Laura’ s Place
Laura’ s Place
Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder( ASD)
After thirty years of working with families who have children with challenging behaviour, Laura passionately believes that the more information and understanding parents have about the underlying causes of their child’ s behaviour, the better the outcome for the child.
Nicole is currently undertaking a Master’ s Degree in Autism and has undergone extensive further training in this area with Tony Attwood( Australia’ s leading expert on ASD), Sue Larkey and Anne Chalfant.
This article has been written by Laura Kiln and Nicole Ennis – Oakes, from Laura’ s Place( Wamberal), to introduce an educational experience designed especially for parents whose children have a unique sensory brain, otherwise known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger’ s Syndrome, or simply ASD.
Our new” Understanding Autism” workshops have been strategically designed to help and support parents of children on the Spectrum to guide their child through the journey of learning new skills whilst helping them reach their full potential.
So your child has been diagnosed with Autism … now what? You’ ve likely sat waiting whilst your child has undergone various assessments with psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists or paediatricians. You’ ve been worried about your child for some time, or the diagnosis has come as a complete surprise. No matter how prepared you were, there may still have been a sense of shock or grief when the diagnosis was confirmed. You may worry whether the information you provided was an exact account of your child’ s behaviour, or whether you overstated their behaviours. For some, the diagnosis brings a sense of relief after being told their child is“ naughty”, needs discipline, or alternatively that there is nothing wrong. All emotional responses are normal, however what does a diagnosis of ASD mean for you, your family and your child?
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a lifelong developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment, and their interaction with other people.
Although no two children with ASD are the same, most have:
• Challenges with communication and social-emotional reciprocity such as( a) inconsistent use of appropriate eye contact to regulate their communication; or( b) they may become confused by language and take things very literally( too literally).
• Narrow interests – for example, they might collect odd things or play only with certain toys, often appearing obsessed with things or having a very intense interest in them.
• Repetitive behaviour – for example, they might make repetitive noises like grunts or throat-clearing sounds; or do things like flicking a light switch repeatedly, opening and closing doors, or play with their favourite toy / s in the same way each time. Children with ASD are often undersensitive or over-sensitive to taste, touch, smell, visual stimuli and / or sound. For example, they may be easily upset by
certain sounds, or will eat only certain foods. They may seek out moving objects like fans or flutter their fingers to the side of their eyes to watch the light flicker between them. The variations between each child on the spectrum are vast and each child has their own unique profile.
Early Intervention: Why and What? Researchers in the treatment of ASD emphasise the importance of early intervention. This is because very young children have extremely malleable brains that can be trained easily and learn quickly. Therefore speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology and social skills groups are essential to help ASD children express themselves effectively and emotionally regulate in a socially appropriate manner, enabling them to become active members of the community in the best way possible.
At the same time however, many parents worry about the day-to-day issues of how their child is going to get through school; what school should they attend; and how will ASD impact their child’ s development throughout the teenage years and into adulthood? Will they be happy, loved, employable, get married
32 KIDZ ON THE COAST