Autistic children?

Question

Has anyone worked with them? What are the ups and downs? What can you tell me about it?

Answer 1

Most children that are "truly" afflicted with Autism Deficit Disorders, which there are clearly at least 18 different types, have a wide variety of problems. Many of the different types can be distinguished by genetic disposition testing, monitoring visually, and testing to see what exactly each childs deficits are. In my son, he was positively diagnosed at 18 months although we clearly knew he was afflicted many months earlier. He has no real genetic disposition meaning he is one of the more fortunate, as some with the dispositions will more than likely develop diffferent serious medical complications throughout their lives depending upon which genes are involved. My son has "communication and associative problems," he is 6 and rarely speaks, saying more than 1 or 2 words at a time is truly an achievement for him although he does know what everyone says. There are issues of stemming, he taps his teeth and mouth for stimulation which he enjoys, instead of speaking he makes sounds, sometimes to the point of even screaming, but most of the time it is not a sign of pain but of enjoyment or excitement. He is somewhat passive with the few times of minor aggression being more from frustration due to his inabilities to communicate properly, this has been a more recent development as he is getting older. He is a very loving and helpful child, intelligent in many aspects of life, and is an extremely quick learner, his future outlook is much better than many. The highs are that he is a quick study, intelligent, loving, in quite many ways he is much like a child of his age or even slightly older. He is extremely helpful and wants to learn, he is also very respectfull towards others usually. He does not play with most toys normally, it is part of his type of disorder, and prefers to be with older children/ young adults over children his age or younger. The downside with my son is that he is very stubborn at times, he learns to quickly and gets frustrated if he is not moved along in his work at school which leads to some disobedience issues, he has already mastered the art of tuning people out when he wants, his stemming causes distraction issues both at school and at home, too many new changes at one time cause even more stemming issues but this is also widely common with most if not all children of Autism. He thinks, at times, that running is a game and finds openings to try and escape to have people chase him, which is a safety issue because he does not understand that vehicles will hit him and he does not look or avoid them, another thing that can be found in many children with Autism, not realizing dangerous situations. From what I have experienced with TSS workers and my son is that it is both a frustrating but highly rewarding profession for both the client and the TSS worker. They are behavioural specialist teachers assigned one on one with the children for a set amount of hours per day and are not supposed to be with any client for more than a 2 year period so that they do not burn out with that child and that, hopefully, the next TSS will bring new ideas and ways of teaching and behavioural modifications to the client/ child. Is it frustrating at times? I am sure that it is. As I said, my son is much easier than a lot of them, and I have seen some children that are even better than my son and transfer to regular public schools as they get older and more able to cope and do the regular school curicullum. Some children with Autism are in varying and progressive steps much worse than my son. Some have not only Autism but a combination of other disorders such as down syndrome. It is true that the amount of children that have been classified as having Autism has increased and some of that is due to some Doctors notion that expanding and broadening the definition of what Autism is would get help for other types of problems including disciplinary, and hyperactivity, as well a attention deficits. Regardless of this expansion the number of births each year of children with the "truest forms" of Autism has been and is still on the rise with enough documentation to prove it. I do not believe that the ability to expand and broaden the definition was proper, however, with the funding for the nedded programs not being fully met I am hoping that the addition of these cases will increase the funding for not only the educational and behavioral portions but also the funding for the research which is also underfunded. Each child is different in their own distinguishable ways even if suffering with the same exact type of Autism, each child also responds and advances differently and at their own pace to the educational and behavioral portions of their educations. One thing is for sure with this entire sphere of Autism, early intervention and intense and continuing behavioral and educational interventions and teachings are a must have with these children in order to give them a chance to lead the best possible and functional life that they can. A full school day, when they are of age, and at least another hour and a half to two hours in the home after school each and every day is barely enough, they should also have additional Saturday education and behavioral in the home setting, this is to attempt to give them what they will need as they advance in age. There is already a shortage of TSS workers nationwide, not enough to go around for the children who need them, and as I said the funding issue needs to be addressed also. It is a rewarding career if someone is interested in pursuing their college degree and not sure what to do, a BS is needed in most areas to be a TSS worker, checking within your local mental health community would be the best idea to see the requirements. Another problem is that some States do not recognize the need or are unwilling to provide for the needs well enough to give these children the chance that they need, the tools that they will need to hopefully be a productive part of society one day. I hope that this addresses your questions. E.

Answer 2

Do you want to be a teacher? If so you should see if any teachers will let you observe the class because it will help accompany whatever information you find through here or online. Autism covers a vast area of "spectrum disorders." It's a spectrum become symptoms are from mild to severe. Most common characteristics are stemming (we all stem, e.g. tapping our foot, pencil, etc, but autistic kids sometimes engange in banging their head, fiddling and flashing fingers, rocking, etc. that is not socially acceptable), lack of empathy (e.g. they can read at a higher level than their typically developing peers, but can't tell you why the girl in the book started to cry), the need to finish things/things to be in order (following a schedule, must finish a puzzle once they start it), many also have sensory issues (proprioceptive or vestibular). There are many other characteristics of autism, and not every kid displays all of them, hence (again), why they call it the spectrum. You can work with asperger's kids: very academically smart, but severe social inadequecies, or kids who are non-verbal and have very low academics. They can come with smiles, screaming, violent behaviors, or sweet/cute behaviors. It definately takes a special person to appreciate all of them. :)

Anyways, I think autistic kids are just wonderful! Their brains are truely amazing for some of the abilities they have (There was a news special about two autistic adults being married, the wife can write sheet music and she can start anywhere in the song and even start writing at the end of the song and work backwards!). They are truely unique, and I know that there is a decent need for special education teachers. The days can definately be tiring though, because I've seen my mom come to home burnt out and very tired. Have you heard of Temple Grandin? She is great! She has a Ph.D and has written many books about her life with autism. Colleges also have autism guest speakers that you might be able to go see as well. If you are in college, you should look in to becoming a paraprofessional teachers aid (that's what they call it in Ca at least). It's a job where you get put in a class with special needs as an aide and it is a very worthwile experience.

Answer 3

Autism is a spectrum that goes from the extreme, let's say a nonverbal 4 year old whose only form of communication is consists of screaming, biting and smearing feces on the wall, to the very mild. In mild cases it usually involves some social behavior issues and some eccentric behavior, like an obsession with one particular toy when the kid has about a hundred toys, or a compulsion to touch the doorknobs in all the rooms he goes into.
Autism is such a terrible term though. It pretty much umbrellas all the disorders involving social awkwardness and strange behaviors.
It can also be accompanied by deafness, blindness, tactile sensitivity (if you try to touch them they tantrum). They are often, but not always difficult to teach, but they are very easy to love.

Answer 4

I don't have any children with Autism but both my sisters have it. I love how they can remember things when I'm totally struggling to pull it out of the back of my mind. So their memories. My younger sister and I were given a dental routine by the dentist, and while I tend to slack off she's very diligent in it and doesn't miss anything. So her consistence. My younger sister is always asking questions about things, some I can answer and some very good questions that spark my interest in the subject as well. So her inquiring mind. My older sister was always willing to help me with my homework when I was at school because she knew it and figured she could explain it to me the way I could understand (ways other people hadn't). So the different take on things. When my sisters care about something, they care for it with everything they possibly can. They always look out for whatever/whoever it is, helping any way to make it easier for them. So the in your face way of things doesn't have to be a disadvantage. That's all I can think of right now, hope I helped your list a little.

Answer 5

Hello :)

I work with people with disabilities is general, however, in particular I love working with those who experience autism. I have worked long term with a 14yr old and a 3yr old.

Working with people with autism can be hard as progress can be slow; you put in a lot of effort and don’t see a whole lot in return. On the positive side, when your student/client takes a step forward or makes a breakthrough it is sooo rewarding. It is a privilege to be someone’s interpreter or connection to a world that they don’t entirely understand.

I find that working with people with autism makes me see the world in a different way. Autism causes the person to have difficulty filtering out information they receive through their senses … eg we can tune out background noise and focus of the task at hand, but a person with autism may experience it all. The little boy I work with now has severe autism, but he has helped me to see how amazing it is to just sit and watch the movement of trees in a breeze, sand running through your fingers, or waves swirling over rocks. I love experiencing how he sees the world and the pure joy on his face.

I hope that helps. If you have any questions …specific or general… don’t hesitate to ask :)

Answer 6

I have never worked with them but my sister is autistic she will never get past the mentality of a 5 year old she was 1lbs 7oz. when she was born. as for ups and downs i guess the upside would be that my sister will never know of hardships she will be a little kid her entire life but there are plenty of downsides she will never cook she can never have her own kids so its hard but you have to stay positive and do your best hope this helps

Answer 7

Autism is the latest in a long series of "popular" diagnoses. It basically says, "The kid ain't like we expect him to be." The problem is, it can also be highly self-fulfilling to tell a kid he's abnormal.

So autism can range anywhere from a child who is almost entirely non-functional to one that is merely a brat. It's almost impossible to tell you much about what it is like to work with "them," because there is no single "them." It's a catch-all diagnosis.

If I were to go to work with autistic children, it would be as a subversive; working to spring the prisoners.