FACTS ONLY
01-09-08, - 08:49 AM
I have two friends who have an Autistic child. Prior to just a few years ago this particular syndrome was not as pervasive as it is now. What has happened all of a sudden for this surge?
Some research has shown that a problem happened during vaccination. Doctors have said that not enough children have it to cease vaccinations which save lives. Mothers of Autistic children have argued that the vaccines are ONE SIZE FITS ALL!! And that their chidren must have some antibodies in their bodies that react negatively to the vaccines.
Presently there are only two schools that cater to these kids here. These schools are ONE SIZE FITS ALL with very few proffessionals to care for these kids.
What are your thoughts on this matter, especially if you know of any of these kids.
Autism On The Rise
By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR
Imagine wanting to speak, but the only sound that comes out is a grunt or squeal.
Imagine being so over stimulated by things like a bright light or a whirring fan, that all you can do is bang your head against a wall, or hold your ears and rock back and forth.
People living with autism find it hard to make sense of the world around them, and according to the experts, the lifelong brain disorder - normally diagnosed in early childhood - is becoming more prevalent in The Bahamas.
"Over the past several years we have noticed an increase in the number of children presenting autistic tendencies," said Carolyn Hall Knowles, special education officer at the Ministry of Education.
"The Stapledon School and the Garvin Tynes Primary School Autism Unit are two learning institutions that provide instructional and life skills to students with autism."
Her comments came during a brief opening ceremony Monday afternoon to kick-off the first in a series of autism workshops for parents and teachers of autistic children; from infants to third grade students.
Scores of parents, teachers and medical professions turned out on the first of the five-day workshop being staged by the St. Barnabas Parish in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.
Ten years ago one in 2,000 children was diagnosed with autism - a social and communication disorder. According to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control, today that number is one in 150 children and one in every 94 boys.
The figures also show that one in every 10 autistic children is a savant, which means they exhibit super intelligence in one area like math, music, or the arts.
According to Dr. Mildred Gore Lancaster of Midwestern State University, early intervention is critical.
Working Through Autism
"We can do lots of things to help older children with autism but we can do astonishing things for many children with autism when they are very young. One of the interventions we use is pivotal response training, which capitalizes on the things the child is obsessed with to motivate him to talk," explained Dr. Gore Lancaster, who has worked with and researched autistic children.
"One of the strategies is called floor time in which we really focus on the creation of relationships with him. Both of those often result in children beginning to speak who have never spoken before."
Some of the things experts do with autistic children when they believe those children will not be able to speak is teach them sign language, or begin picture exchange communications.
"The child learns that if he wants some juice instead of screaming, or crying, or kicking someone, he can take a picture of a card with juice to mommy or his teacher and get juice and learns to communicate," said Dr. Gore Lancaster.
"We’ve had children through picture exchange communication systems, or actually through sign language learn to talk later on. Even if they don’t (talk), they now have a way to communicate."
Autism is a spectrum of five different disorders characterized by an abnormality of social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and imaginative activities.
Some autistic children self abuse by banging their heads against the wall and must wear helmets to prevent injury. Meantime, weird obsessions are comforts to the autistic child, according to Dr. Gore Lancaster.
The Aggressive Autistic
"Aggression against other people is often an attempt to communicate with other people. It’s an attempt to say, ‘Stop this. I don’t like this or help me to escape this unpleasant thing.’ When it comes from a child with autism, aggression very rarely means I want to hurt you," she explained.
"Aggression means I’m trying to tell you something and I don’t have any words. Self-aggression is often because of sensory problems."
Children with autism typically do not smile, some may talk constantly about one topic while others may not speak at all and may only make sounds.
Some autistic children exhibit behaviour problems, most are unable to handle change and have some sensory and movement disorders.
The Experts
According to Dr. Gore Lancaster, parents are the experts when it comes to their autistic children.
St. Barnabas Rector Canon Basil Tynes took the expertise he gained from dealing with his slightly autistic five-and-a-half-year-old son and decided to share that knowledge with others. The effort led to the autism workshop at St. Barnabas Anglican Church from 4pm to 7pm.
"Anybody who has had an autistic child, they go through a lot. The parents themselves go through the pressure in dealing with all of the difficulties. They wonder whether they are making a step forward or a step backward with a child. My child may not be as extreme as some of the other persons I have seen but the thing about it is I empathize with them knowing what they are going through which can really be intense at times," he said.
"Many times the world just takes persons who have neurological development difficulties and just pushes them to the side and I really believe that that has been the case in the Bahamas – even with handicapped people. We just push them to the side when we need to deal with them because they are a part of God’s kingdom. They are a part of our ministry. They are a part of us reaching out to do to the least of these our brethren."
Some research has shown that a problem happened during vaccination. Doctors have said that not enough children have it to cease vaccinations which save lives. Mothers of Autistic children have argued that the vaccines are ONE SIZE FITS ALL!! And that their chidren must have some antibodies in their bodies that react negatively to the vaccines.
Presently there are only two schools that cater to these kids here. These schools are ONE SIZE FITS ALL with very few proffessionals to care for these kids.
What are your thoughts on this matter, especially if you know of any of these kids.
Autism On The Rise
By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR
Imagine wanting to speak, but the only sound that comes out is a grunt or squeal.
Imagine being so over stimulated by things like a bright light or a whirring fan, that all you can do is bang your head against a wall, or hold your ears and rock back and forth.
People living with autism find it hard to make sense of the world around them, and according to the experts, the lifelong brain disorder - normally diagnosed in early childhood - is becoming more prevalent in The Bahamas.
"Over the past several years we have noticed an increase in the number of children presenting autistic tendencies," said Carolyn Hall Knowles, special education officer at the Ministry of Education.
"The Stapledon School and the Garvin Tynes Primary School Autism Unit are two learning institutions that provide instructional and life skills to students with autism."
Her comments came during a brief opening ceremony Monday afternoon to kick-off the first in a series of autism workshops for parents and teachers of autistic children; from infants to third grade students.
Scores of parents, teachers and medical professions turned out on the first of the five-day workshop being staged by the St. Barnabas Parish in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.
Ten years ago one in 2,000 children was diagnosed with autism - a social and communication disorder. According to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control, today that number is one in 150 children and one in every 94 boys.
The figures also show that one in every 10 autistic children is a savant, which means they exhibit super intelligence in one area like math, music, or the arts.
According to Dr. Mildred Gore Lancaster of Midwestern State University, early intervention is critical.
Working Through Autism
"We can do lots of things to help older children with autism but we can do astonishing things for many children with autism when they are very young. One of the interventions we use is pivotal response training, which capitalizes on the things the child is obsessed with to motivate him to talk," explained Dr. Gore Lancaster, who has worked with and researched autistic children.
"One of the strategies is called floor time in which we really focus on the creation of relationships with him. Both of those often result in children beginning to speak who have never spoken before."
Some of the things experts do with autistic children when they believe those children will not be able to speak is teach them sign language, or begin picture exchange communications.
"The child learns that if he wants some juice instead of screaming, or crying, or kicking someone, he can take a picture of a card with juice to mommy or his teacher and get juice and learns to communicate," said Dr. Gore Lancaster.
"We’ve had children through picture exchange communication systems, or actually through sign language learn to talk later on. Even if they don’t (talk), they now have a way to communicate."
Autism is a spectrum of five different disorders characterized by an abnormality of social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and imaginative activities.
Some autistic children self abuse by banging their heads against the wall and must wear helmets to prevent injury. Meantime, weird obsessions are comforts to the autistic child, according to Dr. Gore Lancaster.
The Aggressive Autistic
"Aggression against other people is often an attempt to communicate with other people. It’s an attempt to say, ‘Stop this. I don’t like this or help me to escape this unpleasant thing.’ When it comes from a child with autism, aggression very rarely means I want to hurt you," she explained.
"Aggression means I’m trying to tell you something and I don’t have any words. Self-aggression is often because of sensory problems."
Children with autism typically do not smile, some may talk constantly about one topic while others may not speak at all and may only make sounds.
Some autistic children exhibit behaviour problems, most are unable to handle change and have some sensory and movement disorders.
The Experts
According to Dr. Gore Lancaster, parents are the experts when it comes to their autistic children.
St. Barnabas Rector Canon Basil Tynes took the expertise he gained from dealing with his slightly autistic five-and-a-half-year-old son and decided to share that knowledge with others. The effort led to the autism workshop at St. Barnabas Anglican Church from 4pm to 7pm.
"Anybody who has had an autistic child, they go through a lot. The parents themselves go through the pressure in dealing with all of the difficulties. They wonder whether they are making a step forward or a step backward with a child. My child may not be as extreme as some of the other persons I have seen but the thing about it is I empathize with them knowing what they are going through which can really be intense at times," he said.
"Many times the world just takes persons who have neurological development difficulties and just pushes them to the side and I really believe that that has been the case in the Bahamas – even with handicapped people. We just push them to the side when we need to deal with them because they are a part of God’s kingdom. They are a part of our ministry. They are a part of us reaching out to do to the least of these our brethren."