Living with a Child with Autism
“Although bound together by a spectrum disorder diagnosis, autistic people are essentially like snowflakes: all similar yet essentially unique” (Cariello 41). Each child with autism offers his own unique perspective on life, his own diverse struggles, and his own inspiring desires. Parenting a child with autism, though, can be a very difficult task. While the challenge can leave parents and caregivers exhausted and confused, in her book What Color is Monday, author Carrie Cariello beautifully portrays the challenges and joys of caring for a child with autism.
More than the Paperwork
Like any child with a developmental or learning disability, people often define the lives of children with autism by their condition rather than who they really are on the inside. Cariello faced this very problem. Even while her son Jack was still a baby, Cariello felt the nagging sensation that her precious son experienced life differently. After performing numerous diagnostic tests, the blue folder that contained all of Jack’s personal information began to fill up fast. In the eyes of the health professionals working with Jack, the folder’s information that detailed his struggles and weaknesses soon began to define his character. Still, through it all, Cariello knew that her son was “beautiful inside, outside, and
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Autism is something to embrace, not conquer” (211). But sometimes the message of hope. love, and struggle can best be understood from the lips of a child. In an article written by nine-year-old Joey Cariello, he simply stated: “I try to be the best brother I can. (I like him just the way he is even though he has autism)”
The purpose of the article “Navigating Love and Autism” by Amy Harmon is to emphasize that autistic people can achieve love, even though the struggles of autism are present. In this article, Jack and Kirsten both have autism and are working to build a dating relationship. For Kirsten and Jack, being comfortable is a huge aspect in their relationship. After their first night together,
This book was a great read. The heartwarming tale of two young children who manage to overcome the disability under the category of autism. The author, the mother of these two children, uses her language to make the reader feel connected with the struggles of the family and the elated feeling when the children are deemed functioning within normal levels. This book gives insight on several different therapies, some that seemed helpful and others that seemed silly. It touches on the subject of inclusion as well. This book allows individuals to relate to those who have children with autism and gives parents of children with autism hope that their child's disability is not a permanent one.
Giving others who do not suffer from autism or caregivers an insight on how the individual may be feeling and what they are going through. This book can also help numerous medical professionals such as speech-language pathologists and pediatric doctors. As Grandin stated in the book that not all sufferers act, think, and feel the same so this novel may not be beneficial to readers who are looking for information on a wide scale of individuals who suffer from the illness. She also stated that there is no cure for autism, however some medications can help with some symptoms such as depression or anxiety. What intrigued me the most about Grandin was that she never gave up and worked on her social skills. Not only did she became a spokesperson for autism, but also became a professor at Colorado State University in which both require public speaking and being comfortable in front of people.
Whilst the concept of autism and what it means to be autistic is still widely unrecognised by many, Mark Haddon’s use of conventions of prose fiction and language amplifies the distinctive qualities of the text. Haddon exemplifies key themes such as the struggle to become independent, the nature of difference and the disorder of life through the strategic placement of literary devices.
In Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism By Temple Grandin, the center of novel surrounds Grandin’s life and how autism impacted her career at a very young age. The book includes references to extensive reviews of research pertaining to effects of autism and possible treatment options. Grandin (2006) articulates how the word “autism” still conveys a fixed and dreadful meaning to most people (p.1). Therefore, she was able to embrace her visual ways of thinking, ultimately being an inspiration to others. With insight from her personal experience, readers have a better understanding of what is like working with individuals who have physical impairments. However, this paper will focus on how Grandin’s autistic ability affected her relationships
Mark Haddon’s beautifully written and in-depth novel shows the ups and downs of being autistic, as well as a combination. Christopher is a very awkward person, who at the same time is somewhat of a virtuoso when it comes to numbers and math. He has a brilliant attention to detail, but he can’t understand the simplest forms of humour. These advantages and disadvantages can also cross paths occasionally, when what some would call an advanced ability turns out to have a negative impact, as well as a “disability” being rewarding. Haddon successfully shows how being autistic is both giving and taking in daily life, by dictating the life of the very diverse, Christopher John Francis Boone.
This scene may sound weird to neurologically-typical (NT), or “normal”, people, but it does demonstrate the coping strategies of people with autism, as exhibited through this scene from Rain Man. Charlie Babbitt, a neurologically typical adult, does not understand how his brother, Raymond Babbitt, who is a high-functioning autistic, functions in his little world that he has created. Manifestations of autism such as this indicate to people how an autistic was seen as “like a wolf” (Pollak 258) in older definitions. Recently, though, people are beginning to understand that the problem is organic, or biologically based, as opposed to the psychogenic, or psychologically based, hypothesis of the past. With the release of Rain Man came the increased understanding of autistics and a willingness to find out what autistics are thinking, thus i...
Admittedly, when I first chose to explore autism, I figured it would be an easier psychological issue to discuss than bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia. Only after researching autism for an hour or so, I quickly realized this was not the case. Autism may very well be one of the most complex and examined disorders, for it’s a disorder that stirs up tons of questions yet yields very few answers. So what exactly is it? What are the causes and symptoms? Is there a cure? How many people are affected by autism? Is it being properly portrayed in mainstream media? In this paper, I’ll do my very best to touch on these questions and hopefully leave the ones reading with a better understanding of this disorder.
Somebody Somewhere offers a rear glimpse of the world of autism—from within. Australian born Donna Williams was diagnosed as psychotic at the tender age two, later as deaf, and ultimately as autistic; “Autism had had me in its cage for as long as I had ever known” (p. 5). In her book she describes her escape from “my” world, into “the” world. She talks about “picking up the pieces after a war” and “learning how to build somewhere out of nowhere and a somebody out of a nobody” (p. xi); yet she has something for everyone: “within each of us there is a stranger (or strangers) lurking in the shadows of our subconscious minds” (ibid). The author
Autism is a problem that people have with communicating. It can affect many contrasting types of people in divergent ways and there is not yet a complete cure for it. People need to know about this disability and what people can do with people who have it.
What is autism? "Autism is a potentially severe neurological condition affecting social functioning, communication skills, reasoning, and behavior. It is considered a "spectrum disorder," meaning that the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a variety of combinations, ranging from extremely mild to quite severe" (Fergus 2002 para.1). Autism was first reported in 1943 by a Dr. Leo Kanner of John Hopkins University. Dr Leo Kanner based his theory on 11 children who showed signs of withdrawal from human contact, this started at age 1 between the years of 1938 to 1943. In the 1940’s, the research of autism was so rare and this was a new case, Dr. Leo Kanner based the disability to be schizophrenia which in the eyes of the parents they thought they were at fault. In the 60’s, that is when the knowledge of autism and the treatments came clear. (Edelson Para. 8) Having the basic history of autism will let people understand where and how Dr. Leo Kanner had come across the disability. Some people have never heard about autism and the treatments that go into helping someone with autism. The three main points that will be discussed are treatment, prognosis, and the quality of life. Having a child with autism can make life difficult but with therapy and treatment children with autism can grow to be what society calls normal.
Autism is an intricate developmental disorder that is characteristically noticed by parents and or diagnosed by parents between the ages of eight-teen months and three years of age. In recent studies, Werner (2001) isolated themes from in-depth interviews conducted with different parents of children with autism. These themes included the following findings: the family’s life revolves around dealing with the child’s autism and unusual behaviors; parents feel losses because they and their children cannot lead a so called normal life; and the family experiences only fleeting moments of actually feeling like a typical family. Autism does not effect a particular type of person it occurs in all social, racial, and ethnic groups.
tried giving him a drink or some food in the hope that she had guessed
...to grow and increase yearly, one can imagine the effect on society these rates already have, and can possibly have with continued growth. It will not be long before autism becomes the normal society. That is a concern will should all share as creatures of earth. All families that are faced with autism will find happiness with the life shared with an autistic individual. Sadly, these individuals face bullying, and social rejection. They deal with health care rejections, and limited services available into adulthood. A future unknown. Although these individuals are different, that doesn’t mean they are less. As humanity, we need to treat everyone as an equal part of this important reality we call existence. Autistic individuals are the quietest souls, but that may only be because we haven’t learned to pay attention. Autism speaks, so isn’t it time to listen (htt1)?
Originoftheresearch problem Diagnosis of Autism in a child is commonly experienced as having a devastating effect on parent’s lives. Parents and caregivers are definitely the heart of the family, who not only have to deal with the issues associated with the child’s disability but also has to maintain the household. Irrespective of the pattern of impairment in autism, it is for sure that caregivers have to cope with the special needs and therefore disability in children is not only problem for affected child but in real sense they are “family disease”. Some families, despite having children with severe ASD, have still managed successful psychological adaptation. From this we can infer that the characteristics of autistic children may not be the only factors that influence adaptation.