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very person with Autism is an individual and, like all individuals, has a unique personality and combination of characteristics. Some individuals mildly affected by Autism may exhibit only slight delays in language and challenges with social interactions. More severely affected individuals may seem "unreachable" at times. A complete sensory history provides very important diagnostic information, as it allows us to focus on specific areas of function, as well as allow us to interpret and measure progress more accurately.
Analyzing the sensory patterns of autistic individuals may help to unravel the mystery of behaviors that may otherwise seem abnormal. All individuals strive for homeostasis-equilibrium within the body. When a behavior is considered in the context of the child trying to meet a developmental need, we can begin to understand it. Because of faulty sensory integration an individual with Autism/PDD may perceive the world in such a radically different manner than others, that from his perspective the behavior makes sense. If a child with Autism has a severely under-reactive vestibular system, he may frequently spin to attain the stimulation he needs. While most of us receive sufficient stimulation through our everyday movements, the autistic child with an under-reactive vestibular system needs more intense movement (spinning) to receive the same benefit. Or a child's vestibular system may be so under-reactive that he tries to compensate for this lack through his visual system by spinning objects. Viewed this way, one can see the futility and potential detriment of forcibly attempting to eliminate this behavior. Instead, families could provide their child with sensory activities (a net swing or a dizzy disc) that are more acceptable yet help their child meet his sensory needs. It sounds simple but often a technique like this (meeting the sensory needs of the child) will end an unwanted behavior much faster than stopping the behavior forcibly.
A child's innate need is often the best lead to follow in treatment. Understanding the particular sensory sensitivities of a child can help us engage a child whose diagnosis includes severe relationship problems as its main symptom. If a child with Autism/PDD is over-reactive to light and sound, a whisper may get their attention. If they are under-reactive, an animated voice with exaggerated facial expressions is what will work.
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sensory Defensiveness in children with Autism and PDD:
The children may present with over or under sensitivity within their tactile system. Some children are so sensitive to light touch that routine self-care becomes an overwhelming proposition. They fight having their hair cut or washed as though it caused them significant pain, yet the same child may fall down, scrape a knee and get up without skipping a beat. For this child the band-aid is worse than the cut. Children may also be under reactive (sometimes in the same child), and crave certain types of touch that provide deep firm pressure. Often the children hate "yucky" textures and want their hands cleaned immediately after touching the finger paints.
Children may also present with over and under reactivity to vestibular input. Some children may crave lots of intense spinning, jumping or running back and forth. Other children may fear movement, clinging to their parents whenever their balance is challenged. They may fear elevators and escalators. Both extremes indicate some inadequacy in vestibular processing. It suggests that the child isn't receiving from this important sensory system, the proper input necessary for optimal adaptive behavioral responses.
Over and under reactivity can also been seen in the visual system. Too much visual stimulation may be overwhelming children. They may also be fascinated with certain visual stimuli, such as watching spinning objects or vertical/horizontal lines. They may run their eyes along the table's edge or move their heads back and forth in front of the Venetian blinds. Some children may have a fascination with visual constants that always stay the same, such as letters and numbers. They may have very advanced visual memories such as learning a complex puzzle after only seeing it once. They may rely on a stronger visual system in compensation for a weaker auditory one.
The auditory system may present with the same mixed reactivity. Commonly one of the first things parents report is that their child tunes them out when they call his name right behind him, yet comes running when his favorite video is playing three floors below. Though it is hard to believe, this selectivity of responses is really not under the child's control. Another common symptom is sound sensitivity. Certain machine sounds, such as the vacuum cleaner or the blender may send the child in a rage, screaming and covering his ears. Another child may crave these sounds and place his ear to the vacuum cleaner. Some children may not be able to go to any noisy environments. Birthday parties where loud balloons go off are frightening experiences.
Sensitivities such as those described above may be present in normal children. It is the degree and the severity of the sensitivities that are observed in the Autistic/PDD child. Families of Autistic/PDD children often describe their lives as a restricted existence built around avoiding the things that set off their children's sensitivities. They cannot go to restaurants or visit relatives. Their other children can't have their friends over. Visits to the dentist or to the hairdresser can be mortifying especially if another person looks at them as if to say "Why can you control your child". A trip to the supermarket can be just as ugly if something sets off a temper tantrum. Loving a child with such sensitivities can often be a confusing maze, as they often don't respond to normal displays of affection because it simply doesn't feel good to their bodies. It takes a lot of understanding to relate to a child with such a sensitive nature, yet if a channel of engagement is not found, they will continue to withdraw.
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dyspraxia in children with Autism and PDD:
Early gross and fine motor development is consistent with expected early developmental milestones. Difficulties may appear with more complex motor behavior, such as climbing a jungle gym or nesting cubes. Use of utensils may present a problem and manipulative tasks such as doing and undoing buttons and zippers may prove impossible. There are however, children who present with advanced motor skills. These are the children who climb everywhere without apparent judgment (though they never get hurt). They are also the children who figure out how to operate the VCR or the computer at age two. As it is often the case in Autism/PDD, certain areas of development may excel while others lag way behind (such as language).
Motor planning disorder, known as Dyspraxia is common in children with Autism/PDD, though it is infrequently recognized. Motor planning or "praxis" is the ability of the brain to conceive, organize, and carry out a sequence of unfamiliar actions. Praxis enables us to deal with the physical environment in an adaptive manner. In Dyspraxic Syndrome there is a reduced ability to carry out non-learned movements, even though adequate physical and conceptual capacity exists.
Praxis is believed to be a single function involving three basic processes: ideation - generating an idea of how one might interact with the environment; motor planning - organizing a program of action; and execution - the actual performance of a motor act.
Difficulties in praxis are often the cause of the increased sense of frustration that the Autistic/PDD child experiences during his second year of life. Rather than just experience the world, the child is now called upon to master it. Toys become increasingly complex, requiring more sequenced behaviors than the child with Dyspraxia can organize. Self-care activities require increasingly longer sequences of movements. Speech also becomes more challenging, requiring a more complex sequence of oral motor movements. Language itself is heavily dependent on the ability to organize and sequence. As life becomes increasingly complex the child with Dyspraxia hits major road blocks in his development.
Praxis provides the foundation that enables the child to internally represent objects and events and thus acts as a bridge between non-symbolic and symbolic thought. The ability to play with toys symbolically is certainly largely absent or severely limited in autistic and PDD children. They have no internal representation and therefore cannot use external symbols. Many children with Autism/PDD cannot make the symbolic leap to such abstraction. They are trapped in a lower level of development. They can spin the wheels on a car, yet they cannot pretend to make the car go down the road. This blocks the ability to develop normal cognitive and linguistic structures such as "Make the car go fast/slow, over/under etc." Their ability to perform may have no proportional relationship with their cognitive level, which often is quite intelligent. This again can be a cause for significant frustration and low self-esteem.