World Autism Awareness Day: Things to know
The Indian Scale Assessment of Autism estimates that there are approximately 1.7-2 million children with autistic spectrum disorder in India. Despite such alarming figures, awareness about autism is sparse in the country.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Autism Society of America (ASA) defines autism as a complex development disability that typically appears during the first three years of life.
The Indian Scale Assessment of Autism estimates that there are approximately 1.7-2 million children with autistic spectrum disorder in India. Despite such alarming figures, awareness about autism is sparse in the country.
It is tough to diagnose autism until about 18 months; this is the age when experts (and parents) notice persistent worrisome behavior. The best time to start autism treatment is between the ages of one to two years, since 80-90 per cent brain is developed in the first 3 years (36 months) of a child's life. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, it would be more difficult for the child to overcome the difficulties. These months offer a window of opportunity that will not be available later. Early intervention can in some cases even prevent development delays of infants and toddlers with disabilities.
Autism Society of America (ASA) defines autism as a complex development disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills.
Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication skills, social interactions and leisure or play activities. It affects three main areas of development: social interaction and understanding, verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of communication and flexibility of thinking and behavior, including problems with imagination.
Delhi-based Surabhi Verma, Director, Sparsh For Children, a multidisciplinary therapy center for intellectually challenged children explains, "Autism is an extremely complex disorder but we can distil its myriad characteristics into four fundamental areas: rigidities in thinking, speech/language delays & impairments, the elusive social interaction skills and sensory processing challenges. Though these four elements may be common to many children, it is important to remember the fact that autism is a spectrum disorder: no two (or ten or twenty) children with autism will be completely alike. Every child will be at a different point on the spectrum."
Challenges
Acceptance is the most important challenge, as there is a certain mindset of the society towards people with disabilities. Another prominent challenge is the mismatch of expectations between therapists and parents. Not all children are affected in the same way and they will not improve and progress with same speed. It is important to understand that these difficulties are not a form of disease and there is no cure. These are special and permanent emotional and psychological needs of such children.
Many a times there is a social stigma attached to it and many people think that it can be transferred to their children if they play with children with autism. Sometimes they are treated as outcasts and the parents do not allow their children to mingle and play with them. Many a times people tend to stare and make jokes at children in public places and are unusually insensitive towards them.
There is a need to change the perception in the society towards children with special needs and instead of pity, the society should work towards providing equal opportunities to the children with special needs and should not discriminate against them.
Aditi Midha, a qualified Neuro-Pediatric Physiotherapist working at AktivOrtho suggests, "It is important for parents to avoid exposure to factors that may disturb sensory perception such as bright lights, loud sounds, too hot/too cold temperatures, strong smell or sensory over-crowding. Quiet rooms with visual inputs or bright coloured objects/ toys may be used to desensitize such sensory dysfunctions and provide a calming effect on the autistic child."
Common mistakes parents make
Mostly, the diagnosis does not make any sense to the parents and they get confused after hearing so many new jargons. In their helplessness, parents as well as other family members sometime feel that they are being punished by God; which is detrimental for the overall outlook of the parent towards the child and it should not be encouraged at all. Sometimes the parents feel ill equipped to work with their child.
Feeling pity for the children is not productive and many a times if the parents are not able to come out of pity and guilt, they waste precious time in starting the therapies. Another common mistake the parents make is to think that the difficulty will improve with time and the child will be able to recover with age. It is important to understand that time is a crucial factor while working with children with autism. If the therapies do not start at the right age, there are certain behaviors and rigidities that set in, which hampers the overall learning process. Another factor to remember for the parents is that there is no short term cure for autism; hence setting the correct expectations for the therapies and also providing consistent therapies will go a long way in helping the child.
The Indian Scale Assessment of Autism estimates that there are approximately 1.7-2 million children with autistic spectrum disorder in India. Despite such alarming figures, awareness about autism is sparse in the country.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Autism Society of America (ASA) defines autism as a complex development disability that typically appears during the first three years of life.
The Indian Scale Assessment of Autism estimates that there are approximately 1.7-2 million children with autistic spectrum disorder in India. Despite such alarming figures, awareness about autism is sparse in the country.
It is tough to diagnose autism until about 18 months; this is the age when experts (and parents) notice persistent worrisome behavior. The best time to start autism treatment is between the ages of one to two years, since 80-90 per cent brain is developed in the first 3 years (36 months) of a child's life. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, it would be more difficult for the child to overcome the difficulties. These months offer a window of opportunity that will not be available later. Early intervention can in some cases even prevent development delays of infants and toddlers with disabilities.
Autism Society of America (ASA) defines autism as a complex development disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills.
Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication skills, social interactions and leisure or play activities. It affects three main areas of development: social interaction and understanding, verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of communication and flexibility of thinking and behavior, including problems with imagination.
Delhi-based Surabhi Verma, Director, Sparsh For Children, a multidisciplinary therapy center for intellectually challenged children explains, "Autism is an extremely complex disorder but we can distil its myriad characteristics into four fundamental areas: rigidities in thinking, speech/language delays & impairments, the elusive social interaction skills and sensory processing challenges. Though these four elements may be common to many children, it is important to remember the fact that autism is a spectrum disorder: no two (or ten or twenty) children with autism will be completely alike. Every child will be at a different point on the spectrum."
Challenges
Acceptance is the most important challenge, as there is a certain mindset of the society towards people with disabilities. Another prominent challenge is the mismatch of expectations between therapists and parents. Not all children are affected in the same way and they will not improve and progress with same speed. It is important to understand that these difficulties are not a form of disease and there is no cure. These are special and permanent emotional and psychological needs of such children.
Many a times there is a social stigma attached to it and many people think that it can be transferred to their children if they play with children with autism. Sometimes they are treated as outcasts and the parents do not allow their children to mingle and play with them. Many a times people tend to stare and make jokes at children in public places and are unusually insensitive towards them.
There is a need to change the perception in the society towards children with special needs and instead of pity, the society should work towards providing equal opportunities to the children with special needs and should not discriminate against them.
Aditi Midha, a qualified Neuro-Pediatric Physiotherapist working at AktivOrtho suggests, "It is important for parents to avoid exposure to factors that may disturb sensory perception such as bright lights, loud sounds, too hot/too cold temperatures, strong smell or sensory over-crowding. Quiet rooms with visual inputs or bright coloured objects/ toys may be used to desensitize such sensory dysfunctions and provide a calming effect on the autistic child."
Common mistakes parents make
Mostly, the diagnosis does not make any sense to the parents and they get confused after hearing so many new jargons. In their helplessness, parents as well as other family members sometime feel that they are being punished by God; which is detrimental for the overall outlook of the parent towards the child and it should not be encouraged at all. Sometimes the parents feel ill equipped to work with their child.
Feeling pity for the children is not productive and many a times if the parents are not able to come out of pity and guilt, they waste precious time in starting the therapies. Another common mistake the parents make is to think that the difficulty will improve with time and the child will be able to recover with age. It is important to understand that time is a crucial factor while working with children with autism. If the therapies do not start at the right age, there are certain behaviors and rigidities that set in, which hampers the overall learning process. Another factor to remember for the parents is that there is no short term cure for autism; hence setting the correct expectations for the therapies and also providing consistent therapies will go a long way in helping the child.
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