| Autism |
| Autism and Your Child |
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Autism is a brain disorder that affects development. People who have autism have trouble communicating and interacting with other people. A child who has autism may seem very withdrawn, may not make eye contact with people, may not talk or play the way other children do or may repeat certain motions and behaviors over and over again.
Signs of autism can vary from person to person. They can also be worse in some people than in others. People can be said to have "low-functioning autism" or "high-functioning autism," depending upon the severity of their symptoms and the results of an IQ (intelligence) test. High-functioning autism describes autism with less severe symptoms, while low-functioning autism describes autism with more severe symptoms. Some of the more common signs are listed in the box below.
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/Avoids cuddling or making eye contact
/Does not respond to voices or other sounds
/Does not respond to his or her name
/Does not talk or does not use language properly
/Rocks back and forth, spins or bangs his or her head
/Stares at parts of an object, such as the wheels of a toy car
/Does not understand hand gestures or body language
/Does not pretend or play make-believe games
/Is very concerned with order, routine or ritual and becomes upset if routine is disturbed or changed
/Has a flat facial expression or uses a monotone voice
/Injures himself or herself or is unafraid of danger |
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•What causes autism?
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Doctors aren't sure what causes autism. Some studies have shown that the cause is genetic (runs in families). Certain medical problems or something in your child's surroundings may also play a role. In many cases, the cause of a child's autism is never known. Boys are more likely than girls to have autism. As doctors continue to study autism, they may learn more about what causes it. |
- Can vaccines cause autism?
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No. Good research has shown that there is no link between autism and childhood vaccinations ("shots") like the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Vaccines are an important part of your child's health. If you have any concerns about the safety of vaccines, talk to your doctor. |
- If my child has autism, does it mean that he or she is mentally retarded?
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Many children with autism are also mentally retarded, but others are not. It can be hard to test autistic children because they do not respond to questions in the same way other children do. An autism expert can give your child special tests that will tell you more about his or her condition.
Some autistic children have special skills, such as the ability to do com lex math problems in their heads. However, abilities like these are very rare. |
- My baby seemed fine. Why does he or she seem to have autism now?
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We don't know why this happens, but approximately 20% of children with autism seem to develop normally for the first 1 to 2 years. Then, these babies experience what doctors call a regression. This means that they lose abilities that they had before, such as the ability to talk. |
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Several treatments for autism are available. Research has shown that very intense behavior and language therapy may help some children. There is no medicine that treats autism itself, but medicine may help with some of the symptoms of autism, such as aggressive behavior or sleeplessness. Talk to your doctor about what kind of treatment is best for your child.
Children don't "outgrow" autism, and it cannot be cured. With therapy, some children may improve as they mature. The individual child's language skills and overall intellectual level may help predict what will happen with his of her case of autism. |
- If I have one child with autism, am I more likely to have another one?
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Brothers and sisters of children who have autism have about a 5% chance of developing autism themselves. There also seems to be a higher risk (10% to 40%) of another disability, such as a learning disability, in siblings of children who have autism.
If you're thinking about having more children, talk with your doctor about whether it would help you to talk with a genetic counselor. |
- What is Asperger's syndrome (AS)?
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Asperger's syndrome (AS) is a condition very similar to high-functioning autism. Typically, people with AS have a normal IQ and some may exhibit an exceptional skill or interest in a particular area. While verbal language development is considered normal, people with AS can have trouble using this language correctly in social situations. They may also have difficulty communicating in nonverbal ways such as making eye contact, understanding facial expressions and using body gestures. General social skills such as developing relationships and adjusting to new situations can also be affected. Even so, people who have AS can often learn how to deal with their difficulties through behavior and communication therapy. |
| Please visit : http://www.dubaiautismcenter.ae/ |
| A Few Sample Goals and Objectives from Dave Sherman's Book Autism: Asserting Your Child's Rights to a Special Education coming out Fall of 2006 |
Sample Goal no. 1 Receptive Language
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Present Level of Performance:Billy, a 4 year old, knows only around 40 words. Most of the words are nouns. Billy, only knows 5 verbs - go, come, stop, run, and walk. He knows only 2 adjectives - big and little. The remaining words that Billy understands are nouns such as Daddy, Mommy, dog, bed, etc. |
Annual Goal and Objective: Billy will expend his vocabulary and learn new nouns, verbs and adjectives and will learn to join words. By the end of the school year, Billy will increase his vocabulary to 300 words and will be able to understand two words in sequence such as big dog, blue chair, go car, boy jump. Billy will be tested using pictures and will respond correctly 8 out of 10 times. |
Sample Goal no. 2 Social Reciprocity - Turn Taking |
Present Level of Performance: Roger, a 6 year old, is functioning at a 3 year old level socially. One of his unique needs is to learn turn taking. At present, he wanders off when standing in line, cannot attend to rolling a ball back and forth with another student for more than 2 - 3 times, and speaks out of turn during circle time.
Annual Goal and Objective: Roger will learn turn taking through adult instruction and peer interaction. Roger will demonstrate appropriate turn taking in 7 out of 10 times with peers and 9 out of 10 times with adults (with no more than 2 prompts.) Staff will collect data twice a month as to Roger's progress.
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Sample Goal no. 3 - Social Skills - Facial Expressions |
Present Level of Performance: Beth is a 12-year-old student with Asperger's Syndrome. Although she is maintaining satisfactory grades in her core curriculum, she has difficulty making friends, and working in groups. Beth has difficulty recognizing facial expressions, and recognizing when someone is happy or angry with her.
Annual Goal and Objective: Beth will learn to recognize facial expressions. In 8 out of 10 trials Beth will be able to identify the correct emotion displayed by facial expressions of a teacher. The student will be given direct instruction using photographs of facial expressions and will be asked to display various facial expressions herself. Student will correctly identify facial expressions in 80 out of 100 trials using photographs.
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Sample Goal: - no. 4 Greeting |
Present Level of Performance: Beth is eight years old. She has not learned to greet people. She does not make eye contact.
Annual Goal and Objective: Beth will learn to make eye contact and greet people as she enters a room. Beth will learn to greet someone 7 out of 10 times when she enters a room with prompting and 2 out of 10 times without a prompt. In 5 out of 10 times she will make eye contact according to data collected bi-weekly by staff.
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