Care4autism

Early intervention goes a long way in helping children with autism, has now been proved beyond doubt. As I recall ramam’s initial diagnosis, the umpteen assessments, visits to therapists, coming to terms wih the diagnosis, the innumerable sleepless nights, the will to battle autism, the gamut of emotions are so huge as to last a lifetime. With early intervention we can nurture the young children into autistic adults with certain deficiencies.Yes, of course it is a spectrum disorder.The initial years are so crucial especially working on his fine motor,gross motor, eye contact, eye hand corodination, social and communication skills. The stress is never on academics.The book, a guide to understaning early intervention, early development and care by Suma shastri, IRC,is a well written document   that the emphasises the need for early intervention, the early warning signs,to watch out for.The book also mentions in the various developmental milestones   to be achieved by a child in ...

Early education as put by Rabindranath Tagore should involve two main elements fun and joy. This education should comprise the use of all the five senses and not rote memorizing. In the natural order of learning, children are expected to learn through play where various domains including social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional aspects are taken care of. That is where I think ABT or art based therapy steps in as it gives the child the freedom to do what he likes. It channelizes their creative energy. It is all about participation, parallel talking and fun. Ramam looks forward to his ABT sessions. In my opinion, in an academic session the child is merely taking instructions, while ABT lets the child participate. A little bit of circle time, dancing, painting gives the child a release from the monotony.  One of the most effective uses of art therapy is the ...

The aim of AIT is to help certain specific hearing problems, such as distortions, lack of selectivity, painful hearing, delay in response time, peaks of hypersensitive hearing, etc. AIT involves having subjects listen to electronically modified music through headphones. Each child participates in two half hour sessions per day, for 10 consecutive days. Follow ups were conductd three and six months after the therapy. The theories as to how AIT works, can be explained   a reduction in auditory peaks, a reduction in sound sensitivity, and an increase in attention as well as postulating changes in the middle ear, inner ear, brainstem, and mid-brain. Post treatment it has been reported that AIT has helped some children calm down, have better eye contact and social skills. The treatment has to last for 10days and this is mandatory. AIT does not guarantee improvement in patient undergoing treatment. Younger children in the age bracket 3-4 years are known to benefit more than a 10 yr old c...

We have been very keen to try pet therapy out, but have failed,  having the courage to do so on number of occasions. The deterrents being  the lack of experience, space constraints, additional work load..... These are some of the common excuses, that we give. It has been established beyond doubt, that  animal therapy for autistic children provides the children with companionship, improves their socialization skills, reduces their tantrum levels and stereotypical behaviors, increases their verbal communication....Companionship is a major issue with our kids, so finding somebody accepting of them is very important. This is very true, in the sense many a times when Ramam is on his own,  I wish there was somebody to keep him company. At the least he could play and throw and catch. Autistic kids are known to take on maternal instincts when looking after a pet, feeding them, brushing them. Hopefully...