Children, Autism, and Violence: Inception of Monstrous Behaviors

Parents of violent and autistic children have the patience of steel. The monstrous behavior of their children - verbal threats, physical aggression, frequent loss of temper, and extreme impulsiveness - desolate their lives and enforce them to experience serious injuries and unpredictable repercussions.
Numerous researches tell us the numerous roots of children's violent behaviors. According to a research by Dr. Rebecca J. Scharf, University of Virginia, "Short nighttime sleep duration can raise monstrous behaviors in children." In addition, the Journal of Pediatrics uncovers, "Aggressive behaviors of children are related to soft drink ingestion." Also, a Case Western Reserve University study indicates that children who witness violence between their parents usually embrace violent behaviors.
Psychiatrist, Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, tells us, "Planned violence is not the trait of an autistic child." Something and anything can immediately ignite the feelings of severe outbursts inside him and coerce him to perform pernicious acts. Therefore, it's significant to realize that sometimes autistic children's violent actions are not under their own control. Their eyes stop seeing and ears stop listening, and they just act without thinking anything. Few studies reveal that the limited verbal skill is the cause of violent behaviors too. Because, limited verbal skill forces autistic children to show physical aggression instead of using words.
It's probably not possible to cure autism in the near future. But, right now we have the full capability to identify and treat violent behaviors. Autism itself is not dangerous. However, when violence merges with autism, the situation becomes lethal. All we need to do is to separate violent behaviors from autism and cut the roots of the actual problem. The right support and right treatment can improve the quality of your child's life and invite heavenly happiness in the home. Therefore, I've put together 12 methods that can help you to turn a violent, autistic child into calm and cooperative.
1 - Don't interrogate your kids, because words are like a second language to them. Words ruffle their hearts and puzzle their minds. The more you interrogate them with your leading questions, the more you ignite irritability inside them and intimidate them to convey their feelings through violent behaviors.
2 - Children with ASD make indirect requests, and that lead to all kinds of problems. Parents often perceive the actual desire of the child from the wrong context, and this thing leads to more distressful situation. If your child is asking questions regarding Christmas repeatedly, in the middle of the June, then it doesn't mean he wants to know about Christmas. He possibly wants you to bring the Christmas tree right now.
3 - In the autistic kids with antisocial personality, the risk of violence is the highest. Kids with antisocial personality are more apt to violence than those who have anxiety disorders. Furthermore, there is one alarmed fact that indicates that kids with antisocial personality are also at the probability of dying from suicide. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be effective in helping kids to alter their violent thought patterns.
4 - Dr. Thomas N. Robinson, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford, tells us, "Exposing kids to less aggression on television will have a positive influence on behaviors." Also, Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, lead author of the study, and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, said, "The take-home message for parents is, it's not just about turning off the TV; it's about changing the channel." These situations demonstrate that watching educational television with children can actually improve the behaviors.
5 - Just change the details; don't change the entire picture. Details are the main culprits that either water down or intensify the aggressive mode of the kid. So, concentrate on changing the details rather than changing the entire picture in order to control your child's behavior.
6 - Autistic children learn best through action, and their behavioral nature can be changed by introducing new, positive activities into their lives.
7 - Feelings of being valueless can also intensify violent behaviors in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). If children with ASD are not good at social skills, it doesn't mean they don't understand what is exactly happening around them. The weird treatment of society and lack of love makes it difficult for these children to subdue the core feelings of low self-esteem. Consequently, their fight with a feeling of being impaired turns them into a hurtful, violent creature.
8 - Violence can also be a way of seeking attention. Give him the comprehensive, positive response and have frequent, thorough communication with him as much as you can, in case you constantly ignore the core feelings of your child, or don't understand his indirect messages. This will gradually stop him from seeking negative attention through violence, and he will begin to learn proper ways to convey his feelings.
9 - Autistic children also use violence for having a sense of control over their environment - when they are unable to deal with immediate change and flooding sensory information. We already know that most of these kids are born without filtering system. Their minds digest every bit of information in the paramount detail and don't easily allow them to experience unpredictable change. So, it's better to keep their lives as much predictable as you can, because an unpredictable change can invite a monstrous behavior inside them.
10 - Some non-verbal autistic kids comfortably express their emotions through written words and drawings. It's very possible for you too to teach your kid this way for expressing emotions. This will not only ease the environment at home but also help you to understand his exact feelings. In addition, this method will help you to turn violent situations into healthy, playful games.
11 - If your kid is violent, then there is a 90% chance that the presence of negativity in his routines is responsible for his behavior. In order to resolve this problem, all you need to do is to make his routines as happy as you can, because happy routines develop happy children.
12 - Reward his good behavior, because rewards motivate him to act more positively in future. Just catch him doing something good, give him a compliment, hug him, kiss him, and let him do his favorite activity. Rewarding system keeps the child motivated and force him emotionally and psychologically to change his bad behaviors and adopt the good ones.
Remember, every child has a little natural self-control; don't expect your child to take mature steps or understand the situation automatically. Almost every child sometimes acts violently in order to achieve his needs. Just use the above strategies and act with love; you have the ability to teach him how to exhibit feelings through appropriate ways.

Isaac Smith has worked with children with autism for over 8 years. His company accommodates workshops and training materials regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - which is a common childhood behavioral disorder. You can get more insightful and specific information regarding "Autism in Children" through his website at: http://www.pleasedparents.com
Isaac teaches simple psychological and emotional tactics that connect parents with their autistic child, emotionally and psychologically. His effective strategies solve the obsessive issues of an autistic child easily and bring peace and harmony in the home... For more valuable information, visit his blog: http://www.pleasedparents.com/blog.html

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Autism, Head Banging and Ear Slapping - Two Behavior Characteristics

As a researcher and autism survivor, I can state that children with autism can hear sounds above the average person hearing range. Although high pitch sounds cannot be heard normally, to an autistic child these sounds can cause intense inner ear pain.
Knocking The Pain Out
In an effort to stop this inner ear pain, the autistic child will cover or slap their ears or in severe cases bang their head against a wall to knock out the pain.
This inner ear pain was virtually unknown to my parents.
Being isolated in my own world where this pain existed, I saw the world from the inside out. I was not able to cross over to a proper reality.
This self isolation was caused by the inability for my brain to ground to its physical body.
My brain's inability to ground to its physical body didn't allow me to complete the pathway or circuit into a normal reality. In the world I lived in, I spoke properly, maintained mental focus, emotional balance and occasionally felt this inner ear pain.
This lack of grounding prevented me from traveling back and forth between a normal reality and the reality that I functioned in.
Also without this grounding I was unable to create any mental, physical or emotional environmental filters that would protect me from these high pitch sounds. In a normal reality, people can filter out these sounds, protecting them from this intense inner ear pain. I could not.
I have since discovered that there are two causes why my brain could not ground to its physical body:
1) The chemical reaction caused by vaccination preservative's that seem to distort the brain's ability to form proper brain wave frequencies needed for this grounding to occur.
2) The electro magnetic fields of energy in the home that interferes with the brain's circuitry. These fields of energy are generated by the use of fluorescent lighting, microwave ovens, TV's, computers, electronic equipment, flying in airplanes, and driving in a car.
The Take Away
When your child starts slapping their ears or banging their head, they are not being defiant, they are in terrible pain.

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Should Suspected Autistic Infants Be Given Iron Supplements?

You may not realize it but one in 88 children which are born in the United States now have autism. One mother told me that if this were any other medical issue or a disease, people would be outraged, and demand more research trying to figure out how to stop it, what causes it, or how to prevent it. Yes, I agree with her. Further, there are so many theories as to what causes it, or if it is just another evolutionary step for humankind, as our biological system works out the details as our brains are required to do more to survive, and to ensure that humans procreate in the future.
If there are smarter people having more babies because they can afford to, and people who are less intelligent having fewer babies because they cannot economically afford them, then we have a dynamic shift in who gets born to which families. If those families which have intelligent mothers and fathers have more complex brain biological features, then perhaps this could be an evolutionary issue, one that can be disrupted by other problems such as environmental issues, or maybe those brains need more in the way of certain types of nourishments as they are forming.
Of course, there are enough theories behind all of this speculation that it could drive someone nuts just plotting and all, but when you chart out all the different theories, it seems they do have at least some common themes. Recently there was a meeting of international researchers in Spain, a conference on autism.
After which, there was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal recently titled; "Autism Linked to Environmental Factors - New Studies of Air Pollution, Pesticides and Iron Bolster Evidence Tying Developmental Does Order to Influence His in Womb," by Shirley S Wang. The article stated amongst other things that;" one presentation suggested that iron supplements before an early in pregnancy may lower the risk, and a third suggested some association between use of various household insecticides and a higher risk of autism."
Sure, all of this does make sense because autism is caused by a change in brain formation and development. Of course, after the child is born the brain is still developing, so is there a way to make up for it, or some of it, and if so what if we gave on iron supplements to those children after they were born if they were suspected to have autism? Do our baby foods lack iron? Does mother's milk lack it due to diets? What causes a lack of iron?
These are questions I dare to ask, and I think we need more studying here. Since the US government is funding more brain research, how about it? How much would cost to do the study?
There are some mothers who are already giving supplements to their children, including iron supplements, or have them on specific diets which may contain more iron than other types of diets. It's just a matter of looking at statistics. Well, I hate to add more speculation and theories to all those already presented, but I wonder if anyone knows the answers to the questions I proposed this article. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net

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The Different Kinds of Autism

Contrary to what some people may believe, autism is not a type of mental retardation, but rather a complex neurobehavorial disorder that affects a person's development, language, communication skills and social skills. Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that there are several classifications of the disorder. It can range from the very mild, allowing a person to lead a very normal life, all the way to very severe cases which necessitate institutional care.
Here's a look at the different types of autism spectrum disorders:
Autistic Disorder- This is what people commonly think of when they hear the term "autism." This diagnosis refers to problems with communication, social interaction and imaginative play in kids younger than three. It's usually diagnosed during a child's toddler years and symptoms can range from mild to severe.
Asperger's Syndrome- People with this type tend to have excellent language skills and average or above-average intelligence and do well on standardized tests. However, they lack social skills and aren't able to interact with their peers in a usual manner. It's a mild form of autism and children are able to do well in school, but have troubles with classmates due to the diagnosed child's awkward, sometimes odd, behaviors. Sometimes people aren't diagnosed with Asperger's until they're teens or adults. With specialized training, these people can lead typical lives and be active members of society.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)- Also called atypical autism, this type is a miscellaneous category for people who don't clearly fit into one of the other, more defined, categories. People who fit this category have one or more traits of a few autistic categories but don't meet the criteria for any one diagnosis.
Rett Syndrome- This is found only in girls, but quite rare. Children with this type of autism develop normally for several years, and then their communication skills and social skills begin to regress. Between the ages of 1 and 4, they discontinue using their hands purposefully, and begin to make repetitive hand movements instead.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)- This is a rare type of autism. Children with this disorder develop normally for the first two years of life and then start to lose most of their motor, language, social, communication and potty skills.
Autism tends to run in families, and is found in people of all nationalities, races and socioeconomic levels. Researchers believe that certain types of genes predispose a child to the disorder. It's very rare that the disorder can be diagnosed at birth, but one is typically made before the child enters school.

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Gluten Free And Autism

Do you have a child or know someone with autism? Does that person eat high amounts of wheat, barley, oats or rye proteins? Did you know that these proteins linked also with casein (the protein found in milk products) can trigger behavioral issues? To someone with autism these proteins can act as an addictive drug. Wow, mind blowing right? Some experts have even referred to gluten as "poison" for someone who is autistic.
Researchers have found that people with autism who eat gluten products regularly have a hard time breaking down the protein and found high levels of peptides with opiate in the urine. Opiates are similar to the drug known as morphine and affect the brain function. The two main problems have been linked as gluten (which is the protein found in wheat, barley, oats and rye) and casein (the protein found in milk.) Would you knowingly give your child morphine? Allowing a child who has autism to eat gluten products could be doing as much harm.
Now that you know the facts, where should you start? How can you possibly remove gluten from the diet? It will not be easy at first but will be beneficial in the end. It will take perseverance and research. At first it will take a lot of time because you will need to read labels and rule out all foods with gluten ingredients. You may even want to consult a dietician to work with you the first few weeks. They can come up with healthy meal plans based on the person's likes and dislikes. There are also many online resources to help. There are even" Gluten Free Bibles" which are guides to a full gluten free life. There are even gluten free cookbooks and foods you can purchase online.
You are probably saying right now, "This seems like too much work, I don't have the time for this." That may be the case first but once you understand and start shopping gluten free it is quite easy. Also, you must look at the long term benefits of the gluten free diet. You must realize that for many who have autism, foods with gluten are toxic to their brain and avoiding them is necessary. It will be challenging at first but with a little effort and a few good gluten free cookbooks your autistic child/friend will see improvements in behavior. I have read reports that after three months of gluten free living autistic children have been able to make eye contact and actually play calmly with other children. Now, doesn't that sound worth giving it a try?
There are so many resources and online products to help you with your new journey. It will require sacrifices and endurance. Remember this adjustment will take time but the results are so valuable. Start today and begin to live free!

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Autism Awareness Month

As Autism Awareness month approaches, it is important for American parents and families to be aware of some basic autism facts. From early signs of autism to safety precautions and statistics, I am going to cover a range of topics to inform you about aspects of autism.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a bio-neurological developmental disability that is typically detected in children before the age of 3. A 2012 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that 1 in 88 U.S children is diagnosed with autism by age 8. This rate has risen significantly since the 2006 study that estimated 1 in 110 children had autism.
Additionally, boys are nearly five times (4. 7 percent) more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls, averaging 1 in 54 versus 1 in 252 for girls. With the percentage of people affected by autism rising, funding is still low, and an effective treatment or cure still has not been discovered.
Although autism does not generally lead to death in itself, the mortality risk for those with autism is nearly double that of the general population due to accidents and eloping. Because autism affects communication skills and cognitive functions, children with autism who elope often have trouble speaking and communicating when found, according to the National Autism Association. Autism is typically accompanied by other health conditions like allergies, asthma, epilepsy, bowel disease, digestive and gastrointestinal disorders, persistent viral infections, feeding disorders, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder and a list of other conditions.
Because of the risks associated with having autism, it's important to adhere to safety precautions encouraged for caretakers of the autistic to follow. These precautions include things like keeping a close eye on your autistic child, as approximately 48 percent of children with autism attempt to elope from safe environments, in turn, leading to drowning, kidnapping, assault and other dangers.
Other things to consider when caring for a child with autism is life insurance for you and your spouse, and also life insurance for your child with autism. Life insurance coverage for you and your spouse will ensure that your child will always have access to food, shelter, a caretaker and medical care in the event of you or your spouse's death. Without that coverage, your autistic child could be left without necessary care and provisions. Additionally, having life insurance on your child with autism will ensure that, should the unthinkable happen and something happens to your child, you and your family would be able to afford final expenses including funeral and burial costs and outstanding medical bills.
Learning to care for your child with autism is an important part of ensuring your child's safety and access to a bright future. By researching and being prepared for the future and its possibilities, you are caring for your child in the best way possible. Take time to learn more about autism and its risks, how you can encourage, treat and help your child progress, and also how you can plan ahead to guarantee that your child will always be taken care of.
Participate in Autism Awareness month my learning more about autism and how you can protect your child today. Join in the cause for raising awareness to care and treatment for people with autism.

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Can School Districts Prevent Autism Service Dogs From Attending School With a Child?

Do you have a child with PDD or autism that is receiving special education services? Are you considering, getting an autism service dog for your child, and you wonder what the school's reaction will be? Have you been refused to have an autism service dog attend school with your child and wonder what the law says about it? This article will discuss the requirements for school districts allowing autism service dogs to enter public school buildings, with a child that they are working with.
Autism Service Dogs help children with autism in several ways: the dog can assist children safely access different environments, the dog can be a calming influence, the dog can work on interrupting repetitive behavior by nudging the child, the dog can prevent the child from wandering away (by a tether), and the dog can track the child when they have wandered. Side effects of the dog is that children with autism that have one tend to be calmer and also tend to interact in social situations better than children with autism that do not have a dog.
But schools across the country have taken the position that these dogs are not service dogs, and that they are drawing the line to protect the health and safety of all students. I actually believe that the reason many school districts are refusing to allow the dogs is due to precedent. If they allow one autism service dog in then they must allow more. Parents have been suing school districts over this issue from California to Illinois. Recently 2 Illinois parents won court orders allowing the dogs to accompany their children to school.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has a section that addresses this issue. The ADA definition is that the dog must be individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. The ADA does not require the dog to be certified, to be considered a service dog. The service dog must be given total access to any public places where the person with a disability goes under the ADA requirements.
The Department of Justice has taken a stand for the child and parent in these cases. Alejandro Miyar a spokesman for the US Department of Justice states that the ADA requires public schools to allow service dogs to accompany children they serve to class. He also stated that autism is considered a covered disability under the ADA.
Another thing that school districts are doing to try and prevent autism service dogs is to state that this is an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) issue, and must be agreed to by the IEP team. I do not believe that this is the case, and parents should not fall into this trap. The actual issue is that the ADA allows access to service dogs in public places-so the issue is access for the dog. Another issue is, that the school district is discriminating against the child's disability, by refusing to allow the dog to attend class with the child with autism.
The newest tactic used by school districts is that the dog cannot be in the class due to another child's allergies. I think that this argument will not hold up in court due to the fact that the child can be placed in another class, the child could take medication if bothered by the dog, and other ways to limit the child's contact with the dog.
The ADA is clear; public schools must allow service dogs to attend class with a child. Several courts have ruled that it is a violation of the ADA to refuse to allow the dogs in class with a child with autism. If you are considering this for your child you must understand what the school's position may be, and how to overcome it, for the benefit of your child's education! Your child is depending on you to advocate for what they need! Good luck in your fight!

JoAnn Collins is the mother of two adults with disabilities, and has helped families navigate the special education system, as an advocate, for over 15 years. She is a presenter and author of the book "Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game." The book has a lot of resources and information to help parents fight for an appropriate education for their child. For a free E newsletter entitled "The Special Education Spotlight" send an E mail to: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com. For more information on the book, testimonials about the book, and a link to more articles go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com

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Essential Autism Services

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) or Autism is the disorder of neural development. This is noted in different types of development disorders like verbal and non verbal communication, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. The symptoms of ASDs become visible before a child is three years old and normally has a strong genetic basis. Though there is no treatment available for ASDs, early diagnosis and medical help can improve self- care and communication skills in children. Yet again this does not completely eradicate the disorder. There is a need for different types of autism services that helps overcome these disorders and improve development skills in a child.
Some services include music therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, behavior analysis and speech and language therapy. These services are tailored depending on the child's need and focuses on increasing the quality of the child's life. The purpose of such services is to inculcate education, employment and social care. This involves educating and developing individuals with autism, helping them find and keep a job and supporting them through the help of a community.
Standard health services include designing and maintaining a healthy individual by including a range of treatments and therapies that are listed below.
The main service done in treatment of autism is medications. This involves directly or indirectly consuming prescribed chemical substances. These chemical substances are used in the medical diagnose, cure, treatment or prevention of a disease. Another core service use of alternative medicines like physiotherapies, natural medicines and pet therapies. This is again done depending on the physiological need and requirement of the affected child. Diets, nutritional supplements and hormones are also given key importance. This is also used as a complementary or alternative medicine.
On the physical level, behavioral and developmental therapies are one of the main services that are used in a large and diverse range. Behavioral is instilled in the child through teaching and coaching by therapists, teachers, and parents. While developmental targets the core dearth in the child. Psychotherapeutic is also an important aspect in this service. Here the child comes to a complete understanding of his/her abilities, difficulties, motivations or worries. This is done in connection with the therapist.
Motor and sensory therapies are yet another important service. Motor therapy aims at improving the motor function of the whole body or parts while sensory therapy aim at improving the sensitivity to, one or more senses. In some cases the child affected with autism finds it difficult to communicate through speech. Alternative communication therapy is undertaken for such problems. They are trained to use external device, electronic or sign languages. In some instances alternative communication enhances the usual means of communication.
Although there is no complete cure for autism such autism services help the child to recover gradually. Most children with autism lack social support, relationships, employment opportunities or self-determination such services train and support the child to overcome such liabilities and live independently.

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How To Work With Your Autistic Child For Social Settings

Current studies indicate that about one out of about 160 children is affected with autism or some type or level of autistic spectrum disorder. One of the biggest problems with having an autistic child is that they do not care to or cannot participate in social functions or social gatherings and they have trouble communicating verbally. This clearly creates problems for the child as they develop and mature because they do not interact with children of their own age group to learn how to act and behave in a social setting.
This aspect presents a very unique challenge to the parents of an autistic child. Needless to say, it is difficult to accept the fact that your child is afflicted with autism, but of course as parents, you want to do everything you can for your child to allow them to lead as normal a life as possible. Some parents are even in denial of the fact that their child has autism, but the quicker you as parents can accept that fact, the sooner you can deal with it and get the specialized help that your autistic child needs at this point in their development.
As a parent, you may need to develop a thick skin. What this means is that some people in the general public will make rude remarks or comments about an autistic child. While most people will accept that fact and be helpful and sympathetic, you need to be emotionally prepared for the occasional thoughtless jerk who makes a rude or crude comment about your autistic child. It does you no good to get angry or embarrassed or to cause a scene, and you need to be pacified with the fact that the jerk who made the comment makes himself look incredibly stupid to others via his remark.
One of the ways to allow your autistic child to learn how to act and behave in the general public is via role playing at home. You can pretend to be at a social gathering such as a school picnic and do role-playing, which will allow your child to become comfortable with this setting gradually over a period of time. Keep your role playing sessions short at home, since the attention span of an autistic child is limited, and forcing them to continue with it after their attention is exhausted will simply put a negative spin on being in such a social situation, which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.
One of the traits of an autistic child is that they do not look people in the eye. It is unknown why this is the case but it is thought to perhaps be a function of the child actually realizing that they are not the same as their peers, and this aspect is a reflection of a sign of low self-esteem. While there is no way to prove that via scientific studies, that is a popular train of thought. Whatever the cause though, you may want to work with your child at home, and perhaps even with a reward system for when they are able to look you in the eyes. The model of "proper behavior warrants a reward" has been effective for many, but do not make the reward large, just something very small, like being allowed to play with their favorite toy.
It will take work, but as parents, you have the ability to help shape your child's future. Do not put the entire task on the shoulders of the school, but rather, work with your child at home to create a pleasant and loving atmosphere, and to work with your autistic child to help them function.

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GFCF Diet

Getting Started
The first thing that you want to do when beginning the GFCF diet is to set up a schedule, determining when you are going to eliminate groups of foods. For example, the very first week, we eliminated all extra sugar. Two weeks later, we slowly removed all dairy from our sons diet. During the following week, we began removing wheat products. You want a schedule that fits your child best, and always consult with your doctor.
Great Tips and Tricks
Finding and Altering Recipes
Sloppy joe's and chicken nuggets are a huge hit with my children. When you start this diet, you need to remember what the huge hits are in your home. To help make the transition as easy as possible for your kids, start with their favorites. The best rule of thumb is to serve it to them no less than four times before giving up on a recipe or new food. Most children will eat something new by the second or third time that you serve it to them.
A great resource is your local, hometown grocer. It will be a rare moment when something you need will be on the shelves. Mega grocers will not be likely to help. Most local grocers and health food stores will be happy to assist you. Simply give them a list of items you need, with the brand names.
When buying foods, you must always read the labels first, even if you've bought it a hundred times. GFCF foods have to be free from additives and preservatives. You're best to buy organic foods, but because it's organic, doesn't mean it's GFCF. Buy the freshest, most natural foods you can. Vegetables have to be fresh or frozen, as well as fruits. This ensures that there are no toxins sneaking into your foods as there are with canned foods.
A lot of GFCF foods can be frozen. This is a real help when you find yourself in a hurry. Noone wants to be in the kitchen, preparing food all day. Make batches of favorite foods and put single servings into freezer bags for a quicker lunch.
Since beginning the diet, we no longer use butter. Instead of frying with butter, we use olive oil. It's great when you're frying eggs or potatoes, and it's great for your skin and hair. Even if you are not on the GFCF diet, this is something you should consider doing, if only for the health benefits.
Many times recipes call for butter, or other things you cannot use. If a cookie recipe calls for 1 TBSP. of butter, I use 3/4 TBSP. olive oil, and 1/4 TBSP. honey. Most of the time it's the consistency that you need, not necessarily the exact ingredient.Nearly any recipe that you have can be made GFCF. Be creative!
A Few Good Recipes
GFCF Bread
2 C. Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. Clabber Girl baking powder
2 Organic eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/3 C. Water
2 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill white rice flour (for coating)
1 tsp. Sea salt
1 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill xanthan gum
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Honey
2 Tbsp. Flax seed
preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Mix rest in a separate bowl with a mixer. Add ingredients to dry, and mix slowly just until they're combined.Pour batter into bread pan coated with white rice flour. Bake 1 hour, or until golden brown and passes the fork test. Cool on rack. Can be frozen.
GFCF sloppy Joe's
2 lb. Lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/3 C. Heinz ketchup
2 Tbsp. Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. French's mustard
2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
1 Tsp. Garlic powder (McCormick's)
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Pepper
Cook hamburger and onion in skillet over med. heat until browned.Drain and return to skillet. In a medium bowl combine remaining ingredients. Add to hamburger and stir. Let simmer for twenty minutes and serve. Can be frozen.
GFCF Chicken Nuggets
6 Organic chicken breasts
2 C. Bob's Red Mill all-purpose baking flour
2 Tbsp. Pepper
2 Tbsp. Sea Salt
1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Paprika
2 Organic eggs, slightly beaten
Rinse, dry and cut chicken breasts into nugget- sized pieces. Put eggs in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl, stir spices and flour together. Heat olive oil in frying pan over med. heat. Dip chicken into eggs, then flour mixture, and fry. Let cool on paper towels when golden brown. Can freeze.
Poor Man's Stew
About 10 potatoes rinsed, and quartered
1 package of cubed ham
1 large package of frozen green beans
Put all into crock pot and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for about 8 hours and serve.

Jaime Lyons

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What Are The Autism Rates For Children?

Autism is a form of developmental disorder that is commonly identified in children under the age of three years. The condition commonly impacts the communication and social skills of the child. Autism is also known as a spectrum disorder as the symptoms can vary significantly from one child to another. Children with mild forms of the disease can function normally in the society. However, those with severe symptoms may require assistance and therapy.
Autism rates for children are growing at an alarming pace. Recent statistics indicate that about one percent of children between 3 and 17 years of age suffer from some form of the disease. Boys are more likely to suffer from the condition than girls. It is estimated to occur in one out of every 88 births this year. In fact, it is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the country. The high autism rates are also causing some economic concern. Experts believe that caring for an individual with autism costs about $3.2 million over his lifespan, meaning that the annual cost of autism care will be anywhere between $200 and $400 billion dollars over the next decade.
The high autism rates in children are also concerning because the medical community has been unsuccessful in finding the exact cause for the condition. Some of the possible causes include:
• Diet
• Mercury poisoning
• Changes in the digestive tract
• Increased sensitivity to vaccines
• Inability to absorb and use vitamins and minerals effectively
• Genetics
Critics of modern lifestyle also blame high autism rates on toxic environmental conditions prevailing in the world today. The air, water and food pollutants can impair the development of the brain and lead to high prevalence of autism. They support changes in lifestyle to improve the symptoms. They also support the use of certain natural supplements to treat the condition. However, you should remember that these alternative treatment methods have not been tested scientifically.
The high autism rates in children can also be attributed to the lack of proper treatment method. Most experts agree that early diagnosis is the key. Children who receive behavioral therapy and other supportive therapies such as occupational therapy and speech therapy early on in their lives have a greater chance of leading successful and independent lives. You will notice high autism rates in children who were diagnosed late or did not receive the required therapy immediately due to poor economic or social conditions.
In spite of the high autism rates, only 5 percent of total research funding in the country is dedicated towards finding a cause for the condition. Many private and government agencies are working hard to improve this funding. They are hoping to find the exact cause and cure. Life can be a challenge for children with autism and their families. Some children improve over time and become independent. Others may remain dependent on therapy all their lives. They may always require supportive assistance. The outlook essentially depends on the severity of the symptoms and the type of treatment.

MyReviewsnow.net offers information regarding autism rates. For more on supporting autism awareness, please visit us at MyReviewsNow.net.

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Understanding Autistic Behavior

Autism is a very complex and difficult to understand disorder. Patients suffering from its symptoms mainly suffer from the impossibility to communicate with others, express their own feelings or integrate other person's actions. The language they use is very limited but also very hard to interpret.
Children with the autistic disorder usually use the same word or phrase to express different situations. Some repeat sentences like "get in the car" as they associate it with going outside. Others say "milk and cookies" when referring to a pleasant object or a pleasant action".
A meaningless voice tonality is commonly used while speaking and the persons around the autistic have difficulties in understanding his desires. Their body language is hard to interpret as they not necessarily smile when they are happy or cry when upset. Facial expressions, moves and gestures rarely match to what they are trying to say. Most common their voice assembles the one of a robot, is flat, high-pitched or sings-song- like.
Without any understandable means of gestures or language to express their needs, autistics cannot let others know what they wish. Most often they simply scream or even directly grab what they need. In specialty literature useful information is found about possible brain connections autistic patients make in a special circumstance when they are forced to scream in order to make themselves heard.
Autism does not usually effect the physical estate of the child, these are most often healthy and with good muscle control and still make repetitive movements. Some of them even spend hours making the same action like flapping fingers or trying dance moves and then suddenly freeze in a particular position; their behavior is known by specialists as self-stimulation or stereotyped actions. Some actions are repeated over and over again like a child running through the room and turning the lights on and off repeatedly.
Autistic children tend to develop obsessions with specific objects that may be funny, embarrassing or dangerous for the persons around them. Changes in their routine and environment are very upsetting for them as they want to eat same foods at the same hours or find their objects in the exact same position. This repetitive obsessive behavior is believed to bring stability into their lives or help them deal better with particular stimuli or pains. Other explanation may be the one saying that patients try to stimulate the diminished senses with their behavior or on the other hand use the well developed sense.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about child autism please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/child-autism.htm

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Some Relevant Information About Autism Treatment

Before undertaking any meaningful discussion regarding the treatment of autism, it is necessary to remember that Autism Spectrum Disorder is an outcome of faulty developmental process of the brain and hence, it does not allow any provision for getting fixed or cured. So it is a life-long problem and those who have it, are supposed to spend their whole life in its company. The treatments devised for this condition do not aim to cure it, rather its treatment includes a wide and varied range of therapies that are designed to endow the autistic children with basic behavioral and communication skills that will enable them to face and handle problematic situations of their lives efficiently. Therapeutic treatments are conducted at one-on-one level and also in the form of groups. They offer to improve not only the speech related problems but also lend support in the form of strengthening emotional and psychological basis of their life. Sometimes these therapies are conducted in the form of special classroom education which are specifically designed to help people with autism.
Now what kind of treatment or therapeutic aid is required by the child depends on the severity of the autistic symptoms. Although there are some autistic children whose condition at least allows them to participate in group activities, but it is a thing to be borne in mind that the way they will perceive things and learn them will be drastically different from five other normal children- a fact that teachers and parents should take cognizance of. Sometimes such children become can act aggressively towards their peers and lash out to other children, because at such a young age it is difficult for such children to come to terms with things that seems to them very hard to accept. This kind of problem can be taken care of by the teachers and parents with patience and compassion through teaching these children socially acceptable norms of behavior and attitude.
There are therapies of various types to help autistic children to improve their social, behavioral, communication and adaptive skills. Given below are some of such therapies that you ought to know about that can exercise beneficial influence on the growth of your autistic child:
Therapies to mold behavioral structure:
These therapies and programs mainly provide help to the autistic children through positive stroke and reinforcement, self-help and social skill training program in order to ameliorate their behavioral pattern.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Sensory Integration and Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) are two of the most popular programs run to lend help to such children.
Specialized therapies:
Specialized therapies are an umbrella term that covers a variety of physical, occupational and speech therapies. These therapies contribute a lot in terms of facilitating the normal growth of autistic children and now they constitute an essential component of an autistic child's treatment program. Physical and occupational therapy aim to overcome the problems of co-ordination and enables them to process information in an efficient manner acquired though the five senses. Speech therapy on the other hand works to better their social and language skill. Due to the lack of language skill, these children run the risk of developing antisocial tendencies that can distance them from their peers. This particular therapy enables them to develop communication skill that ultimately leads to their better understanding of those around them and hence, indirectly ensures their capability to befriend others.
Medicinal aid:
Assistance of medicines are sought in order to tackle various autistic behavior related issues that covers depression, anxiety, hyperactivity and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Insomnia is another common trait among autistic children which can also be taken care of with the help of medicine.
Among the alternative medical approaches that have proved to be useful to relieve the condition of autism is the hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Although it has been found to notably improve some of the symptoms that we habitually associate with autism spectrum, but its credibility as the sole treatment has not been established yet, as doctors are of varied opinion regarding its efficacy to alleviate the autistic symptoms.
Before deciding on any method of treatment, the safest bet will be know and explore the full potential of the treatment procedure you are opting for, as autistic symptoms vary from person to person. Doctors and psychologists are yet to find a uniform method that will affect a cure of autism, but various medical studies have-showed that diagnosis at the primary stage and early medical measures can contribute to ameliorate this condition.

Milan Zones is a psycho therapist having a long experience of working with autistic children. He shares insider's view about various types of autism treatment California.

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Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Consists of Five Neurodevelopmental Disorders Including Austism

Pervasive developmental disorder is a number of neurodevelopmental disorders classified under one umbrella. They are called either pervasive developmental disorder or, as they are more commonly known, autism spectrum disorders. There are five disorders included in this group. The most common one is known as autistic disorder, or Kanner's autism, and is considered the most severe.  Asperger's syndrome is the milder form. They both share the same symptoms, verbal and non-verbal communication difficulties, lacking the ability for imaginative play with repetitive play instead and poor social interaction skills.
A third is Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise specified. This one is for all the people who have many of the symptoms of these neurodevelopmental disorders but not enough symptoms to be definitely placed in one category or another. So, as they are not specifically sufferers of either Asperger's syndrome or Kanner's autism or either of the regressive autisms, they get lumped into this category.
The regressive autisms are more frightening because the child starts out making normal progress, which then not only stops but also disappears. All the progress made by the child is gone in a short period of time leaving the child to start again and the parent's completely bewildered.  Both of these are very rare but they do occur. Rett Syndrome has another oddity; almost all those that suffer from this disorder are girls. The other autism disorders are more likely to affect boys, though girls do have autism too. The regression with Rett Syndrome begins as early as six months of age and not later than a year and a half.  The child stops any of the developmental progress she has made, stops being that cuddly baby and pulls away, then begins to show the signs of autism. She also loses control of her feet and constantly wrings her hands.
The other regressive type of autism is called Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. This is worse to watch as the child meets all their milestones including speaking until they hit the age of three or at the latest four years of age. Then in the space of a few months it's all lost. They lose their sunny disposition, the ability to talk, and they can no longer control their bowels or bladder despite having already been potty trained. This regression can be very confusing for the child and earth shattering for the parents who watch their smiley child lose all interest in normal physical contact.
No matter which pervasive development disorder your child has early intervention is a must to give them the best chance in life. This should include occupation, speech and physical therapies.

If you think that there is "something not right" with your child you must find out as soon as possible if autism is the issue. Treatments are less effective with each passing day as we grow older, so find out now with the complete autism resource for determining symptoms and goes into depth about ALL treatment options for autism, natural AND medical. So do your family a favor and check out the information at Autism Symptoms.
You can also make extra money to help pay for treatment and training by telling people about this helpful resource. You earn $26.30 for each book sold, so start making money by clicking Autism Symptoms Affiliates

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The Absolute Power of Autism - Disability or Genius

The Autisarian Race
You would think that most of the time research into autism is not something people choose to do. Most of the time it's probably done because a person is faced with the challenge of raising an autistic child. This is a scary challenge, but what if you were faced with raising two autistic children? Consider the pain of watching them go through the effects of the disorder together, or one after the other. The good thing is that as a parent goes through trials and tribulations with their autistic child, they can become an expert in the art of managing the genius inside the disorder. If they learn to simply pay attention, they may find something amazing inside their child.
Most people don't consider the drastic longterm consequences of slow reaction to the alarming birthrate of autistic children. It seems likely if the puzzle isn't properly addressed soon, within the next ten to fifteen years the world may be responsible for what could be an entire race of adults who are unable function on their own. Take a minute to think about what would be a massive drain on the welfare system.
It's hard to imagine a disabled person has any connection to humankind's evolution.
A blind guy, a person with autism, or attention deficit disorder, no way these people could have anything to do with evolution. Naturally your first thought would probably be devolution, but if we closely examine what we know about what we don't actually know, we would be amazed by the possibilities. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the unexplained can't be explained because we haven't figured out how to use our brain's full potential. This means that as far as we know anything is possible.
If a man is born blind he can't value sight because he never had it. His lack of sight becomes a problem in his mind because people tell him he is disabled because he can't see. Because the man has no sense of sight his senses of hearing and touch are far above average, so he can hear and feel things like music astoundingly better than the average human being. This may give the man a natural ability to play a musical instrument far better than his human counterparts without instruction. This creates the question, is this man disabled? According to society he is, but Webster's dictionary calls him a genius. We have a nasty habit of negatively labeling things we don't understand, so similar arguments can be made using those labeled disabled because of ADD, or Autism. Are these labels a product our ignorance? Are these people disabled, or are they precursors to our evolution?
Autism has been around longer than most people realize, twenty years ago it was called mental retardation. We know very little about autism, but the number of children being born with it is astronomical, it's almost like some kind of invasion.
Great minds have consulted and surmised that this condition somehow interrupts the brains capability to communicate properly and since we don't understand it we label it a disability.
It seems when a certain power of the brain is taken away, or not included at birth other brain powers increase giving a person extraordinary abilities, or a certain knack for something. Unfortunately most of the time the knack is never discovered and this eventually creates a disabled person. The huge number of children being born with autism has uncovered some of these hidden knack's. If you research the definition of the word knack you'll find that it comes very close to the meaning of the word genius. Maybe we should stop trying to cure autism and try to manage the genius inside it instead.
If you think about it, an alarming number of people being born with extraordinary capabilities could be a push in the evolutionary process of humankind. Autism could be the creation of a new human being, the creation of the Autisarian.

The Inspire Weekly uses a book series called Survivor Evolution to motivate families affected by autism to search for the power behind the puzzle. The series was created by two autistic brothers who have publish three books so far. Support the Survivor Evolution Series. Start at the beginning and follow the series. Buy their first book; Flames of Avasten. http://www.theinspireweekly.com

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Coming Wave of Autistic and Asperger's Syndrome Adults

The latent brain of an autistic child has potential just beyond reach. However, gentle stretching may open a whole new world. I have been awe struck by the mental capabilities of those whom the world shuns. We can learn much from them.
Mental and motor skills of young people with autism, Asperger's syndrome, and other mental challenges span the mental spectrum. Autistic individuals may have above normal IQ while social skills too have a vast range. The objectives of the family, care givers, and friends should be to inspire and offer hope and life to the soul of the child. Introduce them to great music. The latent brain may be that of a savant or prodigy.
Over the years, I have observed and pondered the minds of savants and prodigies who manifest what the brain is capable of achieving. Allow me to introduce you to five savants.
Kim Peek, the real Rain Man, inspired Dustin Hoffman and crew to make the movie. He read 8 to 10 books a day with near perfect recall. He knew history and events: world, American, baseball, NASA, the Bible and much more. He could quote any verse and tell you were that verse was located. Give him any date and would tell you on which day of the week it fell. He knew every zip code of every town in America and memorized phone books for fun. Kim died in 2009.
Leslie Lemke was the first savant that I observed from his youth. He was May's Miracle. He was adopted by Mary and Joseph Lemke who brought life to his latent brain. Others called the baby a hopeless blob of flesh. Blind and speechless, he had to be helped in every step of life. Then one night, he started playing beautiful music on the piano and later broke out in fabulous vocal impersonation of any singer he chose. He still performs in public concerts as of 2012 at age 60.
Daniel Tammet can learn a new language in a week and make "impossible" mathematical calculations in his head. Stephen Wiltshire flies over a city by helicopter and later renders a detailed drawing of the skyline view with remarkable accuracy from memory. Alonzo Clemons loves to sculp horses and cattle. Moldable clay quickly becomes animal likeness in his hands.
These five savants are exceptions, but soon a wave of autistic adults will be exposed to a world unable to meet their needs. The autistic adult no longer has parents who can provide their vital support. Studies show that most autistic adults continue to live at home and about a third of them have never had a job or attended school.
This wave of autism struck US about 40 years ago. The truth is that many autistic individuals are smarter than the average person. Their brilliance is blocked by expression skills that leave the autistic frustrated and the observer confessed. Thirty years ago, the CDC estimated that there were two autistic children for ever 1,000 children. Today they say that autism has escalated to 1 in 88 children. Without pinpointing the cause, they admit that it may be an environmental factor.
Autistic children can expect to live as long as normal people. However, there is nothing normal about autism as each is unique. It is expected that many will live to be 80 or 90 years of age. The more challenging time of life for an autistic adult escalates at 20 to 25 years.
At an international autism conference, I sat at the feet of "experts" in the field who basically disagreed with each other. I do not claim to be the expert in autism but I do know that bad sugars seem to compound negative effects and Smart Sugars seem to have a positive beneficial effect in mental improvements. Evidence is that toxins, which contributed to the mental challenges, can begin to be removed by the polysaccharides.
Your homework for this Lesson is found online in short videos of five savants you will never forget. The short videos can be found online at The Endowment fro Medical Research.

JC Spencer has invested two decades in the research and study of glycomics, the science of sugars. He is CEO of The Endowment for Medical Research, Inc http://www.endowmentmed.org/
Author's book is available free at http://www.GlycoscienceNEWS.com
References from the textbook Expand Your Mind - Improve Your Brain and the ebook and Change Your Sugar, Change Your Life. The book, Change Your Sugar, Change Your Life is downloadable without charge.

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Heart of a Champion - Working With Autistic and Disabled Individuals

Working with individuals with physical and intellectual handicaps can be a herculean task. Most educational professionals have some exposure and understanding of how to work with this population, but it takes a particular and exceptional educator to effectively and willing work with them. I'd like to illustrate some of these finer points to hopefully improve the quality of time spent with those who have special needs. It will require some special tools; you'll need a mask, a lightning rod, an hourglass, and a jukebox. If you have these four things, you can be an effective and effervescent educator of the people who need your passion the most. All of these things are encompassed by a heart, and with it you can be a hero for those who need one.
However, I need to confess something; I don't have the heart for it.
I am a student at The College of New Jersey, perusing an undergraduate degree in Health and Exercise Science with a specialization in education. One of the classes mandated in my core curriculum is a class called Adapted Kinetics; it's really a politically correct way to categorize physical education for the intellectually and physically disabled. A large portion of the class is working with disabled individuals and getting real-life experience on how to work with them. There is very little to no coursework otherwise, aside from a couple of tests. As a class we worked with the Special Olympics of New Jersey for a golf outing, and we had weekly visits from the Eden Institute, a local group specializing in the care and education of autistic individuals.
It's been the most uncomfortable and challenging class I've taken in college at any level, bar none. I'm a certified personal trainer and I've worked with an exceptionally varied clientele, from NFL athletes to 8-year old children. I was an assistant coach for a local high-school lacrosse team, and I consider myself well experienced for my age and education. From the accounts of others, I'm personable, knowledgeable, and talented in the development of athleticism.
None of that prepared me for the atmosphere and challenges of working with the students of the Eden Institute and the athletes from SONJ. It's definitely unnerving. Communication is different than with the rest of the world,, and there isn't necessarily payoff for the work you put in. It drives me absolutely crazy. I started training because I know what the power of progress and success in athletics can do for the body and psyche of an individual. I enjoy the nature of the client/trainer relationship, learning how to most effectively communicate with each person. I love the light bulb that goes on when a client achieves a goal that they would have never imagined possible for themselves.
Working with disabled people can rob you of some, if not all of these things. I would go as far to describe it something akin to a personal training hell. It's very difficult for me as a professional to accept that someone I work with may never achieve or appreciate the joy of success and progress as I have.
Approaching the situation is intimidating. No one wants to be insensitive or aloof to these individuals, but sometimes it's hard to mask our feelings of discomfort. Not all people get that way, but the first tool in successful education is being able to bury the negative stuff if it's there.
That's our mask.
The second tool is a lightning rod. A lightning rod is something that accepts and distributes energy from the world around it in a safe and productive manner as an educator, whether it is with disabled persons or otherwise, you are a lightning rod.
Disabled peoples, perhaps even more so then others, feed off the energy you put forth. If you're not jumping around like a buffoon and enjoying what you're doing, you can bet that the person you're working with definitely won't be either. The enthusiasm you show can go a long, long way in making the educational experience more effective and enjoyable for you and the individuals under your instruction. However, finding the energy for this isn't always easy. Sometimes, you need to manufacture it yourself. The students are usually not ones to supply inspiration without a stimulus. It is on the educator to work at creating some electricity That sometimes takes time and patience, represented by the hourglass.
The jukebox, unlike some of the other tools alluded to previously, isn't a metaphor. Music is a great medium to facilitate energy, and it is a form of communication that crosses all boundaries. Having music in the background can help block out noise that might otherwise distract the students, and you can use changes in songs to cue changes in activities. From my personal experience, autistic individuals enjoy and are very responsive to music. Experiment with the types of music and see what the students respond to positively.
While all of these tools may not seem extravagant or uncommon, having all of them available and being able to actively use them for the betterment of others isn't found often.Not everyone has the desire to work with disabled individuals. To those that do, and willingly test the boundaries of patience and understanding, I have the utmost respect. However, any fitness professional has a good chance of being responsible for the education of these individuals, and I hope this article helps you make that experience better for you and your students.

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Coaching Basketball to Children With Autism

Through my experiences as a volunteer basketball Coach at the Special Olympics New Jersey Sports Complex and working at various camps and clinics, I have encountered life changing practices through the teaching of developmental basketball. Many people assume that children with autism or other disabilities do not need to learn the necessary skills and concepts associated with basketball. However, I have discovered that it is essential to teach autistic children the same skillsets and concepts as children without disabilities but in a modified manner. As an aspiring College Basketball Coach, I focus on individual skill development, teamwork, and communication when volunteering. These three aspects of basketball are a few keys to success when coaching sports and are important to teach to children at a young age. As a volunteer, I was able to learn new and innovative ways to teach individual skill development, teamwork, and communication that will help children with autism develop their basketball skills and gain confidence and abilities that will help in the overall spectrum of living a healthy life.
Individual skill development is the foundation of becoming a better basketball player and players can improve by working on their weaknesses and expand on their strengths through individual skill development. When working with autistic children, I have experienced, as with some children without a disability, that the players are more incline to focus mainly on their strengths and are less interested in identifying a weakness. Furthermore, the players are usually reluctant to work on skills that could use more development. To overcome this developmental issue, I utilize a principle called "quick transition" to help children improve on weaknesses or areas where they aren't as competent. The "quick transition" principle focuses on the child's strength while quickly transitioning to a new task that needs more development and finally back to the player's comfort zone. Getting a child with autism to get out of their comfort zone is a challenge and is exciting for me when it occurs. I have been successful with implementing this principle and would suggest to anyone, whose challenge is to motivate children with autism to work on their basketball weakness as well as strengths, to use the principle of "quick transition". Individual skill development is an important element and is a much needed skill to facilitate the use of teamwork.
Teamwork is the backbone of basketball and all other team sports. Although it is important to have players improve on their individual skills, they must all play as a team in order to achieve one overall goal. Teamwork is the most challenging aspect of teaching children with autism but it can be done. The key here is to begin by introducing a basic concept of two individuals cooperating together to make a pass, score a basket, get a defensive stop, or any other concept of the sport. Once the players are comfortable with achieving a common goal as two people, appropriately transition them into a small group by adding another person into the equation. Once they become competent in this area, continue with adding other players until you reach the goal of five players on the team contributing to the conception of the overall objective. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the head men's basketball Coach at Duke University has a quote that reads, "Two is better than one, only if two acts as one." This quote epitomizes teamwork and encourages players to understand the concept that working and cooperating as a team will get the job done more effectively and efficiently which is essential to get children with autism to learn. While teamwork is essential, teamwork needs to be cemented in communications.
Communication in basketball is one of the things that can separate a good team from being a great team. Communication is the voice that wills a team to victory because it creates energy, and provides structure and order. Children with autism may have different types of communication deficiencies. For example, I have coached children who communicated well with me using short precise words and sentences, and others who did not verbally express themselves at all. When communicating with children with autism, I've learned to keep my instructions direct, precise, and also to be repetitive and demonstrate exactly what it is I want them to perform. The act of demonstrating a specific skill or concept helps tremendously in the development of the players skills and they seem to enjoy being able to have a leader to mirror and imitate after. Of the three keys to success when coaching basketball to children with autism, communication seems most important in developing a great team and great players.
In conclusion, as an aspiring College Basketball Coach, I am constantly trying to teach and learn new and innovative ways to help players develop. Additionally, I am committed to helping athletes become socially conscientious and solid citizens of society. Children with autism need the same love and care as children without disabilities and need to be able to participate in physical activities if they desire to do so. Basketball is a great way to introduce the concepts of individual skill improvement, teamwork, and communication and will help with achieving an overall goal. The most interesting and fascinating element in coaching is the satisfaction of being able to coach and help diverse players. As I help these players from different background and abilities, they ultimately help me become a better coach, teacher, mentor, and leader. I hope that this article has introduced a few key concepts in coaching basketball to children with autism that you can implement into your playbook.

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6

Autism - Helpful Hints for Asperger Syndrome Child

Our grandson Ben was diagnosed as having Aspergers Syndrome when he was 9 years old. This mental disorder is a high performing form of autism. One of the many traits of autistic children is that they do not process language and verbal instructions the way normal people do. At least this is the case for Ben. A major problem Ben had during his school years was his inability to follow verbal instructions. If a teacher told the class what the next days homework assignment was Ben would never write it down or remember what she said. If, however, she would write the assignment on a piece of paper and give it to Ben he would be able to keep up with it.
One thing Ben's mother learned to do was to print his schedule of classes and tape it to the outside of his binder. This definitely helped him get to the correct class and get there on time.
Those specialists who work with Asperger students suggested we make detailed lists and post them where needed. This suggestion definitely helped. You may think that such a detailed list would not be necessary, but I assure you, it is necessary.
Here is an example of a reminder which was placed on the bathroom mirror in order for Ben to help Ben get ready for school each day:

1. Get a clean towel and wash cloth.
2. Get into shower and soap body thoroughly and rinse well.
3. Shampoo your hair.
4. Dry body completely with towel.
5. Brush your teeth.
6. Use deodorant under arms.
7. Get dressed using clean clothes.

Without this written list, Ben would fail to perform the basic tasks he needed to do.

If you suspect your child may have Asperger symptons Billy Moore invites you to visit his wife's webpage about Autism Asperger Syndrome. It is a must-read for those parents with Asperger children who are looking for help.

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Getting Children With AUTISM Moving!

Every physical educator will spend some time teaching students with disabilities. There are many forms that we have to be aware of, especially autism. To date, children born with autism are increasing as the year's progress. About 1 in 88 children are born with autism. As a physical educator we must be aware of how to teach these students to better their understanding and knowledge of physical education. Our job is to teach them how to become cooperative with all other students.
Everyday children should be participating in some sort of physical activity. To this day about 30% of children in America are obese. And because children with autism are factored into this number there should not be an excuse to treat these children differently or not encourage physical activity upon them as well as healthy eating.
Most parents and families struggle when having a child with autism; our job is to help motivate the child to become physically active. Because these families think that eating is one thing their child enjoys, they let them eat whatever they want, including fast food or unhealthy foods. As much as today's life is "rushed" all children should consume healthy and prepared home cooked foods (which contain less calories) as well.
Eating properly is only one aspect added to the number of obese children in America. Another aspect is physical activity and this begins in physical education class. In order to help prevent this number from increasing, we as physical educators must promote physical activity in all children. We can do this by getting children moving. Not only in class but at home as well. This country revolves around electronics and technology. To make time for our children to play outside instead of with video games or watching television is key in promoting physical activity. Activity in physical education is a great way to get children moving all the while having fun.
There are many different keys as to how to teach students with autism. While teaching we should avoid long periods with the same activity. This method of teaching is called task variation method. We want all our activities to be short because children with autism have a short attention span and we want them focused throughout the entire activity we are teaching as much as possible. This method will help increase the attention and retention of practiced skills and activities.
Students with autism can also adjust to their teachers or peer teachers (students who assist students who need extra help). Once they are more comfortable with their teacher's, students with autism might show more emotions and enthusiasm with what they are doing. As the time of learning progresses, students can become more reactive and cooperative, which is our ultimate goal.
Our objective for students with autism is to have them cooperate and interact with others. To do this, taking small steps is best. For example, if the physical educator were teaching a lesson on soccer, it would be best to progress from starting with the soccer ball within a warm-up, flowing to using the ball to kick, pass, dribble, shoot and then eventually create a game like activity. Having students work with partners may be a little difficult for students with autism yet is a very necessary task because we want these students to learn to interact with others. The more partner and group activities are completed, the more the interaction and cooperation we will see with students with autism.
Encouragement and enthusiasm is very important while teaching students with autism. This is because some of these students will not have much emotion when in class, they could be quiet or get very distracted. The best way to keep their attention and is to get them excited to be there in class. If the teacher and/or peer teachers are excited to be there this can catch onto the students. Interacting with the students is another way to keep children with autism excited about physical activity. Some students love high-fives or hugs, which is excellent in terms of interacting with them.
Some other helpful ideas for a physical education class containing children with autism to keep them moving are to include music, visual demonstrations, and creative techniques to increase students with autism participation in physical activities.
Music stimulates a lot of hormones in the body leading to a great feeling for all students. Students with autism love listening to music while being active. There are many different activities that students can cooperate in which encourage physical movement in PE. One example would be conductorsize. This is a new technique that gets students moving their upper arm and entire body while listening to music. During this activity, students can do this by following an instructor or simply on his or her own. Each student will have two (lummi) sticks, which they will use while pretending they are conductors of a band. They will move and conduct freely to the beat of music, which is very fun and entertaining for students with autism.
Visual demonstrations will definitely help students with autism to understand the activity or rules. A perfect example would be the proper way to pass and trap the soccer ball. You can even give out specific cues that will help students remember the correct form such as, inside of foot, kick, toe (to trap the ball). These cues are simple and straight forward so many students can remember and focus on key points to kick and trap the soccer ball as they see you demonstrating the cues.
The last idea is to stay creative; we want to make these children enjoy and benefit from physical activity. To do this we need to make our activities fun, short and entertaining for the children. These different keys will help benefit physical activity, which in the long run could potentially decrease the obesity in children with autism.

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