Autism treatment | Signs of autism

Choosing an Autism Diet For Recovery

2009-05-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

The road to autism recovery begins with diet. That is, making calculated omissions and additions to food choices is the first step to improving children's health and well being. Certain food substances (most notably gluten and casein) are known to be problematic, and should be avoided - and other foods rich in healing nutrients are beneficial when added to children's diets. Attention to these factors is intended to balance biochemistry, affect systemic healing, and provide relief of autism symptoms. In simple terms, these are the underlying tenets of diets for autism.

There are many "autism diets" to choose from and deciding how to begin nutritional intervention can seem overwhelming. Ten years ago, it was a simpler choice-do diet! And, "do diet" meant do the Gluten-free Casein-free Diet (GFCF). Eliminating gluten (the protein in wheat) and casein (the protein in dairy) was the primary focus of diet for autism for many years, and provides many positive benefits. Since then, significant advances in biomedical nutrition research and mom-centric anecdotal data have resulted in broader dietary strategies for autism.

Now, one has to decide which diet to do. This can inhibit even the most recovery focused parent from getting started. Parents hear "You need to do this diet," or "my son improved on that diet." Because each diet has its group of supporters, parents whose children did well with a particular diet aptly tout it. How can there be so many varied opinions? It's because every person is different-each has unique biochemistry, genes, environment assaults, and eating preferences. A diet that helps one child, may not be the best for the other.

The most popular autism diets are:

• Gluten-free and casein-free diet (GFCF)
• Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD
• Body Ecology Diet (BED)

Gluten-Free Casein-free Diet (GFCF)

Does your child crave milk?
Does your child only eat wheat and dairy foods?
Does your child seem spacey after consuming gluten or casein, and agitated before?
Are you just beginning to look at diet for the first time?

When parents decide to "do diet," they typically begin with GFCF. There are many good books about it, and the food marketplace is increasingly GFCF friendly. This diet entails the removal of all gluten and/or casein containing foods. Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and commercial oats, and casein, the protein found in dairy.

When ingested by children with a compromised digestive tract and weakened immune system, these proteins can cause gut inflammation, pain, and digestive problems. If the protein is not properly broken down during digestion, it can form opioids (opiate or morphine-like compounds). The properties of gluten and casein can lead to digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, as well as foggy thinking and inattentiveness for many children with autism.

According to parents (Autism Research Institute survey), a gluten- and casein-free diet is helpful for 65% of children with ASD, even though a food sensitivity panel may or may not have shown a reaction to these foods. Therefore, I typically recommend a gluten- and casein-free trial period-often beginning the diet by removing first one, then the other.

Most of the foods containing these offending proteins are easy to identify. While following the GFCF Diet, you'll need to avoid any breads, crackers, pasta, or bakery items made with wheat and other gluten grains, and all dairy foods such as milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and cream. Some sources are not that apparent:

• Soy sauce (except gluten-free soy sauce)
• Potato chips and fries (often dusted with gluten during processing and not listed on label, ensure they are gluten-free by checking with the company in the ingredient list)
• Malt (derived from barley)

When beginning the GFCF diet, be careful not to introduce a bunch of GFCF junk foods such as cookies, candy, and chips. Even though they don't include gluten or casein, the sugar can feed yeast, imbalance blood sugar, and disregulate energy. Remember, diet is more than just the removal of offending foods - attention must be placed on ensuring healthy and nutritious food intake.

GFCF is a great diet to follow when beginning nutritional intervention for autism.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)

Does your child have chronic diarrhea?
Does your child have an inflamed gut, maybe even been on steroids?
Have you tried GFCF to no avail?
Does your child have trouble digesting grains?
Does your child have dysbiosis (pathogenic yeast or bacteria)?

The SCD diet involves the removal of all complex sugars: everything except honey and fruit sugar, including the removal of maple syrup, cane sugar, agave nectar, brown rice syrup and more. SCD also removes all starches and all grains, including potatoes and sweet potatoes. This diet allows: meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, certain beans, all non-starchy vegetables, and fruit. This is not a low carbohydrate diet but a specific carbohydrate diet that focuses on non-starchy vegetables, fruit, honey, and certain beans for carbohydrates and avoids other sugars and starches.

SCD is the second most commonly applied autism diet, and 66% of parents say it is beneficial for their child (ARI ratings). It is very helpful for those who have inflammatory bowel conditions and chronic diarrhea, although it can help constipation too.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet aims to reduce gut inflammation and aid healing by "starving out" the bad gut bugs and avoiding foods that require carbohydrate digesting enzyme that are often in short supply. By eliminating problematic foods, the bugs can't feed. Because it is more restrictive than GFCF, parents don't usually begin dietary intervention with SCD. However, if there is a significant inflammatory gut condition, some will go straight to SCD.

SCD is often applied when doing GFCF is not enough and digestive problems still remain, or if someone needs to further evolve the diet to see any additional benefits. A variation of SCD is the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) diet, created by Natasha Campbell-McBride, M.D. It includes the essentials of SCD, plus the addition of wonderful principles such as fermented foods and homemade broths.

While SCD diet is not inherently casein-free, It is recommended that SCD be done casein-free until someone is certain that casein is not a problem.

The Body Ecology Diet (BED)

Does you child have persistent candida?
Does your child have harmful bacteria in the gut?
Does your child have bad smelling stool or gas?
Does your child sometimes act drunk, spacey or have maniacal laughter?
Does your child seem itchy or yeasty in any "moist" areas of the body like elbows, knees, or crotch?

The Body Ecology Diet is an anti-candida diet focused on clearing up yeast and dysbiosis (imbalance of bad bugs in the gut). BED is often called BEDROK (Body Ecology Diet Recovering Our Kids) in the autism community. BED incorporates the principles of proper food combining, acid/alkaline balance with low acid-forming foods, low/no sugars and limited starches, easily digestible foods, fermented foods, and other solid nutrition recommendations to clear up candida overgrowth and support health beginning in the gut.

BED allows only a few grains such as quinoa, millet buckwheat, and amaranth (when properly soaked)-restricting more starches and grains than GFCF. In addition to being gluten-free, BED is rice-free, corn-free, and soy-free. Foods such as rice bread, gluten-free pretzels, and rice pasta are not allowed on this diet. BED allows casein, but can be done casein-free. I always recommend going casein-free (on any healing diet) until you are certain that dairy is not an issue.

If you child has candida, BED may be for you. Though it requires that the child eat vegetables as the food combining aspect allows meat with vegetables and starches with vegetables but not meat and starch together. BED may be challenging if a child is picky and does not have a varied diet.

Like SCD, this diet is beneficial for helping reduce dysbiosis and restoring good flora balance in the gut. However, these two diets conflict with each other as they rely on very different underlying principles. SCD removes certain sugars and all starches, while BED removes all sugars and certain starches. Even if someone chooses a different diet, many of the Body Ecology principles can be also be applied, such as the inclusion of fermented foods, soaking grains, and consuming more non-starchy vegetables full of minerals and alkalizing to the body.

Getting Started

Now that we have discussed three effective autism diets and problematic food substances, where does someone start? Typically GFCF or SCD is recommended. Sometimes, based on the diet of the individual, doctor may suggest BED instead-for example if a child has significant yeast over growth and is currently on GFCF (which may filled with too many sugars and starches), but the child will eat vegetables, doctor may suggest BED. Additionally, doctor may suggest just adding fermented foods, soaked grains and nuts, and more vegetables-several BED principles, but not the full Body Ecology Diet.

The most important dietary principle is to start. It sounds simple, but start somewhere - even with the most simple thing - such as getting rid of all artificial ingredients - and then progress.

Source : Ezine Articles, author Julie Matthews, a top US biomedical autism diet/nutrition specialist and Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Practitioner, helps parents recover children from autism. She is a parent/physician educator and creator of "Nourishing Hope for Autism: Nutrition Intervention for Healing Our Children" (Book) and "Cooking to Heal Autism Nutrition and Cooking Classes" (DVD). Visit http://www.NourishingHope.com to study autism diets and view video presentations.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Matthews

Others articles you may want to read Exploring Treatment Options for Patients with Autism and Teaching Autistic Children Effectively.

Activities For Autistic Children

2009-01-05T03:20:00.000-08:00

Please can you offer some activity-based suggestions and PE/games options for autistic children that they can do at home or at school. Looking at two age groups here 7 – 10 and 11-16.

Parents, teachers, and other caregivers often get so caught up in educating and providing structure to the lives of autistic children that they forget that, above all, he or she is a child. Like any other child in his or her age group, your autistic child wants to have fun. While some activities may not be suitable for those suffering from autism, there are a number of fun games to play with autistic children, many of which can get them involved with others or help them further develop motor or social skills while just focusing on having a good time.

Autistic children in the elementary school age range can benefit greatly from song. Even children who do not verbally communicate with words can learn to hum along or play simple instruments, such as tambourines or whistles. Using sounds that are repetitive and with educational lyricshelps autistic children learn school lessons but also gives them an outlet for some of the sensory stimulation they need, such as yelling. Play follow the leader with the instruments to help the children focus their attention and improve socialization skills.

Depending on how mature your child is, he or she may also not only be able to participate in regular childhood games, but greatly benefit from them as well. These activities, including tag and other games, can be learned more easily than you think. Stick with games in which the autistic child is not forced to have close physical contact with other children, as this may be hurtful for autistic individuals. Also, remember to play to your child’s strengths or what he or she wishes to learn. If he or she has a problem with yelling inappropriately, for example, encouraging him or her to be involved with a game of hide and seek may help curb this behavior.

Autistic children often wish to be included in games with non-autistic peers, and so this may help with the learning process. At home, focus on games that involve closer contact with trusted family members. For example, make it a game to get across the room without touching the floor. Perhaps the only route in some instances is to be carried. Remember that each child is different developmentally, so stay in tune with how challenging the activities should be.

As your child matures, he or she may want to be involved with organized sports. This should be encouraged, but choose your sport carefully. Golf, baseball, and other sports that do not involve strong personal sensory stimulation may be better for your child than something like tackle football. However, be open to all possibilities. Be sure the team’s coach understands your child’s disability and is willing to work with him or her.

At this later developmental stage, also continue encouraging learning activities. Sensory games work well to further teach these children, and as they mature emphasize the importance of appropriate behavior as you are playing these games. Using things like water balloons in games your child already enjoys is often as fun for children with autism. Also realize that an autistic individual has trouble seeing things from another’s point of view. Therefore, they may be less likely to enjoy games in which something must be kept a secret from another person (like go-fish).

Overall, you and your child need to grow together. Remember that although he or she has many special needs, sometimes your child needs to simply be a kid as well. Encourage play along with work, and realize that games and activities for autistic children may fulfil two key elements, socialization skills for life and learning to enjoy playing with their peers.

About The Author

Rachel Evans has an interest in Autism. For further information on Autism please visit http://www.essential-guide-to-autism.com/autism.html or http://www.essential-guide-to-autism.com/blog/2006/10/03/activities-for-autistic-children/.

Managing Tantrums in Autism Spectrum Disorders When Consistency

2009-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

When dealing with tantrums and difficult behaviors in autism spectrum disorders, using behavioral approaches alone can sometimes fail. What is the missing piece to managing these behaviors that a behavioral approach alone may not address?

To start, we need to look at the reasons for behavior. According to behavioral approaches, most of the behavior we see results from one of three reasons: a request, seeking attention, or a sensory reason. Let's look deeper at these three reasons for behavior and the ways we currently handle them.

Handling a request is fairly straightforward. To put it very simply, a request is usually something externally controlled by both reinforcing appropriate requests and not reinforcing inappropriate ones, such as a tantrum.

For negative attention-seeking behaviors, we can eliminate the behavior by not giving the negative behavior attention and give attention for desired behavior - very straightforward, and again, usually externally controlled.

The sensory reasons arise from both the external and internal events that a child experiences through the five senses, and may or may not be externally controlled. In all of these situations, our internal responses - our feelings and thoughts about events fire us into action. In stressful situations, the resulting "knee jerk" reactions are often difficult to manage with a purely behavioral approach for a few reasons:

1. Thoughts and feelings are often lightning-fast, internally-controlled events, therefore difficult to manage through external behavioral modifications.

2. Thoughts and feelings can't be measured, and as a result, behavioral approaches simply don't address them. It doesn't mean that these things don t exist or aren't important. It just means that they're left out of the equation.

3. Behavioral approaches address the cause and consequence of behaviors the beginning and the end. But internal responses (i.e. thoughts and feelings) happen in the moments between the cause and the consequence. By not dealing with thoughts, feelings and solutions at these moments, we leave a child to figure out solutions on his or her own.

4. Children on the autism spectrum have a limited ability to adapt to new or changing situations, solve problems, compare past to present, or see possibilities. Because of this, if a child never learns how to think through a challenging situation during the emotional moments, when faced with it again, the same behavior will probably repeat itself, no matter what the consequence, or how many times they've been through it before.

This situation calls for tools to deal with overwhelming thoughts, feelings and strategies in the moment before the tantrum, not just consequences after. In the book The Explosive Child, Ross Greene talks about this situation. This book applies to any disorders that have limitations in problem solving and executive thought, including all PDDs, such as Asperger's Syndrome, PDD-NOS, and all autism spectrum disorders. ADD, ADHD, and various other developmental disabilities also share these problem-solving / executive thought issues and can benefit from using this approach, according to Dr. Greene.

In the book, first we pick our battles carefully, and then talk through our thought process out loud. This way our children can hear us think through situations before tantrums. This also creates a memory of how they triumphed in the situation without resorting to negative behaviors.

Progress is made in small increments, but as time goes on, tantrums should decrease, and you can even start to ask your child to contribute ideas about solving problems during those emotional moments. In doing this, you help your child learn how to solve problems and become confident about handling new, changing, or challenging situations. You'll combine the best of all worlds, to the benefit of your child.

About The Author
Sandra Sinclair is a parent of a child with PDD-NOS. Sandra assists parents of children with autism spectrum disorders to create a life that they love - life by design, not demands - through her 6-step program. She is also author of Newly Diagnosed Autism Spectrum - A free mini-course with 7 clear steps you can take to help your child with Aspergers, Autism, PDD-NOS, and other autism spectrum disorders. http://www.autismvoice.com/blog/7StepstoHelpChildrenwithAutism.

Seven Steps To Organising Your Autistic Child

2009-01-02T23:26:00.000-08:00

There are a hundred reasons why you should organise yourself and your autistic child. But it was best put by the US writer, Florynce R Kennedy who said ‘Don’t agonize, organize.’ If you don’t organise yourself you are going to be dealing with all kinds of problems such as lost papers, untidiness, being late and many others. So here are seven ways that you can very easily organise yourself so that you can cut the number of problems that you have during the day.

1 – Make a Schedule
Don’t underestimate the benefits of putting onto paper the things you have to do. This is a very straightforward way of creating a list of the important things you need to do, the time and date you need to do them. If you can keep this up to date and actually use it then it will become one of the most useful sheets of paper in the house. You can also create a schedule for you autistic child. This can list all the things that they need to do such as the morning routine, or the activities that they have during the week. This helps to give them tremendous security in knowing what will be happening from day to day and what will be expected of them.

2 – Organise the Important Stuff
Organise all the important things in one easy convenient place. This means all the papers such as school papers or medical papers and everything that is important for caring for your child. It also means all the medication, or medical equipment, all the therapy equipment or toys and so on. If you put them in a single safe place and make sure that whenever you use them they get put back then you will know where it all is. The other benefit to this, especially if you have younger siblings that like to explore important papers, you can find a place to put them and lock it away so they don’t get damaged or lost.

3 – Organise the House
It is very pleasant to walk down in the morning to a tidy house. If you let everything in the house have a place to go then it becomes a lot easier to actually pout everything away. This means you should get store boxes and tubs for toys, make closet space for items that need to be stored away, throw away items that you really don’t use or store them if you aren’t going to use them for a while.

4 – Take care of the important stuff
If you can take care of all the important things then you don’t have to worry about them. A great example of this can be making the house safe so that you don’t have to worry so much about accidents or what happens if your child goes into a room they are not supposed to. If you sort all the important things then they you are less likely to have something serious go wrong because you have already sorted it.

5 – Preparation
One of the best ways to deal with problems is to be prepared. You would be amazed if you knew how a little information could make an enormous difference in the outcome of a problem. Good preparation starts with knowing what you are going to do, knowing what might go wrong and preparing yourself for whatever may happen. So if you are going on a trip and can find out what the traffic or weather might be like then you may have just saved yourself from being stuck in a 10-mile traffic queue or heavy thunder. If you know the types of things that your autistic child is going to need when you go out then you could save yourself a lot of agony when they get hungry when you are 20 miles from the nearest food outlet.

6 – List the Important Stuff and Stick it in The Most Obvious Place
There may be 5 to 100 important things you may need to know, such as you child’s Doctor’s name and telephone number. If it was stuck somewhere obvious, such as on the refrigerator then every time you needed to know it, there it is. You know all the important numbers, names and items that are really useful to have right there in front of you when you need them.

7 – If You Can’t Do it Then Get Somebody Who Can
As parents of autistic children, it may seem like we have to multitask and do everything humanly possible but realistically we are not all super human and there are lots of things that we can’t do. From fire safety to finding the right clothes for your child, if there is something that you really need to do, but don’t really know how, then get someone to help you do it. If you can afford it then get people in to save you time, like cleaners. If you can’t afford it then don’t be so shy to ask for one of your friends or family members to help you. This will save you time and effort and is bound to pay off in the long term to getting you organised.

About The Author
Ben Sidman is a Parent of an amazing autistic child and founder of http://www.autism-support-community.com - an informative and friendly web site for parents with autistic children.

Child Autism Behaviour

2009-01-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

Autism is a developmental disorder and the specific cause for autism is not known. It is believed that some biochemical imbalance would have caused autism and some believe that it is a psychological disorder. Children with autism cannot communicate their feelings and emotions properly. Such children find it difficult to socialize. They communicate only to get their needs and not to socialize.

Autism behaviors include lack of proper response to social and environmental stimulations. Communication in a child with autism would be minimal and there would be no eye contact and the child would be in its own world and the response would be very slow. These are some of the autism behaviors that can be noted. There are many therapies available for treating such children.

To treat such autism behaviors nutritional supplements are given. Vitamin B12 is one such supplement that is given to improve autism behaviors which are odd when compared to a normal child. To improve autism behaviours they can be given educational therapies in which the child is motivated to respond to the social and environmental changes promptly. It is not easy to make a child with such autism behaviors to learn a task. They will interrupt the process and they might be aggressive towards other people to avoid learning any new task.

Magnesium in the form of intramuscular injections is given to improve autism behaviors. Usage of vitamin B12 to improve autism behaviors would usually give good results in 2 to 4 weeks time. Some children will take more than 3 months to improve their autism behavior. Dimethylglycine (DMG) is found to be very good in improving autism behaviors like lack of proper speech. This also improves better eye contact and frustration tolerance.

About The Author

Balaji .B

For more information related to autism in childrens, pls visit http://www.natural-treatment-guide.com/childautism/childautism-intro.html webpage for more details. Online version of the above article is located at http://www.natural-treatment-guide.com/childautism/autism-behaviors.html

Teaching Autistic Children Effectively

2009-01-01T03:39:00.000-08:00

Teaching children is always a challenge, but it can be especially difficult when trying to effectively reach an autistic child with a learning disability. But while it is hard, teaching autistic children effectively is not impossible if you follow a few simple tips. It doesn’t matter if you’re a parent who home schools your child or a teacher with an autistic student in class – the following article will offer some helpful tips that you may be able to implement in your next lesson.

One of the most important things to remember is that children who suffer from autism are usually unwilling to accept change in their lives. They tend to fight change vigorously, and so for that reason it is important to have a well-established routine regarding your teaching methods.

If you are a teacher in a classroom, then you undoubtedly already have an established routine. But for a parent who is home schooling, the routine can be harder to establish and keep. Do not modify the schedule if at all possible, whether for convenience or other reasons. Sticking to a set schedule will help meet the expectations of your child, and will help keep an effective learning environment.

Speaking of learning environments, the one in which you teach an autistic child should be straightforward and simple. Avoid having distracting visual images in the teaching area unless they are relevant to the lesson at hand. As autistic children are easily over-stimulated, these distracting elements will compete with the lesson being taught for the child’s attention.

It also may be a good idea to incorporate multiple modes of delivery into your teaching lessons. It is no secret that some children respond better to certain mediums than others. This is also the case with autistic children, except that these disparities are accentuated. Because of this, it is important to find a mode of delivery that works best of your child. Don’t be surprised if this mode is visual. Sometimes, offering simple illustrations or representative symbols tied to a learning concept can be a great way to reach an autistic child.

You should also give an autistic child enough time and space to process the information you are trying to teach them. This is especially important if they appeared to be frustrated or on the verge of losing patience. Move away from the subject, either by moving to a new one or taking a break. When the child has had ample time to process the information, then you can return to the lesson, likely with much better results. Pushing an autistic child when they become frustrated will simply not work, and should be avoided.

Offering choices is also a good way to stimulate an interactive learning environment with the child. Don’t simply present an answer and ask the child if it is right or wrong. Present a group of answers and ask the child to pick the one they think is best. This will also keep the child feeling in control, and reduce frustration blowouts.

While teaching autistic children can be very difficult, it is not impossible. Employing the aforementioned tips will give you a great start to a successful lesson.

About The Author

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter for more information on autismat http://www.essential-guide-to-autism.com/?source=is. You can also find out more about the varying signs and symptoms of autism by visiting http://www.essential-guide-to-autism.com/autism.html?source=is.

What Are The Treating Mercury Poisoning Autism Links?

2008-12-28T03:30:00.000-08:00

Even with a significant amount of research and studies being conducted examining the connection between mercury and autism, many people still do not fully understand this connection, or whether a connection even exists at all. This is due to the highly conflicting nature of these studies and published information. This article will attempt to clarify the treating mercury poisoning autism link.

Before we can truly understand the connection between mercury and autistic children, it is important to clarify what exactly autism is. Without delving into too much detail, let’s just classify autism. In that case we’ll say that, like ADD and ADHD, autism is a neurological disorder, or ND. Essentially this means that autism is a disorder affecting the nervous system. This becomes important when we learn that one of the main causes of neurological disorders is believed to be heavy metal poisoning, such as that from mercury and aluminum.

In recent years, the number of children being diagnosed with autism and other neurological disorders has rapidly increased. And while the reason for this is hotly debated in academic circles, one theory claims that the increase is due to significantly more exposure to heavy metals such as mercury for today’s children. The claim is that there are increased levels of mercury in our food, water, and air.

But can mercury really be targeted as a cause for autism? To many people, the answer is an unequivocal yes. They believe that an increased exposure to such heavy metals at a very young age is what is causing this recent spike in the diagnosis of children with neurological diseases like autism.

Is there a Treatment?

There is a new form of autism treatment that is currently gaining a lot of momentum. Known as biomedical treatment, this method attempts to solve autism by rectifying the root of the problem – the physical condition of the nervous system. This is contrary to the common opinion of experts that autism is a psychological disorder, because the outwardly visible symptoms all indicate as much. However, the theorists in support of biomedical treatment argue that these symptoms are simply a by-product of an unhealthy nervous system, making autism a physical disorder.

The ultimate goal of biomedical treatment, then, is to rid a child’s body of toxic substances, and to begin to mend already-existing harm done by toxins. However, this method of treatment is not universally considered an effective medical treatment. Despite this, there are many popular treatment programs based upon the biomedical treatment school of thought. And while slightly different in their approach, the goal of each is to rid the body of unwanted toxins, and to increase levels of healthy nutrients.

Once again, this treatment method is not universally accepted in medical circles. But, it is gaining momentum, and a good chunk of the supporters are parents who claim to have seen positive results in their child as a result of treatment. Because of this, the treating mercury poisoning autism link may very well be worth looking into.

About The Author

Autism And Potty Training Techniques - How To Help Your Child Succeed

2008-12-28T03:27:00.000-08:00

It can take a lot of hard work and patience to successfully potty train an autistic child. However, ensuring your child is potty trained is a very important step in the developmental process, for any child. Autism potty training, however, may bring about a sense of foreboding to parents of an autistic child. But this doesn’t always have to be the case, as we explore in this article.

The first thing you’ll need to understand is that some of the universal rules that apply to potty training a child are not always applicable with an autistic child. Rather, they require some adaptation from their original form to become relevant. It is also important to remember that patience and determination are both prerequisites when attempting to undergo this challenge. It will not be easy, and will take some hard work.

Another thing you will need to remember is that autistic children do not react to positive reinforcement as you might expect a non-ASD child to act. Because of this, you can’t count on utilizing prizes and rewards to get your child to learn. And if you can’t count on a consistent reaction, it may be best to abandon this tactic altogether.

It is also very important that you take the time to effectively communicate the importance of using a bathroom or toilet to your child. This is because a child with autism simply might not understand the importance of the matter. One smart idea to accomplish this might be to use visual references instead of verbal references. You can use simple illustrative guides that show the step-by-step process. You can buy books or flash cards for this purpose or you could make your own. It doesn’t matter how you choose to address the problem, however it is vital to communicate the importance of why big boy and girls use the bathroom, which may be an especially difficult concept for an autistic child to understand.

Yet another obstacle you may encounter is the fact that children with autism have a difficult time knowing when they need to use the bathroom. This is probably the number one reason that accidents are common. The best way to overcome this is to set up a routine. Using a timer or a clock, have your child go to the bathroom at the same time every day. This shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish, as autistic children are generally prone to wanting routine anyway.

While you should be resolute in your commitment to helping your child, it is important to bear in mind that children with autism do not willingly and readily accept change into their lives. So, don’t become frustrated or disheartened if you don’t achieve your desired results soon. If your child does not respond positively to one strategy, then don’t be too unwilling to try another. If you’re determined to achieve success from the onset, then you will help your child master this very critical step in the developmental process.

It is true that autism potty training might not seem to mix without eliciting some negative emotion, but this needn’t be the case. Follow the above tips, stay flexible in your approach, and you should get the positive results you’re looking for.

About The Author

Exploring Treatment Options for Patients with Autism

2008-12-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

Although there is no known cure for autism, a combination of specialized treatment and education programs can often help many patients. The most common autism treatment options involve both occupational and physical therapy. Occupational therapy helps improve independent function and teaches patients basic skills such as buttoning a shirt or bathing - while physical therapy involves using exercise and other physical measures such as using massage and heat in order to help patients control body movements.
Other common autism treatment options include:
" Behavior modification
" Communication therapy
" Dietary modifications
" Medication

Behavior modification:
There are several methods of behavior modification that are used to treat autistic patients. Most behavior modification principles are based on the theory that rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated than behavior that is ignored. For instance, Sensory integration therapy is a type of behavior modification that focuses on helping autistic patients cope with different sensory stimulation. The treatment may include having the patient handle materials with different textures or listen to different sounds.

Play therapy is yet another type of behavior modification used to improve emotional development. Play therapy most often helps patients understand and cope with their own feelings and involves adult-child interaction that is controlled by the child. Along the same lines, another behavior modification technique called "social stories" can also prove helpful in improving an autism patient's undeveloped social skills. Using social stories helps a patient better understand their feelings, ideas, as well as the points of view of others, and may suggest to the patient an alternate response to a particular situation.

Communication therapy

Many other alternate treatment options for autistic patients involve the use of communication therapy

Communication therapy is used to treat autistic patients who are unable to communicate verbally, or to it may be used to initiate language development in young children with the disorder.

Today, clinical studies show that Video Modeling Therapy Programs are highly effective in teaching children with autism. One such program entitled "Special Kids" (www.specialkids.com) was pioneered by a father of a boy with autism, Special Kids maintains a distribution to over 500 different school systems within the USA as well as 30 different countries. The program helps children with a variety of developmental, cognitive and learning disabilities acquire speech, reading, writing, early academics, personal hygiene, self-help, social and play skills.

Another program, called 'Safety Harbor' is the brainchild of two school therapists, Anne Pesacov and Betty Dixon, as well as teaching artist Emily Harris. This series of eight workshops is designed to teach social skills to children with Asperger's syndrome through the use of puppets. To learn more about puppet-assisted relationship therapy, contact Betty S. Dixon of Tampa at (813) 431-9790, Emily Harris of Tarpon Springs at (727) 934-5890 or Anne Pesacov of Safety Harbor at (727) 738-9232.

The use of music has also proven to be an effective communication therapy for autism patients. Professor Tony Wigram. Head of PhD Studies in Music Therapy at the Institute for Music and Music Therapy at the University of Aalborg, Denmark has authored several books on the subject. He has concluded that since music therapy can be easily adjusted to an individual child's strengths and weaknesses it is often quite helpful in improving patient's deficiencies in social and communication skills

Yet another alternate treatment option for patients with autism is the use of Dolphin Assisted Therapy. The foundation of the Dolphin Assisted Therapy program in dates back to Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Black Sea. This field of medicine has shown extraordinary results in relation to the conventional methods of treatments such as prescribed medication.

An overview of Dolphin Assisted Therapy is available at : http://www.dolphinassistedtherapy.com/

Dietary modifications

Autism is not caused by diet so the use of dietary modifications and supplements to treat the disorder is somewhat controversial. Changing the diet or adding vitamin supplements may improve digestion and eliminate food intolerances or allergies, which may contribute to behavioral problems in autistic patients.

Scientific Researchers have discovered the byproducts found in wheat, oats and rye (gluten) and casein (protein in dairy products) have appeared at elevated levels in patients with autism. This may suggest that the digestion of these substances may affect brain function. However, eliminating foods that contain gluten and casein from the diet may cause side effects and should not be done without the advice of a health care practitioner.

Studies have also shown that vitamin B, magnesium and cod liver oil supplements (which contain vitamins A and D) may improve behavior, eye contact, attention span, and learning in autistic patients. Vitamin C has been shown to improve depression and lessen the severity of symptoms in patients with autism.

The DAN (Defeat Autism Now) Protocol is another dietary modification program gaining popularity.

The protocol involves a combination of changes to the diet and implementation of vitamin supplement therapy in order to produce changes in autistic behaviors. These diet changes include eliminating certain dairy and grains while supplementing the patient's diet with the vitamin and mineral therapy.

An overview of the DAN Protocol is available at : http://autism.about.com/cs/medicaltreatments/a/danprotocol_2.htm

Medication

Medication may be also be used to treat various symptoms of autism and can also be used to help other conditions that may accompany the disorder.

Depression, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and anxiety may be treated using antidepressants. These drugs often reduce the frequency and intensity of repetitive behavior; decrease irritability, tantrums, and aggression; and improve eye contact and responsiveness.

Benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium®), lorazepam (Ativan®), and alprazolam (Xanax®) can also be used to treat behavioral problems. While antipsychotic medications such as clozapine (Clozaril®), risperidone (Risperdal®), olanzapine (Zyprexa®), and quetiapine (Seroquel®) may decrease hyperactivity, behavioral problems, withdrawal, and aggression in autistic patients

Stimulants such as methylphenidate (Ritalin®), amphetamine (Adderall®), and dextroamphetamine (Dexedine®) may also be prescribed for autism. These drugs may increase focus and decrease impulsive behavior and hyperactivity in patients.

It's best to consult a medical expert before considering any medications as the patient's medical history needs to be taken into consideration as well as possible side effects.

About The Author

Born in Oklahoma, in 1951, Karen L Simmons had her first book published in 1996. The book, Little Rainman, Autism Through The Eyes of A Child was written to raise awareness about the early detection signs of autism and has sold over 10,000 copies worldwide to parents and educators of these special children.

Autism Today is your #1 shop for all your Autism and Autism Spectrum disorders. Look us up at AutismToday.com.

ABA Autism Treatment Method

2008-12-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, is one of the most universally popular treatments for children with autism. In fact, most experts agree that the Applied Behavior Analysis method is the most complete and powerful treatment available for children within the autism spectrum disorder. The following article will provide a brief overview of ABA autism treatment methods, as well as some resources that you can utilize.

Applied Behavior Analysis has been around for quite awhile. In fact, it was all the way back in the early 80’s that ABA began to be widely considered as one of the best treatment methods available. True to its comprehensive label, ABA provides training for a multitude of situations and scenarios.

Applied Behavior Analysis attempts to always use pro-active methods of teaching. Essentially, this means that ABA attempts to find a positive action to teach in a certain situation, instead of simply teaching a child what not to do. The program focuses on the appropriate behavior to display in a certain situation. This is one of the reasons why ABA is considered such a great teaching tool.

ABA also covers a wide range of ages. And while the early intervention portion of the program receives significant accolades due to the great amount of time researching and studying its effects, ABA provides ample material for autistic children of all ages, making it a tool that can be continuously used over a period of time.

Applied Behavior Analysis, like you may expect, is not a simple or easy process by any means. ABA takes work, and a little patience and dedication from those in the life of an autistic child. But, the effects of this hard work are visible and significant, making it well worth the effort.

Resources

There are a lot of really good resources available to you if you’d like to learn more about ABA. The most overarching and detailed resource is probably The Association for Behavior Analysis (http://abainternational.org), which has a wealth of information about ABA, it’s methods, and studies of its effectiveness. http://Behavior.org, and http://shapingbehavior.com are also really good resources for finding out more information.

Also, doing a quick Internet search will also probably turn up a great deal of information on ABA. And if you’re thinking about using the ABA method of treating autism, it is important to pick a behavior analyst that is a good match for your situation. Due to the complex nature of ABA training, it is not recommended that parents attempt to home school their children using the method, though they will obviously play a very important role in the development of their child regarding the ABA method. There is a registry of certified behavior analysts; so doing a quick search for approved experts in your area may be a good place to start.

Again, Applied Behavior Analysis is not easy. But effective results are very possible with a little time and patience. Look into the previously mentioned resources for more information on ABA autism treatment.

About The Author

Signs of Autism

2008-12-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

Children with autism do not follow the typical patterns of child development. In some children, hints of future problems may be apparent from birth. In most cases, the problems become more noticeable as the child slips farther behind other children the same age. Other children start off well enough. But between 18 and 36 months old, they suddenly reject people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had already acquired.

As a parent, teacher, or caregiver you may know the frustration of trying to communicate and connect with children or adults who have autism. You may feel ignored as they engage in endlessly repetitive behaviors. You may despair at the bizarre ways they express their inner needs. And you may feel sorrow that your hopes and dreams for them may never materialize.

But there is help-and hope. Gone are the days when people with autism were isolated, typically sent away to institutions. Today, many youngsters can be helped to attend school with other children. Methods are available to help improve their social, language, and academic skills.

Autism is found in every country and region of the world, and in families of all racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. Emerging in childhood, it affects about 3 or 4 people in every thousand and is three to four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder, however, tend to have more severe symptoms and lower intelligence.

Lets see if your kid has got the followings :
A. Total of six (or more) items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3):
1. Autism Autistic Kids qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
(a)Impairment in the use of multiple non-verbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction (b)Failure to developed relationships appropriate to developmental level
(c)A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)
(d)Lack of social or emotional response

2.	Autism qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following:
	(a)	Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gestures or mime).
	(b)	Without adequate speech, marked impairment by in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others.
	(c)	Repetitive use of language or words or phases.
	(d)	Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level
3.		Autism restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
	(a)	Autism encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus.
	(b)	Autism apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
	(c)	Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements or with an object)
	(d)	Autism persistent of liking an object, movements with sound.
(B)	Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset around 2 and half of age to 3 and half years old:
	1.	Social interaction,
	2.	Language as used in social communication, or
	3.	Symbolic or imaginative play (playing or talking some form of outer space words or cartoon's words or play).
		.

Symptoms of Asperger's include: impaired ability to utilize social cues such as body language, irony, or other subtext of communication; restricted eye contact and socialization; limited range of encyclopedic interests; preservative, odd behaviors; didactic, verbose, monotone, droning voice; concrete thinking; over-sensitivity to certain stimuli; and unusual movements.

All these are the symptom of autism and we have the treatment for these entire problem. You have to spend enough time for the intensive treatment in order to get good result, it varies from 1 month to 6 months or more for intensive treatment (remedies, remedy).

Some of the Autistic kids that is difficult to get near to 100 % cure is that they stared late on themselves more then 11 years old some, and others are too stubborn, but we still gets major improvement about 80-90% or so until they can get easy living in their life.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/autistickidscure/ and http://www.geocities.com/specialkids_my/

Understanding Autism

2008-10-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Autism, which is sometimes also referred to Childhood Autism, Early Infantile Autism, or Kanner's Autism, is caused by some neurological malfunction that causes marked delays in the development in the areas of communication and social interaction. Autism is a developmental disability that often occurs during the first three years of a child’s life. Autism, generally, affects the perception, attention, and thought of a person, though, it normally occurs at a younger age.

Autism isn’t an easy disorder to diagnose. Diagnosing autism is a very subjective process, though the DSM IV lists specific criteria that must be met for a formal diagnosis of autism.

Autism has been known as one of the most severe neurological disorders affecting children for about fifty years, but until recently, it was considered to be fairly rare, affecting less than one in 1000 people.

According to figures published by the Department of Education, the incidence of autism and diagnoses of autism have risen a staggering 800% since 1993.

It would be easy if there was a standard treatment for all children with autism spectrum disorder, but unlike disorders like diabetes, there is no ‘best’ treatment for ASD. Since the mid-90s, there have been numerous anecdotal reports that treatment with secretin results in amazing and immediate improvements in many autistic children and adults. Amongst the commonly used treatments are behavioral interventions, medication, and lifestyle and dietary changes.

What causes autism?

Autism is a brain disorder the etiology of which is not yet understood, which means, in basic langauge, the cause is not yet understood. There are lots of theories, and a lot of debate about the reasons for autism, and much of it is involved in the controversy surrounding exactly how common autism is, and whether or not there’s been a noticeable rise in actual cases of autism in recent times.

For mothers and fathers, one of the most crucial pieces of information is that autism is not a psychological illness. Specialists quite specifically dismissed the worrying theory that autism is brought on by the absence of a nurturing mother, but the belief still exists in some circles. If your child suffers from autism, don't worry, it is not due to the fact that you were a inadequate parent

The gene connection

There is a great deal of research that implies a gene-related cause for autism. For example, the rates of autism in the public is approximately 1.5 in 1000, but families with one autistic child have a 5 percent chance of having another autistic child. In fact, the majority of autism experts think that autism is the most likely to be inherited of all the neurobiological disorders. The most persuasive evidence is the studies completed involving twins. Studying twins can help to identify a genetic link for a condition by analyzing the differencein frequency rates of the complaint in identical (monozygotic) and fraternal (dizygotic) twins. If a disorder is genetic in origin, the frequency rate will be significantly elevated in monozygotic (identical) twins, since they share the very same chromosomes. In the majority of such studies researching autism, the frequency of autism is as much as 90% higher in monozygotic (identical) twins than in fraternal (dizygotic).

On the other hand, the studies raise other questions. The fact that not one of the studies showed 100% concordance in monozygotic twins suggests that there are other factors at play in the causes of autism, for instance. And other familial studies have noted common characteristics, for instance, that autism is more common in families of physicists and engineers, giving rise to the term ‘the geek syndrome’ to identify autism.

Lifestyle factors

A number of doctors suspect that there could be an environmental factor in the progression of autism. Dr. Bernard Rimland, for instance, proposed in 1967 that autism may be a result of mercury and heavy metal toxicity to which a few youngsters have a genetic sensitivity. His treatment of autistic kids with a gluten-free, casein-free diet and mercury chelation therapy (removal of mercury from the system) has shown many success with most children.

Other lifestyle factors that have been suggested to play roles are viral or bacterial infections, vaccines and thalidomide.

The Supermale Brain Theory

One particularly interesting recent theory about the etiology of autism is that it’s brought on by high levels of testosterone during progression. A study in England measured the testosterone level of the amniotic fluid in mothers, then followed up with testing of youngsters after birth and at four years. It was found that the babies with the highest levels of testosterone pre-birth had a smaller vocabulary and made eye contact less usually at a year old, and were less socially developed at age four. The theory holds that elevated testosterone levels in the brain support the indicence of ‘male skills’ such as analysis of systems and seeing patterns, but repress the progression of ‘female skills’ such as communication and empathy

About The Author

Roger Wakefield is a staff writer at http://InformationAboutAutism.com , a site dedicted to helping those with family members suffering from Autism.

How Is Autism Diagnosed?

2008-10-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) should be diagnosed by a medical professional with support from physical, occupational and speech therapists. Ideally, everyone involved with a diagnosis should have significant experience with ASDs, their diagnosis and their treatment.

What does it mean to have an ASD? The new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) which defines all known medical disorders for the purposes of diagnosis, describes six characteristics of ASDs. To qualify for a diagnosis, a person must have a total of six or more items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1) and one each from (2) and (3):

1. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, manifest by at least two of the following:

A. Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors, such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures and gestures, to regulate social interaction
B. Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
C. Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)
D. Lack of social or emotional reciprocity

2. Qualitative impairment in communication, as manifest by at least one of the following:

A. Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime)
B. In individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
C. Stereotyped and repetitive use of language, or idiosyncratic language
D. Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe, or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

3. Restrictive repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

A. Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
B. Apparently inflexible adherence to specific nonfunctional routines or rituals
C. Stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
D. Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects.

Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years:

1. Social interaction
2. Language as used in social communication
3. Symbolic or imaginative play

The disturbance is not better accounted for by Retts Disorder or childhood disintegrative disorder.

_Resources:

_{Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders). 2004: National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) 2004.}

By Lisa Jo Rudy, About.com

Early Signs of Autism

2008-10-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

What are the early signs of autism? As many as six in 1,000 children may be autistic. Is your child one of them? Many parents are worried, in part because autism is so much in the headlines these days. It's a good idea to keep a weather eye on your young child, because even very young children can be diagnosed. And research shows that the earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the better the prognosis for good outcomes.

So what should you be looking for? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, these are some of the red flags for autism.

Possible Indicators of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Does not babble, point, or make meaningful gestures by 1 year of age
Does not speak one word by 16 months
Does not combine two words by 2 years
Does not respond to name
Loses language or social skills
Poor eye contact
Doesn't seem to know how to play with toys
Excessively lines up toys or other objects
Is attached to one particular toy or object
Doesn't smile
At times seems to be hearing impaired

It's important to remember that there are many possible explanations for most of the symptoms listed above. A child's attachment to a particular toy or difficulty with language skills is not, in itself, a sign of autism.

It's also important to remember that a child who does have excellent language skills may still be diagnosable on the autism spectrum. In fact, some children who are diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome have extraordinary language and reading skills.

What should you do if you are concerned that your child might be autistic? The first step is to consult your own pediatrician. It's also a good idea to take a look at How Is Autism Diagnosed?, on this website.

Sources:

Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders) National Institute of Mental Health, 2004