TOPIC

I’ve decided to talk about autism. The main reason why I decided to talk about it is that
I’m a teacher and I love dealing and working with autistic children and I would like
people to know what they are like and their feeling, also theirs special needs.

Do you know anything about autism?

Ok let me explain…
Autism is a pervasive neurological syndrome affecting individuals behavior and
communication. I`ve herad that autism has become more common in recent years.
More parents are finding that their children are autistic and require different
consideration and care. Textbooks report that prevalence is between 1in 1000, although
some psychologists say that its 1 in 500 and that it is 4 times more prevalent in boys.

As well as autism no known racial, ethnic or social boundaries, no relation to family

income, lifestyle…

I suppose you are wondering what causes autism, aren’t you?

What I´ve heard is that… there is general agreement that autism is caused by
abnormalities in brain development, neurochemistry and genetic factors.

Do you know what the main characteristics of autism are?

Well…you know? …
Autism impacts in the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and
communication skills. So they find it difficult to communicate with others and with the
outside world.
Also this disorder affects behaviour and sometimes intellectual functioning. Its
common sensory and movement disorders and very resistence to change.
Ocasionally they present aggressive and/or self injurious behaviour.

Let me talk you about that…

50% of autistic children will eventually have useful speech and difficult in conversing
easily with others and in shifting topics. They look away and have poor eye contact.

Do you think communication is easy?...

From my point of view absolutly not…and in addition echolalia is very common in very
young children.
Definir ecolalia.

People say that one of the real signs of autism has always been the lack of social
interaction, failure to spontaneously share enjoyment, interests, lack of reciprocity…

How do you think it makes them feel?

They probably feel frustrated because we don’t understand what they want. And they
have difficulty understanding the feeling of other ( pain, sadness…).
They have a preference to play alone rather than with others.
Some children have abnormal posture and movements of the face, eyes, head, trunk and
limbs. These movement disorders can be detected very early perhaps at birth.

An other characteristic is that changes in their routine are very stressful for them. For
instance some children need particular furniture arrangement, they always need to eat
the same food on the same days, tv shows, and so on…so symmetry is absolutely
essential.

What about intelligence?

Autism occurs in children of all levels of intelligence, from those who are gifted to
those who have mental retardation. In general, the majority of children with autism
present mental retardation mainly verbal and reasoning skills are difficult.

Have you ever heard that autistic children don’t like to be touched? Or dislike loud
noises and bright lights?
So this is a legend/myth. It isn’t true in all cases.
Some Enjoy cuddling family members. On the other hand, some are mainly upset by
touching they are unprepared for.

How is autism diagnosed?

Autism appears during the first 3 years of life but there isn´t a medical test. So
psychologists always use interviews, observation and specific checklists developed for
this purpose.
In some cases, I think, if they had had a timely diagnosis they would have less difficulty
throughout their lives because diagnosis can lead to improving their education, leisure,
housing, social relationship and employment.

Do you think there is a cure?

Unfortunately there isn’t a medical cure. In spite of that, early intervention is very
important like functional academics and vocational preparation, positive behaviour
support, social stories, etc.

Oh, could I ask you something?

Have you got a child?/
How would you feel if you had a child with autism?

I dont know how I would feel in the parent´s shoes, but I think If I were they Í´d
probably feel helpless. As you can imagine, parents must find ways to communicate
better with them. They should observe and learn the non verbal ways that their children
use.
In addition, they need to visit child therapist often and use the specific techniques and
therapies according to the needs of their child.

I think It could be very costly, couldn´t it?

Absolutely! Because they need behavioural, speech, physical and occupational therapy
and sometimes medication (anti anxiety and anti psychotics)
Spanish schools also have good facilities for these children. I will give you an idea of
how we cater for children with autism in ours schools.
There are various strategies that teachers can use to help develop the behaviour,
language and communication skills of children with autism.
For example:
Many children with autism find it easier to understand the world about them through
visual aids. Teacher may use a visual timetable that shows times with a simple drawing
of the activities, so that the pupils know exactly what they will be doing and when and
to help children understand sequences and predict what is happening.

An other strategy that we use with them is a comic strip conversations. This helps
children with autism to understand some of the abstract aspects of social communication
for instance the feeling and the intentions of others. Because they can see visually the
different elements of a conversation.

Other children with autism respond well to drama and role play activities. That helps
them learn social skills, such as greetings, turn taking in conversation, etc. and also to
reduce stress and improve understanding.

Another method is a system of communication based on exchange of pictures. Teachers

use pictures to teach children the names of different objects. Gradually they learn to
exchange a picture for the object he or she wants, to construct simple sentences using
pictures, etc.

So these are some examples of the resources that we use in our schools to help autistic
children.

But what happens to them when they are adults?

Public schools provide services to people with autism until they reach age 22.
After that, the responsibility shifts to the person with autism and family members to find
educational or employment opportunities and appropriate living arrangements.
Some of them maybe go to college or to vocational training, others find a job that
matches their skills and interests, and in other cases, those who are profoundly affected
by autism generally end up staying with their families or in a residence.