Does your child have a bully problem? If not, consider yourself lucky that you do not have a bully to deal with right now but would you and your child be prepared if one should arrive on his or her doorstep tomorrow?

Bullying is difficult for anyone to deal with, regardless of age. All children are targets for bullying but a child on the autism spectrum is especially vulnerable. Due to the fact that the social part of their brain is wired differently, this type of behavior can be very complicated for a child with Autism to understand and deal with. Therefore, they willingly need our guidance in learning how to label bullying behavior and practice in ways to manage it.

Teaching a child with Autism to cope with bullying behavior is imperative in today's world. Bullies like to target peers that they consider to be weak or passive. Weakness may be determined by physical size but can also be interpreted as someone who is sensitive by nature, has a quiet personality, or seems needy or isolated. Bullies also enjoy taunting a peer who is easily provoked to tears or triggered into a meltdown.

A bully and his or her target are often lacking in social skills but in different ways. Bullies typically know the basics of social skills but for various reasons choose to ignore them and utilize power and force to develop relationships instead. On the other hand, a child with autism will use appropriate social skills if taught – it's not that they are intentally awkward in a social situation or do not want to make friends – they just do not know how in many cases.

How do you prepare your child for the negative social interactions she or he may have to deal with?

Studies show that helping your child develop a sense of self-confidence and a mindfulness of body language can help reduce their potential of being targeted by a bully. You may be doing a lot already to prepare your child for a possible encounter with a bully without knowing it. I invite you to review the following strategies and see if there are any new ideas you can incorporated into your teaching role as parent.

– Help your child be social: Social skills training and teaching your child how to think socially is imperative. Whatever social skills your child is able to acquire will be helpful. At a minimum, knowing what a healthy friendly relationship is like will be a positive asset to many situations. If a child has an accurate sense of what constitutes a friendship he or she will be able to identify and see bullying for what it is right from the start. The sooner one spots a bully the easier it is to deal with.

– Teach assertiveness: Learning how to be appropriately assertive rather than aggressive or passive is one of the best gifts we can give our children. Bullies are counting on their goals to be passive and will not spend time grooming a child who is likely to speak up for her or himself. Teaching your child the word no and how to say it in various forms and ways is critical. The non-verbal language for assertiveness is just as important and it understands standing straight, using a firm voice and looking someone in the eye – all of which send strong messages to bullies.

It is a well-known fact that some children with autism do not like to make eye contact. Try challenging them to determine the 'color' of a person's eyes when talking to them. This is a simple distraction technique for an uncomfortable task that will make them appear confident and self-assured.

– Build confidence: Give specific praise each time your autistic child makes an effort to try a new task. "You climbed the ladder by looking at where to put your feet. This gives your child a detailed picture of what she did which makes it easy to replicate for continued success. Hearing that she is climbing the ladder safely and correctly provides her with a feeling of accomplishment that can carry over into other areas.

– Encourage independence: Children who appear capable are less likely to be targeted by individuals who bully others. Bullies actively search for those who are vulnerable, those who seem helpless. Helping our children become as independent as possible is important and we need to be mindful of the tendency to do too much for our children with special needs because it can lead to learned helplessness. Do not ever hesitate to help your child learn and master a new task if you think they are ready. The feeling of "I can do it" is powerful and will serve as one more layer of protection from the taunts of a bully.

– Address fears: All children have fears that are caused by a number of different sources. Learning to identify and express their fears is crucial to children's emotional well-being. It is important to give your child language for his fears and various ways to express them such as speaking, signing, drawing, writing or acting them out depending on their abilities. If your child is being bullied you want to make sure he will have the language and the avenue to tell you what is happening in a safe environment.

– Preparation and practice: Whenever time allows, helping your child prepare for new situations will boost their confidence for the real event. New experiences are often difficult for many children with autism to approach because of their reliance on routine and resistance to change. The first day at preschool or the transition to a new school, can be a worrisome affair to many young children. Because we often fear what is unknown, the more information and practice opportunities we can present to a child, the better the chances will be for success.

Find a social skills curriculum or a book about bullying that will help you and your child practice what to do in the presence of a bully. Bullies are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain takes a humorous approach to bully-proofing yourself and uses lots of pictures which appeal to visual learners.

Also, remember to take the time to discuss bystander behavior with all of your children. One of the most effective interventions for bullying behavior is the response from those who are witnessing it. Bullies often rely on bystanders to help intimidate their target but it can be just as powerful, and often ends the bullying, when a bystander or two supports the child who is being picked on.

Source by Connie Hammer

People with autism usually believe that the entire world, to them, is just like agreement of people, places and events which they work hard to make sense of, and which can bring about intense anxiety, this way some people with autism may concern why they are 'different'. Generally, autism is defined as the brain disorder that begins in early childhood and persists through the adulthood. It affects three areas of development: verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, Autistic children characteristically are normal in appearance and grow healthy physically. Physically, autistic children may have a flat masked facial expression, because of squat muscle tone in the face. Distinctively these children express their first true "meaningful words" around 10 to 14 months, that's why these children said to be quite children as have delayed milestones. The term "autism" was first instituted in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanneras, he define autism as the "tendency to daydream, to fantasies, to view life in terms of one's own needs or desires regardless of reality". However in recent researches' it says "Autism is defined as a neuro-developmental disorder that reveals itself in a pronounced abnormal social interaction, patterns of interests, patterns of behavior, and communication ability" (L. Smith 2006). Over all autism can be understood through causes; typical signs and symptoms, alarming prognosis and management through proper treatment modalities. Currently, autism is considered to be a unique disorder that occurs in approximately fifteen out of every 10,000 births (WHO). Autism is four times more common in boys than girls.

Looking at the causes of autism, still it's not clear, as causes are still unknown. Biologically certain researchers think about relation of MMR vaccine as one of the cause of autism in children. Moreover, researchers are investigating the hypothesis that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine causes a recurrent intestinal infection which produce (amino acid compounds). If it gets absorbed into blood then it might effect children's psychology. In addition, other biological factors include seizure disorder or epilepsy. Other factors which cause autism could be lack of mother child bounding, unwanted pregnancy lead to reject child raising and caring, Immunological factor looks to be involved immunological incompatibility.

Furthermore, important complexity faced by autism patient is difficult in involvedness with social imagination. As they do not have flexible thoughts and lost in imaginary plays. Their plays have a tendency to be repetitive and rhythmic in nature and imitate tendency. (eg: copied from videos). Frequently obsessive behaviors observed in them, such as having tension to keep toys in a line, and rotating objects (or themselves). Autistic children are likely to play alone and have not interactions with other children or siblings. One of the article by (Jincy. J & et al. 2007) in nursing review says, "Spontaneous exploratory play is absent. Show imitative play and they are often rigid, repetitive, or monotonous. may exhibit an attachment to a particular object. Stereotypes, mannerisms and grimacing are most frequent. "
The main goals of treatment are to decrease associated deficits and family distress, increase quality of life and functional independence as well. Intensive, sustained special education programs and behavior therapy, early in life can help children learn self-care, social and job skills. Available action would include, developmental models, behavior analysis, structured teaching, speech, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy.

Prognosis of autism revels that there is no cure. Most children with autism lack in social support, healthy relationships, future employment opportunities .. Few recent studies subjects long-term prognosis. However, Some adults show moderate improvement in communication skills, but a few decline; no study has been done focusing on autism during midlife experiences. Ceratin changes in diagnostic criteria and increased availing of effective early intervention make it doubtful, while research findings can be generalized to recently diagnosed children. Moreover Reports of autism cases increase dramatically in the United States between the year 1996-2005. It is unknown how much cases are identified after effectively utilizing treatment modalities by patients.

To sum up, autism is a complex developmental disability that is typically obvious during the first three years of life. It is not a disease but a disorder, which is categorized as neurological disorder. There are many misconceptions about this disorder, which reflect autism as, it is something mysterious and superstitious and often leave question unanswered. I would highly recommend that if people suspect that any child is suffering from autism, it is best to see a physician that specializes in treating autistic children, so that specific testing can be done. If any one of us found autistic trait in any child, just gives awareness to parents that this is something imperative to be seen by doctor. In addition, awareness through media should be provided to community people so they notify the cases and proper implementation could be done for hem. Moreover this will prevent children from misery of different perspectives of culture such as believing in superstitious and leaving children at shrines for treatment.

Source by Hasina Panjwani

Behavioral Symptoms To Watch Out For In Your Child

Autism is a complex issue and needs to be handled with the utmost care and understanding. If you find that your child has symptoms of autism, this will pose a challenge to you, and you may find that your child is not behaving like other children, in which case you will need to go to your family doctor so that he can assess the child and if he feels the need, he will refer you to specialists in the field who will be able to diagnose and treat your child.

Signs Of Autism That You Need To Be Aware Of

One of the earliest signs of autism is the fact that the child does not interact socially and is incapable of expressing emotions normally – the child also does not have a feeling of closeness with family and friends as normal children do. Children with autism shy away from bonding or touching other children.

Another sign that you need to be aware of is a communication problem especially with their same age group. Sometimes they are unable to speak and only sounds emanate from them and they gesture to others. There are certain cases where the child talks but mostly they repeat words that they hear and are unable to talk on their own – also if they do speak, it is in a monotonous manner and well below their own age group.

You will need to assess the effect of sensory stimulation on your child. Sometimes children get nervous and agitated at sounds, and at other times they may have a fixation on a certain sound or light for a length of time. It is necessary to consult a pediatrician if your child displays any of these signs.

There are certain rituals that a child with autism may do on a regular basis. If this is not done, the child may be greatly agitated – for instance a child may only eat a particular type of food and desire to wear only certain type of clothes, and if this is not adhered to, will get into a temper and behave in an extremely agitated manner.

It is important to note that if your child displays any of these symptoms, you should consult your doctor who will make an analysis, and advise you as to how you need to handle the situation. If he finds it necessary, he will refer you to a specialist in the field who will be able to make a more detailed analysis, and put your child on to treatment immediately, so that you will be able to give your child the correct treatment which will enable him to live a better life.

Source by Abhishek Agarwal