Autism Treatment Tips: The Complete Guide to Taking Care of an Autistic Child (Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism Symptoms, Autism Signs)

By Isabel Jones

When your child is diagnosed with Autism, the range of their symptoms are known as the Autism Spectrum.

Where your child falls on this spectrum will influence how you approach discipline, therapy, and daily activities.

Some children will only experience minor social difficulties while others may be severely disabled by their symptoms or their anxiety.

Knowing where your child falls on this spectrum is the first step to helping your family and your child understand and cope with the disorder.

Children can be diagnosed with Autism as young as two years of age.

Doctors will notice cognitive delays and other peculiar social behaviors during routine checkups and may refer you to specialists for further testing.

There is no shame in an autistic diagnosis, and the sooner the symptoms are uncovered the sooner you can start implementing routines and other therapeutic treatments that can reduce stress and anxiety for everyone in the family.

The earlier children are diagnosed, the less likely they are to develop more debilitating symptoms.

It is important to note that, as you start learning more about the disorder, you will need to pay close attention to your child’s particular sensory experiences and social reactions.

The Autism Spectrum explains the differences in these experiences based on your child’s individual symptoms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: justhappyforever.com
• Release date: Dec 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386589822

Book preview

Introduction

When your child is diagnosed with Autism, the range of their symptoms are known as the Autism Spectrum.

Where your child falls on this spectrum will influence how you approach discipline, therapy, and daily activities.

Some children will only experience minor social difficulties while others may be severely disabled by their symptoms or their anxiety.

Knowing where your child falls on this spectrum is the first step to helping your family and your child understand and cope with the disorder.

Children can be diagnosed with Autism as young as two years of age.

Doctors will notice cognitive delays and other peculiar social behaviors during routine checkups and may refer you to specialists for further testing.

There is no shame in an autistic diagnosis, and the sooner the symptoms are uncovered the sooner you can start implementing routines and other therapeutic treatments that can reduce stress and anxiety for everyone in the family.

The earlier children are diagnosed, the less likely they are to develop more debilitating symptoms.

It is important to note that, as you start learning more about the disorder, you will need to pay close attention to your child’s particular sensory experiences and social reactions.

The Autism Spectrum explains the differences in these experiences based on your child’s individual symptoms.

For example, your child may overreact to loud noises, bright lights, or overcrowded public places by yelling and screaming while other children may shut down completely and become unresponsive.

Autistic children also experience a range of sleep problems, with most being unable to sleep through most of the night.

All of these symptoms can have an effect on their intellectual and social communication skills. This does not mean your child is at risk for intellectual decline.

It simply means they interpret social and sensory information differently, and this in turn will affect how they score on intellectual tests and interact with others.

Some autistic children are only mildly affected by their symptoms, such as those with Asperger’s Syndrome, while others will score high in one area and show weakness in another.

The most common difficulties experience by those diagnosed with Autism are with language and communication, which can make daily routines and activities very challenging for families.

In order to overcome these challenges, parents often modify their approach to better fit their child’s individual symptoms.

In this book, the following chapters will help you recognize symptoms in your child that will help you overcome the most common challenges faced by families with autistic children and create routines that fit your child’s lifestyle.

Daily routines for bath time, bed time, and school can be easily altered to help your child feel comfortable and reduce tantrums and other upsetting episodes.

You will learn how to properly discipline your child by rewarding and encouraging positive behavior and healthy social interactions.

With this book, you will be able to work with your child to create lasting bonds built on healthy communication that will help you both better understand each other and yourselves.

If you are a parent or a friend or relative of a family who has an autistic child, this book will also help you to better understand what the family might be going through and how you too could offer assistance.  Though this is not a doctorate thesis or medical journal research paper, the information provided offers common knowledge and practical advice that will be valuable and doesn't require a PhD to follow along nor implement into day to day activities. 

It is not intended to diagnose Autism, nor how to treat Autism. This book does go over some of the common indicators, as well as describes the types of autism to help a parent know what to look for and if they should seek professional medical assistance.

It also deals with activities and fun things a parent can do with an autistic child so he or she may participate in family life and be included into a vibrant and loving home environment to live in. Certainly, if you are reading this book, you are looking for ways to provide quality of life for your autistic child. This book seeks to be a good guide to help you in this virtuous endeavor.

Chapter 1: What Is Autism?

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD are the common terms used for a variety of disorders that can occur in brain development. The effects are diverse and range in severity. Usual indicators may be found in how a child interacts in social settings. It may be noticed in the lack of ability to speak or communicate, where the child is either impaired verbally, non-verbally, or both.  There can also be particular impulsive behavioral patterns that occur. 

Because many of the symptoms are indicated through social interaction, it is not uncommon for people to be diagnosed later in life, generally by the time they reach school age. In infants, it is most difficult to determine, and only becomes more apparent when stunted intellectual growth or development is perceived when a child is unable to talk or otherwise communicate as would be expected by certain childhood milestones. Certain patterns may not be recognizable, or at first seen as the child being curious, or maybe going through a phase.  When the child shows little to no signs of learning how to better communicate, or continues on with the obsessive