12 - Interrelating Problems: Autism

Autism is a neurological brain disorder in which behaviour, communication, and social interactions are severely disrupted. Autism is caused by an underlying physical dysfunction within the brain or central nervous system. The chief difficulty for a child with autism seems to lie with processing information. The brain in autistic people does not function normally, and the required messages about the outside world are not sent or are mixed up. The world and its signals are confusing to them.

Autism is a disorder one is born with; a genetic component is at work. It is not due to poor parenting skills. True autism appears before the age of three. Symptoms vary greatly from individual to individual. Many mildly autistic people have probably never been diagnosed. People with autism range from mild to severe. Social and communication skills can in the severely autistic be almost nonexistent. In early years some autistics show little interest in bonding with their parents. They may resist being hugged and may want to avoid physical contact or even eye contact. They do not respond normally to the senses—sounds are not heard, words carry no meaning, and background noise is deafening to them. They appear to withdraw from sensory stimulation. Often anything outside the routine is threatening and, therefore, they resist environmental changes. They appear to withdraw from sensory stimulation. Some have inappropriate attachments to objects or engage in obsessive or repetitive behaviours such as rocking or head banging. Unfortunately, their obsessive behaviour does not break the barrier of unexpressed emotions. Autistic people pay little attention to many things, but they overreact to others. They may appear not to respond to injury or obvious danger. Autistic people 1do such things as repeat words back to people, have tantrums, or get extremely upset for no apparent reason. They are sometimes picky eaters. They have strong preferences regarding clothing. Most children with autism do not explore and seem to lack curiosity.

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Although autism is a lifetime condition, with special training, supervision, and support, many adults with autism can live and work in the community. Early intervention is very important. Parents can contact the Autistic Society for support and assistance. Be wary of people advertising miracle cures, or interventions that don’t have a lot of hours one-on-one. In programs with intensive one on one therapy, the child is constantly told to focus or pay attention as some simple task is performed. Sometimes these children develop strategies to remind them to focus and pay attention such as pointing at the teacher to get them to look at the teacher and concentrate on what the teacher is saying. The autistic child may also have to be taught appropriate gestures. For example, when most people ask the question, “Are you going over there?”, they reinforce what they are saying by pointing with their index finger. The autistic child must be taught these gestures. Interventions that use any kind of aversion or punishment must be avoided because the autistic child is not a child who is being naughty. With an intensive program, some autistic problems can be reduced by the time a child enters school.

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