[Autism]
     Have you ever come across a child who throws tantrums without any apparent reason, and you believed that the parents are too liberal and have spoilt the child? Have you tried to talk to a child and failed to even get an eye-contact? Next time, think twice before you blame the child or his/her parents. The child may simply have autism. In Western countries, autism is a known disorder and plenty of research continues to be done on it. But unfortunetly in India, people come to know of it only when it strikes their own child. Then, they wonder why nobody told them about such a disorder!
How do you detect autism in a child? Following are the signs:-

Impairment in Social Interaction:
# Has little interest in mixing or playing with other children. He/she prefers to be left alone    to his/her resources.
# Makes very little eye contact and when he/she does, it is fleeting, often out of the corner    of his/her eye.
# Appears to be deaf and unresponsive to the verbal world. E.g. The child may not respond    at all when called be his/her name, but attends quickly to the sound of particular T.V. ads    or songs.
# Is unable to reciprocate emotionally. E.g. The child may not like to be cuddled or hugged    even by the parents. The child doesn't respond to smile or anger of the opposite person.

Impairement in Communication:
# Delay in the development; or little or total lack of spoken language.
# Has difficulty in expressing his/her wants and needs. Will probably be highly reliant upon    gestures and pulling adults to what he/she wants.
# If speech is adequate, it is repetitive and inappropriate and inability to initiate    conversation. E.g. The child repeats what is told to him/her instead of responding to    questions. If the mother ask,"Do you want to eat?", the child repeats it rather than saying    'yes' or 'no'. The child may repeat the phrases or words he/she has heard irrelevantly.
# May throw tantrums frequently and/or without any apparent reason.

Repetitive and Strange Behaviour:
# Likes predictability and routine and can become distressed if this does not occur. E.g. The    child can be very distressed and throw tantrums if some object in the room is moved or if    the route to school is changed.
# Sensory Deficiency or Hypersensitivity. E.g. Some children cannot tolerate noises higher    than a particular frequency, some do not show any sensation to heat or pain.
# Games may appear odd, choosing to play with unusual items such as vacuum cleaners or    wrappers. The child relates differently to objects. He/she may use a toy-car as a hammer    instead of moving it.
# May attach to very unusual objects, or be obsessed to items such as cars, engines,    marbles,etc. E.g. The child is so attached to chocolate wrappers that he/she picks it up    from the road and play with it for hours.
# May engage in the spinning of objects or be fascinated by patterns of moving light.
# He/she may either be hyperactive (excessive physical activity and/or lack of attention) or    lethargic (remains drowsy or inactive)
# Has no fear of danger. E.g. The child climbs up high places or jump from heights.
# Repetitive behaviour like rocking his/her body, switching the lights on and off, flapping    hands or teeth grinding.

In most cases, the problems become more noticeable as the child slips farther behind other children of the same age. In other cases, the child starts off well enough. But between 18 and 36 months of age, they suddenly reject people, act strangely and lose language adn social skills they had already acquired.

Autistic children require some medication for sensory difficulties and hyperactivity. Homeopathy is effective in bringing long term improvements. Specific diet regulation also is beneficial. They can be trained in self-care and academics through special techniques of psychology. Persons with autism are capable of receiving educational and vocational training and can become independent to a greater extent, depending on the degree of autistic condition. Children with autism have special ability and interest. If this is identified and enhanced, they can work wonders.

To know more, check out www.autism.com or watch the movies "Rainman" and "Mercury Rising"


the-Insight.com - health/homeopathy