Showing posts with label Autism spectrum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autism spectrum. Show all posts

11 April 2013

IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!...VOICES OF PARENTS WHOSE CHILDREN ARE AUTISTIC OR DYSLEXIC (ALL EXPRESSED WITHIN THE PAST 4 MONTHS!)

IF YOU THINK HAVING MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT WILL SOLVE ALL LIFE'S PROBLEMS  YOU MAY NEED TO THINK AGAIN...




1.TINA

I'm a 38yr old single mother of 3 boys that are struggling in their daily activities, my oldest (18) was diagnosed with Epilepsy, my 13 yr old was diagnosed with Bipolar, ADHA, ODD and I just signed papers for my 8 yr old son to have some testing done at school.. I myself have been diagnosed with Bipolar and ADHD but not until I was 30 after trying to take my own life. When I asked the Doctor why wasn't I diagnosed sooner with this she said that some people learn to manage and that the unhealthy situation I was in may have been a trigger...

In search of answers i've come across this website as I continued to read my eyes filled with tears because I feel like my life is falling apart.You see because I am having difficulties managing everything Children services are involved and I'm afraid that I will lose my children for good if I don't get more help for them and myself...I believe that my children and I may have some form of Autism

2.ANONYMOUS TO TINA

As a 39-year old struggling with depression since high school, I can understand looking for another diagnosis, another answer, when dealing with managing day-to-day life with mental illness. Frankly, I came to this site to see if I might fit any of the symptoms myself, as I can't quite pin down why I've been doing certain things in my life. The best advice and encouragement I can give has several parts: stay on the medication and be sure to take regularly - I don't notice missing a dose or 2, but my family and friends notice right away. It's frustrating, but it's true. Find a good doctor and a good therapist you trust and if the meds don't seem to be working right, speak up - you are your best advocate. Side effects are a given, but there are so many different alternatives out there now - talk to a doctor who really knows meds for mental illness. It may well be that you or your kids fall into the Autism spectrum somewhere - get tested.

On the same note, and this was the clIncher that took me years to figure out and caused me endless grief, what you are perceiving, may not be entirely what's going on. Just like I don't notice if I miss a dose of med, but others around me do, find some trusted sounding boards and ask them, 'Am I blowing this out of proportion? Am I getting frustrated at things I can't control and forgetting about the things that I can? Remind me again what I can control?'

You have a lot going on and 3 wonderful reasons to take care of yourself so you can be there for them. I had to check myself into a hospital for a while to get my depression under control and it was the scariest, smartest thing I've ever done

3.  ALYSE PHILLIPS





I've known something was "different" with my daughter from the time she was a couple months old. She has no desire to be held and never has. She is 2.5 now and still chooses to play alone. At the park if there is another child on the equipment she will go somewhere else to play. She also rocks most of the day. She is now talking but only "parrots" .At 1.5 she would learn a word use it for a week then we woukdn't hear it again. I took her in for testing last year and because i had taught her sign language she didn't qualify for any help. How do i get someone in the medical field to realize there is something different about her and that ASD is an entire spectrum of issues not a cut and dry diagnosis? I want her to succeed and I know with proper support she very possibly could become more comfortable in social situations and her day to day life.

4. DCLAREX

Hi, my daughter is 13 months and has delayed physical development. She can't toll over, crawl or walk unaided, she makes no attempt at trying. She's been to a physio who gave us exercises but we've had no improvement in 6 months. She is so clever and ahead of her age when it comes to feeding herself, speech and recognition. A pediatrician told us her social skills and intelligence are about a year ahead. I don't seem to be getting answers from anyone. Does it sound like a form of autism? Everything I read is about social development but she loves being around people she makes eye contact and shares with other kids. Her physical skills are that of a 4 month old except she can sit up.
If somebody can help or advise I would appreciate it as I'm going out if my mind with lack of answers and reasons ......

5.Disqus_TuVub2wRUB







I'm a mother of a 3 year old girl.. most of my friends are saying that she has an autism.. we went to the doctor a year ago;;; and she told me that everything is fine with my daugther ;; she was just late in talking ;; be coz until now she cant create a sentence ;;; but she can identify some of the things.. she called mama but not very often;; and when she need something she will pull my hand and showed me what she wants.. i am very worried.. what are your thoughts about these kinds of behaviors????

[caption id="attachment_8038" align="aligncenter" width="300"]IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE!... VOICES OF PARENTS WHOSE CHILDREN ARE DYSLEXIC/AUTISTIC attention deficiency![/caption]

6. DNTEACH5




I believe my nephew is showing signs of Autism or Aspergers. He is very intelligent but is highly antisocial. He has a few friends at school but he keeps to himself when he is with family. He would prefer to stay in the car during family gatherings or sit on a couch and read a book instead of interacting with family. He has some peculiar mannerisms too such as slowly opening a present by carefully removing tape. He also was upset at school one day because a peer stopped the long-term timer on his I-pad...it was running since the beginning of the year. His way to deal with this problem was to lay on the classroom floor for 10 minutes. He is in eighth grade and mom is so concerned for him next year. He is now in a private school/catholic school but the school doesn't go past 8th grade. The school believes he is gifted, but has not mentioned the autistic mannerisms as such. What are your thoughts on these types of behavior?

7.SARAH RAY




My son who is 13 has autism . We just found out he has it for yrs I knew but could not convince doctors to check the doc.just said he was a slow learner I'm so glad to finally get a diagnosis




8. MONICA K.TO S.RAY




My son is 16 years old and was diagnosed last year. We have seen many doctors and all of them gave inaccurate diagnosis. With this new found information, I sometimes feel guilty for trying to force him to be someone he just could not be. Now, I have changed all his doctors and he has new therapists but because he is an older child, many of his behaviors appear to be permanent. Overall, I remain hopeful as our doctor and therapist are very optimistic about my son being able to respond to the treatment. It feels good to finally be able to trust what the clinical professionals say about his condition and treatment.


9.STEPH TO MONICA K


My son is 17yrs. old he is wants to work. We have been practicing on interviewing . It has been very challenging. He has a hard time with eye contact with me. When he does he smiles really big like he's blushing, then forgets what he needs to say. He is very smart and articulate but he gets so overwhelmed with interacting with people. My concerns are life after high school. Have you made any decisions on the transitions of the real world? If so, please share. I know my son likes to work with his hands more than reading or writing. He likes math but he's not passionate about it. He loves building car models. Too bad our U.S. car industry is plunging. Just wondering if anyone can help me with childhood to adulthood situations. Universities or Colleges?


10.VELSBABY TO STEPH









Good luck to you Steph. My son is now 20, soon to be 21 years old. After graduating with a REAL diploma from high school, be seems to be stagnating here at home. He was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at age 2 and Psychosis -NOS at age 16. He is very oppositional and feels he knows what is best. He gets nothing done, refuses to do regular daily living skills, etc. I am trying to get him to go to a group home. I didn't imagine life after high school to be like this. I don't know what to do for him or with him. I suggest you really look at his choices and plan better than I did. I thought I had planned well, but I did not.

from Autism Speaks

Autistic Spectrum Disorders




Autistic Spectrum Disorders include problems with nonverbal communication, socialization, and empathy. Children with an autistic spectrum disorder have difficulty understanding what other people are saying, need help to play with other children, enjoy routines, and find unfamiliar situations difficult. Symptoms can range from very mild to profound social and cognitive delays. The disorder is not associated with dyslexia, but it can coexist with dyslexia. Many children with autistic spectrum disorder also have difficulties learning to read and write.


Autism


Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. A child with autism processes and responds to information in unique ways. Although some can function at a relatively high level, many children with autism have serious cognitive impairments or mental retardation, and some never gain the ability to speak.

A child with autism may seem closed off and shut down or locked into repetitive behaviors and rigid patterns of thinking. He may avoid eye contact and resist physical contact, such as hugging, or may have frequent tantrums or remain fixated on a single item or activity such as spinning objects. It's possible that his sensitivity to pain could be higher or lower than typical.

FACT


Autism is about three to four times more common in boys. However, girls with the disorder tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment. Although autism is frequently accompanied by mental retardation, about one out of ten children with autism also are savants with exceptional talents in narrowly constrained areas such as drawing ability or playing the piano.


The severity of autism can be extremely variable, ranging from mild to severe. Children with mild to moderate symptoms are considered “high-functioning.” Two children may share the diagnosis of autism, but behave very differently and have very different skills and abilities.

Asperger's Syndrome


Asperger's Syndrome is similar to autism, but milder in form. Children with Asperger's have normal or above-average intelligence. They do not have language delays, but often have unusual speech patterns; they may speak formalistically or without inflection, or speak in a rhythmic nature or with a high-pitched tone. They often have a very literal understanding of language, and have difficulty understanding irony or verbal humor.

Children with Asperger's usually want to fit in and have interaction with others, but they tend to be socially awkward and have difficulty understanding conventional social rules or the give and take of normal conversation. They are often obsessively interested in particular subjects and may become proficient at knowing obscure categories of information, such as memorizing baseball statistics or bus routes. They may enjoy collecting things such as rocks or bottle caps. Although diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome does not include reading problems, the condition is frequently accompanied by symptoms of dyslexia.

Semantic Pragmatic Disorder (SPD)


Semantic Pragmatic Disorder is a communication disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction, communication, and imagination. Autistic features are mild and concentrated in the areas of social use and understanding of language and communication. Children with SPD are unable to process all the given information from certain situations, often focusing on details without understanding the big picture. The condition is usually first identified because of marked delays and difficulty with speech and language development.

Hyperlexia


Children with hyperlexia demonstrate an early and intense fascination with letters, numbers, patterns and logos, and a self-taught, precocious ability to read, spell, write, or compute, usually before the age of five. At the same time, they have significant difficulty understanding and using oral language and with socializing and interacting appropriately with other people.

Although the early acquisition of reading ability makes hyperlexia seem very different than dyslexia, both conditions are rooted in difficulties with understanding and using language. A child with hyperlexia is often highly intelligent, learning best from visually presented information. The difference is that the child with hyperlexia can easily manipulate and understand written symbols for language and concepts, but has problems with oral language. Your child with dyslexia has difficulty with symbols but will be stronger with verbal communication skills and in understanding concepts that language represents.

It is possible for a child to learn to read early without having hyperlexia; many intellectually gifted children easily acquire reading skills as early as age three or four. Occasionally, a child with dyslexia will also be an early reader; dyslexia will be diagnosed when the child encounters problems with advanced reading skills, writing, or spelling as she grows older.

Related Conditions













TO ALL INDIVIDUALS,ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS HELPING TO KEEP FOCUS ON AUTISM THIS MONTH...THANK YOU!!

[caption id="attachment_8001" align="alignleft" width="355"]CONGRATS AND THANKS TO ALL INDIVIDUALS,ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS HELPING TO KEEP FOCUS ON AUTISM THIS MONTH! any tomorrow?[/caption]

 Autism  greatly impacts on learning capabilities of students.We also had close and personal encounters with dyslexia cases while running our schools.The best we should do is to encourage others to get to know a bit more of both autism and dyslexia because our people do not usually want to spend "quality time on such distant issues". But are they REALLY distant from our lives-and those of our extended families?


If you are reading related write-ups on our site and have had something woken up in you to do something on autism and /or dyslexia we thank God for you life!.And for organizations like the GT Bank and the Lagos State Government  which have actively joined by planned activities in the Autism Awareness Month of April,we say kudos you all.


As a blogger you are sometimes faced with either leaving out or publishing what is also available for others to read on the net.My suggestion is that you go right ahead and publish it.Just because it is available  does not mean your reader will look for it.We all know how many times we are faced with 1001 things to do once flying like North Korean missiles in the net space.B ut a post or an article on hand could be coup de grace  as we hope the article below on autism will serve.Thanks for taking time to go through.Hopefully it will throw more light on some of the things  mentioned by a parent in an earlier article.



Autism Symptoms Checklist



Autism, which affects thought, perception and attention, is not just one disorder with a well defined set of symptoms; autism is a broad spectrum of disorders that ranges from mild to severe. In addition, the behavior usually occurs across many different situations and is consistently inappropriate for their age.

In the diagnostic manual used to classify disabilities, the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), autistic disorder is listed as a category under the heading of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. A diagnosis of autistic disorder is made when an individual displays 6 or more of 12 symptoms listed across three major areas: social interaction, communication, and behavior. When children display similar behaviors but do not meet the criteria for autistic disorder, they may receive a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder-NOS (PDD not otherwise specified).

Problems in social relatedness and communication.

(Difficulty in mixing with other children;prefers to be alone; aloof manner; difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words ).

Abnormal responses to one or a combination of senses; such as sight, hearing,touch, balance, smell, taste, reaction to pain.

Sustained odd play.
Uneven gross/ fine motor skills.
Not responsive to verbal cues, acts as deaf.
Little or no eye contact.
Insistence on sameness; resist changes in routine.
Noticeable physical over activity or extreme under activity.
Tantrums; displays extreme distress for no apparent reason.
Speech and language absence or delays. Inappropriate laughing and giggling.Echolalia (repeating words or phrases in place of normal language).
Abnormal ways of relating to people,objects and events. (Inappropriate
attachment to objects; don’t seek cuddling )
Spins objects.

An aspect of language that tends to be disturbed in autistic people has to do with knowing how to use language appropriately and in context. That includes knowing how to hold a conversation, thinking about what the other person in a conversation understands and believes, and tuning in to the meta – linguistic signals of the other person, such as facial expression, tone of voice and body language. It is important to remember that communication is as much nonverbal as it is verbal, and autistic people have great difficulty understanding nonverbal language.




The following is from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM IV):

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR 299.00 AUTISTIC DISORDER

A. A total of six (or more) items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3)(1) qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

a) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and gestures to regulate social interaction

b) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

c) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people, (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)

d) lack of social or emotional reciprocity ( note: in the description, it gives the following as examples: not actively participating in simple social play or games, preferring solitary activities, or involving others in activities only as tools or ”mechanical” aids )

(2) qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following:

a) delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime)

b) in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others

c) stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language

d) lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

(3) restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities, as manifested by at least two of the following:

a) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

b) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals

c) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole body movements)

d) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

B. Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years:

(1) social interaction

(2) language as used in social communication

(3) symbolic or imaginative play

C. The disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett’s Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria For 299.80 Asperger’s Disorder

Diagnosing and Evaluating Autism

Autism and related disabilities, such as PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), and Asperger’s Syndrome are difficult to diagnose, especially in young children where speech and reasoning skills are still developing.It is essential that the process of diagnosing Autism & related disabilities include the assessment and evaluation of a child’s development, communication, and social skills.Evaluation and assessment are ongoing processes. Once a diagnosis has been reached, this process should be repeated periodically.We included brief descriptions of some medical tests and evaluations that may be ordered for children suspected of having autism or a related disability.

Medical Tests

The following medical tests may help with diagnosis and possibly suggest changes in the intervention or treatment strategy.

Hearing: Various tests such as an Audio gram and Typanogram can indicate whether a child has a hearing impairment. Audiologists, or hearing specialists, have methods to test the hearing of any individual by measuring responses such as turning their head, blinking, or staring when a sound is presented.

Electroencephalogram (EEG): An EEG measures brain waves that can show seizure disorders. In addition, an EEG may indicate tumors or other brain abnormalities. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a recording which shows the variations in electrical potentials at a number of scalp sites.

Inside the brain, neurons produce their own electrical fields. The electric fields are measured in units of micro volts. It is thought that an unhealthy brain will have large changes in the electrical potential compared to the potentials produced by a healthy brain.

However, in order to observe an unhealthy brain it must be compared to the same brain when it was healthy. So, for example, to measure the difference between a brain undergoing a seizure, the EEG must last long enough for seizure to occur. Often a video EEG is done over a period of a day or a week.

This form of measuring brain activity is noninvasive (doesn’t require any surgical cuts) and it is relatively inexpensive. This method gives numerical results. The patterns of the numbers are then used to determine whether or not the brain is healthy. The results can also be used to determine which section of the brain is causing problems. Additional tests will likely be needed to make an accurate diagnosis of these conditions.

Metabolic Screening: Blood and urine lab tests measure how a child metabolizes food and its impact on growth and development. Some Autism spectrum disorders can be treated with special diets.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): An MRI involves using magnetic sensing equipment to create an image of the brain in extremely fine detail. Sometimes children are sedated in order to complete the MRI.

Computer Assisted Axial Tomography (CAT SCAN): An X-Ray tube rotates around the child taking thousands of exposures that are sent to a computer where the X-rayed section of the body is reconstructed in great detail. CAT Scans are helpful in diagnosing structural problems with the brain.

Genetic Testing: Blood tests look for abnormalities in the genes which could cause a developmental disability.

Therapy Evaluations

Many children with Autism and related disabilities require some form of special therapy. Evaluation can help determine the potential benefits of therapy.

Speech – Language Therapy: It is recognized that autistic children have difficulties with language, but it is clear that traditional approaches emphasizing mastery of the formal properties of language are largely inappropriate: training children to speak is not going to bring about a transformation of their behavior. The autistic child needs to learn not so much how to speak as how to use language socially to communicate. Some autistic children are nonverbal, and some who are verbal may also have deficiencies or are unable to use language in a meaningful way.

A Speech Pathologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of language and speech disorders, can help a child learn how to effectively communicate.

Occupational Therapy: Commonly focuses on improving fine motor skills, such as brushing teeth, feeding, and writing, or sensory motor skills that include balance (Vestibular System), awareness of body position (Proprioceptive System), and touch (Tactile System). After a therapist identifies a specific problem, therapy may include sensory integration activities such as: massage, firm touch, ex..





Physical Therapy: Specializes in developing strength, coordination and movement. Therapists work on improving gross motor skills. This therapy is concerned with improving function of the body’s larger muscles through physical activities including exercise.

DIRECT OBSERVATION

Direct observation, interaction, and interviews assessments: Information about a child’s emotional, social, communication, and cognitive abilities is gathered through child directed interactions, observations in various situations, and interviews of parents and care givers. Parents and family members should be actively involved throughout these assessments. What actually occurs during a specific assessment depends on what information parents and evaluators want to know.

Functional assessments: Aim to discover why a challenging behavior (such as head banging) is occurring. Based on the premise that challenging behaviors are a way of communicating, functional assessment involves interviews, direct observations, and interactions to determine what a child with autism or a related disability is trying to communicate through their behavior.

Once the purpose of the challenging behavior is determined, an alternative, more acceptable means for achieving that purpose can be developed. This helps eliminate the challenging behavior.

Play based assessments: Involve adult observation in structured and unstructured play situations that provide information about a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and communication development. By determining the child’s learning style and interaction pattern through play based assessments, an individualized treatment plan can be developed.
Standardized instruments are formal methods used to determine different levels of cognitive development.

Rating Scales & Developmental Inventories: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and Childhood Autism Rating Scale are examples of standardized tests that measure a child’s general developmental skills, including socialization skills and coping skills. Scores are based on parent interviews and evaluator observations.

Intelligence Tests (IQ): Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and other intelligence tests attempt to determine an individual’s intelligence based on standardized criteria. The results of educational tests are often provided in composite scores.

On the  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children  , (WISC-III), three scores are usually provided: Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and a Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). Each of these tests provides a composite score. Both the Verbal and Performance IQ scores are composites of five different sub tests. Intelligence Tests (IQ) do not necessarily measure an autistic child true abilities and unique potential to develop.

autism-pdd.net

10 April 2013

WHAT IF YOU GET TO HEAVEN AND GOD ASKED YOU WHAT YOU KNEW ABOUT AUTISM ON EARTH?

WHAT IF YOU GET TO HEAVEN AND GOD ASKED YOU WHAT YOU KNEW ABOUT AUTISM ON EARTH?

IF YOU ARE RELATED TO A SISTER,MOTHER,WIFE PARENT,FAMILY WITH AN AUTISTIC CHILD, PLEASE REFER TO THE RESOURCES BELOW OR CALL YOUR FAMILY'S ATTENTION TO THEM. BUT IF GOD HAS GIVEN YOU THE MANTLE TO USE ANY PART OF THESE RESOURCES FOR DIRECT HEALING OR HELPING OR JOINING TO IMPROVE AN AUTISTIC CONDITION KINDLY FIND TIME TO GO THROUGH THEM THANK YOU

http://beyondautismawareness.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/the-12-myths-of-autism/

http://www.everydayhealth.com/autism/six-common-myths.aspx

http://velociriot.org/2013/04/05/autism-speaks-doesnt-speak-for-autism/

http://minasaksham.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/autism-is-not-a-disease/

http://mypicturedmoments.com/2013/04/01/what-does-the-autism-spectrum-look-like/

http://autismandoughtisms.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/101-on-autism-diversity-for-autism-awareness-day/

GREAT AUTISM BLOGS ( supplied autism and oughtism)

30 Days of Autism

Adasperdown Town
Adventures in Extreme Parenthood
Asperger's Diary
Autism and Empathy
Autism Army Mom
Autism from a Father's Point of View
Autism Jabberwocky
Autism News Beat
Autism Research Australasia
Autism Science Foundation
Autism's Gadfly
autismjungle
Countering…
Cracking the enigma
Facing Autism in New Brunswick
Friendship Circle – Special Needs Blog
Harpocrates Speaks
Homestyle Mama (with a side of autism)
Interverbal (inactive blog)
Job Sink (inactive blog)
Journeys with Autism (inactive blog)
Just a Lil Blog
Kazbrooksblog
Kitaiska Sandwich
Left Brain/Right Brain
Life is a Spectrum
Matter Tomorrow
Matty Angel
MOM-Not Otherwise Specified
My Whac-A-Mole Life
On the Spectrum
onthebeans
Out of the Fog
Questioning Answers
Raising Asperger's Kids
Science 2.0 : ASD
seventhvoice
SFARI
Snagglebox
Solodialogue
Speaking on the Spectrum
Special Education Law Blog
stark. raving. mad. mommy.
thAutcast.com
The Autism Crisis
The Fragile X Files
The Simple Life (inactive blog)
The Tumultuous Truth
The Voyage
Yeah. Good Times

 
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FAMILY DYSLEXIA STORIES REVEALED!...BUT ARE THEY AUTISTIC CASES? (PART 3)

SOME MATTERS ARISING  FROM PART 2

[caption id="attachment_7959" align="aligncenter" width="593"]FAMILY DYSLEXIA STORIES REVEALED!...BUT ARE THEY AUTISTIC CASES? (PART 3) dyslexia blog header[/caption]

After reading the last two posts some questions might be bubbling in our minds as follows...

1.Is there any correlation between Dyslexia and Autism? Or is dyslexia common with autism?

2.What about  Aspergers, Bipolar, ADD and HD? How are they related or linked to autism?

3.What about those children usually called "physically handicapped"? Are they autistic too?

4.What about memory loss through a blow to the brain or  through a car accident or through stroke? Can they be classified as autistic too?

MASON COLLEGE FESTAC

There was the case of a girl,the child of a highly experienced medical doctor and whose mother is a school proprietress.Despite ths best ante-natal care this girl had learning disability right from birth.She had acute inability to process info given to her to any logical conclusion.Even to her it was a very frustrating experience! She was brought to Mason College to repeat her WAEC exams after she failed at the girls-only school  she attended for 6 yrs.So what went wrong? How were the problems tackled at Mason College and  what was the end result? We shall give more info later.

There was also the case of another boy brought to Mason College after he had a car accident in the U.S.He was in coma for a long period of time and when he  came back to life he could no longer recognize most members of his family!Again how was the challenge tackled through our College without special educationists?

We shall come back to these two cases  after we might have attempted to answer the questions above by citing other real life experiences mainly extracted from the net. So lets read other stories to know a bit more about autism.That is, we shall move away from Mason College  cases temporarily  into real life personal stories of other families in a bid to know more of what autism really is.

CASE NO 1

Question by BGDMOM:Correlation between Dyslexia and Autism?


 
Hi, I have a 5yr. old niece who is being tested for Dyslexia and my brother says that someone mentioned a connection between Autism and Dyslexia. I have worked with special needs preschoolers and a few were Autistic ( one had Aspergers) but I had never heard of this before. She is extremely shy and throws tantrums continuously.Eye contact is an issue with her also. At the preschool that she attends they have been working with her on basic skills but she can't spell her name and only counts to 20 ( if she's in the right mood). Anyone out there have input?



Best Answer by Georgie


While Autism and Dyslexia are both neurological disorders, and they do have some similar symptoms, but they are also very different, but they can co-exist. People with dyslexia have a normal IQ, but they have problems with reading writing and doing maths (Dyscalula), and some may have co-ordination problems (Dyspraxia).

Autism causes social and communication problems, appears to be aloof, socially awkward, react strongly to changes outside of their normal routine, learning difficulties, repetitive behaviours and may have extraordinary knowledge or skills in specific area e.g music.

I would hope that she is given a full assessment by a pediatrician and or a child psychologist, which includes testing for dyslexia, and other disorders in the Autism spectrum, once this is done, they will set up a IEP (Individualized Education Program) and may involve a multi-disciplinary team such as;
Occupational Therapy
Physiotherapy
Psychology
Social Work
Speech Pathology
Who will work with the student, parents and school to gain the best outcomes for the students future.


:


Youth & Disability support worker
Both my daughter and I have Dyslexia




CASE NO 2

Question by KERZ 11:Is dyslexia common with autism?


Answers



1.YES! Dyslexia and autism are common co-morbidities, they aren't as common as autism/bipolar, or autism/ADD/HD though.I have both, occurred  same time 30 years ago. I am visual spatial dyslexic, originally dx with a PDD. In college, dx asperger's but I believe I could really be more HFA than aspie but idk.My son, has both. Dx with PDD.NOS or autistic features at 25 months old. Dx dyslexic at 7.5 years old. (he also has an ADD.NOS dx too).My other son is PDD.NOS, and hyperlexic and my father is asperger's and hyperlexic


Both dyslexics and autistics have a larger more condensed frontal lobe, more likely to think in pictures, have superb phonemic awareness my son scored 27+ years on this in his woodcock johnson IEE supporting an underdevelopment in Wernicke's area and overdevelopment in Broca's area 44 and 45. Please see the current science journal article of A biological basis for dyslexia: a maturing perspective. The echolalia you see in many on the spectrum also supports an advanced Broca's area 44+45. This is also why so many actors come out and say they are on the spectrum, or dyslexic.


Actors on the spectrum: Andy Kauffman, Dan Ackroyd, Darryl Hannah, Woody Allen


Actors who are dyslexic:Tom Cruise, Robin Williams, Orlando Bloom, Billy Bob Thorton


Those given an autistic diagnosis and a dyslexic diagnosis: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Keanu Reeves


.Other Answers
2.It depends, it's less common if the person is a visual learner. My son and I have hyperlexia, that is we are so visual we learned to read and write before speaking. It is considered the mirror-image of dyslexia, that is, we can read (even think in) text just fine, but sometimes hear things in a jumbled way (especially in a crowded room, etc)..Twitch Bunny.

3.read these links please... McmC



- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4845300/


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BUT STAY TUNED TO MORE REVEALING INFO FROM PART 4!