Increase Eye Contact in Children With Autism

The lack of eye contact is one of the first noticeable signs of Autism. This becomes clear somewhere between 13 and 24 months. However, trying it can be for parents, all is not lost. A proactive program can be used to increase eye contact in children with Autism.

Most children with Autism start to develop normally, but after their first birthday their temperament and socialization begins to change. Children with Autism start to avoid interaction with other people. Things that would make them smile and giggle before, now makes them cry. Before they would look at faces and recognize people. Then as if over night, children with Autism will wiggle and jerk their heads purposely not looking at other faces. When a parent tries to turn the children and look into his/her eyes, he/she with look up or down, anywhere but at the parents eyes.

Why does this happen and why is it important to correct it? Autism is first and foremost a socialization disorder. Eye contact is very personal. It requires a certain level of self esteem to look another person in the eye. Take for example, an interview situation. The person being interviewed feels nervous and unsure of what the interviewer will say or do. It is very difficult to maintain eye contact and often it is easier to look around the room or focus on an inanimate object. The person being interviewed will do anything not to look the other person in the eye and reveal their true feelings. After all, the eyes are the windows to the soul.

It is important to teach and reassure children with Autism that it is safe and socially important to look at other people. In order to let someone else know that you hear or understand them it is necessary to look at them. Especially, with the lack of language that most children with Autism have, they cannot answer verbally.

This is actually rather simple procedure, but will be met with resistance which adds a level of difficultly.

1.) Use an object that the child seems interested in or is attached to. For children with autism this can be just about anything, a blanket, toys, or household objects. It needs to be small. Nothing bigger than a face. Do not use anything that they hold all the time. This object needs to be removed from sight for a length of time, so security objects will not work.

2.) Hold the object at arms length to the side of your body in front of the child.

3.) Wiggle or shake the object to get the child to look at it. DO NOT make any noise yourself. Let the object draw all of their attention.

4.) Once the child looks that the object of the count of five, give it to them to hold for about 10 mins. They may cry when it is taken away just redirect with a security object.

5.) Remove object from sight for an hour and then reintroduce the object.

6.) This time hold the object away from the body, get their attention, then move the object half way to your body. Hold their attention for the count of five and let them have the object for 10 mins.

7.) Repeat the process, halving the distance each time, until the object is in front of your face.

8.) Once they are able to look at the object in front of your face, then silently make smiling and surprised faces at them. This will get their attention and learn that it is safe and secure.

9.) When the eyes begin match yours, say lightly "Look at me". This will teach them to pair the phrase with your eyes.

10.) Once they can look at your eyes consistently, phase out the toy and just use the phrase 'Look at me.' Sometimes you might need to hold up your finger to catch their gaze and bring it back to your face.

The method does work. My son has classical autism and is now 11 years old. Even as I write this he is moving my face to his so that I look him in the eye. He wants my attention. Try it. Good luck!

Dawn has an 11 year old son with Classical Autism.

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Autism Spectrum Disorders - What Does the Term "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (ASD) Mean?

Medical professionals often use the term Autism Spectrum Disorders (or ASD for short) to explain the large variety of symptoms, signs and characteristics associated with a diagnosis of Autism.

As we all know, more and more children are getting diagnosed with Autism everyday. According to the Center for Disease Control, Autism now occurs in one out of every 150 individuals. Some researchers account for the increase in Autism due to us better understanding the entire Autism spectrum.

The Autism spectrum, however, is sometimes difficult for parents to understand. Some parents say things like: "My child has Autism, but he does not do that!" or they will ask "My child will interact with other kids, does he still have Autism?" The answer is simply that Autism is a spectrum, but what exactly does this mean?

A spectrum means that there are children with Autism symptoms on one side, the other side, and everywhere in between. For example, let's take a look at communication and the Autism spectrum. You might have one child on one end of the spectrum that is non-verbal and will only use gestures to tell his or her needs. Then, you might have a child on the other end of the spectrum that can tell you every small detail and then some about his favorite dinosaurs. Both of these children have Autism, but they are on opposite ends of the Autism spectrum for their communication skills.

All of the fundamental deficits of Autism are a spectrum: communication, social skills, and behavior. Each child with Autism has skills that vary on each of the spectrums. Also, all of the types of autistic disorders make up this "Autism spectrum". The different types of autistic disorders include: Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

For more information on Autism Spectrum Disorders including signs, symptoms and treatment options, you should download our Free Special Report on Autism. This popular, jam-packed resource guide is available for download right now at http://www.AutismSymptomsChecklist.org

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Understanding The Differences Between Aspergers and Autism

Autistic Disorder or Autism is a developmental disability that has a crucial impact on the normal development of the brain. It affects the cognitive portions that are significant for social integration and everyday living skills. People who suffer with Autism have deficits in the areas of social interactions and communication skills.

Children and adults alike who are diagnosed with Autism typically have difficulty with normal verbal or non-verbal communication such as eye-to-eye contact, facial expressions, body postures and general gestures associated with simple interactions.

Basically, normal peer relationships are diminished due to the lack of social skills. People with Autism tend to migrate toward exclusive activities. Unfortunately, this disease also affects self-help daily living skills. It affects toileting, feeding, dressing and/or brushing teeth, etc. Moreover, one person with Autism may experience very different symptoms and behaviors than the next.

Due to this broad range of symptoms, Autism has been called the "Spectrum" Disorder. Specifically, a person that is suffering with mild autistic symptoms is at one end of the spectrum. A person with severe autistic symptoms is at the other end of the spectrum. Autism is now often referred to as the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One of the conditions of ASD is the Asperger's Syndrome.

Asperger's Syndrome is a form of the Autistic Disorder where people have relatively fewer developmental delays. Asperger's Syndrome is actually said to be hereditary by researchers as it has been simultaneously diagnosed with depression and bipolar diseases. Asperger's Syndrome is applied to identify the mildest and highest functioning end of Autism spectrum. It is a high functioning form of Autism. Therefore, it is at the mild spectrum of Autism. There is no prescribed regimen of treatment for this disease; however adults may live productive, independent lives.

Three basic aspects of development are affected by Aspersers. They are the use of language for communicative purposes and certain behaviors with stylistic characteristics, social relatedness and social skills, and a limited, but intense range of interest.

Interestingly enough, the language is lucid before age four. Although speech is sometimes repetitive, the grammar is usually very good. Their voices tend to be flat and emotionless. Individuals with Aspergers are obsessed with complex topics and are often described as eccentric. Ironically, they are in the above-average range in verbal agility, yet many have dyslexia, writing problems as well as difficulty with mathematics. The Autism Asperger individual is socially aware, however displays inappropriate reciprocal interaction. Their movements may be clumsy or awkward and they present odd forms of self-stimulatory behavior.

The main characteristic of Aspergers Syndrome that makes its children unique and fascinating is their peculiar areas of "special interest". This is very different from typical Autism in that those children's interests are more likely to be objects or parts of objects.

The Asperger's Syndrome children are fascinated with the intellectual dynamics of subjects. Even prior to attending school, these children will display an obsessive interest in areas such as math, science, reading or even some aspect of history or geography.

Another major characteristic that identifies Autism Aspergers from the typical Autism is the socialization deficit. In most cases, children with AS express a desire to fit in socially. Typical Autism victims suggest complete exclusion and seclusion. In fact, AS individuals tend to become frustrated because they aren't able to interact appropriately.

Lastly, the use of language skills is can be used to determine if a child should be diagnosed with the Autistic Disorder or Asperger's Syndrome. AS children have language skills that are very strong and tends to be very concrete. AS children have difficulty dealing with humor; tendency not to get jokes or laughing at odd times because they have difficulty with give or take with conversations, since their conversations tend to be self-oriented. Thus, these are differences that identify each disease as separate afflictions as they are very difficult to diagnose.

For more insights and additional information about Autism and Aspergers please visit our web site at http://www.autism-explained.com

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What is Causing the Incredible Growth in Autistic Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which includes Autism and Asperger syndrome is a brain development disorder that first appears during infancy or childhood, it is characterized by; unresponsiveness to social interaction and communication, gross deficits in intelligence and language development, restricted and repetitive behavior, restricted capacity for developmentally appropriate activities and interests and often bizarre responses to the environment.

People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that others take for granted. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism. About a third to a half of individuals with autism do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs.

Causes and Incidence

Until recently Autism was thought to be entirely due to genetic problems or mutations, however according to a recent study by the prestigious MIND institute of California, the enormous increase in the incidence over the last few years can not just be explained by better diagnostic tests. Rather they postulate that certain environmental factors are also involved. When one considers the massive increase in the various poisons mankind releases into the atmosphere and the soil and the fact that young children do not have a properly developed immune system, that should not be surprising.

Environmental factors that have been claimed to contribute to or exacerbate autism, or may be important in future research, include certain foods, infectious disease, heavy metals, solvents, diesel exhaust, PCBs, phthalates and phenols used in plastic products, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs, vaccines and prenatal stress.

Autism has also been associated with maternal rubella, untreated phenylketonuria, lack of oxygen at birth, tuberous sclerosis and encephalitis. Some studies have established a link with abnormalities in neurotransmitters, including increased dopamine and increased serotonin.

Autism is still fairly rare with 4 to 5 children per 10,000 births being affected but the huge and continuing rise in the incidence of Autism is alarming.

Signs and Symptoms

A major characteristic of children with Autism is unresponsiveness to people. Infants with this disorder will not cuddle, they avoid eye contact, do not show facial expressions and are indifferent to affection and physical contact. They may become rigid or flaccid when held and cry when touched.

As they grow older their smiling response is absent or delayed, they do not form an attachment to their caregivers and do not show anxiety in the presence of strangers. The end result of these problems is that an emotional bond between the children and their parents may fail to develop.

Severe language impairment and lack of imagination, meaningless repetition of words and actions, screaming fits, rhythmic rocking, arm flapping, disturbed sleeping and eating patterns and crying without tears may also be prevalent. Most autistic children have an IQ of 35 to 49.

Treatment

As yet there is no known cure for autism, but early intervention, the establishment of strict routines, specialised education and structured support can help develop skills, minimise behaviour problems and enable each child, whatever their level of disability, to achieve as great a degree of independence as possible.

People with autism often insist on following routines or rituals, and can be distressed over changes to small details of the environment, such as wanting to keep to the same route to the shops or eat dinner from the same plate. It is thought that they feel tremendous anxiety at the unpredictability of daily life, and these rituals and routines remove some of the uncertainty for them about what will happen next.

A child with ASD may respond atypically to medications, the medications can have adverse effects, and no known medication relieves the core symptoms of social and communication impairments. Investigation and treatment of Biological, Nutritional and Metabolic factors have led to improvement of symptoms or complete resolution of symptoms in a multitude of Children with Autism worldwide. Some recent work with acupressure patches does however show promise.

Prognosis

The prognosis for Autism is poor with most sufferers requiring a structured environment throughout life, but all kids with autism have brighter futures when they have the support and understanding of doctors, teachers, caregivers, parents, brothers, sisters, and friends.

Dick Aronson has a background of 35 years in pharmaceuticals and alternative medicines, software development and human resources. He has for a number of years now been retained by companies looking to expand or needing to restructure. Publisher of numerous healthcare articles, some of Dick's websites can be found at: http://www.life-wave-patches.com and http://www.healthinnovationsonline.com

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