Autism: Some of the challenges

As the mother of two children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have witnessed daily the various differences and similarities linked to this disorder. Being on the opposite poles of the spectrum, both my children display differences in: behaviors, challenges, sensory issues and special needs.

You see, my daughter was diagnosed with light Autism, which means her behaviors, her challenges and her needs are very different from her brother, that is located on the lowest part of the spectrum, having been diagnosed with severe Autism. While some of the behaviors and symptoms displayed by my daughter allowed us to suspect her Autism much earlier than the doctors may have observed in her, those similarities are the ones responsible for the early intervention in her situation.

Here are some of the behaviors and symptoms that you may observe in your autistic child. Please note that while some of them may not be applying to your child, it does not mean that your child was misdiagnosed. After all, only a physician specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorder will be able to efficiently diagnose your child. I am only a parent that shares her experiences with Autism, I am not a specialist!

- Rocking

- Twirling

- Low muscle tone

- Weak fine and/or gross motor skills

- Absence or minimal eye contact

- Sensory issues (food, clothes, textures, sizes, environment, etc.)

- Sudden emotional outbursts and/or inexplicable temper tantrums

- Rejection of affection or lack of affectionate displays

- Late speech development

- Litteral comprehension

- Difficulty to establish social relationships

- Parallel play

- Echolalia (repeating what is heard without comprehension)

- Low comprehension of what is said or written

- Difficulty to understand expressions or figures of speech

- Unable or has difficulty understanding the cues of body language

- One area of expertise (can almost become an obsession)

- Routine is necessary and soothing while transitions are difficult.

- Is unaware of dangerous behaviors, objects or situations

- Marked anxiety or panic attacks

- Difficulty to recognize the body's messages (hunger, elimination, sleeping, etc.)

- Sleeping problems (may wake up several times during the night, ready to go)

- Unaware of strength when playing with others or pets

- Aggressive behavior

- Using objects and toys in a different way then intended such as lining them up.

What does it mean for Dasan to have been diagnosed with severe Autism? Well, it means that, s a non-verbal child, most people don't understand him and that the ones either living with him, loving him or working with him can only partially understand him and his needs...at best. Unlike most 9 years old children, he is using imitation and parallel play to interact with his classmates and friends. He is rarely is invited at birthdays as it only occurred once in the past. He is judged and bullied by strangers. He also lives which Epilepsy, which means his medication must be given in the liquid form as he is unable to swallow pills.

He is hypersensitive to food coloring and carbonated water, which means that anything red and soft drinks (which used to be his favorite treat) and even cough syrups are not things he can consume due to the fact it causes hyperactivity and inability to fall asleep when he uses them. Once, he was given 1/2 a cup of cola, and he was unable to fall asleep until 6 AM.

He needs to take some melatonin as his brain is not producing enough of this natural hormone, causing sleeplessness and difficulty to enjoy a complete and restful night. Clothing is an issue as labels, seams and embroideries or patches irritate his skin, as if he was wearing an itchy wool sweater all day long. I love it when I find clothes with stamped labels!

Food is a HUGE issue as his diet is limited, based on routine and his moods. He may eat only hash browns for breakfast for months than he may not touch them for a year, if ever. As a toddler, he loved soy milk and porridge. One day he stopped eating them out of the blue, and he never went back to eat them. He needs some vitamins and Omega-3 that need to be given in the "gummies" form or need to be crushed and given in water, dissolve them and use a needless syringe. This is the only way to ensure that his body get all the vitamins and minerals that he needs to grow up.

With Dasan, safety is an important issue as he is a little explorer and has no fear! When in public, you need to hold his hand at all times, or he will run away from you and may end up crossing a high traffic intersection, jumping in a pool's deep end or break a mirror on purpose to cut himself and watch his blood flow. His pain threshold is very high, which means he may do something dangerous, and by the time you realize it, it could be too late, which is why, during his waking hours, he is supervised at all times. At night, we use safety gates and other features to prevent him from hurting himself or running away.

These represent only a few of the challenges that Dasan is facing every single day!

Kaylee was diagnosed at the tender age of 2 years old. While early intervention helped her out a lot, she still faces challenges of her own. Although they are mostly different from her brother's, it does not mean that she is not struggling too. One of the challenges that she faces is her inability to understand when people are lying to her, especially strangers. In that area, she does not see that strangers could lie to her and want to harm her in any way. She was 6 years old last summer when I caught her talking to a stranger while playing at the local park. I called her right away and when I was asking her if she knew that person, she said: "Yes!" When I asked her the name of that person and where she knew him from, she confirmed my suspicions. Not only didn't she know the man's name but she never even saw him before. Of course, I warned her about talking to strangers but her reply sent me into panic: "Mommy, he is not a stranger! He was nice to me, and he spoke to me. A stranger is someone you can't see, or that he is not nice to you!"

Another issue with Kaylee is her hypersensitivities to the sizes of bites, food textures, elastics, metal snaps and noise. You see, the size of bites of food and their texture can cause her to choke of food. Elastics affect her breathing, metal snaps give her rashes and there is noise. You see, the specialist that tested her hearing noticed that she was hearing things that most people are unable to perceive. This causes her to be hypersensitive to certain sounds like the buzzing of a refrigerator in the grocery store was a painful experience to her.

Kaylee's understanding of verbal messages is literal making expression and figure of speech difficult. She also developed her comprehension of what is said by using the same structures which could be frustrating for her or anyone else to try to get the message through to her. A good example of that is when someone asked her the flavor of the cupcake she ate during snack time. It took 15 minutes of trials and errors before they could understand each other, finally having an answer to the question.

Kaylee also deals with illogical fears For example,. example, for the longest time, she was scared of spiders. It took me a long time to figure out that one of her friends had a phobia of spiders, and that she adopted it simply because the child was her best friend. The same applies for her fear of heights. Since her father has that phobia, she adopted it for herself regardless of the fact that she never experienced anything that could have caused such a fear.

She is also dealing with bullying! Although she does not always comprehend that someone would be mean to her, she has dealt with cruel comments and is beginning to understand as time goes by. Having an incredible memory, some hurtful comments that she did not understand at the time come back months or years later, when she grasps them fully, which is heart breaking.

These challenges represent a fraction of what she goes through every single day!

While the challenges pile up, services are made available, depending on your place of residence, in order to help your child develop a certain independence and learn how to live "appropriately" according to society's expectations and standards. Services such as: Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Feeding Clinic, psychiatrist and Child Development Clinic are made available to you, free of charge or by hiring them depending on the laws and regulations of the province, state or country of your residence.

Among techniques used to treat Autism and enable your child to cope with the challenges linked to this disorder, there are: ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System), Floor Time (communication through play), RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) and various others. I choose not to promote one against another as I believe that each child is different and each parent knows what is best for their child, and that is the only thing that matters when choosing a technique that will help with your child's journey living with Autism.

To each his own! I wish you good luck with your choices and the opportunities that come your way...and your child's way!