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 Behavior - What Are Replacement Behaviors?

Replacement behaviors are one of the techniques used with children with Autism. This technique is very successful for parents who successfully use it.

Replacement behavior is a tool that parents deliberately teach their children. This tool is called a replacement because you are trying to exchange it for an unwanted behavior.

One of the many things that parents of children with Autism have learned is how to extinguish or get rid of a behavior. Unfortunately, during this process all children tend to substitute another behavior. As parents of children with autism know sometimes the behavior their child substitutes is worse than the original behavior.

Children with disabilities have their own talents and coming up with a behavior that adults consider worse seems to be one of them. Since we, as the adults, are smarter than they are we can do something about this pattern.

Many parents have learned to substitute what is called a relaxation behavior for the unwanted behavior. Counting to ten if you child can or will count or even deep breathing are two relaxation behaviors.

Other parents use physical activity as a replacement behavior. This can be ideal for some children as it expends excess energy and makes them sleep better. That is true whether your child has a disability or not.

An important consideration in teaching replacement behavior is for all the adults who support the child with Autism to use the same behavior. Because some children with Autism have different levels of understanding, it may even be necessary for parents and other adults to agree on the language they will use when substituting the chosen replacement behavior for the unwanted behavior.

Substituting physical activity for an unwanted behavior also gives parents other perks. One of these is reducing the child with Autism's frustration. Just the opportunity to be up and moving around seems to help with the frustration. It also gives the parent the opportunity to be up and moving around too.

Another perk is moving around seem to give the child a chance to think of words to use instead of behaviors. A parent may have to prompt their child to do this but it does happen. Similarly relaxation behaviors can give the child time to think of words.

A final perk is a little more selfish for the parent. Relaxation and physical activity can give the parent time. Time to review what was happening and come up with a different plan.

Would you like more free information? Please register here:
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Mylinda Elliott is the parent of five children. The third of the five has Autism which was diagnosed early on. The fourth of the five children has Aspergers. She is a self taught expert on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Mylinda Elliott has also worked professionally in the disability world for the past fifteen years. She is considered the "Go To" woman for advice or resources on disabilities.

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Autism Treatment And The Power Of Music

A relatively new method for treating individuals that are suffering from autism is musical therapy. When discussing treatment options, serious consideration should be given to incorporating this method. Musical therapy often helps patients improve their temperament as well as their learning skills. By connecting to the non-verbal sections of our minds, music proves to be an excellent form of therapy for those suffering from disorders that limit their communication skills. If you haven't had much success with other forms of autism treatment, you may be pleasantly surprised by how much this method may help.

The reason that musical therapy can be so effective is because you can use it in addition to other treatments for learning social skills. By its very nature, music therapy is non-threatening to patients allowing behavior and social skills to be improved by the many games that can be played using this method. Autistic patients can break through social barriers through the encouragement of eye contact during singing or the use of an instrument, such as a harmonica, that needs to be in close proximity to your face.

The most important way that music therapy helps autistic patients is by helping to develop their use of speech. Music helps us connect to the verbal and the non-verbal functions of our minds. Many people that suffer from autism have varying degrees of difficulty with speech. Some patients can only make humming or grunting sounds, while others have developed the ability to put together words and sentences that will at least allow them to communicate. Regardless of how much skill the patient has with speech, there is something to be gained by participating in musical therapy.

It is not unusual for autistic patients to be particularly good with music. Some have excellent pitch; others can learn to play instruments with a minimum of instruction. Even if the person doesn't show amazing musical abilities, some difficult to handle autistic patients have musical abilities that greatly exceed their other abilities. Musical therapists will use music to link this type of learning to other types of learning, including speech, social and behavioral development. This can also be used as a means of communicating emotions and to develop the memory.

Music therapy can be very beneficial to autistic patients on its own and when combined with other treatment techniques. A trained music therapist can teach a patient how to communicate using nonverbal methods, which makes it easier for autistic individuals to learn. It may be in your best interest to spend some time researching musical therapy to see if this form of treatment may be a good choice for you and your loved ones.

There is much more to learn about the management and treatment for autism The best thing you can do for the health and welfare of your family is to become informed. The most up to date resources and information about diagnosing, controlling, and treating Autism can be found at Http://AutismAwareness.wordpress.com

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Signs That Your Child Might Have Asperger Syndrome

We love our kids no matter how annoying and irritating they can be. But we all know that at the end of the day, they still bring us immeasurable joy. But what if your child is somewhat different? What your child displays behavior that is out of the ordinary?

As a parent, it is heartbreaking to know that your child might be special. You are worried for him because he might not survive the real world when he grows up. That is why as early as possible a parent should have the child diagnosed so as to be given a proper treatment early. The parents should be observant on the way their child behaves and if there is something that seems unusual or odd about the child's behavior, they should consult with their pediatrician. This is not to say that the parents should be paranoid about anything that the child does. Being observant is different from being paranoid.

One of the disorders that parents should concern themselves about is the Asperger syndrome. Asperger syndrome belongs to a group of conditions called autism spectrum disorders. Autism is also included in this spectrum for this group refers to developmental disabilities and other disorders that display similar characteristics.

Symptoms in spectrum disorders, such as Asperger and autism, can appear in different combinations. The degree of severity in every diagnosed patient is different. Let us say that two kids are diagnosed with the same disorder but their skills and abilities will differ. Because of this, they physicians have developed general terms to describe children who have similar behaviors within the spectrum. Some of these terms are "low-functioning," "high-functioning," "autistic tendencies," and "pervasive developmental disorder". Children who have been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome have a lot of symptoms in common with "high-functioning autism".

However, it is difficult to differentiate Asperger from other behavioral problems and it is not uncommon for them to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD at first before finally diagnosing it as Asperger syndrome. Therefore, it is best to let a health professional evaluate the symptoms.

These symptoms are:

Minimal social interactions - They have difficulty in fostering or developing friendships but they do not shy away from people unlike those children diagnosed with autism.

Most conversations are about self than others - When a child with Asperger approaches someone, tendency is that child will talk more usually about a certain topic and will voice out his or her personal opinions disregarding the other person.

Repetitive speech - Children with Asperger tend to have scripted or robotic speech.

Does not have "common sense"

Have difficulties with math, writing skills or reading

Has obsession with complex topics - Children with Asperger are usually interested in anything that has patterns. They sometimes make a pattern of their own, too. Some are inclined to music

Cognitive abilities - nonverbal cognitive abilities are average to below average but verbal cognitive abilities are mostly average to above average

Behaviors - Children with Asperger will display some odd behaviors or mannerisms. These will be labeled weird by some people

When these signs are present, bring your child to your doctor so he can be diagnosed properly and can be provided with the proper care and guidance.

Ralph J. Greene enjoys writing for Uniformhaven.com which sells landau scrubs and landau 8555 as well as a host of additional products.

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Autism - Are The Schools Prepared For The Epidemic?

The number of Autistic children are growing. Currently there is 1 in 150 children this year who will be diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum.
What is being done to prepare for this onslaught of Autistic children who will be entering the school system?
The Autism Spectrum encompasses a large scale. There are literally thousands of Autistic children with varying degrees of Autism joining the school system yearly. Some of the schools would never have seen a child with Autism and are ill prepared to deal with it.
Each Autistic child is an individual and the Individualized Education Plan cannot be mass produced and needs to be geared solely towards the needs of that child.
No two Autistic children are the same so you can't have a one size fits all IEP.
In the new age no child left behind school regime, what is being done to prepare the teachers for the new evolution of students that they are going to be teaching?
Children with Autism come with multiple challenges that the teachers are going to have to face, one of the main ones being communication. Approximately 50% of Autistic children never speak.
Effective methods of communication between the teachers and the Autistic student will need to be developed. Some include picture boards, where the student can pick the item that he wants, the pecs system, which basically works the same with an expansion of objects and sometimes just gesturing.
Some unfortunately display their Autistic symptoms more than others. The stimming, usually displayed as flapping and the child with Autism's sometimes inappropriate obsessive fixation on certain objects may be misunderstood by teachers and other students who may never have seen this before.
Some of these Autistic signs and symptoms are used by the child with Autism to regulate themselves and a place may need to be provided where the child can do this in order to cope with the overwhelming changes being in a different environment with a larger number of strangers will bring.
Also another factor which will need to be addressed is the privacy of the Autistic child. Obviously sometimes, these children behave in manners that a regular child does not and a stricter policy for privacy should be maintained to stop teachers and staff discussing this outside of school. The Autistic child is not always in control of their mannerisms or behaviors and they deserve the same dignity that a regular student has.
Are our Autistic children going to be lost in the shuffle?
Doomed to spend their days in a classroom where they are being babysat at best by teachers who quite frankly have no idea how to help them?
More emphasis needs to be placed now on recruiting and training Special Education teachers who want to make a change in the Autistic child's life.
Those that have been doing Special Ed for a long time need classes updating their skills and introducing them to the challenges they are going to face with the children with Autism.
A lot has changed since the first days when Autism was first diagnosed and treated with electric shock therapy.
There are many documented cases now where children who have received effective early intervention lose some of their Autistic signs and symptoms and go on to live productive lives e.g. Temple Grandin.
Children with Autism flourish with one on one instruction. Schools need to be aware that they may need to hire more auxiliary staff to help with the Autistic children.
They also need to be aware that burn out is a high risk for teachers with children with Autism and time needs to be allowed during the day when they can switch out with another teacher thereby refreshing themselves.
Regular class teachers need to be educated as the higher functioning Autistic children will be in their classes. The teaching format can and should be adjusted to assist the child with Autism in their learning process. This is not to say that time for the other students should be taken away, merely that this is where other staff can be incorporated to assist the Autistic student.
Regular communication between the families and the educational staff should be scheduled.
Parents should be encouraged with their input as to the Autistic child's education.
Quite a number of parents of Autistic children are relentless in their endeavours to improve the prognosis of their child with Autism, extra activities, exercises and the use of treatments to name but a few.
By working together as a team, they can all help the child with Autism grow more productively.
Headmasters need to be educated regarding Autism and the implications that it will have on their school in regards to extra staffing and the way the Special Ed department works, as officially as it is in their school, they are meant to be supervising it.
Ignorance is not an excuse and it will not be accepted by the parents of the Autistic children who want a decent education for their affected child.
If the no child left behind policy is going to be wholly effective for Autistic children as well as the average school child, then changes need to be made now.
The numbers of children with Autism are increasing annually.
If the schools wait to make changes, then the child with Autism will be left behind.

Donna Mason has been a Registered Nurse for the past 16 years. She is the mother of 6 children, 3 of whom have varying degrees of Autism. For more information on Autism signs and symptoms, and to learn more about this mother's battle in the fight against this misunderstood condition, visit us on the web at: http://www.autisticadventures.blogspot.com

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Our Modern Epidemic of Autism, ADHD and Behavioral Problems

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, has made it official the CDC now reports that 1 in 100 children are autistic. A study conducted by the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) found a staggering 1 in 63 children were reported to be autistic and the rate climbed to 1 in 38 if the child was a boy! Even more frightening is that 1 in 6 infants have developmental delays. The rate of ADHD has now reached levels of 1 in 10 children; this can be easily verified by talking with most elementary school teachers. Why is this epidemic exploding within our modern society? More importantly what can be done that is safe and effective to help these children? It is vital that parents are provided an understanding of these disorders, what affects the health of their child's brain and metabolically what can be done to restore health.

One approach that is gaining ground is biomedical care for children with autism, ADHD, OCD and behavioral problems. Biomedical care for these disorders is a science-based, metabolic approach to treatment. Everyone is now agreed that psychotropic drugs do not treat the problem; they simply reduce or suppress some of the symptoms. It would seem that a better choice is to address the underlying metabolic issues and health problems in these disorders. The primary guiding principle then is simple: remove what is causing harm, and add what is missing!

Research is now demonstrating that children with these disorders often have an exaggerated response to specific foods, airborne allergens, toxic chemicals and metals in our environment. It is well documented that they often lack various nutrients, enzymes, anti-oxidants, and essential fatty acids, and that they require methylation support. The combination of these factors leads to or aggravates neuroimmune dysfunction causing low-grade inflammation in affected brain tissues. This state of oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in the brain causes the nerve cells to not communicate properly with one another. These disorders have aptly been called disconnection syndromes, one area the brain is not communicating well with other areas leading to symptoms in cognition, emotion and behavior.

A partial outline of possible biomedical care for a child with one of these disorders:

1st: Laboratory tests through blood, urine and stool are performed to rule out any frank pathology and provide vital clues on what road to take for real healing.

2nd:The diet is improved along with specific dietary restrictions. A primary dietary goal may be a casein and gluten-free diet, along with removal of sugar, preservatives, and food additives.

3rd: Specific laboratory IgG food allergy testing may be performed to identify other food allergies that could be leading to brain inflammation, and then remove these foods from the diet.

4th: It is vital to identify any problems with maldigestion, malabsorption, and dysbiosis through specific laboratory tests such as comprehensive stool analysis. Then improve GI function by overcoming any dysbiosis and leaky gut problems, a primary source for chronic inflammation in these disorders.

5th: At this point specific supportive nutrients for autism and ADHD are added, depending on what has been found on history, exam and clinical lab.

6th: Support methylation and sulfoxidation-sulfation inadequacies and other cellular detoxification pathways

7th: Chelation of heavy metals can have marked benefit once all other factors have been addressed.

Dr. Greg Fors, D.C. is a Board-certified Neurologist (IBCN), certified in Applied Herbal Sciences (NWHSU) and acupuncture. Trained through the Autism Research Institute he is a registered Defeat Autism Now! Doctor. As the clinic director of the Pain and Brain Healing Center in Blaine Minnesota he specializes in a natural biomedical approach to chronic pain and neurological conditions. He is a sought after international lecturer for various post graduate departments and state associations. Dr. Fors is the author of the highly acclaimed book, "Why We Hurt" available through booksellers everywhere. Click here to learn more about this Minnesota Autism Clinic or this Dan Doctor.

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