Treatment

Parenting a Child with Autism

Children with autism don’t think the same way as other children and parenting a child with autism can be very stressful. If you’ve just found out that your child has autism, here are some tips for how to cope:

Learn all you can. The first step is to learn all you can about autism: what it is, how it will affect your child, and what you can do to help.
Develop a strong social network to help support you. You’ll need someone who you can lean on for emotional support such as a close friend. You’ll also need people who can help if you’re in a pinch, preferably those who understand your child and his or her behaviors.
Teach your family about autism. It’s important for you and your child that your family understand what autism is and how will affect your child. Children with autism often don’t understand social conventions, so they may something inappropriate, for example. Having your family understand will make things easier.
Get a behavioral therapist if possible. One of the best ways for your child to learn is through a behavioral therapist. This aide will help teach your child what is proper behavior in a way that a child with autism can understand. The aide can also help give you advice on how to deal with certain situations.
Learn about diet and medications. Another way you can possibly help your child is through dietary changes and medications. These may help lessen the severity of symptoms and help your child feel better.

Filed Under: Learning Theories, Treatment Tagged With: Autism, Disorders, Mental Health

Visual Processing Disorder

In addition to the learning disabilities such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia there are other learning differences that can impair a single sense, such as visual processing disorders.

Visual processing disorders hinder one’s ability to make sense of information received through his eyes. This is different from a problem involving sharpness of vision or sight in that it is how the information is processed by the brain.

Spatial Relations

When someone has difficulty with spatial relations, they have problems perceiving objects in space relative to other objects. This issue is seen in reading and math because of the importance of accurately perceiving symbols (letters, numbers, punctuation, etc.) in reference to other symbols. A child may confuse similarly shaped letters or have problems seeing words or numbers as separate units. Because the only cues are often the spacing between symbols, math problems frequently assume a child has the ability to understand this.

Visual Discrimination

The ability to recognize an object as separate from other objects is the ability to discriminate individual characteristics. This can interfere with a child’s ability to collect information from graphs or charts and to use visually presented material productively. One example is being able to differentiate between an n and an m where humps is the only distinguishable difference.

There are other visual disabilities such as visual agnosia, the inability to recognize objects familiar via other senses, and problems integrating the relationship between parts and a whole.

There are a number of interventions teachers can use to accommodate children in a regular classroom. For reading, a teacher might use large print books. For writing assignments, sometimes making lines on a paper more distinct or using paper divided into large separate sections for math problems.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Mathematics, Visual perception, Visual processing

AD/HD and Executive Skills

When children have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), they often have areas of weakness in their executive function, those brain-based skills everyone needs to understand tasks, plan how to do them and follow through. Although not all children with weaknesses in these areas have AD/HD, all children with AD/HD do have issues in at least one of these areas.

Impulse control—Children with poor impulse control say or do things without thinking first. They often focus on the pleasurable rather than the required tasks.
Emotional Control—Children with emotional control issues often have problems accepting criticism, sticking to work when they are upset about something else or overreact when they lose a game.
Flexibility—Children who are inflexible often have problems adjusting to changes in routine and have difficulty with brainstorming assignments or panic when there are many details to remember.
Working Memory—Children who have difficulty holding onto information necessary to complete a task have problems following instructions, especially when they are given orally, and have problems doing multi-step tasks like complicated math problems.
Self-Monitoring—Children often misjudge how much effort they are exerting and have a hard time realizing when they are not following directions. They may have trouble proofreading their work or they might skip test questions without realizing it.
Prioritizing—Children often become easily overwhelmed by complicated tasks when they find it hard to plan and set priorities. They often misjudge how much time a project will take and they have problems finding the main idea of something they have read or heard.
Getting Started—Children have problems starting their homework and put off tasks until the last minute. They get overwhelmed about how to plan and organize.
Organization—Children with poor organizational ability often do homework but do not turn it in, turn in assignments late, do sloppy work or arrive late.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Child, Executive functions

ABA Therapy

When working with students with disabilities, there are many different approaches that teachers and other directing educators can take in order to provide a successful education. One of the new methods that is being implemented is ABA therapy. This is Applied Behavioral Analysis and it had its origins in working with severely autistic children as an early intervention therapy. It has been recognized by accreditation authorities as a valid educational approach, and the licensing that it is mandatory is either BCBA or BCaBA. The requirements in order to obtain a licensure for this field requires a graduate degree, and is mandatory in order to practice.

In some states, the therapy approach is completed with a tutor, and is paid through the county in which the student resides. IDEA ’04 mandates that all provisions be made in order to accomodate students with special needs. This includes in home tutoring or therapeutic care. ABA therapy is now part of those provisions, and students are receiving education and care in their homes. This has helped to enable many students that might otherwise be lost in the mix of a mainstream environment, and that is not a truly conducive learning environment for many children with special needs.

The therapy can begin as an early intervention for children as young as two years old, and can continue on until a student has aged out of the special services program provided by their school district. This age is set at 21, and ABA therapy can be provided, free of charge, until that time. The purpose of the approach is to teach students the proper behavioral reactions while dealing with social situations. This means that while a student is receiving help for reading, writing, or has a mental disability, they can function and be responsive to help and guidance without having an emotional break down. This has been proven to be the number one help for students in a special needs program.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Applied behavior analysis, Education

Step One: Believe in Yourself

If there is no other gift we can give to a person labeled as “learning disabled” then it should be the opportunity to believe in them self. If you are labeled as “learning disabled” there is no better time to start choosing to believe in yourself. The content of this message is to work toward your goals in the best way you can.

Many people may be concerned about the message they send to their loved one or anyone for that matter that they set them up for failure. One may be concerned that if a learning disabled person is allowed to have expectations they will only be let down and nobody wants to see anyone suffer. The message here is not to set up expectations but just to allow a person to set some goals, like anyone else is taught to do. The best strategy for dealing with any hardship or for attaining a goal is to accept where you are, but not to see it as all you will ever achieve. There are many possibilities for a person labeled as “learning disabled” and many ways to feel empowered that you are contributing to the world.

It is too bad that there is an all encompassing term like “learning disabled” for such a wide range of people, with a wide variety of opportunity and circumstances. So many people labeled as “learning disabled” are wonderfully contributing to society. Yet, society still likes to label the “learning disabled” as a burden to it’s growth. The strategy is simple. Believe in yourself regardless of the limits that others try to make sure you know. Don’t hesitate to take on a task nobody believes you an do and don’t hesitate to try again if you really want it. The only real limit, the only lack of success is never trying to achieve your dreams. Everyone contributes who tries.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Education, Learning disability

The Political Sight of the Blind David Blunkett

Being born with a disability can make everything in life more complicated. The person born with the disability may feel normal — since it is all he or she knows — but it quickly becomes clear that to succeed and have a life one would consider normal, you have to go through a number of tribulations. Of course, it is very possible for people with disabilities to go on and do great things. That journey can just be more arduous than it would be for others. The story of David Blunkett, a Member of Parliament in Britain, is a story of overcoming one’s disability and flourishing despite all odds.

Blunkett was born with a genetic disorder that affected his optic nerve, rendering him completely blind. His family in South Yorkshire was very poor and disadvantaged, and his father died following an industrial accident in 1959. The already underprivileged family became even more destitute, and Blunkett seemed destined to be unsuccessful. He tried to gain enrollment at a school for the blind in Worcester, but he failed his assessment and rejected entry.

Blunkett eventually made it into the Royal National College for the Blind and then the University of Sheffield where he received his degree in political theory. It was difficult for Blunkett to make it as far as he did; his nature was to rebel and he fully disliked public school systems, but making it to university was a monumental step in his life. That rebellious streak may have, in fact, been his driving force that made him believe he was good enough to attend college and graduate despite his blindness.

From graduation on, working his way up in the political system became easier and easier. Blunkett’s story helps prove that if you have a goal and you work your hardest toward that goal, whether you’re disabled or not, no one can fault you for your impairments if you show them they don’t matter.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: David Blunkett, University of Sheffield

Paralyzed and Capable: The Story of Itzhak Perlman

When he was 3 years old, Itzhak Perlman, in his hometown of Tel Aviv, Israel, fell in love with classical music. Perlman was especially entranced by the beautiful sound of the violin, and he knew, even at such a young age, that he wanted to be a performer. Just a year after his passion was sparked, Perlman was diagnosed with polio. Polio is a virus affecting the central nervous system — a virus that often leads to paralysis of the legs. Despite this setback, the diagnosis did not stop Perlman from attaining his dream.

At just 13 years old, Perlman played on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” At 18, he started at the Julliard School, studying his art of music. He quickly became known internationally. Throughout these early years, though, it wasn’t easy for Perlman. He told the television show “The Early Show” that in those initial years of practice and study, the people and critics who watched him perform didn’t know how to react to his disability. They would look at him and his crutches and — before even hearing him play — decide that he couldn’t be great. When he picked up the violin and was great, those same critics still could not erase the image and idea of Perlman’s disability.

The story of Itzhk Perlman is a story of challenge and hope. It’s a story of pursuing your dreams even when no one else believes they are possible. It’s a story of turning off the noise of critics who say you can’t be great because of your legs or your arms or anything about you. People eventually accepted Perlman. When you’re as gifted and strong headed as he is, people are forced to take notice. He’s taught many in the music world to look past physical handicaps and react only to what is produced. Perlman continues to play the violin today, more than 60 years after he began.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Itzhak Perlman, Poliomyelitis

RFB&D: Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, A Website Examination

As Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, or RFB&D, proudly proclaims on the front page of its website, it has the largest library of digital textbooks in the country. That fact truly is something of which to be proud; producing thousands of new digital texts and audiobooks every year is not immaterial in the least. The website, with its easy-to-use and pleasantly designed interface, is rich with materials and relevant news items. Just on the front page of the site alone there are testimonials, newsletters, social networking links, a plug for the Access and Achievement Blog, and even a training and support center.

Before delving into the particulars offered on the site, it’s worth learning about RFB&D as a service. RFB&D is a nonprofit organization that is funded through the U.S. Department of Education, state education programs, individuals and corporations. It also flaunts more than 5,400 volunteers across the country. Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic partners with publishers and publishing companies to help bring books and materials to disabled students. The library catalog includes K-12 materials as well as many adult learner titles. The audiobooks and digital texts are used by school systems throughout the country, but they are also used in individual homes at the students’ own level and pace.

Individuals and families are offered free access to the library and schools are presented with specialized packages to best suit their needs. The free individual membership includes access to the library, narrated audiobooks, 24/7 phone support, and downloadable materials.

With the simple book catalog search, users can find nearly any title imaginable by entering the author’s name. There is also a product catalog, which allows for the searching of playback devices and software — tools many students with blindness, visual impairment or dyslexia desperately need to optimize learning. It’s not as if the books aren’t quality, either. New additions for January 2011 include J.R.R. Tolkien titles, for example.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic

Resources for Disabled Students at Colorado State University

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects the civil rights of citizens with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination based on physical or mental defects. This often means that businesses and universities must provide the proper accommodations for all disabilities so that equal use and enjoyment is possible. The university scene is usually particularly accommodating. Ideally, disabled students seeking higher education should have no trouble accessing the buildings and classrooms on campus and receiving the assistance and extra materials needed in order to learn.

If you or your child is disabled and you’re searching for the best education options, university websites are a fruitful place to begin. It’s common for colleges, especially large public ones, to list their resources for disabled students directly on their sites. The rest of this article will detail a specific college’s resources as an example for what can and should be expected.

Colorado State University requires students with disabilities register and meet with a counselor to go through the accommodations that the student may need. The following list includes several available resources.

Alternative testing and texts in the classroom
An interpreter or note-taking aid
The accommodations for trained animal assistants
Technology for classroom or at-home use
Transportation assistance on the bus or a shuttle cart for traversing campus
Priority registration for dorm rooms and classes
On- and off-campus awareness groups and centers that focus on disabilities

The law requires most of the accommodations Colorado State University has specified, but many universities go above and beyond the basic requirements. CSU is fairly middle-of-the-road when it comes to equality for disabled students. If a university does not list its resources on its website, call the administration for details. They may set up meeting for discussing the possible resources available, or they may provide exhaustive brochures. If the school is unresponsive and unhelpful, they aren’t likely to properly outfit the student with his or her essentials.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Colorado State University, Disability

The Input Worry: Learning Difficulty

It’s the wince at a blackboard, the slow beginnings of a frown: a child leans forward at his desk, trying to understand the words that are sprawled before him. But the letters start to tangle, and the meanings soon fade. All information is reversed, with entire sentences transposed (becoming parodies of themselves, baffling). He cannot understand the facts. He cannot comprehend the intentions. He merely stares, trying to hide his confusion. His peers would mock him for it, he believes. They’re all taking notes so efficiently and he… can’t.

He thinks something must be wrong with him. He thinks his mind must be broken.

It isn’t — the synapses are merely misreading what’s being presented.

The most common of all learning difficulties is the misunderstanding of new information. This is deemed an Input Disability, with individuals unable to recognize specific words, letters, distances or visual clues. Their perceptions are instead obscured. They do not see the world as others do. Their outlooks are shaped to miscommunication — with their brains unable to easily process facts and skills.

And this too often brands a child foolish. He is thought to be distracted and weak minded. Teachers assume a lack of effort; peers assume a lack of intelligence.

This is not true, however. Those who suffer from an Input Disability are neither inattentive nor ignorant. They are merely unable to understand information in the traditional ways. They must instead have help.

And this is offered in the form of auditory aid (with lessons explained verbally, allowing for greater comprehension), repetition, carefully worded guides (with all important factors highlighted and properly spaced) and elements that can be mastered through touch instead of reading. The intention is to strengthen the body’s ability to receive information by offering alternatives. Exposure must be wide and varied.

An Input Disability is not proof of a flawed intellect. It’s merely a requirement for different teaching methods. Understand the visual concerns and combat them.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Education, Learning disability, Understanding