Understanding Autism: Towards a Holistic Approach - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: Autism Understanding Autism: Towards a Holistic Approach I. Introduction Autismis a developmental disorder that affects numerous aspects of how a child views the world and gains knowledge from his or her everyday experiences. Children suffering from autism are deficient in the normal desire for social interaction and contact. The consideration and appreciation of the people around them are not important to them in the average kind of way. Autism is not an utter lack of wanting for belongingness, but a contextual one. Autism is the best understood and primarily oftentimes occurring form of a set of disorders jointly referred to as the pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). This research paper will facilitate develop a basic understanding of what constitutes the diagnosis of autism, its causes and possible interventions such as behavioral, psychological and other therapies which could lessen the difficulties brought about by autism. The reality that autism and PDD are categorized as developmental disorders implies that they are inborn conditions, or perhaps a child born with a possibility of developing the disorders. Autism is the outcome of an irregularity in the structure and function of the brain. Even though technology still does not permit people to view considerably how nerve cells develop or band together in the brain, or how information is transmitted from nerve to nerve, there is growing substantiation that the predicaments related with autism and the other kinds of PDD are the outcome of structural variations in the brain that come out during pregnancy, wither because of something that damages the brain or because of a genetic factor that intrudes with normal brain development (Siegel, 1998). No successions of researches to date have constantly discovered any particular structural brain variation or distinctive genetic abnormality that seems to the physical root of autism. Approximately eighty percent of children with autism as well have some indications of mental retardation. Majority has mild to moderate mental retardation together with their autism, and a smaller percent endure serious or critical mental retardation. Children who are diagnosed with PDD are less frequently mentally retarded than children who receive a diagnosis of autism. Among the twenty percent of children with autism who are diagnosed free of mental retardation, about two-thirds have average levels of nonverbal brainpower but do have more severe impairment in verbal acumen or language (ibid, 103). Depending on the description of autism that is applied, modestly more or modestly fewer children will be regarded as autistic, or be labeled to have another type of PDD. Moreover, the occurrence of non-autistic types of PDD is less given attention than the occurrence of autism itself. Most specialists commonly agree, however, that if conditions of both autism and non-autistic PDDs are taken into account together, and a somewhat liberal description of autism is used, autistic spectrum disorders crop up in roughly ten to fifteen out of every 10,000 children. Stated in another way, that indicates one out of 650 to 1,000 children. In a society the geographical size of the United States, there are approximated to be roughly 450,000 children and grown ups with various kinds of autistic spectrum disorders (Burack, 2001, 48). In addition to probable genetic roots of autism, instances of autism have been related to an array of risk factors linked to pregnancy and delivery. A risk factor, though, is not comparable to the cause, and it can be extremely complicated to mention with assurance what brought about any particular condition of autism (ibid, 48). There are probable combinations of factors, genetic issues in addition to issues linked to the pregnancy and delivery that identify whether a particular child develops autism or another type of PDD. However, it should be stressed out that risks related with pregnancy are not automatically aspects that the hopeful mother did erratically, but are frequently an array of events which are unmanageable. Comparatively few cases of autism are correlated with another identified disorder such as fragile X syndrome, or tuberous sclerosis which is a disorder involving the build up of abnormal brain and other tissue. In several cases, specialists do not yet know sufficiently to claim what may have caused autism, apart from hypothesizing that there might have been a natural genetic mutation. There are several cases of autism or other types of PDD where there is none that was obviously abnormal in the mother’s pregnancy or delivery, and in which there are as well no indications of a genetic root, specifically, no relatives suffering autism or another form of developmental disorder (Happe, 1994). Such cases are perhaps the ones due to presently indiscernible genetic mutations or to likely infections during pregnancy that affect the development of the fetus, but not the mother. There is no proof to sustain the notion that autism or any type of PDD is brought about by the manner a child is treated or handled, even though harshly physically abused and harshly mentally retarded children occasionally accomplish things that a relaxed observer might reasonably confuse with autism. A decade ago, some physicians suggested that autism might be rooted from the premature dismissal of the child by the parents, but such damaging assumptions have traditionally been definitively debunked (ibid, 77). Autism, or what was initially referred to as ‘early infantile autism,’ was originally defined by an American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner. In 1943, he made public a series of accounts of eleven children who had several unusual behaviors, but who displayed an obvious lack of interest in the people around. In the past five decades, majority of scientific studies and clinical examinations has emerged from the initial observations of Kanner. Kanner referred to the general thread he examined among these children ‘early infantile autism’ since the disorder appeared to be existent from the earliest stage of infancy (Zager, 2005, 237). In several manners, the autistic child’s selfishness and lack of ability to assume the standpoint of others appeared parallel socially to the restrictive way in which infants usually associate to the world during the premature months of infancy when they are not conscious of anything but their personal gratifications and disappointments. II. The Reality of Autism To verify whether a child is autistic or has another kind of PDD, it is indispensable to look at three things: Primarily, one requires recognition of what types of behaviors and behavior patterns are and are not element of the autism. Second, one has to understand the purpose and also the type of behavior or the reason why a child does the things that he usually does. Third, one has to understand the prescriptive diagnostic criteria being employed by the specialist making the diagnosis (Ross, 2006). A number of aspects of how a child may view and respond to his surroundings can provide a clue to whether the child is suffering from autism or PDD. The activities, interests and reactions of children to their surroundings and the people around them encompass an area that physicians examine to identify whether there are any complexities related with autism. Parents who have had normal children before their child with autism occurs along nearly always observe that their child does not enjoy the company of toys in a normal way. They do not display curiosity to the same toys at the same phases of development. Some parents observe that the child merely doesn’t appear enthusiastic in toys at all (ibid, 118). When this comes about to new parents, the parents occasionally feel that they have not purchased appropriate toys for mental development, and go out and buy some more; or they may assume that the child is remarkably intelligent, since he appears to become easily fed up with new things. But as knowledgeable parents understand, majority of infants and toddlers with no developmental disorders will seek for a way to play with almost anything that they see in their immediate surroundings. Habitually the child with autism plays moderately occasionally with either toys or other items. He may stroll around touching things that s/he sees, but by no means really become immersed in anything for long. Usually, things that are singled out and after a while dropped on the floor, apparently without concern. Very young children with autism and children with autism with serious retardation appear to display this pattern most definitely. On the contrary, young children with PDD frequently show greater concentration of interests in various objects, but are inclined to have a somehow restricted array of what draws in their imagination, and the play itself pretty often has particular trademark features (Tustin, 1995). A number of young children with either autism or PDD do develop an inclination for a special object, and sometimes that object is a toy. Normally, the object is not the ordinary huggable toys such as stuff toys or doll that an average child might prefer. More often than not it is an object with a certain extent of sensory features that the child discovers interesting. Parents will disclose that their children performed around all kinds of activities for weeks, occasionally months on end. There are instance when an object functions as a secure foundation for a child with autism; every now and then, so much so that it is favored to the services provided by caregivers. Some children with autism have much loved blankets, commonly one with something specifically nice to feel on it, such as a silky edge. Similar to other young children, numerous young children with autism will prefer their blanket when disappointed. Dissimilar to majority of other young children, a number of young autistic children seem to desire their blanket more than their parents, and cool down more without difficulty once their favorite blankets are given to them and are left all alone to pull it over their faces to isolate their selves from the rest of their environment (Burack, 2001). Thus, the question is why do children with autism and PDD tend to turn down the most ordinary kind of attachment objects such as stuffed animals and dolls? Primarily, they rarely appear to recognize stuff toys or dolls bear a resemblance to real animals or people. This can be a premature sign that the child has not developed what is called ‘the theory of mind.’ When this ‘theory of mind’ does not start to emerge at the predicted time, people may view it as a failure to ‘read the mind’ of a stuffed animal and conclude he might be starving, also (ibid, 171). On the average, nine-to ten-month-olds, and occasionally even younger infants, have this kind of recognition of a stuffed animal’s needs, and will hug a doll or teddy bear, or attempt to feed it with foods that they themselves eat. The lack of this development in children with autism is the predecessor of a number of setbacks they have eventually in assuming someone else’s standpoint or realizing that the thoughts or sentiments of another are similar to their own (Burack, 2001, 172). III. Family Issues Before parents of a child with autism were parents of a child with autism, they were a couple. Prior to their meeting, they were individuals with their individual separate identities. In the course of meeting the exceptional demands of bringing up a child with autism, it is unusually probable for the couple to lose each other, and for each parent to start losing his or her individual identity detached from the child. This then will involve how sentiments and anticipations regarding parenting are dissimilar when the child has autism, and how having a child with autism in the family can impact siblings. Families have accessible and available to them different kinds of social support system and the contributions of relatives and friends (Perez, 2007). Numerous factors affect how a family adjusts to the added pressures of having an autistic child or PDD. Compared with other developmental disorders, autism and PDD can be progressively more complicated challenge for families since children with these disorders do not hand back in the similar manner that other children do. Even though autistic children maybe loving and receptive in their own ways, the means are still unlike from what parents of older children have expected, and what parents of firstborns may have visualized a parent-child relationship would be like (ibid, 27). An essential dynamic that gets established very prematurely in some families focuses on the anxiety that the child with autism will experience any sort of discipline or control as dismissal. A number of parents sense that their child’s detachment is a personal denunciation of them rather than an incapability to socialize or relate. They explain that if the child is frustrated in any way, he will be more detached in response to upcoming parental behavior. Hence, in some families, the child with autism really bends the rules. He does whatever he feels like doing with his parents and siblings, and tears down all kinds of household objects in his normal way of playing. This form of family dynamic is not helpful for the autistic child’s eventual growth and development; it is not helpful for brothers and sisters; and it’s not helpful for the parents (Perez, 2007, 30). Therefore, it is important to discuss the nature of concerns and disagreements that surface in may families with autistic children. The purpose of this is to assist parents as well as the therapists working with families understand these types of circumstances and deal with them. IV. Treatment Resources There is no single means to educate an autistic child or a child with PDD, any more than there is a single right means to educate an average child. There are a number of common premises that are relevant, and various principles supported by various organizations of educators. Rather than identifying an educational principle as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, the pros and cons of every issue should be looked upon. When talking about children with developmental disorders, the concept of education is frequently used more comprehensively than it is with average children. Normally, it is understood to involve early capabilities that usually don’t initially arise in school, such as learning to speak, and can also involve adaptive conducts such as becoming toilet-trained or gaining the skill of eating using utensils or, for older learners, learning the skill to ride a bus or fulfill a task. Academic subjects are, obviously, integrated too, and can be instructed either in the normal way, or with more of a purposeful emphasis (Zager, 2005). Every year, parents are confronted with consulting a new individual educational curriculum for their special child. Another serious point takes place each September, every time a new instructor is introduced and/or the special child relocates to a different classroom. Having a quality individual educational curriculum is one thing, having it put into effect as intended is another. Parents are essentially placed in the default status of being the consumer overseers of their child’s specially designed education (ibid, 248). Hence, as a parent, it’s a helpful objective to understand what autistic child will demand to advance his learning and for what reason. Being aware of how to observe in a classroom setting and evaluate curriculum features permits parents to supervise sharply the educational procedure are put into effect by teachers and school managers. The fundamental issue in the education of autistic children and children with PDD is the means in which they gain knowledge and skills variedly. The Individual Education Program (IEP) as the name implies, is a personalized educational scheme, grounded on the assumption that all special education learners have a to a certain extent diverse profile of dilemmas that require particular remediation. The notion of special education is to make available a context for learning in which the child can be instructed or taught at a more gradual tempo, with more focus on particular courses, and appropriate instructional strategies so as to facilitate easy learning despite of the inherent difficulties of such special education (Siegel, 2003). A big concern is how best to strengthen constructive behavior and encouraging concentration to learning assignments so that the child will accomplish more. There are a number of considerations here. The primary concern is whether or not the child grasps the notion of doing things in a desirable and proper way and then getting a reward for every job well done. Children who have ‘social ages’ under roughly the six-month stage have normally not yet realized that a specific behavior may result in a desired outcome. Normally children who don’t recognize this kind of cause-and-effect are extremely young or extremely developmentally late (ibid, 193). Sometimes, there are as well children who inhabit in such messy, erratic environments that there has been no occasion to sort out this fundamental premise of human interaction. V. Conclusions For many parents, the word autism is a term that they have seldom heard prior to someone suggesting their child perhaps is autistic. Confronted with mountains of unknown, reading and experiencing helps make autism real. The moment something becomes visible through expressions, people feel they can start to take useful action. Reading about autism, hence, is a form of dealing with autism; the more coping, the better. Read, consult with physicians, don’t hesitate to express doubts or ask questions, meet teachers, and observe classroom activities, observe therapists work with children with autism. Obtain insights anywhere. Use those in the immediate environment as resources. In particular instances, a parent or a teacher who is interacting and communicating with an autistic child everyday is more of a specialist on that particular child than any specialist of autism. References Bock, G. (2003). Autism: Neural Basis and Treatment Possibilities. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Burack, J. A. (2001). The Development of Autism: Perspectives from Theory and Research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Happe, F. (1994). Autism: An Introduction to Psychological Theory. London: UCL Press. Perez, J. M. (2007). New Developments in Autism: The Future is Today. London: Jessica Kingsley. Ross, D. S. (2006). Thats Life with Autism: Tales and Tips for Families with Autism. London: Jessica Kingsley. Siegel, B. (2003). Helping Children with Autism Learn: Treatment Apporaches for Parents and Professionals. New York: Oxford University Press. Siegel, B. (1998). The World of the Autistic Child: Understanding and Treating Autistic Spectrum Disorders. New York: Oxford University Press. Tustin, F. (1995). Autism and Childhood Psychosis. London: Karnac Books. Zager, D. (2005). Autism Spectrum Disorders: Identification, Education and Treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More