KOCHI: The world commemorates one more Autism Awareness Week. It's worth taking some time out to pay silent regards to strong-willed mothers who never complain but longingly look forward to seeing their children with autism carry out their daily routine independently one day.
Autism or autism spectrum disorder is a neuro-developmental disorder which refers to a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication.
If one is autistic, he is autistic for life; autism is not an illness or disease hence cannot be cured while treatments can be helpful in many ways to improve the condition.
Autism is a spectrum condition. All autistic people share certain difficulties, but being autistic will affect them in different ways.
How common is it?
Autism is more common than most people think. According to the Centre for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 per cent of the world population with one in 59 children affected in the United States today. Experts say 1 in 68 kids in India are diagnosed with autism with an overall of more than 1 million cases reported per year.
Research into causes suggests a combination of factors- genetic and environmental, may account for differences in development. Autism is not caused by a person's upbringing or their social circumstances, nor is it the fault of the individual.
Autism is tough to be diagnosed up to 18 months. A formal timely diagnosis by an expert team including speech and language therapists, paediatrician along with a psychiatrist and psychologist is most essential to help identify the condition if possible in the early stages itself. This will help the persons and their families understand better about their conditions.
Signs and Symptoms
The range and severity of symptoms can vary widely as it involves developmental, behavioural, cognitive and psychological aspects. Common symptoms include: Poor eye contact and the lack of smile, unresponsive to their names, hypersensitivity to noise, lost in thoughts, hitting or biting themselves, not using gestures while communicating, inability to follow objects visually, inability to make friends, repetitive body movements or repeating their own sentences, unaware of others' emotions or depression, learning disability or speech delay in a child, intense interest in a limited number of things or problem in paying attention.
The ideal time to start treatment is by one to two years of age. Early recognition, as well as behavioural, educational and family therapies, may reduce symptoms and support development and learning. Antipsychotic drugs may be also prescribed according to the assessment of the medical team depending on the severity of the case.
First comes the necessity to provide a 'sensory diet' which can provide the child with the sensory inputs he or she needs to be in a “just right” state, as part of sensory integration therapy. This can include simple activities such as blowing bubbles, swinging or eating crunchy vegetables to the use of tools like squish sand or slime, therapy balls, specially designed pathways to walk to enhance their hand-eye coordination, motor skills and overall functions.
Behavioural therapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, animal-assisted therapy and music therapy are beneficial to channelise their energy thus relieving their minds of aggressiveness.
Be involved
Every year, the first seven days of April marks World Autism Awareness Week and April 2 is regarded as World Autism Day. According to the UN, the purpose is to highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of those with autism so they can lead full and meaningful lives as an integral part of society.
The first step should be to learn about the condition thoroughly. One should stress on their abilities and not disabilities. One can get involved in campaigns and activities for awareness as well as acceptance of autism in society.
Undergoing training to become well-equipped in aiding a colleague in school or workplace should be a major point of preference. Another efficient method is to partner with several organisations who work seriously in this area to chart out and plan beneficial programmes.
Dr Anjana Kannankara is the director of TGL Foundation and the chairperson of Institution for Differently-Abled. The views expressed by the author are her own.