Embracing autism

Posted on 1 March 2020

Studies show that many people see autism as a learning or intellectual disability. However, autism spectrum disorder makes children uniquely, wonderfully different.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication. “Every autistic child is unique,” says Ronel Groenewald, a counselling psychologist at Mediclinic Kimberley. “Each child’s treatment and coping mechanisms differ.”

According to Autism SA, the learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely impaired. Some people with ASD need high support (a lot of help and intensive intervention) while others need low support (less help and less intensive intervention).

Autism spectrum disorder includes conditions that were previously considered separate – autism, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and an unspecified form of pervasive developmental disorder.

As Groenewald explains, some children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty learning, and some display signs of lower-than-typical intelligence. Other children with the disorder have typical to high intelligence – they learn quickly, yet may have trouble communicating, socialising and operating in everyday life.

“The best way to describe autism is as a developmental condition of the brain, which presents early in life,” says Dr Dawid Griessel, a paediatrician at Mediclinic Bloemfontein. “Autism is a spectrum that blends, on the lower side, into the neurotypical population. All children with this condition need support. How much support they need, and who they need around them to provide it, is built into the diagnosis. So while it is useful to classify a child with low, moderate or severe autism, that does not mean they will suit or fit a standard intervention plan. That is just the beginning of the journey.”

Recognising the unusual talents of a child with ASD, rather than pushing them aside to focus on the drawbacks of autism, could benefit not just autistic people, but others too. In a November issue of Nature, Laurent Mottron, a psychiatrist at the University of Montreal, suggests that perhaps autism is not really a disease at all – and is just a different way of looking at the world that should be celebrated rather than viewed as pathology.

 

What interventions exist to help a child with ASD?

Autism is aided by means of a synergistic or multi-disciplinary, child-specific approach.

Autism-specific therapies might include Applied Behaviour Analysis, Relationship Development Intervention, Floortime (DIR), TEACCH, Son-Rise and others.

A rehabilitation programme will usually include occupational therapy (sensory integration) and speech therapy. Other interventions might include auditory integration training, listening programmes and primal reflex therapy.

In South Africa, medication tends to be used to treat specific behaviours related to autism such as hyperactivity and is not used to treat autism per se. In addition, many children with ASD demonstrate an improvement when dietary restrictions are implemented to determine harmful foods. The Baseline Diet is a short (four to six week) trial period where one removes all possible offenders and reintroduces them, one at a time. A reaction to any food will be easily observed when the procedure is properly followed and implemented.

 

Further reading:

Parenting a child with autism