From my client's statements (Mother): "During my pregnancy, I was overeating and my appetite increased so much that I had difficulty controlling myself in this regard, but I thought that the process was normal and that every pregnant woman gave similar reactions. During my check-ups, my doctor recommended daily walks, but the weight I gained rapidly, It continued to increase my negative thoughts about my own body image, and I turned my walks, which were given as homework, into heavy sports activities without telling anyone. My 5-month period continued like this… My wife was in business and we had a good income. However, unfortunately, the economic problems affected our family very much. The economic difficulties in our family had begun to turn into relationships and violence. No matter how much negative behavior I was exposed to during this process; I could only remain silent, thinking that we were going through a difficult time as a family. The stress of economic difficulties was much less than the stress under my own skin. When I held my baby for the first time, I realized that many of the events I experienced had no meaning. It was as if my baby was absorbing all the radiation I had experienced. He had absorbed it, holding him in my arms made it easier.
I was reading a lot in order to raise my baby carefully, while trying to follow his developmental characteristics very carefully. In the first months, he was quite indifferent to both me and his father. I was noticing that he wasn't making eye contact, wasn't responding to smiles, sounds or facial expressions... While I thought I was breathing the same air as my baby; My baby was creating a different world where only he lived, with a self-sufficient image..”
He didn't even look at the many colorful toys I placed in his room... Only the clock I hung on his wall was his point of interest. When I put him to bed, he watched the clock for a long time without blinking.. As he got older; The clock hanging on the wall had become the clock played in his hand, clocks were the center of his attention. He would take it out and play with the mechanism inside all day long. He would do his best to fix the broken clocks in the house, and he succeeded. When he got a little older, we moved out of our house and rented an apartment where there were a lot of children, so that he could have a peer circle. Wants to play games with peers He couldn't, but I would invite the children to our house and try to bring them together by making cakes, but in my eyes, he was never a social child. However, what really saddened me was that the love and affection I offered to my child felt like hitting a concrete wall. His reluctance to hug and embrace me, his indifference even though I called him many times. It made me feel like an inadequate mother. I was very helpless.” Together, we have more or less a role in the impact of the events we experience... Apart from these known things, there is a search for balance between both what you create and what the environment creates. Experience is the only means of understanding.”
Autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder, generally appears in early childhood, in the first three years of life, and can continue throughout life. Although the reason is not exactly clear, it is stated in the literature that one of the most common causes is the stressors the baby is exposed to before birth, in the womb. Symptoms include repetitive or limited behaviors in different environments and conditions, obsessions, insistence on sameness; Socially, it can also be observed with deficiencies in communication and interaction activities. When examined periodically; Some symptoms in the field of language and communication can be included in the symptoms such as "not being able to smile" at others in babies who are 6 months old, insensitivity to sounds and facial expressions at the 9th month, "not being able to babble" at the 24th month, not being able to show their wishes with their fingers, and being able to make short meaningful sentences consisting of two words when they are close to the age of 2.
Psychosocial Life in Autism
Resistance to change prevents the acquisition of new behavioral experiences. They want the routine of their daily behavior not to be disrupted. The pattern of "from home to school, from school to home" is ideal for these children. Inserting something different (like going to a cafe or the cinema) creates anxiety. Dyslexia (learning disability) and hyperactivity may accompany autism in the early school years. Forgetfulness, belongings loss may be observed. During primary school, they may forget to read and have difficulty recognizing letters.
It has been observed that children with autism express their emotions and feelings in three ways. In the first case, the child realizes the feelings and emotions but may not choose to turn them into behavior. In the second case, there may be difficulty in experiencing emotions and feelings such as happiness, joy, and pain, and in the last case, there is unresponsiveness towards these feelings and emotions. In addition, they sometimes have difficulty in developing empathy for a sad or happy event in their immediate environment. However, it has been observed that they can improve this process with psychoeducational group activities and social learning methods. If not intervened, they may have difficulty expressing themselves in the face of pain, sadness or happiness.
Autism Intervention Process
Autism is a developmental disorder. It is difficult to talk about a definitive treatment process for the disease, but it can be said that early intervention between the ages of 0-3 and developing techniques have come a long way. Since autism occurs with different courses in each person, it varies with applications and interventions. However, in general, the first process is aimed at developing life and learning skills. As you begin to develop these skills, it is a better strategy to review the symptoms of autism and act. Therefore, whether or not autism is suspected, group studies that develop children's life and learning skills in accordance with their developmental processes are very necessary for observation and effective movement.
One of the most commonly used methods in autism is sensory integration therapy. The main purpose of sensory integration therapy is to increase the mental activities and tasks of the individual with autism. Cognitive process skills such as perception, hearing, thinking and interpretation are studied. The autistic individual experiences the existence, function and here and now feeling of the five senses. By realizing the existence of the social environment, one becomes ready to experience new interactions
Another treatment method for autism is music therapy. You can understand music as non-verbal communication. Communication and social interactions Despite their language deficiencies, children with autism are more sensitive and attentive to musical stimuli than normal children. While this sensitivity and attention nourishes the skill of playing an instrument; On the other hand, it can become a means of social status and communication for the individual. It can also support movement perception, body harmony and language development.During the therapy process, the individual and the therapist learn S.E.S (PATIENCE - LABOR -LOVE)
Another treatment method for autism is art therapy. method. In this therapy, the method called 'mirroring' is used to support imitation skills and social learning in autism. While imitation teaches control of sensory motor skills, it helps prepare the environment for physical contact interactions of autistic individuals. It has been observed that this therapy can especially improve social communication such as eye communication, smiling, gift-giving.
From You
Why are autism and spectrum considered together?
What is meant by the term spectrum is that the symptoms can vary from mild and few in number to very significant and numerous. While the symptoms can be observed very well in some people; In some people, some of the symptoms are very mild
Does cultivation have an effect?
Since it is a neurodevelopmental disease, upbringing does not seem to affect the existence of the disorder. However, it can direct the positive or negative course of the existing problem. Recently, children's isolation from social stimuli and increased use of tablets and TV may cause the problem to remain more vivid.
. What do they especially have difficulty doing in daily life?
They have difficulty in situations such as understanding each other's facial and body expressions, initiating and maintaining social relationships, making friends, understanding abstract concepts, carrying out tasks that require practical intelligence, and being able to wait.
What Do Autistic Children Do Better?
Usually; tasks requiring memorization and visual-spatial memory; excessive interest in certain technical-categorical fields, in some fields that do not require social contact (e.g., electron electronic devices, computers, etc.) show success.
Recommendations for Educators
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Since families are the best observers of their children, the person in the family who is especially effective in the child's care It is very beneficial to interact with them.
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For autistic children, change or surprises increase their anxiety and cause them to develop concerns about the disruption of their lives. . Since they have difficulty in coping with new events or situations, it will always be useful to indicate, explain and, if possible, show the process to be encountered in advance. For example, inviting a guest teacher or student to the classroom may cause a stressful process for the child with autism. You can ease this process by giving a clear explanation to the child in advance and understanding the anxiety he is experiencing. Giving 5-minute and 2-minute warnings is also a method that can be used to help the child adapt to change.
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A simple language of expression. and using short sentences will increase the possibility of understanding what is said by the other party.
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The communication process will be difficult to understand the figurative meaning between words. There may be confusion in the environment.
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An issue that does not attract our attention can become a subject that can attract the attention of a child with autism and deal with it for days and weeks. . In this case, you can direct the subject to educational topics patiently and consistently, without breaking the child's enthusiasm
WHAT I EXPECT YOU TO THINK ABOUT: How would it make you feel to watch a cloud floating in the sky?
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