 |
Diagnosis
PDD, Aspergers, Autism
What can parents do?
You are concerned that your child
- Does not start to talk
- Tantrums, screams when things change
- Does the same thing over and over
- Lines things up or spins them
- Walks on his toes
- Prefers to play on his own for hours
- Talks about the same subject all the time
… and the list goes on.
Parents have been going to doctors, paediatricians,
speech therapists, occupational therapists,
psychologists and then eventually get a
diagnoses. (Some parents say they are going
to write a book on being misdiagnosed.)
To have the diagnosis is in one way a relief,
but on the other hand the parents now need
to find the correct treatment for the child.
There's still a problem, you need know-how
to solve this problem, to help the child.
You cannot just let things stay as they
are.
When a child is on the Autism spectrum it
is not the end of the world. Parents need
to work through all the different emotions
they experience, like anger, sadness, depression,
regret, resentment, etc. Many times denial
keeps them from hearing and starting to
do something that will be the journey to
improvement, development and progress.
To those parents in denial remember this,
you do not have to admit that it is autism
if you don't want to - start by working
on the problems, like speech delay etc.
By the time you are ready to say your child
has autism, your child has made progress
and you are coping better, as you are empowered
on how to deal with the issue.
Behaviour Modification:
In the first place parents need help with
the child's difficult behavior and the understanding
of what autism really means. As soon as
parents feel empowered and the child is
complying, then the learning process will
start.
Diet:
Almost 95% of the children have an inflammatory
or leaky gut and are intolerant to Gluten,
Caseine and sugar. By eliminating these
foods out of their diet and supplementing
them with Omega 3 Oils, Magnesium, Calcium,
Vitamins and Zinc, has changed many a child's
behavior and enhanced his learning. Here
are 2 examples of how the children reacted
on and off the diet.
|
Taking
Gluten away has made a major difference
in his life,
demonstrated in the drawings that
follow:-
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Above:
Circling the letters on the diet, left
and one week off the diet, right
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Done
by teacher with instructions to imitate
this drawing
|
Imitation
on 29 April
|
Imitation
on 4 May
|
6
May, my son ate bread. His tutor reported
that she couldn't get much out of him
and this was his imitation
of the original drawing
|
| By
merely looking at these sketches you'll
no doubt agree that, even though the diet
may start off as a schlep, the results are
amazing and absolutely worth sticking it
out for! |
Which program?
It has been proven that early intervention
and the correct individual program with
as many hours as possible one-on-one tutoring,
is the most effective way to help the child
with a developmental delay to improve and
progress. Then, when he has progressed sufficiently
he can be phased into a school setting where
the teachers are also supported and helped
to understand the child.
Other interventions:
When the child is compliant and cooperating
then Speech, Occupational and Physiotherapy
can be incorporated as optimal learning
is now achieved. There are many more interventions
available, but they are supplementary to
tutoring and the diet. The diet, especially
cutting out gluten, is what makes that "cloud
over the brain disappear". Many children
have improved beyond expectations but the
parents and the program must work together
and each has a 50% share of the work to
do. Do not think that big dosages of tutoring
alone are the answer. The parent has an
important role to play in implementing the
principles of the program whenever the child
is not being tutored (example evenings and
weekends). This speeds up progress. A child
with Autism has a good memory and he can
learn if it is brought to him with love,
patience and perseverance and as a team
you never, never, never give up!
Compiled by Annalies van Rijswijk SNAP Education
cc |
|
|
|
|
