Definition : It is a neurodevelopmental disability with brain showing normal growth and the
child presenting with the following featuires :
1 . difficulty interacting with family members or any stranger.
2 . compulsive need for specific routines and pattern through out the day
3 . obsession with areas of interest, subjects, and items.
The international communities lists it among five top notch pervasive developmentakl disorder with communication, language and speech deficits and limited vestibular senses & propriooception.
FACTS ON AUTISM :
-It is third most common disability after cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
- about 4 lac children and adults are suffering from autism in United States.
- male to female ratio is 5:1
- 1 in 150 child births in US suffer from autism.
-majority of children are of less than 3 years.
- socioeconomic and geographical location have no bearing on the incidence of autism
TYPES OF AUTISM :
1 . Childhood integrative disorder:
Age at onset is 2 years.
Clinical features: inability to speak or inarticulate speech.
Limited social movement or communication
Loss of bowel or bladfder control
Decreased normal body movements
Decreased intelligence quotient.
Seizures.
2 . Autism spectrum disorder:
These children represent with high IQ, PROBLEM socializing people, repetition and limited interest in activities.
3 . Autism awareness autism : is a complex develop[mental disability that typically affects in first three years of life and effects com,munication and intervention.
4 . Atypical Autism : is a pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.
TREATMENT MODALITIES IN AUTISTIC STUDENTS
Therapy with the very young often focuses on speech and language training, special education, parent education, training and support and pharmacotherapy.
Older children and adolescents with poor social skills and psychiatric symptoims may
Require psychotherapy, behavioural and cognitive therapy, and pharmacxotherapy.
• BEHAVIORAL THERAPY: 1. Assesment of basic language and learning skills.
2. structured behavioural interview.
3. Pairing with the child.
4. Gaining instructional control.
5. Reinforcement.
Behavioral modification : is a major part of the overall treatment for autistic students.
These procedures include Enhancement and reduction.
ENHANCEMENT i.e., rewards emphasizing appropriate choice.
REDUCTION i.e., extinction,time-out,punishment.
Therapy in the home is their natural environment. And it's important for autistic children to receive services in their natural environment because it's often hard for them to understand that the same behaviors are expected of them at home and at school and everywhere else. On the other hand socialization is also important and children don't get much of that when they're kept at home.
• SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING :
* LANGUAGE AND SPEECH TRAINING: The methods are being developed to help increase spontaneous language usage, that maximizes the autistic child’s communication :
1. auditory integration training
2. use of facilitated communication.
The latter been disavowed by many professional organizations. Often parents and even siblings know what the child wants before he asks for it. We had to pretend like we didn't know. We were his in-home speech therapists. Sometimes when Braden wanted something he would throw a fit to get it. It was hard, but we had to wait until he communicated appropriately before we gave him the item he wanted. We had to stop enabling him and we had to start rewarding him for communicating properly.
Fading the prompt means to use your gesture or action less and less, fade it out. As time goes on your child will learn what to say in different circumstances. Using the example above, a few months later you may only need to look at your child with a wide eyed inquisitive look and then he remembers to say "I want a drink" all on his own. That's fading the prompt.
Use Every OpportunityThe speech therapist works with you, the parents, as well as your child. Using all his/her knowledge as a speech and language pathologist isn't going to help much if you're doing something totally different at home, or worse yet, doing nothing at home. You will become educated and you'll learn to "generalize" everything at home that your child learns while in therapy sessions. Consistency is important. Your autistic child needs to learn that this stuff isn't just expected of him while in therapy, but also at home, school, the store, and everywhere else.
• DIET SUPPLEMENTS: Minerals and multi vitamins, mainly Vitamin C
• MEDICAL INTERVENTION : Pharmacotherapy is sometimes used to ameliorate the target behaviours which include hyperactivity, tantrums, physical aggression, self injurious behavior, stereotypies, and anxiety symptoms e.g.obsessive compulsive behaviors.The following can be used as modalities in pharmacotherapy :
1 . Neuroleptics : haloperidol may be used in diminishing generalized behaviours . When used on a short term mimnimal dosage, doesn’t produce any side effects.
2 . Tricyclic anti depressants: clomipramine is useful in reducing compultions and stereotypies in autistic children.
3 . Cerebral stimulants : SSRIS, and clonidine may also be used to treat autistic children.
• BIOMEDICINE: Biomedicine and biomedical treatment are often employed for a number of conditions that include: autism, Asperger’s, allergies, asthma, learning disabilities, speech disorders, auditory problems, sensory processing issues, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, heavy metal toxicity related diseases, tics and seizures as well as many other gastrointestinal disorders and adverse reactions to some vaccines.
• Biomedical treatments for autism are in a group of therapies that treat the underlying biochemical imbalances and deficiencies in the body that may cause autism or autistic-like symptoms. They are whole body treatment approaches based upon the idea that abnormalities like hormone imbalances, vitamin deficiencies and environmental pollutants cause autism symptoms.
• These autism biomedical and alternative treatments are not backed by science and many of them are cause for controversy. In fact none of them are proven in the scientific realm. But then science hasn't given us a whole lot to go on since they've yet to find the cause or cure for ASD's. Science doesn't back every form of therapy. Some, including music therapy, contain too many other variables to positively identify whether or not it's effective from a scientific standpoint. In those cases I don't put a whole lot of stock in science because I've seen things work for my son that were not scientifically proven. Loving parents (and grandparents) can have a HUGE impact on their autistic child. Can science measure that? Let's face it, loving parents can have a HUGE impact on any child.
• Autism Biomedical Treatments
• • Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
• • Chelation
• • The DAN! Protocol
• • Gluten Free Casein Free Diet
• • Vitamin B12
• • Valtrex
• • Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
• • Adult Stem Cell Therapy
• • and more.
• ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: Acupuncture, Reiki,etc.
• NEUROLIMINAL TRAINING.
• WEIGHTED PRODUCTS : Mswiring of the sensory integrative system in the brain.
• HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY : Such hyperbaric centres utilizing the pressurized oxygen filled chambers or tubes are seen functioning in California with outstanding results. I've heard of a couple different methods for HBOT but the most common method seems to be placing your child inside a small chamber where they lay down and relax. Oxygen is supplied to the chamber for a determined amount of time. The rationale behind using hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a treatment for ASD is that the treatments increase blood flow to the brain and with that increased blood flow an increased amount of oxygen is delivered to areas of the brain, which are thought to be oxygen deficient. Greater amounts of blood and oxygen to the brain stimulate cerebral tissues and aid in recovery. HBOT is also thought to reduce excess fluids and swelling of brain tissues which aid in neurological function. HBOT would certainly be classified as an unconventional autism biomedical treatment.
• Chelation (key-lay-shin)
•
• More commonly used to treat lead poisoning, chelation is also thought to help people with autism. It can be administered intravenously or with oral supplementation. Many parents who choose to chelate their child will use supplements that can be purchased over-the-counter. Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) is one of several chelating agents that is available. It enters the bloodstream and bonds with heavy metals. When the EDTA exits the body, usually in stool, the mercury is forced out with it. The rationale is that some autistic children have an unusually high amount of heavy metals in their bodies, especially mercury, which triggers the symptoms of ASD. And removing those metals will aid in recovering the child. Again, it's an unconventional autism biomedical treatment.
• The DAN! Protocol
•
• DAN is an acronym for Defeat Autism Now which is a project of the Autism Research Institute. You might say DAN doctors think outside the box. They may use certain methods with certain children, but each of those methods may be different. It's not uncommon for a DAN doctor to use nutritional supplements, special diets, and detoxification with their patients. Their thought is that autism is a biomedical disorder, not necessarily psychological and they treat it accordingly. Essentially these doctors are licensed health care providers who have attended a pair of two-day trainings. There is no further credentialing, testing, or follow up. Doctors then sign the philosophy statement and pay an annual fee.
• Gluten Free Casein Free Diet
•
• This strict diet basically eliminates wheat and dairy products from the body. This is one of the alternative treatments my wife and I tried with our son for a while. It can be difficult and costly but some parents claim it has worked wonders for their children. It's based on the belief that a child may be allergic to gluten and casein, which may be triggering the symptoms of autism, or at least contributing to them.
• Vitamin B12
•
• The belief here is that nutritional deficiencies are possibly causing autism, or causing the symptoms of ASD to be more severe. Vitamin B12 and autism biomedical therapy to the rescue! Apparently B12 is an essential vitamin for healthy brain function. It helps to manufacture the protective layer surrounding nerves in the brain, and in addition it helps the brain to produce neurotransmitters, which are vital for communication within the brain. When taken intravenously, proponents believe B12 increases the absorption of essential nutrients into the body. This aids the nervous system leading to improvements in behaviors of autistics.
• BEAN -BAGS CHAIRS
• OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
• PHYSIOTHERAPY
• EDUCATION : The most successful educational model at present is TEACHH (Programme for the treatment andeducation of Autistic and related communication handicapped children). The following treatment principles are emphasized ;
1 . objective measures suchj as CARS (CHILDHOOD AUTIOSM RATING SCALES).
2 . enhancement of skills and acceptance by the environment of autism-related deficits.
3 . use of interventions based on cognitive and behavioural theories.
4 . use of visual structures for optimal education.
5. and multidisciplinary training for all professionals working with autistic children.
