Autism is a disorder that affects the entire person and most often lasts for the lifetime of the person that it affects. Specifically this disorder affects one’s ability to create emotions, memories, sensory abilities, non-verbal communication skills and much more. It affects one in one hundred and fifty individuals of all races and social status; and tends to affect more boys than it does girls.A common description that I have heard among professionals is that many people who suffer from autism can think thoughts but cannot vocalize those same thoughts.Key Symptoms Include the Following:Repetitive Behavior – For example, a young child may seem unusually fixated on a particular toy, constantly arranging objects in a specific way or obsessive about certain things.Lack of Social Interaction – Another symptom is in the area of relationships. Research has found that people who suffer with autism are usually ‘socially unaware’. This means that they are oblivious to the feelings of people around them.Verbal and Nonverbal Communication – By nature, autism is a neurobiological disorder. Hence it affects the manner in which the brain converts thoughts into words. Therefore, a child might be thinking of an answer to a question, but vocalizing it becomes a very difficult task! Non-verbal communication is difficult for many of us who are considered “normal”, so imagine what it must be for one who has difficulty connecting with their emotions – let alone the emotions of others!Limited interests in activities or play – For example, a child might focus on a part of a toy instead the whole toy or play a specific tune on a toy over and over again, rather than play the twenty-nine other tunes on the toy. Also the need for a rigid routine would mean that any new activities are met with resistance.Tell Tale Signs
During early childhood it is not uncommon for parents to have troubling instincts about certain behaviors that their child may display – for example they may not want to be held, don’t look people in the eye, have delayed speech, lack of interest in games or what I call ‘super repetitive play” – where the child only seems interested in one toy – ever, etc. As both a parent and a teacher (as well as one who has an autistic half-sister), please, please, please follow your instincts.Nobody knows your child the way you do, so if your pediatrician says “wait and see” yet you feel strongly that your child needs to be evaluated – do what YOU feel needs to be done. Parents that I have heard from have mentioned some of the following as red flags that got them concerned – their child was ‘not pointing’,'not giving them eye contact’, didn’t seem to be ‘able to focus’, ‘unaware of their surroundings’ or as one lady put it “I just don’t feel like she is connecting with me”.Early Intervention
Early intervention, especially in the pre-school years has been proven (by researchers) to, in many cases improve social, cognitive and communication skills – especially if it is in an educational setting that is tailored to meet the needs of a child with special needs. Remember, for some children, the earlier the intervention, the better!Types Of Autism
A spectrum has been created for autism which makes it possible for the medical profession to accurately diagnose the disorder. The disorders range from mild (Asperger Syndrome) to severe (Autistic Disorder) and can be diagnosed by the age of three and sometimes as early as eighteen months. Autism Spectrum Disorders are categorized based on the degree of impairment that the sufferer encounters in the following areas;o Communication Skillso Social Interactiono Restricted Patterns of BehaviorAsperger’s Syndrome
In 1940, Hans Asperger’s described a set of behavioral symptoms that occurred mostly in his male patients. They all seemed to have normal intelligence and language development, yet they had poor co-ordination and communication skills. In addition their social skills were very noticeably lacking.
Typical symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome include the child being diagnosed much later in life than with typical autism – usually between the ages of five through nine. In addition they are known to have limited facial expressions, obsessive behavior, poor social interactions, difficulty reading the body language of others, odd speech patterns and obsessive routines.In addition to the above, symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome include an unusual sensitivity to sensory stimulii such as lights (that others will not notice as being too bright) or sounds (that others might barely be able to hear.Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder or CDD was discovered by a special educator by the name of Theodore Heller. Children with CDD are said to develop a disorder that resembles autism, but only after two to four years of normal development. In other words, the children unexplainably seem to regress. They lose their language skills,their toileting and self care abilities, their interest in the environment, etc. While the disorder begins to look exactly like autism, the history is very different.Symptoms include increased risk of seizures as well as the symptoms of autism.Rett Syndrome
Rett Syndrome was first diagnosed in 1954 by Dr Andreas Rett, an Austrian Pediatrician. It is a developmental disorder that has a greater tendency to occur in girls more than it does boys. It is caused by mutations on the X chromosome on a gene called MECP2. Symptoms include normal development until six to eighteen months after which there is after which there is a stagnation or slowing down of skills. Following the stagnation, there is a period of regression when the child looses their communication skills and eventually all purposeful use of their hands. Symptoms that follow include the stereotypical hand washing movement, seizures, slowing of normal head growth and disorganized breathing patterns.The disorder can be confirmed with a simple blood test.Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified
Otherwise known as PDD – NOS, is a condition on the spectrum in which one person doesn’t act like another with the same disorder. In other words, John may display some symptoms, while Mary may display something totally different. Also they may often be subject to the same key symptoms, but may be in varying degrees.Due to the very nature of PDD – NOS (meaning that there are no strict symptoms because they vary from one child to another), PDD-NOS is very difficult to diagnose and is therefore often misdiagnosed. Treatment also has to be very specific to the needs of the person in question and may often include alternative therapies such as martial arts and music.Autistic Disorder or Classic Autism
Is sometimes referred to as ‘mind-blindedness’ – referring to the need to be in their own world, lack of social interaction and, limited ability to communicate, a display of repetitive behaviors and distress over changes – no matter how small. Children (or adults, for that matter) who suffer from classic autism are not considered to be “high functioning”.How Does Autism Affect Your Child’s Education?
In many cases, the ‘autistic child’ will be required to be in Special Education classes – where teachers are trained to understand how to deal with the symptoms, autistic tendencies and other disorders. While “inclusion” is the new buzz word in special education, I find that children with severe autism do not usually benefit from it. However I have seen children with autism benefit and even excel in certain subjects; for example, I was observing a business computing class once where the code html was being taught. During a test, the teacher deliberately placed errors in part of the code for the students to correct and re-write. Well there was a young man in the class who corrected the teacher before the test began – and he had Asperger’s Syndrome. His ‘obsessive behavior’ worked out to his advantage – it converted into ‘attention to detail’ resulting in him becoming an outstanding website designer.Weaknesses can be turned to strengths sometimes – and I hope that they will for your child.(c) Copyright Lydia Riddle 2009
Tag Archives: Education
The Business of Education in America
For over two hundred years the American education system has been based on the right of all its citizens to an education. Through this guiding principle America has led the world to expanded education opportunity for women, oppressed minorities, and populations generally. As the world has come to embrace the American philosophy, America is abandoning this core belief and dividing education into the wealthy, who can afford education, and the rest of the country that will not be able to afford it.For several decades, American education was in retreat in the technical areas of science and engineering. To address these deficiencies, technical schools in secondary education and for profit colleges came into existence. They encouraged students not inclined to pursue additional education to enter technical fields and pursue higher education. Students that would not become engaged in a process of learning were suddenly involved. Students who could not make passing grades were suddenly making the A’s and B’s in vocational technical courses and for profit technical institutions.Today, these two areas of education constitute a growing number of successful students actively involved in higher education. Vocational schools and for profit colleges are designed to encourage students to become involved in technical careers, and are often structured without much of the liberal arts training that accompany traditional degrees. There’s been a longstanding disagreement as to whether students should be funneled into specific and very narrow technical educational streams, or weather all students should be forced to obtain a more generalized education designed to move them toward undergraduate degrees and eventually to graduate degrees.Although this disagreement has ragged for several generations, the effect of vocational training and for profit technical institutions cannot be denied. They have successfully moved a large segment of the population into technical careers very successfully. However, in recent months the department of education has begun to take issue with the success of the schools because they cannot guarantee that their graduates will be able to meet income guidelines created to show the success of American education of dollars that are being spent for these programs. Vocational schools and secondary education are being cut across the nation in response to the economic downturn our society is currently facing, and this policy of the department of education. Rather than address the more complex issue of how we can meld traditional, and technical areas of education into a single educational system, federal funding to provide vocational training and technical education is being slashed by the Federal government.At a time when the administration and the business community l recognize the need for a stronger commitment to technical education throughout the country, we are reducing the ability of students to obtain the education loans necessary to pay for their education because we have a fundamental disagreement as to whether there should be more general education in English, literature and the arts, and less a single minded focus on a narrow technical field. This seems to be an argument without merit since both have the single purpose of trying to educate the American public to be competitive in the marketplace of tomorrow. This is occurring at the same time that a recent study has demonstrated that the effect of a college education benefits all students whether it is in their field, general education, or in a narrow technical area. Rather than building on that premise to encourage students across the country to pursue higher education, our focus has turned to the ability of students to repay the loans to banks as the single determining factor as to whether the education was useful. The standard being put forward by the department of education does just that.It focuses their efforts on seeing that students can make enough money to repay the loans, rather than focusing on why education costs are rising so dramatically. Their focus is on making sure that students repay banks. With businesses making arguments that they need to import more foreign workers to meet the growing technical demand of high tech industry, we’re forcing American students out of the educational system as we argue their ability to pay back a bank is the single determining factor as to the quality of their education. This would not be so absurd if it were not for another of movement that is taking place in grade schools around the country today.For people who have money, there is a growing need for private preschools that are for profit in nature to prepare their children for the prestigious schools that select only a handful of American students each year. This for profit model for primary and secondary schools is becoming as popular in United States as it is abroad in countries such as Europe and Asia. Parents of wealth are quick to hand over as much as $40,000 a year to have their children placed in preparatory schools that will prepare them for prestigious colleges. Currently, a number of private investors are putting up as much as $200,000,000 to fund these types of for profit institutions. It is a growth industry that will find a burgeoning market place with in this country and abroad as the division between haves and have-nots in education continues to broaden.These parents have little faith in the public education system in this country. They are putting their money, and their children in the hands of for profit institutions that they believe will make them better able to compete in the highly technical world of tomorrow. As Madison Avenue at the American banking system find a new profitable market, they will exploit it as fully and as completely as they have the traditional American education system, to the detriment of the larger society. Education in this country is becoming a tool of banks and the wealthy and not what was envisioned by the founding fathers or the many men and women who helped create this country over many generations. It is no longer serving the public need and only looks to the needs of the wealthy, and the financial institutions whose profit motive is the single driving force for their existence.While the rest of the world is adopting the American model of an educational system that is the envy of the world, we are abandoning that system to move toward one that cannot serve the nation or the society. If we continue down this road our nation will be forever looking to the educational systems of other countries to provide the technological expertise, and the innovative thinking that will move the world and the society forward. In one breath the department of education for our nation is telling us that for profit institutions do not work and we must regarded with suspicion graduates at any college level from these institutions, while at the same time this same model is being instituted at grade schools and in elementary schools across the nation because there is a growing need for a better education system to meet the standards of tomorrow. However this growing need excludes much of American Society. If we follow this path it will only the wealthy will receive an education in this country.