My Child has been diagnosed with Autism

1. MyChildhasbeendiagnosedwithAutism. Whatshouldwedonow? An Autism diagnosis can have a varying impact on many parents’ life. Many questions come up in our minds: When will my child be cured of Autism? Willmy childleadanormal life? What will his future be like? Whatisthebest treatment? Let’sunderstandwhatAutism is andwhatare thefirstfewthings todo afteryourchildis diagnosed withautism.A childisachildfirst;thediagnosisdoes notdefineachild. WhatisAutism? Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder, usually recognisable by the first 2 years of a child’s life. Children with Autism may have difficulty with social interaction and communication skills. Somecommonsymptoms observed are Lackofeyecontact Havedifficultyin usinggesturesorunderstandinggestures Difficultystayingon topicwhentalkingoransweringquestions mightbedifficultforsome children Repetitive behaviours like hand-flapping,rocking,jumping,etc Fixationsoncertainactivitiesorobjects Some children have specific routines or rituals, and they get upset when a routine is changed Extreme sensitivitytotouch,light,andsound Fussyeatinghabits Lack of coordination, clumsiness Impulsiveness(acting withoutthinking) Aggressive behaviour, both with self and others Shortattentionspan Whatare thethings todoafteryourchildis diagnosedwithAutism? Understand yourchild’s communication – observeyour child andseehow hecommunicates his needs.Some children dragthe parentorcaretaker tothe place where snacksor toys arekept,while some kids may point to the items they want. Every time the child tries to communicate his needs, name them and give them to them. Create needs for the child to communicate and help him communicateinamore meaningfulway.Youcanspeak tothespeechtherapistabouthow towork onimproving your communicationskills

2. Understand yourchild’ssensoryneeds– Children with autismperceivethings differently.Their senses are normalbut may be over-sensitiveor under-sensitive tocertain senses.Our understanding ofthe child’s sensory needshelps us toknow why thechild reacts tocertainstimulidifferently. Structure the environment – A child with autism will work well if the environment is structured. Use a lotof visualschedulesto letthemunderstand whattheyareexpectedandgetthemto visualise whatwe communicate withthem. Early Intervention – Many pieces of research have proved that early intervention for children with autism has shown improvement in communication and behavioural problems. Most of the Early Intervention programfollows a multidisciplinary approach where 2or 3professionals work together towards the development of the child. Parental involvement is also integral in Early intervention programs. Do not wait – I have seen many people waiting and hoping that the child will outgrow the problems andgetbetterashe growsolder.Theearlier you meetthe specialist,the better the paceof development Keep the faith and do not give up – It may not be possible to predict how the child will be 10 years from now or 20 years from now. Each child will learn at a different pace. It’s important to focus on oneskill atatimeandbe consistent. Commoninterventionsthatarerecommendedare: ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis)– ABAuses evidence-basedtechniquestoimprove socially appropriate behaviour.ABAtherapy helps inimprovingcommunication skills,socialskills,playskills anddailyliving skills. Speech Therapy – The speech therapist will focus on developing communication. Inability to communicate leads to many behavioural problems in children with autism. A speech therapist will be abletohelpyou workwithyourchildtodevelop communicationanddevelopingsocial skills Occupational Therapy – The occupational therapist works on improving functional living skills, fine motorskills,gross motorskills,playskills,andvisualskills. Sensory Integration Therapy – Sensory integration therapy involves working towards the imbalances inthesensesandintegrating thesensestoaidnbetterlearninganddevelopment Play Therapy – A child learns through play and the play therapist work on teaching the child to play appropriately.Ithelpsinimproving social andemotional skills RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) – RDI works much better when started very young. They startwithdevelopinga socialrelationship withthe parentsandother family members.