AUTISM ACCEPTANCE AND NOT JUST AWARENESS !!

Awareness and autism have been the new buzzwords in today's world. For me, autism awareness is knowing that Autism is not a disease but it is a set of developmental delays leading to behavioural and sensory challenges. Awareness is understanding that autistic people are not disabled but they are differently-abled. Awareness is understanding that autistic people may not communicate better but they still have a say. The time for autism awareness is over now, its the time for acceptance. Acceptance is not just calling the autistic child at a birthday party. Acceptance is not just opening the doors for an autistic child but also opening the heart for them. Acceptance is not just passing a smile at them but also raising your voice when you see someone is being rude towards them. Acceptance is not just a positive attitude but it is a necessity, a matter of urgency. Autistic children will not be safe until we understand the difference between awareness and actual acceptance. 

Today's world is much busier in their routine. Every day we are faced with many choices to make. Making the wrong choices can lead to anxiety and anxiety only makes everything even worse. Autism is associated with anxiety. Autism awareness is teaching your child about autistic children but autistic acceptance is teaching your child to communicate with an autistic child and be the facilitator if not a friend. It is not acceptable when you favour autistic people by offering jobs to them but acceptance is when you realize their abilities and skills and helping them explore and be the best version of themselves. I hope one day globally people will realize that for sustainable development no one should be left behind. I hope one day people will learn to respect each other's differences and that day will be more of accepting autism. Autism awareness has done its damage now its time for autism acceptance to repair it. 

AUTISM PARENTING

As parents, you probably need to spend a lot of time thinking about your child’s future, even more, if he or she has an autism spectrum disorder or ASD diagnosis. Apart from medical care and treatment of autism and therapies you may line to help your son /daughter that there are simple and everyday things that make a difference.

Focus on the positive side: Just like other children, children with autism spectrum disorder often respond well to positive reinforcement. That means when you praise them for their behaviours that they are doing well, it will make them feel good. Be so much specific that they should know what exactly you liked about their behaviour. Find ways to reward them, either by the extra playtime or a small prize like stickers, toy gifts etc.

Stay consistent and proper on the schedule: People on the spectrum like routines. Make sure they get consistent guidance and interaction so that they can practice what they learn from therapy. This can help in learning new skills and behaviours much easier and help them to apply their knowledge in different situations. Talk with their school teacher or any other teacher and their therapists to align on a consistent set of techniques and methods of interaction so it can help them learn at home with ease.

Give them some time: You will likely try a lot of different techniques, treatments and approaches as and when you figure out what is best for your child. Stay and think positive, try not to get discouraged if they don’t respond to a particular method.

Take your child along with you for the everyday activities: If your child’s behaviour is unpredictable or not proper, you may feel like it is easier not to expose them to certain situations that take place. But when you take them on everyday activities like grocery shopping or a post office run, it may help them get them used to the world around.

Get support on a social platform: Whether online or face-to-face, support from the families, professionals and friends can be a big help. Support groups can also be a good way to share advice and information and to meet other parents dealing with similar challenges. Individual, marital, or family counselling sessions can be helpful, too. Think about what might make your life a little more easier and ask for help.

Look into the respite care: This is when the other caregiver looks after the child for a period of time to give you a short break. You will need it, especially when your child has intense needs due to ASD. This can give you a chance to do the things that restore or retain your child’s own health and that you enjoy so that you come back home ready to help.

DIETARY NEEDS FOR KIDS WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Kids with cerebral palsy (CP) have problems with their muscle tone, movement, bone density and/or motor skills i.e. either gross motor or fine motor skills. These problems can make the activities for daily living challenging for them including their meal time. Some kids may not have the coordination to feed themselves or chew and swallow safely or successfully. Digestive problems like constipation, gastroesophageal reflux can make eating uncomfortable. So, it can be hard for kids to get enough to eat, and that can lead to poor health, growth and malnutrition. But the right diet and feeding techniques can help many kids with Cerebral palsy have a productive mealtime experience. Kids with Cerebral palsy just need good nutrition and healthy food just like other kids do. But sometimes the just need more or fewer calories depending on the activity levels and muscle tone and bone density levels.

To keep bone density strong the Cerebral palsy kid should be primarily fed more calcium-rich foods. Foods like milk, cheese, yoghurt, fortified fruits are rich in calcium. Secondly, the intake of Vitamin D should be taken care of. The sources of this vitamin that helps the body absorb calcium from food and supplements. It's found in fishes such as salmon and tuna, fish liver oil, and fortified products like milk, orange juice, and cereal. Our bodies also make vitamin D when skin that is not protected by clothes or sunscreen is exposed to the sun. Phosphorus, a mineral that plays a role in the formation of bones needs to a part of their regular diet. The sources are dairy products, meat, fish eggs, poultry, nuts, seeds and whole grains.

To keep the muscle tone strong, high intake of protein is a must. Proteins are the key building blocks of body. The sources of proteins are lentils, grains, pulses, oily fish, lean meat, cheese, eggs etc. Vitamin C also plays an important role in maintains the muscle tone. Vitamin C is responsible for the health of the blood vessels that support your muscles' needs for oxygen and nutrients. The more vitamin C your body has, the more effective your muscles will work and the quicker they will recover. The sources of vitamin C are bell peppers, kiwi fruit, dark leafy vegetables, oranges and strawberries.

Hence, the right diet can enable kids with Cerebral palsy to have a productive mealtime experience & enjoy the meal while getting the nutrients they need to thrive.

KNOW YOUR BRAIN!

Let’s talk about the person who commands all the human actions. It’s the “BRAIN”. Every action of our body is accounted to our brain as it monitors all the activities performed. The person’s -performance personality, emotional stability, learning abilities, self-confidence and psycho-social maturity depends upon the integration of his nervous system. There are approximately 140 billion nerve cells in the Human Nervous System (HNS). Each neuron is connected with about 3,000 other neurons by about 30,000 Synapses (a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter). Harmony of each neuron with the other neuron results into coordination and skill.

In normal day-to-day living, a person utilizes the only 1/10th of the brain. 90% of the neuronal connections are silent and can be activated by putting high demands. 90% of this silent neurology becomes the base of therapeutics after brain damage. Though the damaged cells do not regenerate, the neighbouring neurons take over the function of damaged cells. The damaged cell’s axon and dendrites grow collaterals to form new synaptic connections. The process is known as sprouting.

Thus, our nervous system is plastic with an ability to reorganize after an insult. A skilful therapist can achieve 97% of results in his patient with just 3% of neurology available, utilizing the reorganizing the capacity of the brain.

Hence, it is well said, “right stimulus at the right time boosts up the natural recovery and leads to maximal function”.

It is perfectly normal for us to not fit into your average NORMAL box , we believe in making our own !!

Usually, this is an intelligent child, who fails at school, writes ‘no’ for ‘on’, write's ‘41’ for ‘14’ and cannot remember the sequence of letters that make up a word. The child forgets the names of the people, places, own address and telephone number but does remember the ads on the TV.

Usually, this is a child with a messy room, totally disorganised, shoelaces are undone, shirttail hanging out, detests hair brushing, tooth brushing and nail cutting- all tactile hypersensitivity reactions. This child doesn’t look where he walks, bumps into doorways, trips on his own toes, swings his lunch box into the nearest person- thus exhibiting poor visuospatial relationship.

Usually, he has trouble lining up, doesn’t stop talking, giggles too much and laughs the loudest. Following of instructions is not his cup of tea as he exhibits poor Auditory sequential processing. He has poor frustration thresholds, cannot tolerate the slightest error, explodes at one moment and is tearful at the other. Says I don’t care or I won’t when he really means I can’t

Frequently, his language comes out of all jumbled, he stops and starts in the middle of a sentence or an idea. He hugs the cat too tightly but can’t hold his pencil, gets frostbite in the snow, hates woollens or does not feel the heat till he gets scorched. These are poorly modulated kinesthetic and tactile inputs.

Sometimes, he rushes headlong into his work, is first to finish and has done all the problems wrong. He can add and multiply but not subtract and divide. He can do maths in the head but can’t write it down.

This is the distractible child, who tends not to look, listen, and remember, do what he is supposed to do. Is he bad, willful manipulative, lazy? No probably not. If your child exhibits any of these he may be a Learning disabled child. Almost 12% of the school population have Learning Disability. The common ones are Dysgraphia- a disorder of writing, Dyscalculia- a disorder of maths and commonest Dyslexia- a disorder of language processing. It is seen more commonly in boys and in all languages.

Remedial sessions along with Sensory Integration programme work wonders with these children. Early Intervention eases the problem further. It needs a team of a Psychiatrist, a special educator and the School teacher.
Help your child to HELP HIMSELF!!