Sunday, April 3, 2011

Significance of month of April

It's Autism awareness day on April 2nd and Autism awareness month throughout April .Let's throw some light on  Autism through the blogosphere.Autism is defined by the Autism Society Of America (ASA) as
          Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. .
    Some of the diagnostic findings in kids with Autism or Autism spectrum Disorder:
  •    The hallmark feature of ASD is impaired social interaction and they tend to avoid eye contact with other people.
  • They have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they have diminished ability to understand the  social cues , such as tone of voice or facial expressions.
  • Some speak in a sing-song voice about a narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the person to whom they are speaking.Some of the higher functioning autism kids may be able to speak or respond as effectively as us .
  • They may have some repetitive movements like flapping the hands ,tapping hands over the head ,rocking their body in rhythmic movements ,yelling or screaming aloud ,parrot like repetitive speech or repeating certain  words.They may also have certain sensory issues related to sounds or vision.For example :They may be afraid of certain noises like a fire cracker's sound or a engine's sound /vacuum cleaner /mixer grinder's sound or may feel discomforted seeing certain visual scenes like a bright light or certain color.
  • Most individuals with autism lack spontaneity, initiative, and creativity in the organization of their leisure time and have difficulty applying conceptualizations in decision-making in work (even when the tasks themselves are well within their capacity)
  • They may not be able to relate to the past experiences or narrate what had happened earlier.For ex:relate it's  past day's experience ,narrate the incidents occurred at school etc
  • The specific manifestation of deficits characteristic of autism change as the children grow older, but the deficits in socialization, emotional expression ,overall development,continue into and through adult life with a broadly similar pattern ,but may not necessarily be the same as it was during the childhood.
        These are just a general list of few of the characteristics and each child is unique in it's own way and cannot be limited to these diagnostic features listed by some researchers.Anyways ,my intention of listing these characteristics were just to create a sense of awareness in those of you who were not knowing what Autism really is about.  Autism is not a mental illness or some sort of contagious disease that people need to stay away from.People need not forbid their kids from playing together with an autistic kid nor allow or encourage their kids to  harass or ridicule them in any way.Let the parents  try to explain their kids why the autistic kids  behave differently ,rather than just themselves acting so immature and being stigmatic . Let them create an awareness in them about Autism in a simple way and explain the importance of showing respect to all the individuals.I notice that some parents consider it as a stigma or  matter of prestige  to mingle with the parents of children with special needs or also allow their kids to play with  these  kids .
     These children  may be lacking so many things a so called 'normal child' may  possess  ,but may also have certain  self motivated skills or talents which may be exceptional.There are a number of autistic artists , small business men, musicians,singers .They may be slow in certain things ,they may not be able to become a professional engineer ,doctor or any other high- fi graduates.But given an opportunity ,they can flourish in their own  way and at least reach up to a level where they can read and write and become responsible independent individuals..They love the air you breathe ,they love the food you eat ,they love the fun and frolic you have ,they love to sing and dance ,even though it's their own unique way.All they need is acceptance into our world ,respect ,love and extra care not our sympathy or ignorance.As responsible parents and citizens ,it's our duty to create a harmonious universe giving a chance for every single child to develop, nurture and blossom in their own way.






20 comments:

Bikram said...

Thank you for sharing :) I did not know many of the things ..

Bikram's

Amrit said...

Raji,

An excellent post. I know a couple of parents who have a child with Autism. Life is very difficult for parents too. They are holding on and handling the stress. Brave people they are.

Mangala said...

Great post, Raji! God bless the Autistic kids and their parents and help them sustain through this all. Every child is special in its own right, and deserves all the love, care and warmth that we can give.

Mak said...

Hey Raji, very informative. Thanks for sharing. Please go through one my posts on Autistic children. Me & my colleague were interested in doing something worth for them.

Please read
http://maks-journy-nevr-ends.blogspot.com/2010/02/children-of-lesser-god.html

anupama said...

Great write up raji!!
i wish that ppl become aware of this conditions and be more accepting and sensible in interacting with autistic kids.

Renu said...

One of my friend had a paraplegic son, life was very difficult for her, but nobody ever saw her complaining, for 20 years she did everything and she used to say that she cant sleep without spending half an hour with him every night, cuddling him and talking..(speaking as he couldnt talk even properly)..that is mother for you.

Unknown said...

Hi raji...its very informative write up about autistic citizens. Myself along with my frnd have visited 'Apoorva center for AUTISM’ a year ago. The Clauses from your blog "they need extra care not our sympathy or ignorance" is a opener for me...which tells me do something for these children.Will work on it shortly.Thanks

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Thanks for posting this - its such a misunderstood condition that I think it is important that we get the message out there.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing. Interesting as well as emotional...

SM said...

good read
sure it will help everyone to understand problem these kids

raji said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
raji said...

Thank you all ..I feel privileged to write about this topic and try create an awareness about autism.

raji said...

@A the stress occurs when people start commenting or seeing them differently . At least the other stress of handling the developmentally delayed kid would be overcome in a few years ;they grow stronger n stronger and become more familiar with the situation.So this problem can be solved only when this awareness is created and people start behaving normally with these kids n parents.

@ DEEPZ..what you could do is just try to mingle with them as normally as you do with others when you see them here n there.I appreciate your efforts to go to Apoorva institute with your friend.Sometimes they also have volunteering for some events.

chitra said...

Raji,
I used to visit a special school for these children and it was amazing to see how the dedicated teachers making them get engaged in some sort of exercises or activities like dance etc. some were even taught how to make candles and paper bags.But I think there is varying degrees of autism in children. Some do not listen, mingle and they keep beating their heads or hands.

raji said...

@chitra ,yes you are absolutely right .There are varying degrees of Autism and some may be associated with other problems too.Some autistic kids may even be totally nonverbal.

@Irfan Thanks for the award.Will publish it soon...

Alka Gurha said...

This post reminded me of a television serial on an autistic child...forgetting the name..very well written.

A Restless Mind With A Sensitive Heart! said...

Hi Raji,

Thanks for sharing all this content.... didn't know much of it.

RESTLESS

Rama Ananth said...

Thanks for sharing this information. People who deal with them need good training, especially teachers, for they should not get frustrated, and be very patient.
I have known parents, and I am amazed at their level of patience, love, and their commitment.

raji said...

@Alka ..me a serial buff..so the name is :"Aapki Antara"in zee..:)

@restless mind and rama thanks for the follow up.

NRIGirl said...

Hello Raji! Just noticed this post but haven't read it yet. The reason I am commenting here is because your latest post does not seem to have an option to comment.

Please check it out and by the way thank you so much for considering Coffee with Jesus an award winning blog.

Will do the necessary to pass it on with a post shortly.

Hope all is well at your end.

~ NRIGirl