It’s difficult for any parent to get used to the idea of sending their children away to school, and perhaps even harder for parents of special needs children, such as those who suffer from autism, to do so. Is your child getting a good education? Are other children treating him or her fairly? Will your child enjoy this new situation? Many schools are now set in place to put these fears to rest by solely devoting their attention towards special needs children, and the concept of sending an autistic child to residential school for autistic children instead of a day school program is becoming more popular among parents. Although it may be difficult to adjust to your child living away from home, this may be where the best care and education is available for you child, so carefully consider the advantages before dismissing the idea of residential school for your autistic child.
Residential school programs are often no different than day school programs, but here the student has the opportunity to interact with others outside of a classroom setting. This is sometimes exactly what an autistic child needs to learn socialization skills with people outside of the family.
These schools are also very safe and organized in a way that is conducive to learning. For example, Franklin Academy in Connecticut, which specializes in teaching non-verbal students, has a three to one student to teacher ratio and an average class size of six students. They also plan small-group field trips to public places, so your child has an opportunity to interact in public places.
This is as opposed to day schools, which typically have larger class sizes and therefore cannot handle public outings. Even if the day school specializes in teaching autistic children, they simply may not have the resources and time during the school day for field trips.
Another advantage over day schools, whether public of private, is the living aspect. Although the students who attend these schools are greatly supervised, they learn living skills that they will need in an adult world. Whereas you may feel obligated or want to do things for your child at home, at a residential school, your child will be encouraged to live more independently. At Brehm Preparatory School in Illinois, students learn time and money management and are in charge of simple home maintenance (chores), study time, and recreational activities. Here also, the emphasis is on family.
Family is an important thing to consider with any type of residential school. While your child is learning valuable social skills, he or she may become more distant from his or her immediate family. At schools like Brehm, including Hampshire Country School in New Hampshire, have parents’ weekend often to so parents can visit their children. Consider also the stress this may relieve for you and your family. Since you will need to spend less time helping your autistic child with learning everyday life skills, you can devote more time to enjoying their company when you see them. Spend time on your marriage and with your other children, activities that would normally be hard to achieve or ignored with an autistic child at home.
However, it is important to note that residential schooling is not for everyone. Typically, your child needs to be high functioning to handle this school atmosphere. You will need to consider cost, since tuition , room, and board for residential schools can be quite expensive. Remember, residential school is not for everyone, but you should definitely consider the option. Research this type of program so that you can make the best decisions possible for your child’s education.
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There is a health condition recognized in the biomedical field for autism and related disorders called PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections). This is a condition caused by an immune reaction triggered by the presence of Group A Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcal infection. Various strep bacteria produce toxins as part of their infectious nature.
The immune system responds in an attempt to neutralize and eradicate the toxins. However, this immune-toxin (aka: antibody-antigen complex) reaction creates immune complexes which are deposited in various tissues of the body. If these immune complexes land in the kidneys there is an immune reaction called post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, in the heart it is called rheumatic fever, and in the brain PANDAS can ensue.
This autoimmune reaction (self-directed immune reaction to body tissue) in PANDAS is directed to the Basal Ganglia area in the brain. This area has been associated with disorders such as obsessive-compulsiveness (OCD), strange body posturing/movements called chorea, and the typical TIC movements (quick jerking or vocal tics) associated with Tourette’s Syndrome. With obsessive-compulsive behavior anxiety is usually a major problem.
Some individuals on the autism-spectrum suffer with extreme anxiety, but without obsessive-compulsive behavior, while in others the OCD is severe. Even though PANDAS remains a controversial topic in medicine it is reported that PANDAS can cause or exacerbate Tics, Tourettes, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Approximately, 25% of individuals who have one or more of these conditions have what appears to be PANDAS.
Unfortunately, treatment options are limited, although certain biomedical autism treatments such as low dose naltrexone, dietary intervention such as the gluten and casein-free diet, and various supplements that support normal immune function such as Transfer Factor can be helpful in reducing the overall reactivity of the immune system, PANDAS remains a difficult thing to treat.
Some individuals respond quite well to antibiotics. I have seen in cases where a short course of antibiotics, such as 10 to 14 days of Keflex, Penicillin or Zithromax definitely helps, particularly with the OCD behaviors. In other situations more advanced biomedical therapies such as intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) are needed to short-circuit the autoimmune response. Plasmapheresis, which is a blood cleansing process performed to help diminish the immune-toxin reactions, has shown benefit for some individuals. Unfortunately, no treatment is 100% effective for everyone, and some people remain symptomatic even after medical intervention.
Don’t let ANYONE tell you there is nothing you can do to help your child. Autism really is treatable! Start your child down the road to recovery from autism. Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving – even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis. For more information and a free ebook on biomedical autism treatment go to http://www.AutismActionPlan.org
Dr. Kurt Woeller is an autism biomedical specialist, with a private practice in Southern California for over 10 years. He has helped children recover from autism, ADD, ADHD, and other disorders, and has the information you need to help your child. Get his ebook, “7 Facts You Need To Know About Autism (But Probably Weren’t Told).” You can download it right now for free at http://www.AutismActionPlan.org
Schedules are an essential part of a child’s life, they are important to use with children because children will not have to wonder what happens next in their daily routine and they will be able to anticipate activities that they will have to do each day. Schedules are necessarily important for all children however they are extremely essential for children with autism. Autism makes it so that the child has to have a set pattern and structure throughout their day. Schedules help and do extremely well with this. Children with autism often go through their day full of anxiety and this schedule helps reduce that.
If a child with autism does not have a set and structured schedule each day it will make things hectic and dysfunctional for the child and the caregiver. Even though it may be easy for you to remember doctor appointments and other necessary activities you have to do, a child with autism does not have that natural ability of remembering things like that. Autistic children cannot simply do things at different times whenever it feels right because they have to have a schedule.
One difficulty that many autistic children face is reading, in which it is strongly encouraged to start bringing a visual schedule to help your child go about daily tasks. With these visual schedules you will have pictures of each activity at each point of the day that they have to do, which will help them see what they need to do and what to do next. Having this sort of visual schedule placed where the child can always see it will allow them to understand what to do and not have the occasional breakdowns. It is important that if there is a change to the schedule that you take the extra amount of time needed to explain to the child what was changed and why, so they don’t become confused. Since children with autism like schedules, structure, and routines having even one small change to their schedule can put a huge dent on the rest of their day.
Schedules also come into use when you want to teach your child to do something that you already are aware of that they do not like or want to do. Go through the activity with the child and explain in detail that it is important for them to finish this task before they can go forward to the next task or activity. You have to be sold when letting them know and understand that the next activity or task cannot be started until the first task is completed.
As always, life is very unpredictable and things may come up during the day, however it is important to still try and stay with the schedule as much as you possibly can. If something comes up that you cannot avoid make sure that you return to the schedule as soon as possible to avoid the child to become full of anxiety and misunderstanding. The schedule for the day also includes what time they have to wake up in the morning and what time they are going to bed. It is important that you maintain the same times everyday so that the child has a sense of a normal routine.
Even though it is important to have schedules for all children, it is significantly important for autistic children. Having the best understanding that you can about how autistic children require structure and daily routines will make it better for you to work with them. Once the daily routine has been working for your child, after a while it may be important to consider the introduction of new activities to their daily routine. For example, label the activity as, “Learn Something New”.
Make sure to keep the new activity simple and something easily understandable so that the child can ease into learning it. Maintaining a positive attitude for the child so that they will have a tendency to look forward to this activity, which is why it is important to start the new activity slowly and let it build up over time so that the child becomes used to this new activity being a part of their daily routine.
For more information and additional insights about Autism Visual Schedules please visit our web site at http://www.autism-explained.com
