How to Live with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Practical Strategies for Parents and Professionals

Joanne Brayshaw, Olive Young, Christine Williams

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781846420825
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Index: Psychology

This accessible and valuable introduction to caring for a child with autism is an ideal resource for teachers and members of a child with autism's immediate and extended family. In clear and simple language, with many illustrations, the authors tackle common problems experienced in everyday routines such as eating, sleeping and going to the toilet, as well as how to cope with aggression and tantrums, preoccupations and compulsions and how to enable better communication and socialising. Based on up-to-date research and using many case examples, the authors consider step-by-step why each problem may be happening and suggest a number of solutions.

PART 1

Does My Child have
Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Chapter 1

First Worries

Parents are experts on their own children. No one knows your child as well as you do. If you suspect that there is something wrong, you may very well be right. The difficulty is often in working out what the problem might be, how serious it is and with whom to check out your worries. Many of us discuss these anxieties with family and friends in the first instance and then consult a health professional (such as a health visitor or doctor) if we are still concerned. Often we are reassured and, either quickly or gradually, the behaviours that were of concern to us disappear. Sometimes, however, the child’s behaviour and parental worries remain. If this is the case you may need to consult a health professional again.

What is autism?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that normally becomes evident in the first three years of a child’s life. Current estimates are that ASD including all the spectrum diagnoses occurs in approximately two to seven per 1000 people. It is about one-tenth of this for the severe end of the autism spectrum. This varies depending on which research you read and also in which countries the research was carried out; it is also probably to do with the way the diagnosis is made and the criteria used. It is about three to four times more common in boys than in girls.

ASD affects communication, social interaction, imagination and behaviour. It is not something a child can catch. Parents do not cause it. It is a condition that carries on into adolescence and adulthood. However, all children with ASD will continue to make developmental progress and there is a great deal that can be done to help.

Important points to remember

•There is no fixed pattern for the way in which ASD shows itself.

•There is no specific age at which symptoms first appear.

•Symptoms usually become apparent gradually.

•Specific symptoms vary considerably. The vast majority of children will not have all of the symptoms listed.

•Symptoms vary with age. Some three-year-olds may repeat phrases they hear over and over again, but they may not repeat at all when they are seven.

•The severity of symptoms varies. For example, some children may avoid eye contact almost completely, while others may have only subtle difficulties.

•If your child has some of the symptoms, it does not automatically mean that he has ASD. Many of the behaviours associated with ASD can be due to other things; for example, avoiding eye contact can be due to anxiety; not interacting very well with other children may be due to shyness; delay in language development may be due to hearing difficulties caused by several ear infections.

•Bad parenting does not cause ASD.

Can ASD be detected at birth?

ASD is not a condition that can be detected at birth. Babies with ASD look just as beautiful as all other babies. There are no obvious characteristics and no blood tests to detect the condition.

What might be the symptoms in the first six months?

Again, there are no obvious symptoms. Some babies are very passive, others very restless – no different, in fact, from other babies, all of whom have their own personalities and characteristics. Most parents of children who are later diagnosed as having ASD comment that their babies seemed to be developing normally in the early months, although many parents develop fears that something is not right in the first year of life.

Some families describe very passive babies or distraught, inconsolable babies. These things can of course be due to many things, including temperament. Some describe babies who rarely look at their parentss faces or eyes, or who do little babbling or imitating of their parent’s movements or sounds. These are signs to note and to talk about with a medical professional.

What might be the symptoms at six to twelve months?

Some children may be a little delayed in reaching their milestones, although others develop in the usual way. As a very rough measure, by the age of 12 months children can usually crawl or move about, stand with support, say single words such as ‘momma’ or ‘dada’ and use simple gestures such as waving ‘bye bye’. If your child has not reached these milestones, he or she may develop these skills over the following few months. However, a health professional (such as a health visitor or doctor) may want to monitor your child’s progress. This does not necessarily mean that your child has ASD but may signal other general developmental difficulties, speech and language delay or delay in physical development. As a general rule children should be babbling and using gestures by 12 months, and single words with meaning (other than momma and dada) should be present by 16 months.

What might be the symptoms at 18 months?

In general, first concerns are aroused when a child is aged about 17 months. This is relevant as this is the time that children receive their first vaccinations, and some parents may associate the two events. To date, no link has been found between the MMR vaccine and the cause of ASD and some researchers think that parents blame the vaccine because ASD often first shows itself at this age.

Children should be using two words together with meaning by the age of 24 months and failure to do this, or any loss of language in this period, is a reason for you to see a health professional (such as your health visitor or family doctor). Some children with ASD will have learnt skills which they then appear to lose. In particular, some children with ASD gain and subsequently appear to lose language skills.

There may be many reasons why a child shows some of the behaviours listed in the bax on the next page. If you are concerned, talk to a health professional (such as your health visitor or doctor). He or she will probably do some simple checks and either arrange to see you again over the coming months, or arrange for you take your son or daughter along to see a paediatrician. Paediatricians are doctors who specialise in the development of babies and children. Chapter 2, ‘Assessment’, describes what may happen when you visit the paediatrician.

Causes for concern at 18 months

Your child is:

•not making good eye contact with you.

•not responding readily to her name being called.

•showing very little interest in other people.

•seeming to be in ‘a world of her own’.

•having delayed language development. Children are usually able to use ten words or more at this age.

•losing language. Some children stop using words they had used before and do not learn new words.

•not using gestures such as pointing to indicate she wants something.

•taking an adult’s hand and putting it on things that she wants opened, rather than gesturing, pointing and using eye contact and language.

•not appearing to understand your gestures such as pointing.

•not playing pretend games (for example, playi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Of Related Interest
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Authors’ Note
• Preface
• Part 1 Does My Child have Autism Spectrum Disorder?
• Part 2 How Do Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders View the World?
• Part 3 How Can We Help?
• References And Resources
• Appendix 1: A Template for Making Sense of A Child’s Behaviour and Planning ways to Help
• Appendix 2: Sample Sleep Diary B
• Index