Some of the most upsetting behaviors to parents of children with Autism are self injurious behaviors. They are so hard to understand. We do not like anyone hurting our children. When they are hurting themselves it is even more confusing.

My first reactions to my child’s self injurious behaviors were that she must be in pain herself. Eventually I began to realize it must be something else. That is when I started to search for reasons.

Sometimes I realized my child was hitting herself because she was frustrated. She thought she had made a mistake. She also would hit herself for attention.

Biting herself was a little harder. She could bite herself and leave an imprint of every single one of her teeth in the bruise she left. Biting herself usually happens when she gets so upset that she is screaming. After time, I have gotten better at getting to her before she actually bites. (more…)

I’d like to discuss my feelings about biomedical interventions for Autism and talk about the reasons why I think it is important to begin a biomedical approach for your child. I lecture around the country and talk on these videos on my website about how important biomedical intervention is. But one thing to recognize is that when we look to implement a biomedical protocol whether that is through diet, supplements, etc, we are really assessing the underlying medical issues.

What that can entail is the use of diagnostic testing, urine, stool, blood, etc. in order to look for imbalances. The imbalances could be nutritional like vitamins and minerals, essential fats or amino acids. Or the imbalances could be biochemical or involve digestive problems. Kids may not be digesting their food appropriately and they may have chronic diarrhea or chronic constipation. So regardless of the diagnosis of the child, I think we can all agree that the right assessment is still needed. But often a label of Autism can exclude a child from getting the appropriate assessment for these underlying medical disorders.

First and foremost I want to know what is going on with my patient’s health, as their biomedical specialist. That is the reason for the testing that we use. But that does not mean that I can say that one specific therapy will treat a certain core set of symptoms or eradicate them completely. But, when you address the underlying medical issues of a child with Autism and you look at the diagnostic results and treat accordingly, in many cases you can have an improvement in the individual’s Autism and in some cases it can go away. When we use a biomedical treatment approach what we really are doing is optimizing the individual’s potential. (more…)

Siblings who are in a family with autism present, may have a difficult time for them to relate, understand each other and cope. To assure siblings will get a long with others in the family with autism, requires patience and a huge amount of love.

I believe, if the siblings are taught to be kind and loving, this will encourage them, that when there are mistakes, that are made with the sibling relationships, they will forgive each other.

family with autism in a family with siblings requires everyone to be taught values. For example, consideration graciousness, respect, sharing and concern for others, which will assure the siblings to get along.

As a parent(s) or caregiver, your job is to relate two imperative things to your children. The first thing is– tell your child he or she is special and important and you love him or her as much as you always did and that will not change. The second thing is– to always let your child know, their brother or sister is also special and important and you love them just as much him or her and that will never change either.

Having a child with autism in the family can be challenging for the other siblings to learn how to get along. It is wise never to compare your children to other siblings who are the family. (more…)

Many families I meet just need a little help. Not a lot, just a little help. It goes a long way. Children with Autism need more attention than typical children. It is almost like having a much younger child. Parents have to be constantly ‘on’ like when watching a toddler. Sometimes this toddler is bigger than we are though.

One parent used to say she just needed a little help. She needed someone to pick up her child from school and watch her child until she got off work. At around twelve years old most daycares do not want children. It is just uncomfortable for babies, toddlers, and preteens to be with teenagers. Many people say it is just not healthy.

The parent wanted to work and just needed a little help. Luckily that state’s system for people with developmental disabilities was able to help this child and her family at twelve. This is a parent who was able to remain a tax paying citizen because of a little help. (more…)

Have you ever wondered how you can teach your child with autism to help them succeed? Teaching children with autism to learn with videos and digital video discs (DVDs) can be one of the best materials for learning.

Find out what your child is interested in or where the weak areas for learning are. For example, it may be counting, math, reading, the alphabet, play time, engaging with friends, hygiene, toilet training, getting along with siblings and other family members, brushing teeth, etc. There could be other interests of learning how to draw, ride a bicycle, swim, ride a horse, play baseball, dance, put puzzles together,etc.

Each individual with the disorder of autism has many areas that are strong and other areas that are fragmented. Never compare your child to another child within your family or outside your family. Work with your child to develop his or her strong strengths to them succeed.

Obtain videos, digital video discs (DVDs) from the section for children, in your local stores or libraries,local markets or where they carry these items. You can choose from many selections of various learning techniques pertaining to children with autism. They are excellent learning tools. (more…)

Autism is a neural advancement condition and is characterized by damaged communication and social interaction. Out of every one thousand children, up to six could possibly be autistic. In an c, the information processing capabilities of the brain are altered. How this specifically happens, then again, is not still entirely understood. Due to this fact, parents are concerned. What is the actual reason behind autism- That yet remains unknown. However, many specialists do come to an understanding that there is genetic together with environmental factors involved. Even though genetic factors such as rare mutations are strong reasons for the source of autism, questionable environmental causes such as pesticides and heavy metal have in addition been blamed for autism.

There are many signs which suggest that autism is observed in the kid. Most of the time these symptoms are observed by the time the child is 3 years old. According to a study, the signs of autism cannot be identified in children who are under six months old. Only by the time the kid reaches the age of two or three are the signs established. It’s right that there’s no cure for autism, yet. Nonetheless, you can find a lot of intervention techniques and methods which you can use to assist your baby. With the help of these strategies, your baby will be able to develop social and communication abilities. (more…)

Many refer to it as an epidemic now that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every 110 children born in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, also known as ASD. For boys the numbers are even more alarming, standing at one in 70.

Some suggest this is the result of better diagnosing and record-keeping–plus, in the past, only severely affected children were identified. Moreover, the definition of autism has been expanded to include a range of milder, related conditions, and recently the American Psychiatric Association officially moved Asperger’s into the autism category.

AUTISM FACTS:

• If one identical twin has ASD, there’s a 60%-90% chance that the other will be affected.

• In non-identical twins, if one child has ASD, there’s a 2%-8% chance the other will, too.

• The median age of an ASD diagnosis is between 4.5 and 5.5 years.

• 51% to 91% of the time, developmental concerns are noted before the 3rd birthday.

• Diagnosis is up 10% to 20% annually.

• About 40% of affected children do not talk at all.

• 25% to 30% affected children have some words at 12 to 18 months and then lose them.

• Some children may speak, but not until later in childhood.

• Studies suggest that the cost, over the lifetime of an ASD-diagnosed child, is $3.2 million.

So, of course, we worry. What’s “normal” anyway? Aren’t all kids kind of quirky? Plus, everyone knows you shouldn’t compare one child with another, so… (more…)

In order to be in the best position to help children with Asperger’s, parents/teachers/therapists must be able to understand some key issues that these children deal with.

Theory of Mind

This phrase means the ability to recognize other people’s feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and intentions, and to be able to respond to them appropriately. Children with Asperger’s have a particularly hard time ‘reading’ the other person’s mind/intentions, and therefore struggle in social interactions and relationships. It is because, practically, the child with Asperger’s has no way of predicting how another person might respond to them, and what that person might do next in a given situation.

Executive Functioning

Many people with high functioning autism and Asperger’s have difficulties in executive functioning. This is a technical term referring to a person’s abilities to:

* plan and organize tasks
* monitor one’s own performance
* inhibit inappropriate responses
* utilize feedback
* ignore distracting stimuli

Because of these difficulties with executive functioning, children with Asperger’s can experience major difficulties accomplishing school/work assignments and self-help tasks. (more…)

Do you want the autism symptoms checklist or want to see an autistic child then look at the children who you pass by, but there is not specific symptom you can identify in a child having this disorder.

Observe the children who reside around your place and observe every child you walk past on the street. These children may be having autism disorder. There is no striking symptom that a child is affected by this type of disorder.

Autism is a typical neurological disorder that no body will be able to identify it easily unless you tell them that he or she is autistic. I know parents who have an autistic child and whenever they take their son to a shop or physician, they used to receive looks of disgust to his unusual behaviour. Parents often used to get upset at the criticism from the people who don’t know that autism is the reason behind it. Many times parents dare to fight with people who comment or scold the children with this disorder. But finally the only thing left is to educate people about this problem. (more…)