to describe Aspergers and you’re likely to get a detailed explanation, or perhaps a technical one. But Adam Aviram, with his 9 years of wisdom simply tells it like it is. “Aspergers is a type of autism and it’s hard for people to have a good conversation with other people.” We certainly can’t argue with that!

When asked if he thinks his friends notice something different about his brother, he says “Yes.” But it doesn’t bother him and they don’t ask for details. They are however curious about why Adam likes to hang out with children on the autism spectrum during school lunch. That’s when he explains that he’s helping people, and that he’s interested because his brother has Asperger’s syndrome. Like many children with siblings on the autism spectrum, Adam goes above and beyond. He proves that not only is he an excellent brother, but an advocate to those with autism, and perhaps a pioneer of our times.
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Parents are concerned about the family dynamic and the responsibility a child must bear when their sibling has autism. However, they can take comfort that siblings are resilient, open minded and accepting of the situation just the way it is.

Recurring sleep problems in a child with autism can affect mood, stamina, behavior, socialization, and their ability to do well at school or with their work. Having trouble falling asleep each night, talking, waking up once or more per night, waking after too little sleep and staying up all day: it’s a wonder they can perform at all with such a low amount of energy and rest to rely upon. Naturally, this also affects everyone working with the child and those caring for them. Therefore it is in everyone’s best interest to look into different ways to help these children overcome these barriers to being at their best each day.

Some important factors to consider are:

- diet

- schedule

- bedtime and pre-bedtime routines

- exercise (different kinds can have different effects on alertness or a relaxed state in the body)

- recognizing problems that require medical attention

- keeping a diary to record the day and night time observations and progress

- maintaining progress made

There are many available resources to help with this. If you belong to an autism family/parent support group, listen and ask if any other parents have autistic children with sleep problems, and ask them how they are working on it. There are a number of people who may already be involved in the therapies for your child whom you are already consulting or seeing for appointments that you can ask, and they may even have other clients or patients whom they know are successfully making progress with improving sleep. These could include your family doctor, your pediatrician, your naturopath, your child’s psychologist, your speech pathologist, your occupational therapist…the list goes on. There are also accredited sleep centers and support groups that you can look for on the Internet to see what is local or closest to your area.
Movement Disorders
A proper night’s sleep each night that includes enough deep sleep is essential to your child’s happiness and directly affects how well they do each day. It is no different for the rest of us, either; being at our best gives us better access to the best in ourselves, which means we feel better and have more to give, too.

Recent studies have shown that we are amidst what the media is calling a “Worldwide Epidemic” of autism. Based on official figures of ongoing research, one in every one hundred fifty children that are born, is diagnosed with autism. The diagnosed cases of autism have more than quadrupled since the early 1990’s. The studies have also shown that boys diagnosed with autism, outnumber the girls some four to one. Though these statistics are very alarming, nothing could be more upsetting than to learn that a child of your own has been diagnosed with this debilitating affliction.
The National Autistic Society
When a child is diagnosed with autism, the family needs to openly discuss the situation and pull together. That’s assuming that there are two parents and at least one other child. It is this type of situation that can push an unstable family over the edge. By unstable, I mean a family that has poor communication or considered dysfunctional. The result can be a divorce and family separation, and the parents either blaming themselves or each other. Every family is different, and the point is, whoever is responsible for caring for the autistic child, or that are around or “In” the child’s life, must get educated about autism.

Every member of the family needs to contribute some time. The biggest thing about autism is being able to communicate with the child, which is often hard to do. It is often hard to know if your efforts are even getting through. This is why the family needs to take advantage of natural opportunities for communication exchanges and language development. Possible outcomes could be encouraging interaction and initiation of responses in an expressive mode, like vocal, sign, gestures or use of pictures.

Autism is a very complicated and unpredictable disorder, that takes the dedication and determination of the family unit combined to realize any positive progress or development. Education is the key. There have been a lot of new breakthroughs in the understanding of autism. Having a good, up to date guide book about autism on hand will help the whole family have a better understanding of it.
Monty Carlos