A Guide to Understanding Autism: An Innovative Approach to Autism for Parents, Caregivers, Siblings, and Teachers

By Edith Boardman MA Ed.

During the past decade of working with children with autism, I have found that misconceptions abounds. It is not certain why some people are wired cognitively different, appears and behaves differently, nor is it certain why rainbows arise. The fact remains that these events occur and must be embraced. Working with children who have autism have not always been easy neither has it been difficult. I have felt joy in the little progress made. I have also expressed frustration at my inability to fully understand the condition and thereby have the ability to effect change. Here lies the crux of the matter, the desire to gain information in order to manipulate changes, in effect to change a person to become like everyone else? No one can do that moreover, it is a wrong approach, best to work with what is now; seek not to improve on creation and reinvent a new person. Autism is constant; autism is predictable; autism is unvarying in its behavior, its rigidity and its resistance to change.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728335438

Edith Boardman MA Ed.

Edith Boardman has over fifteen years of experience working with children and adults on the ASD and realized early that she has a unique communication skill for working with children in crisis. She gained a degree in publishing and worked with Indie magazines as an editor for several years before the call to work in autism. Over the next few years, she supported many children on the grassroots level offering hands-on expertise and supporting them to acquire best practices for a meaningful existence. She specialized in autism for her MA in Early Childhood Education, in order to better understand the effects of traditional education on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) She worked as an autism specialist for the public school system where she further experienced the inadequacy of the inclusion system as most general education teachers are not trained to educate students on the spectrum. Ms. Boardman continues to work at improving awareness for trained teachers in an inclusion classroom and to promote teacher, parent and family education.

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© 2019 Edith Boardman, MA Ed. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/22/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3544-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-3543-8 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Autism in Effect

Early childhood development

What Causes Autism: Eliminating the Source

A Spectrum disorder (ASD)

Skills Acquisition and Communication Skills

Autism and the School System

Challenging Behavior

Meltdowns vs. Tantrums

How to Manage Challenging Behaviors

Medication or No Medication

How to Handle Tantrums, Meltdown & Explosion

It Takes a Village

Intervention Techniques & Review of Programs

Applied Behavior Analyses (ABA)

Autism Effect on Siblings

The Power of Play

Adult Autism

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

Resources

Preface

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During the past decades, working with children, who have autism; I have found misconceptions still abounds. It is not certain why some people are wired cognitively different, and appear to behave differently. But neither is it certain why suddenly, out of nowhere, a rainbow appears. The fact remains that, these events occur, and like the rainbow we must embrace the differences in human physiology. Working with children who have autism have not always been easy neither has it been difficult. I have felt joy in the little progress made. I have also expressed frustration at my inability to fully understand the condition, and thereby have the ability to effect change. Here lies the crux of the matter, the desire to gain information in order to manipulate change, in effect, to change a person to become like everyone else? No one can do that. Moreover, it is the wrong approach, best to work with what is now! Seek not to improve on creation or to reinvent a new person. God never make mistakes, autism is not a mistake. Autism is constant; autism is predictable; autism is unvarying in its behavior, its rigidity, and its resistance to change.

This book is useful for those who work with the autism population, parents, inclusion teachers, special education teachers, siblings, extended families and anyone with a calling to educated children with autism. A calling is a desire to work in a field without necessarily understanding why, but rather be able to make a difference. Having the patience required and willing to learn the patience needed, to understand better how to interact with a person with autism; and enable him to learn to live a healthier lifestyle. This book will explain and empower those who work with the autism population, allow them to provide the necessary daily practices, which will replace inappropriate behavior with appropriate skills required for effective daily functioning.

Often when first confronted with autism most parents are at a loss to find all the information they need in one place. Most of the information garnered in this book is to guide and educate and not for medical expertise. Many of the tips in the book can be modified to fit individuals, and should be used as a starting point to help in the understanding of autism. Power to empower can be misunderstood; the character of stubbornness in autism can be viewed as a shield to prevent total misuse of dependency associated with autism. Hopefully, readers will learn that nothing and no one is an emblem of perfection and like the rainbow, all humans are made up of different hues.

Introduction

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People with autism have difficulties navigating their families and their communities. It is not just a question of normality or abnormality but rather about the likes and dislikes of an individual. How these likes and dislikes can influence their ability to function daily. Learning new skills will increase their ability to live in a society as prescribed by their surroundings; and not to remain lost in their inability to function in a noisy world. The beginning is the best place to start, choose your battles, and celebrate your victories, however minute when your child attempts a new activity. Understand that it will be a long haul; be prepared to roll up your sleeves and dig in.

Autism is not a disease, so there is no cure for autism. There can only be a cure if there is an illness. Treating autism primarily focuses on symptom management; and will help the person with autism live a productive lifestyle.

Be advised care givers, that there is a strand, a filament, a nerve center in the human temperament that gets burnt out, and can completely exhaust itself both physically and emotionally. To be a caregiver for a child is different to caring for a pre-teen, a teenager or an adult, especially when giving only flows in one direction. Autism does not understand the reciprocal form of interaction. Autism will only give what it learns how to give. If you find yourself feeling in need of emotional interaction, best remove yourself from the situation, replenish your soul and your spirit and begin again; life is for-giving.

Support groups, families in the same situation: starting a group and sharing resources through blogs can be a great outlet as well as to help others. Many groups and centers started as a one man band. Find sources to replenish the energy used up in giving. You will discover that autism does not give in the manner we expect, but rather receive in the manner we know; the usual method of interaction is a deficit and therefore not available to the autism person.

No one can change a child to become the blueprint of their imagination, even those who are experiencing autism, cannot change themselves to become like everyone else. It is not for us to question the reasons why me, but rather to know that it is what it is - an ongoing search to discover the best way to empower, and enable every individual with autism to live their best existence. I have discovered that when patience exceeds expectations breakthrough occur, a glimmer of hope, joy, and triumph. I continue to believe that with the advancement of science; One day there will be a better understanding of Autism spectrum disorder.

In spite of awareness drives and growing academic progress, great misconception still exists. Many people have never heard of autism despite an increasing number of new diagnoses. Some people view autism as an incurable disease or a viral infection that can contaminate, while others filled with images of a savant, as portrayed by the media, visions of the savant "Rain Man movie. It adds to the paranoia, shame, apathy and the desire for secrecy, thereby preventing early intervention. Some parents are unaware of autism or the associated signs. At the extreme end are parents who are embarrassed, ashamed or blame themselves for their child’s condition. It is nobody’s fault, it is what it is. Desist from blame shame" and get on with the work ahead.

Autism in Effect

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Autism is classified as a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or changes in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences IDEA 2004.

Autism is also typified by other neurological deficits such as:

• Not able to communicate with other people in the usual manner.

• An acute detachment that isolates the individual from their surroundings.

• discrepancy in language processing ability including, delayed speech and echolalia, (people with echolalia repeat sounds or phrases they may have heard from TV shows or other sources, and may not make sense during conversation: echolalia could be viewed as an attempt to learn or practice language)

• Monotone, tonality, speaking in an unvaried manner, pitch, and range.

• Extreme fear and reaction to loud noises.

• Compulsive need for repetition and maintaining of sameness.

• Few spontaneous activities.

• Constant is physical movement such as gyrating or incessant rocking.

• Gait: that is a distinct manner of walking.

An effective caregiver need to understand the functions and the operations of the human body. There are no shortcuts worth following only repeated journeys and beginnings. It is better to equip yourself as best as you can than to go forth without sustenance. What you put in is what you get out. A person with autism is not an abnormality in nature; he is firstly a whole human being, whose body will function in the same way as everyone else and will go through the stages of human development as detailed in the next chapter. Autism is a character trait; a part of who he is, not all of who he is. They think and feel they have preferences: they have ideas, talents, dreams and ambitions. They may be overweight, wear glasses, or they may be silly, uncoordinated, clumsy, funny, or awkward. A person with autism is a person with autism, he is not an autistic person; in other words – condition before the human being. The autism condition does not come before the human being. Rather see the person first before you see their condition. So, having autism can be viewed as part of their character not all of their person.

The Five Senses

The five senses-sight, smell, touch hearing, taste - are out of synchronization, which is the relationship among things that are happening or working at the same time, especially the correlation of sounds and images that may not be in sequence. No one understands this synchronization in the way of the person with autism, who feels that doubled sound bite as unbearably loud, the minuscule whiff as intolerable, the insignificant flavor and slightest touch as a death blow. Most people may not even notice these minor sensory events but for the person with autism. They can be painful and make them feel that their environment is already unbearable on their arrival.

The person with autism may seem to be argumentative, unsettled, not listening to instruction or unable to understand what is being said. But at that precise moment, he may be dealing with multiple contrasting sensory incidents with the five senses occurring at the same time potentially rendering him dysfunctional. If taken away from the threatening environment could achieve immediate recovery.

The hearing may be hyper sensitive, as if several people are talking at the same time along with loudspeakers booming, music blaring from sound systems, cash registers tinkling and a coffee maker guzzling; all at the same time. Most people absorb and decipher sounds without being aware that they are doing so, but the autism brain cannot individually filter out all the input; and when it becomes overloaded a meltdown occurs. Sometimes when you call out animatedly from across a crowded room, the person with autism hears