Essay On An Autistic Child

When a child is born into the world, future possibilities and expectations begin to abound in a new parents mind. They don’t suspect that there may be an underlying disability waiting to snatch it all away. When comparing a normal child to that of an Autistic child, the differences sometimes are staggering. When looking at a child with Autism, there are no considerable defining attributes that would give away their disorder. Only with a psychological evaluation or in some cases a neurological scan, which would provide a noticeable difference in brain development, would you be able to diagnose. A few of the aspects to living with a child that has Autism versus the one that does not would be brain development, family dynamics, social situations and different therapies to help with the growth of the child.

Autism is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. The first step in analyzing the differences between a healthy child and an Autistic child would be to look at accomplishing milestones and assessing if there is a

delay. When a child turns eighteenth months of age, the pediatrician will begin to assess the child for possible developmental lapses. This will begin with a series of questions towards the parents/caregivers and visual assessments of the child. From there, a series of tests are performed on the child to score areas of development. These tests are a hearing test, REEL, DAY-C, M-CHAT and Bailey Social/Emotional. If psychologists or pediatricians are unsure due to conflicting information, a neurological scan of the child’s brain will be performed which would give a definitive answer as to whether the child was Autistic. Unfortunately, this is done as a last resort as it is expensive and most insurances will not cover the scan.
When performing one of the tests listed above there is a scale in which a standardized criteria needs to be met in order to demonstrate the child’s current brain functions. In a normal functioning child they are able to say more than fifty words by the time they are three and are able to put together small fragmented sentences. Social acceptance and interaction are flourishing as well as an understanding of basic concepts and fine motor skills are being used in daily actions. With an Autistic child, language is usually underdeveloped or non-existent. They do not seem to understand or show a comprehension of questions asked of them. At times children have regressed back to beginning infancy rendering the child to be incapable of previously learned movements. The child will usually stray from others and seek to be alone. They tend to be unaware of others around them or social situations. Over stimulation in simple environmental situations can leave these children to become uncomfortable and begin to throw a fit in which physical harm to themselves or others will begin as a result of not being able to communicate. Textures of food or things around them environmentally will bother them more so than that of a normal child. An Autistic child’s sense are magnified leaving them to deal with a sensory overload. This is to include sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. As a result of these heightened senses it can tend to leave the child’s family unable to comprehend or deal with the child’s erratic behavior.
Families that have an Autistic child struggle with physical and emotion problems. For example, children who show signs of having sever autism tend to become violent when something provokes an emotion out of them. They smack or punch their family or will bang their head repetitively against something. When parents are faced with a dilemma of having a normal child with their sibling being Autistic it can put a great deal of stress on everyone in the house. The other sibling will be set aside when parents need to help or use extra time while working with their special needs child. The same rules and disciplinary actions cannot be the same for both children as the Autistic child often does not understand that there was a problem in the first place. When looking at the parents/caregiver’s relationship with their spouse or significant other, it can sometimes be strained and solely focused on their Autistic child, not that of their partner’s. If there was this discontent between the parental units, could it leave the sibling(s) or parents bitter towards their Autistic child; whether they intended to or not?
When referring to family dynamics with that of an Autistic child, the family’s life will begin to revolve around their needs.

Trips to theme parks and other such overwhelming places are usually not attempted unless the child is able to handle such situations which can sometimes be seen in higher functioning Autism. Even a simple car ride to the grocery store can be a traumatic experience for the child. With a normal child group activities such as a birthday party or a sports team are easily achievable. Parents with multiple children and one of them having this handicap can find it very challenging to be able to not handicap their normal child by limiting activities and experiences due to their Autistic child not being able to cope. This is not to say that an Autistic child could not lead a somewhat normal

life.
Depending on the severity of the Autism, many programs and therapies are helping hundreds of children to learn and progress in ways that will work towards the child’s independence. A few examples of these are In-home therapy, speech therapy, equestrian therapy, and tumble tots or a mommy and me class. These are all great programs that can help with basic functions such as fine motor skills and language/communication. With integrating these into the child’s daily activities, noticeable improvement will eventually begin to emerge. This is not to say that it will be frustrating not only for the parents but for the children as well. Most of these therapies cover basic needs and functions, making this also a great way to get the family involved as there are ways in which growth and understanding can be shared by all family members.