Biomedical Autism Intervention - Aggression in Autistic Children

Aggression and Children on the Autism Spectrum:

We know that aggression is a big problem and there are many medications out there that can help with aggressive behavior, Risperidal being the most common. There are a couple of things I want you to be aware of though with respect to aggression. Trying to troubleshoot, or categorize the type of aggressive behavior can help understand what could be triggering it. Is it continuous aggression that happens throughout the day? Is it more situational aggression? Is it intermittent aggression? Or is the aggression specific towards one family member or one particular sex? Continuous aggression many times can be associated with brain chemistry imbalances and sometimes that needs to be treated medically. But many times there can be some underlying biomedical problems that are happening like pain, inflammation, digestive problems, even bacterial imbalances in the digestive tract can lead to chemical imbalances that promote a child to become more aggressive. So continuous aggression can be indicative of an underlying pain issue, digestive problems or bacterial imbalances. Your child could be having headaches.

If we are looking at intermittent aggression, many times that can be related to a food sensitivity. The gluten and casein free diet we know helps many children on the Autism spectrum. If a child has a sensitivity to wheat or milk and they get that food, it can cause them to be aggressive because it causes an imbalance in their body or just doesn't make them feel good.

There can be other food sensitivities as well that can lead to aggression. Sometimes doing a food sensitivity profile to determine what kind of immune reaction your child is having is important. Situational aggression many times comes down to particular places or people that your child is around. For example, you child has situational aggression at school. There may be a child in their class that is bothering them. Maybe their environment has changed, a new aide or a new teacher, something that has happened that is triggering that situational aggression.

I have had a few situations where the child is only aggressive towards a particular family member or a particular sex. One example is the child that was only aggressive towards women. It turned out that the child was aggressive to the women in his family and yet he was not aggressive to the males in his family. Sometimes it is just purely behavioral problems at play.

So aggressive behavior we know is quite common. But, if you try and break it down into categories you can understand it better. Is it continuous aggression? That can indicate some type of pain, inflammation, medical problem, etc. Is it intermittent aggression?

Maybe it is related to a food sensitivity. Is it situational aggression? Maybe it is something that only happens at school or in a particular environment. Is your child only aggressive towards one particular family member or towards a particular sex? We know that aggression is a big problem and can be treated and can be dealt with. Once you are able to break it down a little more, it gives you a little more insight about what to do with aggressive behavior and autism.

Don't let ANYONE tell you there is nothing you can do to help your child. Autism really is treatable! Start your child down the road to recovery from autism. Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving, or even even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis. For lots more free biomedical autism intervention information and videos from Dr. Woeller go to http://www.AutismRecoveryTreatment.com.

Dr. Kurt Woeller is an biomedical autism Intervention specialist, with a private practice in Southern California for over 10 years. He has helped children recover from autism, ADD, ADHD, and other disorders, and has the information you need to help your child. Get the information you need at his free blog above, interact with him directly at his membership website at http://www.AutismActionPlan.org.

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Sensory Integration Dysfunction - What Is It, Diagnosis, And Treatment

Is your child with autism over responsive to sensation which shows by withdrawing from touch, or getting upset by loud noises? Or is your child under responsive to sensations which shows by hyperactivity, unawareness of touch or pain, and likes loud sounds? Your child may have sensory integration dysfunction, which could be affecting their education and life. This article will discuss what sensory integration disorder is, and also about diagnosis.

Sensory integration refers to our ability to take in information through our senses (touch, movement, smell, taste, vision, and hearing), interpret that information, and respond to it. Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) is the inability of the brain, to correctly process information brought in by the senses. People with SID may misinterpret everyday sensory information such as touch, sound and movement.

Below are a few symptoms of SID:

1. Loves to spin, swing, jump-this may calm them down,

2.Complains that some clothing feels scratchy, or doesn't like tags,

3. Picky eaters-doesn't like how some foods feel in their mouth,

4.Over sensitive to smells or sounds-may sniff people or food-will frequently cover ears to sounds,

5. May have high pain tolerance,

6. Can be impulsive or distractible.

The Star Center puts out a checklist for Sensory Integration Dysfunction. The Star Center calls it Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Below are a few items on the checklist:

1. Difficulty eating,

2.Resists cuddling or holding,

3.Easily startled,

4.Over sensitive to stimulation,

5.Difficulty learning new motor tasks,

6.Constant movement,

7.Overreacts to touch noise or smell,

8.Appears clumsy and stumbles a lot, and

9.Avoids visually stimulating environments.

SID could be affecting your child in many different ways. There are two separate types of SID: Sensory Avoiding and Sensory Seeking. Children with sensory avoiding do not like to be touched or cuddled, they are fearful of fast movement, are cautious and unwilling to take risks or try new things, are very pick eaters and do not like to be in loud or busy environments. Children with sensory seeking can have hyperactivity, unawareness of touch or pain, take part in unsafe activities, enjoy sounds that are too loud.

Children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction may also have motor skill problems. These children may have: 1.Poor fine motor skills, 2.Poor gross motor skills, 3.Difficulty imitating movements, 4.Trouble with balance, and 5.A preference for seating activities, such as video games.

To determine if your child has SID, they should be evaluation by a SIPT qualified occupational therapist (OT). Many school districts hire occupational therapists, but may not be SIPT qualified, and therefore not qualified to test in this area. You may need to advocate for your child to have them tested by a SIPT qualified OT.

Treatment for SID is occupational therapy, by a qualified therapist. Check with your school district to see if there OT has experience with Sensory Integration Disorder. If they do not, consider getting an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) with a SIPT qualified OT. Make sure that the evaluator makes specific recommendations on amount of therapy needed, goals and objectives.

By understanding what Sensory Integration Dysfunction is, how it is diagnosed and treated you may help your child. SID can negatively affect your child's life, but with proper treatment you child can reach their potential.

JoAnn Collins is the mother of two adults with disabilities, and has helped families navigate the special eduation 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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Autism Sensory Integration - Where Do Parents Start?

Unfortunately in this day and age there are still people who do not see Sensory Integration as a treatment therapy for children with Autism. Unfortunately many people do not see it as a therapy in its own right.

It is a therapy so intense that is can be puzzling and daunting to people. It is also a therapy so simple with gains that are so important and significant. Whether working with a child who is over sensitive or under sensitive there is help to be had.

The first thing for a parent to think about when considering Sensory Integration is being able to suspend their thoughts and feelings. They have to be able to do that to acquire the empathy of thought and feeling needed to figure out what to do to help their child.

If a child is screaming because they are over sensitive to their environment they will not be able to learn. If a child is so under stimulated that they can not work up the energy to engage they will not be able to learn.

Parents can help a child with Autism that has these characteristics. There are several areas associated with Sensory Integration. These areas are oral, tactile, aural, visual, and proprioceptive. Another way to say this is mouthing, touching, hearing, seeing, and being able to tell where your body is in relation to people and things.

Early consistent speech therapy is critical to a child with Autism. Some children with and without Autism may not need speech therapy or as much speech therapy if they get it early. The same theory works with Sensory Integration.

Early consistent Sensory Integration in all areas may help a child to the extent is may not be needed or needed to that level later. It is not voodoo or magic. It is a consistent application of techniques that work.

Would you like more free information? Please register here: http://autismonabudget.blogspot.com/2009/12/free-information.html

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 Sensory Integration - Where Do Parents Start

Unfortunately in this day and age there are still people who do not see Sensory Integration as a treatment therapy for children with Autism. Unfortunately many people do not see it as a therapy in its own right.

It is a therapy so intense that is can be puzzling and daunting to people. It is also a therapy so simple with gains that are so important and significant. Whether working with a child who is over sensitive or under sensitive there is help to be had.

The first thing for a parent to think about when considering Sensory Integration is being able to suspend their thoughts and feelings. They have to be able to do that to acquire the empathy of thought and feeling needed to figure out what to do to help their child.

If a child is screaming because they are over sensitive to their environment they will not be able to learn. If a child is so under stimulated that they can not work up the energy to engage they will not be able to learn.

Parents can help a child with Autism that has these characteristics. There are several areas associated with Sensory Integration. These areas are oral, tactile, aural, visual, and proprioceptive. Another way to say this is mouthing, touching, hearing, seeing, and being able to tell where your body is in relation to people and things.

Early consistent speech therapy is critical to a child with Autism. Some children with and without Autism may not need speech therapy or as much speech therapy if they get it early. The same theory works with Sensory Integration.

Early consistent Sensory Integration in all areas may help a child to the extent is may not be needed or needed to that level later. It is not voodoo or magic. It is a consistent application of techniques that work.

Would you like more free information? Please register here: http://autismonabudget.blogspot.com/2009/12/free-information.html

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.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mylinda_Elliott

A Personal Overview of Sensory Integration Dysfunction

My young son, Joseph, was born in September 2006. I was delighted to know he'd be joining our family, but we needed to have an emergency C-section. I had been pushing for two hours and he was starting to show signs of distress. He was born at 2:11 am, nice and pink with a "Harry Potter" scar on his forehead that went away after a few days. Unfortunately, what might have occurred during his birth was some neurological damage which left him with Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

I didn't notice something was wrong until Joe was about eighteen months. He met all his physical milestones - in fact, he made them earlier than my first son. At eighteen months though, Joe wasn't talking. He didn't seem to know "Mommy" or "Daddy." He threw toys for no reason, as if he needed to throw them. He also covered his ears with his hands often, which we didn't understand. He hardly got sick or had ear infections. We knew he wasn't autistic, but we also knew something wasn't quite right. Our pediatrician recommended us to our Regional Center, in charge of Early Childhood Intervention. (Every state should have an Early Childhood Intervention Program.) Joseph was evaluated with severe cognitive and speech delays. He was twenty-months-old at the time of the evaluation, but presented with the cognitive skills of an eight-month-old. My husband and I were stunned. Joe began receiving child development, speech, and occupational therapies. At twenty-seven months, he began group therapy.

After six months, Joe had closed some rather daunting developmental gaps. A re-evaluation at twenty-nine months showed him at twenty-two months cognitively. Still, we had no idea what was the cause. Joe's occupational therapist review had the clues we needed to determine what he had - Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

Known as SID or DSI, (so as not to confuse it with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS) Sensory Integration Dysfunction is where the brain perceives sensory input normally, but misinterprets the information. This misinterpretation leaves the child in a hypo or hyper-active state. Hypoactive is an under stimulation to sensory input and hyperactive is an over stimulation to sensory input. In Joe's case, he's more hypo than hyper-active.

There are multiple causes for DSI, and in fact, it often presents with autism, but it can also present by itself. In my son's case, it was presenting with cognitive and speech delays.

Joe's occupational therapist report documented several sensory seeking behaviors. (As opposed to sensory avoiding/hyper-active behaviors.) He loved to jump, spin, and swing over the norm that children with no sensory issues do. He had a high tolerance for pain and had a high activity level. Joe is also easily distracted by other things. I did a Google search on sensory seeking behaviors and it led me right to Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

To my surprise, I discovered there are seven senses - yes, seven! Hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch, we all know, but there is also the vestibular sense and proprioception sense. The vestibular sense refers to the sense of balance and gravity. Without that sense, we'd be clumsy or awkward in our movements. Proprioception refers to the impacting/compacting of joints. Signs that your child might be sensory seeking in these areas are running, jumping, spinning more than normal (vestibular) and throwing toys just for the sensation of the impacting/compacting of the joints. (proprioception) This was Joe to a "tee."

Other signs of DSI include covering one's hands over their ears, (something Joe used to do a lot, but now rarely does. It was his one sign of sensory avoiding, hyper-active behavior) unusually high or low activity, and very picky eating. (In Joe's case, he needs crunchy, chewy foods to help provide the stimulation he needs to get the proprioception sensation of the jaw's joints impacting and compacting.) More signs involve tip-toe walking (because their feet are highly sensitive to touch), hand flapping (for the proprioception effect) speech delays, cognitive delays, poor balance, unusually high or low tolerance for pain, acting impulsively, and an unusually high or low activity level. There are many other symptoms which you can research online. There's also a wealth of information on the Internet regarding DSI and there are several well written books on the subject alone.

An occupational therapist is essential in helping the family with a DSI child. They can help identify DSI behaviors and establish a "sensory diet" for a family to use when their child shows signs of sensory seeking or avoiding behaviors. In fact, A. Jean Ayers, an occupational therapist, was the one to identify the dysfunction.

DSI is a dysfunction, not a disease. It can't be cured, but managed. Though early childhood services, my son is thriving and we're managing his DSI now. It's still an adventure for us, but recognizing DSI symptoms early will help your child get the services he or she needs.

Steph B likes to read many books and a variety of different genres. Steph B is an author at Writing.com which is a site for Creative Writing.

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