Autistic Child
Autism is a peculiar disorder that affects children. It makes an impact on part of the brain. Autism lets itself visible in children around the age of three. Children affected by autism lags in inter-personal communication aspects and social behavior skills. According to some sources, autism is widely prevalent now. They estimate that an average two out of 300 people today are affected by this disease. The disease can manifest itself in many ways. In fact, there are many types of socio-psychological diseases that can be included in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). There are contrasting theories regarding the causes of autism. A majority view is that it is a brain developmental disorder transmitted and caused genetically. But there is another view that the disease is caused by birth defects. Both the theories are yet to be proved conclusively. Although there are no preventive or remedial medicines available now, we can improve the behavioral and communication aspects of autistic children by understanding the symptoms of the disease and helping them to come through the ordeal.
Generally, autistic children do not show signs of talking at the normal age when children start speaking. If the disease is severe, they do not talk at all and even fail to look at other people. They do not respond to touching or cuddling. Sometimes, such children appear unaware of the presence of others, even the presence of children of similar age. A common symptom of autism is the lack of response of a child when somebody calls his or her name. Such children find it hard to learn new words or new skills. Even if one manages to teach them some new words, they tend to forget the words quickly. Also, sometimes they tend to speak something that is entirely out of context.
Autistic children are said to think in pictorial terms. They respond to images better. Some of them may be good in drawing even though their handwriting may be poor. So people attending to the needs of such children should encourage them to communicate using pictures. Exchanging pictures for actual items and drawing the pictures of household accessories are good exercises for helping to improve the condition of the children affected by the disease. Also they tend to do better with the computer keyboard than with then pen, although the computer mouse is a hurdle for them to operate computers effectively. Also, children affected by autism are able to do only one task at a time. Take the case of typing with a computer. Most of the affected children find it hard to look at the keyboard and monitor simultaneously. Also when watching television, they either listen to the sounds or concentrate on viewing the visuals. Occasionally, such children can be very bright and exhibit rare gifts in some aspects like drawing.
