Autism Spectrum Disorders Parenting Tools

Autism spectrum disorders are a group of disorders that affect child development.

Autism was defined in 1943 by Leo Kanner. It is characterized by the presence of qualitative alterations in psychological capacities that have to do with understanding the other, with interaction and communication.

These alterations coexist with other abilities that are well developed such as visual processing, mechanical memory or visuospatial skills, among others..

Thus, children with this disorder are not able to relate, communicate, play or behave like other children their age.

The way it manifests varies greatly from one child to another, both in terms of the type of alterations and their severity. We can find from people who have no intention of relationship and who manifest absolute isolation to others who acquire the language and have an interest in others but they encounter serious difficulties due to their lack of empathy and knowledge of the rules of social interaction.

At the level of behaviors we can find from stereotyped and ritualistic behaviors to obsessive, rigid or persevering ideas.

Epidemiology

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC) reflects some results on studies carried out that tell us about:

• 1 in 110 children has a Autism spectrum disorder, are present in all races, ethnicities and socioeconomic groups.

• are between 4 and 5 times more likely in the male population than in the female population

• between identical twins, if one has the disorder, the other will present it 60-90% of the time

• Parents with one child with the disorder have a 2-8% chance of having a second child with the disorder

• it is estimated that approximately 10% of people with the disease have a neurological, genetic or metabolic disorder.

• between 30-51% of people with the disorder have associated intellectual disability

• about 40% of children with autism spectrum disorder have no oral language

• one third of parents with children with the disorder noticed a developmental problem before their first birthday and 80% of parents noticed it before 24 months of age.

Objectives Intervention

Intervention at the individual level in children affected by Tea will try to facilitate the acquisition of adaptive skills, enhance their self-esteem, the capacity for self-direction, the maximum degree of personal autonomy and promote the recognition of individuality.

The general objectives of the intervention should focus on:

• Development of communicative, interactive and cognitive skills. It is necessary to equip them with tools that allow them to better understand people and give meaning to their actions and relationships..

• Decrease in interfering behaviors o hinder their emotional stability and independence and cause negative emotional states.

It is vitally important that the family and social environment get involved and facilitate the entire intervention process, actively cooperating.

Global understanding and parental adaptation to the new situation, avoiding focusing only on the disorder, will favor positive attitudes and better feedback between parents and child..

Favorable attitudes

There are a number of Actions that can have a favorable or negative impact on the integral development of the autistic person:

POSITIVE ATTITUDES
Family attitude	The family should be the safe haven for the child, where he feels loved and accepted unconditionally. It is the most important element of integration and adaptation of the autistic child.
Love and acceptance	The diagnosis of the disorder can sometimes cause some kind of commotion in the social environment, which carries a period of acceptance. It is important to maintain a positive and above all constructive attitude. Denial of illness only contributes to a rarefied climate. Acceptance implies not letting ourselves be defeated to face all that it entails, facing the disease with optimism and determination..
Information	It is necessary to acquire knowledge that helps us to know how to treat and enhance all the possibilities of the child. It is necessary to know the disorder in depth, collecting and assimilating all the information and making use of the best techniques to facilitate your lifestyle.
Expectations	Autistic children have a series of capacities and abilities different from those of the rest, which is why the child will determine his own goals. From there we could guide them, encourage them to achieve them and above all mark them frequently so that they clearly know their objective. It's important to be realistic, as waiting too long can be frustrating. We must provide you with a real vision of the world and propose goals that you can meet, either in the short or long term..
Independence	The protective attitude would not be the best, since we would promote the child's dependence on the family environment. As long as the child shows independent attitudes on certain occasions, this is when we should start to be..
Communication	Communication must be open and sincere to facilitate the fluidity of the communication process with the affected person. It is also essential to share feelings to foster a climate of support from the family in order to grow happily.
Support for	The emotional support of the family is always important, so it would be advisable to interact with people who are in the same situation.
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES
Excessive interest	There are times when family members are so interested in monitoring the child that they spend most of their hours caring for it..
Overprotection	This attitude can lead to the idea that autism does not allow the child to establish himself as an autonomous person, a fact that is completely false, those who can deny him that possibility are ourselves. The attitude from overprotection to protection should be changed in its proper measure.
Isolation	It is not positive for the child or for the family to try to live in a separate world, without relating to others. The child must attend school and learn to relate to his peers.
Rejection	For many family members, the fact of witnessing autistic behaviors can be quite complicated (since it is not easy to see how children harm themselves or try to attack). As a result, some parents prefer to ignore these attitudes as a means of self-protection. This will suppose an attitude of cowardice that can be aggravated and above all, that the intervention in time will depend on it

Intervention strategies

• Because autistic children pay special attention to sensations, it would be advisable put them in situations where they have to know their body, then they could see representations of those topics that have been covered previously and thus finally introduce a verbal conversation.

• Communication and language intervention is a priority area of ​​intervention in autism spectrum disorders. You could start by talking about objects that stand out to you in your room. Once this object has been explored, the child could draw a picture to represent it on paper and as a last step they could describe it and try to have a conversation about it.

• If a child does not initiate communication, it would be important for parents to organize activities where the willingness to communicate is developed to "force" them. Thus, for example, he could be offered a drawing to color without giving him the colored pencils, so the child would ask for the necessary instruments to paint. It is very important that we put ourselves on the same level as the child to understand all his verbal and non-verbal cues.

• Another area of ​​intervention is behavioral alterations that range from repetitive body movements to behavioral symptoms.. A common characteristic is to adopt bad behavior due to a lack of understanding of what is happening in their environment, that is why it would be important not to give in to their needs, but to offer them the possibility of having another vision in the same situation. It would also help to improve this attitude to monitor bad behavior to see the possible causes that could lead to it, at the same time that the solution can be reached through positive reinforcement (such as rewards for good attitudes).

• The environment must adapt to favor the adjustment of the child giving information in advance of what is going to happen and what has been done (feedback).

• Socialization, It is probably the most difficult to deal with, as it is almost a challenge, and creates stress or frustration. Cooperative group activities can be introduced.

• The organization of space and time would also be necessary. It is recommended that they have their own space in which to develop, as well as having schedules and activities for reference. It would be important that without getting into the routine, they had to learn to develop a state of improvisation at some point in order to avoid inappropriate behaviors.

• It is important that we establish bonding through body contact, stimulation, and outdoor activities, fostering their enthusiasm for a specific activity.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:

• Comeche, M.I., Vallejo, M.A. (2012). Childhood Behavior Therapy Manual. Madrid: Dykinson
• Ruiz-Lázaro, P.M., Posada de la Paz, M., & Hijano Bandera, F… (2009). Autism Spectrum Disorders: Early Detection, Screening Tools. Pediatrics Primary Care, eleven(Suppl. 17), 381-397. Retrieved June 6, 2016, from http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1139-76322009000700009&lng=es&tlng=es.
• Viguer, P. (2015). Evolutionary optimization. Fundamentals of optimal development. Madrid: Pyramid