Frequently Needed Answers

Autism is one of the most common developmental disorders yet still it is misunderstood.

Being the parent of an autistic child is one of the toughest challenges a parent can face. However with early diagnosis of autism, the challenges can be lessened.

Understanding which resources to use with an autistic child can be confusing, with so many treatments for autism available, many parents struggle to understand and decide which resources will best suit their own individual child.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of autism can be severe in some children with an ASD, some children with an ASD may never develop speech may have other educational difficulties and seizures. While other children with an ASD may have average or above average intelligence, although in most cases speech will be slow to develop.

Although there is nothing that can be done to reverse autism, therefore a diagnosis of autism is a lifelong disability. However there are strategies parents of autistic children can use to help with the symptoms of autism.

So which resources to use with an autistic child? What is available and how can you access them quickly and easily?

Generally being the parent of an autistic child can be isolating, frustrating and confusing. Many parents of autistic children use resources such as autism social skills stories, to help their child develop age appropriate skills and behaviours that their typically developing peers are learning naturally.

Studies into the behaviour patterns of children with autism show that most autistic children are visual thinkers and learners no matter which end of the autism scale they are on. This knowledge helps us determine which kind of resources may be needed to help children with autism learn skills and behaviours effectively.

Generally visual thinkers and learners will better understand information when it is presented visually through images, pictures, graphs etc rather that through written words or orally. For children with autism on either end of the autism scale visual representations and information is better received and understood.

Visual resources for children with autism are available from many sites like: http://www.autismsocialstories.com  Visual resources for children with autism such as social skills stories can be implemented and used effectively to help show and teach children with an ASD appropriate skills and behaviours. For example social skills stories are used to help autistic children learn behaviours such as making friends, controlling negative behaviours, asking questions, sharing, taking turns, respecting personal space, using the toilet and so on.

Social skills stories are like a comic script, visual, colourful, use first person language, can be edited, printed and personalized. Social skills stories are like a role model detailing the skill or behaviour in appropriate language and images easy to use, follow and versatile, can be edited and convenient to use. Social skills stories are one of the most popular autism resources used today, and have great uses in the nursery, classroom, college, work place and at home or out and about they can be used in most situation the autistic child struggles with for example the dentist, a hospital visit, birthday party, school trip, wedding etc.

To find out more about social stories and there uses visit http://www.autismsocialstories.com or one of the following sites:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/social_skills

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school_resources

Social skills deficits are one of the major issues faced by children with autism. For many parents and teachers of autistic students teaching social skills becomes a primary focus. Success in teaching social skills to children with autism can lead to an increase in positive behaviors and self-confidence in both the home and the classroom for many autistic students.

Therefore teaching and achieving social skills goals for children with autism has become essential. Many parents and teachers of autistic children use strategies such as social skills stories to help them manage and teach social and communication skills to children with autism.

An autism social story is a short descriptive story much like a comic book script that details in a step by step action plan a particular social, communication skill or behavior.

An appropriate autism social story will focus on a particular social situation or interaction. For example: A shopping trip; meeting new people; recess; school dinner; assembly even a trip to the dentist. Any of these situations can be dealt with using an autism social story. The autism social story describes the situation, skill or behavior in detail. They are used to help practice skills and behaviors, mange negative behaviors, explain changes to routines and make confusing or stressful events and situations understandable by allowing the child with autism a chance to rehearse the skill or situation in advance.

Generally children with autism will find social situations confusing this is due to social skills deficits, therefore implementing a social skills story can turn an otherwise confusing situation into a more predictable and routine event taking away the confusion and anxiety.

The goal of autism social skills stories is to make the child with autism more comfortable and less anxious in the situation. Which will cut down on stress for you, and anxiety even meltdowns and other negative behaviors that the child with autism may otherwise display when feeling stressed and confused.

For a child with autism having a step by step action plan they can read and understand that is visually rich and easy to follow can be a tremendous benefit and reduce their fears and sensitivities.

Parents and teachers of autistic students agree that social skills goals for children with autism can be achieved easier using social stories as a strategy. Skills such as tooth brushing, hygiene, asking questions and calming down can all be tackled using social stories as a strategy.

To learn more about social skills stories and how they can benefit any autistic child visit:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com where you can download social skills stories on a variety of issues.

Other sites that offer social skills stories packages can be found at:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school_resources

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/preschool

A major issue for parents of autistic children is their concern that a lack of appropriate social and communication skills both verbal and non-verbal in their autism child will greatly hinder their development and ability to function in a “normal society”

Generally speech is quite often delayed in the autism child but will develop, with the percentage of autism children completely non-verbal being only 9%.

Social skills deficits in social and communication skills are common to all autism children. However there are autism treatments that parents of autistic children report provide a substantial improvement in their child’s social and communication skills development, which can help the autistic child develop and fit in with society with less of a struggle.

Probably one of the major autism treatments is social skills stories for autistic behaviors. These were first introduced almost twenty years ago to help facilitate social and communication issues reducing stress and anxieties in the autistic child or adult.

Significant numbers of parents of autistic children, care givers and teachers report that the use social stories to teach social and communication skills greatly improves positive behaviors and helps the autistic child reach his/her full potential socially.

There are many sites run by experts in autism offering autism treatments such as social skills stories for autistic behaviors, one such site is: http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

Social skills stories are now probably one of the major coping techniques for autistic behaviors used by parents of autistic children to help re-enforce skills and behaviors to the child with autism from everyday skills such as asking questions, listening and being a good sport to more complex skills and behaviors like, calming down, appropriate touching and lying.

Social skills stories are believed to improve social and communication skills in the child with autism plus personal and social development as well as reducing undesirable behaviors.

To find out more about social stories for autism as major coping techniques for autistic behaviors visit: http://www.autismsocialstories.com

http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior

The causes of autism are not yet known with certainty. Recent research suggests a link between genetic susceptibility and environmental agents. Indeed, there is evidence that no one factor causes autism and that perhaps there exists a synergy among several agents. This view is based upon the range of symptoms of autism and severity among those who are diagnosed as autistic.

There has been an apparent rise in the occurrence of autism since about 1980, but the root causes of autism have not been found. There is speculation that better diagnostic techniques have uncovered symptoms of autism and cases that would otherwise have gone unrecognized.

Research indicates tentatively that 90% of the autism cases have a genetic link. A specific gene of interest is the Engrailed 2 (EN2) gene, which may account for 40% of autism cases. It is significant in normal neural development. If the gene’s expression is disrupted in some way, it is believed that EN2 could impact significantly on normal brain development. However, autism may be causes by the interaction and malfunction of more than one gene. The research is on-going.

Additionally, in a study conducted in 2007, three common factors were found to be of interest in some cases of autism: older maternal age, older paternal age, and birthplace of the mother outside Europe or North America. The higher parental age may suggest an issue with genetic material integrity.

Alternatively, some rare cases of autism appear to be related to environmental factors. In the past several years, there has been a great deal of controversy over the incidence of autism with relation to childhood immunizations. To-date, there is no strong statistical correlation to support this proposal.

The prenatal environment has come into focus as a possible origin, especially events taking place within the first eight weeks of gestation of the fetus. Although most infectious diseases appear not to be significant contributors to the causes of autism, the rubella virus may be a suspect. Exposure to pesticides may have some effect, but the research is inconclusive.

Maternal folic acid levels may have some bearing, as folic acid is directly involved in neural tube development in the fetus and has a direct effect on gene expression. Perhaps the most promising research finding recently has been the association of maternal infection early in pregnancy with the child’s later autism.

The cause of autism is most likely over determined, meaning that more than one factor is involved. Given the range of symptoms of autism and severity of autism, this could well be so.

There are many more resources and information about autism signs, symptoms, treatments, and cutting edge medical research in, Autism: Everything Parents And Caregivers Should Know About The Disorder- http://autismsymptoms1.com/go.php?offer=simon8775&pid=1

Alternatively visit:

www.autismsocialstories.com

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