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Caring For An Autistic Child

It is quite hard on the whole family when they hear the diagnosis that their little child has autism. You can do many things to help your autistic child brave the world. For that, the first thing you need to gather is proper knowledge of autism.

Autism is a neural developmental disorder that causes difficulty in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviour. Autism can be diagnosed at a very young age as low as three years old. It is considered to be genetic, but the reason for autism is not very clear.

Caring For An Autistic Child

There are no known cures for autism and not many autistic children manage to live independently once they reach adulthood.

TIPS TO GET RID OF MATHS PHOBIA IN KIDS

As parents it is our duty to recognize symptoms of autism in our child and give him the proper medical care and attention. With the correct cognitive or speech treatments we can help our autistic child gain self care and communicative skills. Autism is more evident in infants and young children.

The symptoms are more muted once they reach adulthood. Here are a few tips in dealing with autism and helping your child overcome their challenges.

Don’t delay treatment: Dealing with autism begins with proper medical treatment. If you observe any abnormality in your child’s development do not wait to seek help immediately for best effects.

Knowledge is power: The first step in dealing with autism begins with the knowledge about autism. Get all the available data related to autism and the various treatments available.

What trips your child: While dealing with autism observe your child closely for behavioural changes. This will let you know what triggers your child’s ‘bad’ side and what makes him happy, so that you can understand him more.

A consistent environment: An autistic child finds it very hard to understand the ways of the society. So, putting him in a constantly changing environment is very hard for him to cope with. Let his surroundings be as consistent as possible.

A proper schedule: This can be considered as an extension to the consistent environment. It is very hard for an autistic child to grab a fixed set of rules. So, stick to a schedule that he has already mastered to help him face his challenges.

Encourage them always: Every child needs encouragement for proper growth and development. This is doubly true for an autistic child. Giving rewards and compliments for good behaviour will induce them to continue it.

Nonverbal communication: An autistic child may find it difficult to communicate verbally with you, but if you are an observant parent you can pick up on the nonverbal cues he is sending your way to help understand him better.

Acceptance is key: If you have an autistic child you need to accept him as he is. Every child is special in his own way and cannot be replaced by another. You need to let him know how special he is to you and assure him of your love.

A little fun: An autistic child is still a child that needs to have a little fun. Do not fill his life with treatments and rules. Make sure he has fun along the way and make it an opportunity to interact with him.

Story first published: Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 19:34 [IST]
Read more about: kids autism