Autism and Parenting
According to the National Autistic Society (NAS), autism is a permanent and lifetime developmental disorder that interferes with how individuals perceive reality and their interaction with other people within their environment (Lauritsen, 2013). Autism in itself is not an illness or a disease that can be treated successfully through the known conventional means already described. Even though autistic people share certain difficulties and shortcomings, the condition affects them differently. This means that the levels of support, attention and consideration will also vary from person to person; something that has made the condition very difficult to manage amongst family members (Lauritsen, 2013). It is estimated that in every 100 individuals, one suffers from autism with a male predilection (Buescher et al. 2014). Autistic people more often than not never look sick or disabled as people would expect making the condition one of the least diagnosed across the world. This paper seeks to explore the various myths, misconceptions and realities about autism. Furthermore, it seeks to identify various ways and tips that can help parents cope up with this lifelong condition and effectively take care of their autistic children. Lastly, it endeavors to identify effective and early treatments and support for these children and ultimately prevent mistakes that can be detrimental in the long run.
Myths and Realities about Autism
The most common myth and misconception about autism is the belief that it is a mental health disorder (John, Knott, & Harvey, 2017). This myth has been fueled several studies on the brains of people with autism that have revealed either structural or functional problems with their brains. The same studies have also produced results of normal brains both functional and structural in autistic patients. Neurologists have, however, argued that most of these studies have overlooked the fact that most people with autism are more likely to have co-occurring mental health abnormalities that usually necessitate medical attention (John et al., 2017). The reality is that autism is not a mental health disorder, but rather a neurological disorder. It cannot always be treated like mental health disorder and often times require support.
The belief that all people with autism have mental disabilities is also another myth that has led to discrimination of autistic children. The wide arrays of developmental disabilities that characterize autism have made it hard for people to test IQ leading to either underestimation or overestimation of learning abilities (John et al., 2017). Usually, tests designed to capture communication skills and interpersonal analyses of autistic people have produced totally misleading results and interpretations (Buescher et al., 2014). The reality is that there are so many autistic people who have successfully earned degrees in colleges and universities and have succeeded in their respective professions. It is, therefore, not a fact to defend that all autistic people must have mental disabilities.
Other myths about autism include the belief that childhood vaccines cause autism in later life. So many studies to investigate the validity of this postulation by a 1998 study have shown that there is no tangible evidence that vaccines cause autism (John et al., 2017). Additionally, the notion that environmental factors are solely responsible for the development of autism in children is a myth and misconception about the condition. Autism has been shown to have a genetic component with studies showing that parents who give birth to a first born with autism are more likely to have their successive children autistic as compared to parents with normal children. Moreover, in the case of identical twins with one of them being autistic, a 90% chance that the second twin will also be autistic exists (John et al., 2017). Lastly, the view that all autistic people are violent is totally false. Therefore, autistic people can be over-reactive and have emotional outburst and all this has been linked to the fact that these people usually have neurological overload. However, it is not a must that they must be violent. Children and adults with autism have the ability to control their actions notwithstanding the intensity of their emotions.
Parenting Children with Autism
The initial step towards exciting and manageable parenting for children with autism is learning about the condition itself (Dardas & Ahmad, 2015). Autism is a wide and confusing topic to learn and read about to parents. Nonetheless, learning about it if one is a parent of an autistic child or children becomes inevitable. The secret towards learning about it is to learn it slowly and as much as possible. The mere fact that autism cannot be cured can be tormenting and stressful especially if parents or guardians of an autistic patient do not have enough information about the condition. According to psychologists, the more a family knows about autism, the better the care they provide to those affected amongst them (Dardas & Ahmad, 2015). Learning about autism not only reduces anxiety amongst family members, but also creates a favorable environment for those affected to grow and realize the potential.
Parents with autistic children should endeavor to learn the language of their children in order to make parenting easy. Autism often times comes with its unique language, vocabulary, articulation, and way of expression. Through learning the language of autistic children or adults, one can find his or her way into their world and understand them better. Scholars have argued that people tend to feel loved and supported if those around them understand them without having to explain each and everything (Dardas & Ahmad, 2015; Bacon et al., 2014). It becomes more exciting if those taking care of autistic people can actually use their language as this makes them feel loved and appreciated. Therefore, it is not just enough to understand them, but it is also imperative to make autistics people feel loved and appreciated.
Focusing on the positives helps autistic children in the development of positive attributes, behaviors and confidence (Dardas & Ahmad, 2015). Parents should seek to encourage good behaviors through positive reinforcements such as gifts and compliments because just like normal children, autistic children too are responsive to reinforcement. At a very early age, parents should define what they expect from their children, their preferences and dislikes as this will go a long way in helping children develop the desired attributes. Parents should also be flexible to rebuke negativity and undesired character as this is important in cognitive development of the child. Alongside staying positive, parents should also stay unswerving and on schedule. This helps them to integrate what they learn in therapy, application of what is already learnt in different situations and development of a sense of responsibility and time consciousness (Dardas & Ahmad, 2015).
The Right Schools for Autistic Children
The most important things when looking for the right school for an autistic child is the location, accessibility and the general atmosphere of the school (Buescher et al., 2014). Autism that is usually associated with sensory disorders will demand that the school be away from tall buildings, noise, so many students if an autistic child is to learn effectively. The availability of daily help in a school is also a key determinant for admission of an autistic child as they usually need assistance to cope up with school environment (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016). The structure of the school is also important as it speaks volumes about the nature of the school, which include the availability of a visible timetable on display for students to see, the size of classrooms, the lighting, facilities such as washrooms and so forth.
Through numerous initiatives, many schools that target children with special schools have been established across the world (Bacon et al., 2014). In the United Kingdom, such schools include the mainstream schools which offer extra hours of teaching for autistic children on a one-to-one basis (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016). Parents and guardians can be forced to take their children with serious learning difficulties to such schools. Further, special schools that offer educational needs to a wide spectrum of students with special needs are crucial for autistic children. These schools are found across many states in America and their main dedication is to offer learning at an individual level for children with certain disadvantages that can hinder their normal learning in the society. Residential schools are institutions that offer learning to students with special needs 24 hours a day (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016). Some residential schools offer up to 52 weeks a year learning to children while other allow them to reunite with their families during holidays or weekends. These schools through their programs give autistic children a chance to learn peacefully and maximally thus aiding in their mental development and wellbeing.
Early Treatment and Support
A study done in 2009 at the university of Washington revealed that the IQ of autistic children improved tremendously by approximately 18 points with early intervention, treatment and support (Lindgren & Doobay, 2011). According to Lindgren and Doobay (2011), the five year study compared 18 to 30 month old autistic children under therapy and those under no therapy and the outcomes were encouraging; with seven out of the 48 children with autism recording magical improvement in their general skills to warrant a total change in diagnosis. Early treatment and support is key to ensuring that autistic children grow up to become independent (Lindgren & Doobay, 2011).
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one of the scientifically proved early interventions that have significantly changed the perception about autism (Bacon et al., 2014; Schreibman et al., 2015). ABA basically puts emphasis on behavior modification and remediation with the focus on social and physical environment important in the maintenance of behavior. However, ABA is a technical and arduous intervention that requires a trained and qualified psychologist to administer. Discrete Trial Training (DTT) also known as Lovaas therapy is another intervention that focuses on the uses of discriminative stimulus to influence the behavior of autistic children and there after followed a consequence (Lindgren & Doobay, 2011; Schreibman et al., 2015). Indeed, it is suitable for skills that can be learnt as small steps.
Functional Communication Training (FCT) refers to behavioral methodology that seeks to replace inappropriate and inapt behavior with ethical and acceptable behavior through effective communication (Lindgren & Doobay, 2011). With its wide research base, it seeks to reduce behavior and misconduct amongst autistic people while at the same time enhancing social and communication skills and interaction (Bacon et al. 2014; Schreibman et al., 2015). Pivotal Response Training (PRT) on the other hand focuses on using the principle of ABA to build on the likes, preferences and interests of autistic children as a way of enhancing the development of interactive skills, play and public behaviors. This technique is suitable right from school going children to adults as a way of behavior modification.
Lastly, one of the most contentious interventions in autism is the use of medication in the control of symptoms and other behaviors (Lindgren & Doobay, 2011). The role of medication in autism is still a debate although some drugs have shown positive outcomes in some cases since this condition is likely to overlap with other psychiatric disorder. The most commonly use drugs in both children and adults include antipsychotics such as risperidone, antidepressants, such as amytryptilline and anxiolytics, as a way of reducing anxiety and hyperactivity (Lindgren & Doobay, 2011).
Conclusion
In summary, autism is not a rare condition as it occurrence over the recent years has gone up. Its epidemiology should be a wakeup call for the society to invest more in early treatment and support of autistic people, to differentiate myths and realities about it and provide favorable environments for their accommodation. Autism is not entirely curable, but it is treatable and manageable.
References
Bacon, E. C., Dufek, S., Schreibman, L., Stahmer, A. C., Pierce, K., & Courchesne, E. (2014). Measuring outcome in an early intervention program for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: use of a curriculum-based assessment. Autism Research and Treatment, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/964704
Buescher, A. V., Cidav, Z., Knapp, M., & Mandell, D. S. (2014). Costs of autism spectrum disorders in the United Kingdom and the United States. JAMA pediatrics, 168(8), 721-728.
Dardas, L. A., & Ahmad, M. M. (2015). Coping strategies as mediators and moderators between stress and quality of life among parents of children with autistic disorder. Stress and Health, 31(1), 5-12.
Gunn, K. C., & Delafield-Butt, J. T. (2016). Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder with restricted interests: A review of evidence for best practice. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 408-430.
John, R., Knott, F., & Harvey, K. (2017). Myths about autism: An exploratory study using focus groups. Autism. London: Sage.
Lauritsen, M. B. (2013). Autism spectrum disorders. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 22(1), 37-42.
Lindgren, S., & Doobay, A. (2011). Evidence-based interventions for autism spectrum disorders. The University of Iowa, Iowa.
Schreibman, L., Dawson, G., Stahmer, A. C., Landa, R., Rogers, S. J., McGee, G. G., … & McNerney, E. (2015). Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions: Empirically validated treatments for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(8), 2411-2428.
