Carla Grobler
Arbeidsterapeut
Occupational Therapist
Pr No. 0660000080136
Elturion Christian School
256 Tipperary road
Hennopspark
Centurion
084 581 0644
[email protected]
www.carlagrobler.co.za
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What is Autism?
Autism forms part of a wider diagnosis called autism spectrum disorders.
Other diagnosis that also falls under the autism spectrum disorder is Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive
developmental disorder and disintegrative disorder.
It is believed that 1 in 88 children suffer from autism.
The exact cause of autism is still unknown but it is believed that genetics and the environment play a role.
Symptoms of autism
A child may have mild, moderate or severe symptoms of autism.
Depending on the severity of the autism some kids will be able to attend a
mainstream school, graduate, attend tertiary education while others may
need to attend a special needs school.
The symptoms can usually be divided into:
o Sensory processing difficulties
This is when a child cannot make sense of the world that he finds
himself in due to the fact that he has difficulties interpreting what his
senses are experiencing. A child will thus over-react or under-react to
input that they received through their senses e.g. certain touch input
may feel painful, cannot cope in a noisy environment, doesn’t like to be touched. And then often
autistic children will isolate themselves as they want to get away from all the sensory input and it
seems to others that they are anti-social.
o Speech / language delay
Kids with autism usually have delayed speech.
o Social skills
Autistic children usually have poor eye contact and struggle to interact with others. The reason for
this is that they doesn’t understand reciprocal behaviour, finds it difficult to read facial expressions
and doesn’t note tone of voice.
o Stereotype patterns of movements
E.g. rocking, twirling, playing with round objects, self-injurious behaviour/
Early warning signs of autism in children:
(http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm)
Early indicators:
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no babbling or pointing by age 1
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no single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2
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no response to name
loss of language or social skills
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poor eye contact
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excessive lining up of toys or objects
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no smiling or social responsiveness.
Later indicators include:

impaired ability to make friends with peers

impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others

absence or impairment of imaginative and social play

stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language

restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or

focus
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preoccupation with certain objects or subjects

inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals.
Is there a cure?
There is still no cure for autism.
The best advice I can give you is to take your child to an occupational therapist is you suspect your child
may have autism.
It the therapist suspects it to be autism she will refer your child to a paediatric neurologist to confirm the
diagnosis.
After that occupational therapy and speech therapy is the best treatment for your child to help him reach
his full potential.
It may also be necessary for your child to attend a special needs school or home-schooling.
Tips for parents and teachers when working with an autistic child
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Make eye-contact when you speak - don’t speak/shout from across the room
Don’t use sarcasm, idioms or metaphors as they understand concrete language better
Autistic kids can’t always express themselves thus pay close attention to body language, anxiety
levels, irritability, etc.
Accompany instructions with visual demonstrations if possible.
Don’t just tell me – show me
Teach an autistic child how to play with others
Structure the school/house/play environment
Keep to a structured planned routine
Keep track of what/when/who triggers a tantrum or melt-down.
This usually occurs when a child is sensory over-loaded or cannot
cope with a social situation any more. Taking the child out of the
situation or removing the trigger will help in controlling the dayto-day functioning at home/school/etc.
Be patient
Accept the child – autism was not a choice. The child is trying his
best to cope with his environment and everyday demands.
Criticize behaviour not the child e.g. what you did was naughty not you are naughty
References
http://kidshealth.org
http://www.autismspeaks.org
http://www.ninds.nih.gov