Autism is not a processing error – it’s merely a different operating system!

Every single one of us knows that the month of April is associated with April fools’ jokes and we can’t wait to see what the media cooks up when it comes to a good laugh. But how many of us have ever stopped, thought about it and recognised April as World Autism Awareness month?

Before we can recognise anything, we need to understand what exactly Autism is. The definition is as follows: Autism is a spectrum of closely related disorders with a shared core of symptoms. Autism spectrum disorder appears in infancy and early childhood, causing delays in many basic areas of development, such as learning to talk, play, and interact with others. Every child on the autism spectrum has problems, at least to some degree, in the following three areas:

1. Communicating verbally and non-verbally
2. Relating to others and the world around them
3. Thinking and behaving flexibly

As defined by various medical sources, there are three types of Autism:

1. Autistic Disorder(also called “classic” autism)

This is what most people think of when hearing the word “autism.”  People with autistic disorder usually have significant language delays, social and communication challenges, and unusual behaviors and interests. Many people with autistic disorder also have intellectual disability.

2. Asperger Syndrome

People with Asperger syndrome usually have some milder symptoms of autistic disorder.  They might have social challenges and unusual behaviors and interests.  However, they typically do not have problems with language or intellectual disability.

3. Pervasive Developmental Disorder

People who meet some of the criteria for autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome, but not all, may be diagnosed with PDD-NOS. People with PDD-NOS usually have fewer and milder symptoms than those with autistic disorder.  The symptoms might cause only social and communication challenges.

Once we have educated ourselves on exactly what this very real disorder is, it is very needed to ask ourselves what we as teachers and parents can do to identify symptoms early on and do the best we can to assist our children. Make sure children’s development is monitored closely. While emotional and cognitive milestones are effective indicators to spot problems early on, they don’t automatically point to Autism, but are definitely indicators of heightened risk. Normal is a relative understanding, so share any form of concern with a doctor. Don’t wait until it is too late. The wait-and-see approach is the worst thing you can do. Developmentally delayed children are unlikely to simply grow out of their problems. Always trust your instincts. If your sixth sense tells you something is wrong the chances are that something is.

Despite our best efforts to identify and be vigilant to the symptoms, how can we help a child that suffers from one of the three types of Autism?

* Encourage play and social interaction – children learn when they play and this includes language development skills. Use nursery rhymes and other fun games that will stimulate speech. Ensure that you are always eye-level as this will make it easier for the child to see and hear you clearly

* The imitation game – there was nothing more annoying when we were young than someone else mimicking you, but this encourages vocalising and interaction. Just always encourage positive behaviour. For example, when your child rolls a car, you roll a car. If he or she crashes the car, you crash yours too. But don’t imitate throwing the car!

* Focus on non-verbal communication – gestures and eye contact is a fantastic foundation for the development of language skills. Exaggerate your gestures. Nod your head clearly when saying “yes” for example. Clap your hands and reach out your arms when talking.

* Leave “space” for your little one to talk – we all know we love to complete sentences for children and adults when they don’t immediately respond in the way we would like them too. Give them a chance to communicate and always make sure your response is prompt. This will also help the child feel empowered and in control of communication.

* Simplify the way you speak – if your child is speaking single words, up the ante. Speak in short phrases, such as “roll ball” or “throw ball” Generally use phrases with one more word than they are using to encourage sentence building and language.

* Consider assistive and visual supports – technology is a wonderful thing. Use apps and devices with pictures that your child can touch to produce words and encourage language development. Children can also use visual supports that can include pictures to indicate feelings or they can use these as requests to communicate in a better manner.

Always remember, children with Autism is not a broken toy, they simply challenge us to communicate in a different way and helps us to better express ourselves!