Sensory Characteristics of Student with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Literature review Example

Running Header: Sensory characteristics of student with autism spectrum disorder Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Name & Code: Date of Submission: Sensory characteristics of student with autism spectrum disorder Introduction US studies have reported a continuous increase in children with autism since 1990s. Autism is a neural development disorder that is mostly seen in children at the age of two to three years. The disorder affects brain processing where the nerve cells fail to connect well withtheir synapses. Some of the characteristics associated with this disorder include impaired social interaction as well as communication problems. This is where a child develops a restricted and repetitive behavior and usually begins at two years of age. Abrahams and Geschwind (55-34) shows that the condition affects processing of information in the brain where the nerve cells and synapses are altered thus fail to perform their normal role. The brain disorder is one among the three disorders comprised in the autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Other disorders include Asperger syndrome which is related to delays in child development for example lacking a language. The other disorder is the pervasive developmental disorder which comes up once the standards of the autism syndrome and Asperger is not fulfilled. Autism is said to be caused by strong genetic conditions though genetic of an autistic child are so complex. This makes it unclear whether the syndrome is brought about by some transformation of combination of various genes. It can not be concluded that autism is as a result of genes that cause defects in births though most arguments state that environmental causes may be the problem. These include effects of pesticides or the many vaccines given to children. About 2 children per 1000 are affected by the spread of autism in the world and in US the number is out of 1000 children have been diagnosed with the condition and studies have shown that this number has increased since 1980s (Kranowitz 2005). The signs and symptoms of autism are noticed once the child is about two years old and they gradually develop. The condition does not have a known cure but can be managed for example through cognitive intervention where a child learns to socialize with other children, provide for their self care and develop better communication skills. Various people believe that there could be a cure for this condition while others believe that it should be treated as a difference between individual characters and should not be viewed as a disorder in children. Characteristics Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder that is notices in childhood stage of development. The disorder then continually develops after sometime. After six months of age one may start noticing some evident symptoms which are gradually developed by the time the child is three years. Filipek et al. (84-23) describes that the symptoms may or may not continue to adulthood but this depends on the impact caused and how the disorder is managed. The disorder is distinguished using various symptoms in childhood which includes; lack of social interaction, lack of communication skills, restricted and repetitive interest and behaviour. Others include unusual eating behaviours though these are not necessary during the diagnoses. Children always want things to work the same and this brings a major problem once a child is taken to school where they have to change to various activities. They therefore react to the problem of change by throwing tantrums. Such children may exclude themselves from others and tend to do what mostly interests them all the time. The child may also talk about one same topic that interest them and becomes very upset once the topic is changed. Children suffering from autism display a self stimulatory behavior which is characterized by rapid and repetitive movements. Some of these include flapping their hands often, tapping objects for example on the floor or on the walls or rolling objects. According to Mary et al. (17) apart from the above physical problems that show evident of the disorder, children suffering from autism have various sensory issues. These include overreacting to extreme sensory stimulation for example a child may be extremely affected by noise whereby they often tend to cover their ears using their hands. A child with autism may also overreact once touched by someone and react by screaming so loud. They may as well decline to wear certain kinds of clothes, react to tastes, texture or smell of certain foods. All the above are characteristics of being hypersensitive. A kid with autism may as well be hyposensitive in that they under react to certain conditions. This is by seeking increased input for instant a child may damage their skin by scratching hard or may regularly run or jump up and down craving for motion. Biever (26-7) shows that these characters makes the under reactive child increase their sensory input. These children crave for equilibrium within the body. Such children do not normally react to pain and they may badly hurt themselves for example through falling or burning their hands since they do not sense a hot object or fire. To calm these children one may need to either make the child lift heavy objects, tie their hands or roll them up and sit. Most cases children with autism display both hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity sensory characters. Some may also be hypersensitive to stimuli and hyposensitive to others for example a child may not react to too much noise. Lack of the sensory input has severe effects since a child fails to understand any symbol or language. Delays in talking are one major sign of autism though such children may at times respond using signs. The other autism symptom includes sleep problems where children sleep for fewer hours. Other signs include stomach problems for example they may have constipation or bowel syndrome. Visual problems include staring at lights or a child tends to blink constantly. Social development According to Biever (26-7) lack of socialization is what differentiates autism disorder and other ASDs from other childhood disorders. A child suffering from autism seem to be socially impaired in that they are never interested in playing with other children as it is the case for a typical developing child. They fail to develop socially and distance themselves from others. They rarely smile or look at other people. They too do not react to their own name once mentioned showing less attention to people. Autistic children fail to display social stimuli and use no movements or do not point at things but respond to various emotions and usually like following others. Autistic children however have a deep attachment to their mothers or to anyone offering constant care to them. They usually suffer from loneliness in spite of wanting to be left alone. It is hard for them to make friends with other children and tend to dislike functions with many people for example parties. Unreliable evidence has also shown aggressive characteristics in children with autism but it is true that the disorder is linked to destructive tantrums or example a study carried out in 2007 showed that two third of children with autism have had tantrums (Heidgerken 30-23). Communication According to London (12-8) studies on autism indicate that half of the children with autism fail to develop communication skills and therefore communicate nonverbally. These difficulties in communication start when the child is about one year and worsens as the child develops. The signs include a child experiencing delays in babbling, crying or displaying unusual gestures. The child may also give a sound that can not be understood by the mother. These children tend to mimic others and their babbling reduces once they are two to three years. At this age, a kid does not request for anything and few gestures are noticed. These children need joint attention while communicating for example talking and pointing at an object the child may tend to look at the hand pointing the object instead of the object that is being pointed. A child with autism has difficulties while studying for example when it comes to imaginative events or in learning a language. Johnson and Myers (215-183) describes that various studies have shown that autistic children aged around 10-15 have had problems especially in basic language for example in vocabulary and spelling of words and it is therefore necessary to speak to these children in a language that they can easily comprehend. Repetitive behaviour Autistic children exhibit various characteristics of repetitive acts and these have been categorised. Silverman (41-25) reveals that one category is stereotypy behaviour which includes movements for example by flapping hands, making unrecognized sound often or rolling the head. The other category is displaying compulsive behaviour where a child tends to adhere to certain rules for example by arranging toy in one line. Sameness is also displayed where a child gets very up set once their usual interest is changed for example in school where there are various activities for example sleeping time, playing time and time to read. Ritualistic behaviour is displayed where the child for example likes one particular food or dress. The other category shows restricted behaviour which involves being limited to a particular object for example a toy. A child may also cause injury to their body by picking the skin, biting or banging their head on a hard surface. Causes According to Stefanatos (19-5) studies have assumed that the causes of autism are related to genetic and cognitive levels but a great suspicion shows that it is caused by a complex disorder with varying causes. These causes may include presence of multiple genes, environmental factors or epigenetic factors and therefore siblings of autistic child are more likely to be autistic. The genes that raise the autism risk are still unknown. The sensory issues brought by autism result from the brain system. Most of the autistic children attain language skills at about 5 years though they have problems later on for example it would be difficult for them to acquire employment opportunity in future or to be self independent. The symptoms of autisms are said to be few with age. Management While trying to manage the problems that arise as a result of autism, caregivers should try to aim at reducing the deficiencies that a child experiences since there has not been a single treatment to be offered that can treat the disorder at once. Family members and school tutors should be able to understand the child’s condition and find ways of improving their life for example by training them to be functional and independent. Howlin et al. (29-12) suggests that interventions should be introduced and especially psychosocial interventions. These are said to give effective benefits as a child is encouraged to improve social skills by taking the child where there are many children. Special education should also be given to such children to enable the child grasp ideas according to their pace. This also enables these children to acquire social behaviours and learn to care for themselves. It is however not known how long it takes to show significant improvements since mixed results have been reported. The child with autism should be raised in an environment that is safe for them and one that tries to calm them. This is where they do not have to use most of their energy for stimulation. Early and effective intervention enables symptoms to become less severe. Conclusion The characteristics of ASD vary from one person to another though they tend to lie along three major situations. These situations include sensory integration, deficits in language and social skills. The unique reactions exhibited by individuals with autism displays a different sensory profile. This causes major disruptions in the way a person processes important sensory stimuli such as hearing, smelling or life experiences. Kids with autism should be given maximum care as this enables them feel like any other. They also need specialized education and treatment where by caregivers should avoid rushing these children to doing things that they find hard to comprehend. Maximum care given to autistic children may yield to quick understanding and improves the sensory stimuli. Some of the effective intervention programs include varying components. These include introducing effective communication systems. Motivation systems and formulating objectives meant to improve the child’s progress. Works cited Abrahams, BS & Geschwind, DH. “Advances in autism genetics: On the threshold of a new neurobiology”. Nat Rev Genet 9.5 (2008): 34–55 Biever, C. “Web removes social barriers for those with autism”. New Sci. 4.5 (2007): 7-26. Filipek, PA. Accardo, PJ & Baranek, GT. “The screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders”. Journal of Autism Dev Disord 29.6 (1999): 43–84. Heidgerken, AD. Geffken, G. Modi, A & Frakey, L. “A survey of autism knowledge in a health care setting”. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 35.3 (2005): 23-30. Howlin, P. Goode, S. Hutton, J & Rutter, M. “Adult outcome for children with autism: Child psychol psychiatry”. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45.2 (2004): 12–29. Johnson, CP. & Myers, SM. “Council on children with disabilities: Identification and evaluation of children with autism spectrum disorders”. Pediatrics 5.1 (2007): 183–215. Kranowitz, C. The out-of-sync child: Recognizing and coping with sensory processing disorders. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. London, E. “The role of the neurobiologist in redefining the diagnosis of autism”. Journal of Autism and Development Disorders 17.4 (2007): 8– 11. Mary, Stewart. Natalie, Russo. Jennifer, Banks. Louisa, Miller. & Jacob, Burack. Sensory characteristics in ASD. United Kingdom: Heriot-Watt University, 2009. Silverman, C. “Fieldwork on another planet: Social science perspectives on the autism spectrum”. Biosocieties 3.3 (2008): 25–41. Stefanatos, GA. “Regression in autistic spectrum disorders”. Neuropsychol. 18.4 (2008): 5–19. Read More