Nurses may be able to help families as they go through a process of accepting the diagnosis and seeking care for their children with autism.
Parents can go through emotional phases that are similar to phases of grieving someone’s death. Parents may go through shock, sadness, anger, disorganization, despair, and eventually reorganization and acceptance. Nurses can learn about therapy and treatment options to help support parents as they make decisions about care of their children with autism. Medication is often part of the treatment plan, and nurses can help parents by giving information and support to them.
Twitter
Facebook
By Email
RSS Feed
Please comment on this autism topic.
Physician Cautions Against Restrictive Diets for Autism Unless Necessary
Feb 17, 2011 by AnonymousThis is in response to Dr. Jay L. Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, suggests that parents of children with autism should be careful when starting their child on a new diet.
What terrible advice. It is not hard to do a Gluten Free Casein Free Diet and in fact is healthier than most diets people have their children on.
It is meat, vegetables, fruits, and avoiding wheat based flours, but this doesn't mean they don't eat "grains" . It is about cooking from scratch. It means no preservatives, or colored dyes.
Calcium and Vitamin D can be achieved from Almond Milk or Rice Milk.
The added comment that "Temple Grandin's Mother didn't put her on this diet is ridiculous. I know first hand that when my daughter has "gluten" she regresses in her behaviors, her ability to concentrate and her ability to talk.
It sunds like Dr. Jay is just another doctor that would rather pump kids with drugs that go the natural healing route. Simply appalling!
Travelling with Special Needs Children
Dec 10, 2008 by AnonymousTEN TIPS TO EASE HOLIDAY TRAVELS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN:
Pediatric Therapist Aviva Weiss Tells How to Prepare for Good Times Together
Philadelphia, PA, December 8, 2008 - The chaos of packing, airport crowds and security, lengthy car rides and yes, even overexposure to family and friends is enough to erode any holiday traveler's festive spirit. Add traveling with children into the equation, especially when special needs are involved, and some parents might wish they could just stay home. But a few preparations, says Fun and Function LLC founder Aviva Weiss, can go a long way toward ensuring a good time for everyone.
Traveling disrupts routines and familiarity with the surrounding environment and can be difficult for children with special needs notes Weiss, a certified pediatric occupational therapist. A mother of four, including a daughter with sensory processing disorder, she says parents of special needs children can pave the way toward less stressful trips by observing these ten guidelines:
1. Prepare the child in advance as much as possible. Practice for the trip for a period leading up to the actual travels. Talk about the upcoming experience to help your child overcome anxiety. Act out or role play anticipated events in advance, from taking off shoes for airport security to applauding after a toast.
2. Redirect anxious energy into constructive activity. To take the edge off the potential anxiety of seeing many less familiar faces all at once, make the event a fun and educational by creating a special activity. Create a small photo album featuring people who will be at the event, and help your child play "Family Bingo," checking off each person he or she greets or sees across the room. Or, create a pictogram of your itinerary or agenda and help your child follow along.
3. Encourage creative expression. For those able to write or draw, a pocket journal or sketchbook for illustrating what they're experiencing can provide another useful outlet. Children who are more observers than participants may appreciate assignments such as taking pictures with a digital camera.
4. Don't expect perfection. Whenever you travel with children, it's best to "expect the unexpected," or at least leave room for something to pop up to divert you from your agenda.
5. Secure an extra set of hands. Try traveling with a friend, family member or caregiver to help keep things in order when you're on the move, provide manpower for carrying belongings and an extra set of eyes, and even make bathroom breaks with multiple children an easier task.
6. Manage expectations for you and your hosts. A pending visit from a special needs child may produce stress for the host as well as the child and the parent. Prepare everyone by communicating your child's needs in advance and asking for some general ground rules for inside the home, as a gesture toward making the visit as pleasant and peaceful as possible.
7. Bring along some "friends." Pack a bag of objects that are fun and familiar. Sensory gadgets/fidgets, noise reduction headphones, weighted vests, or favorite belongings from home will help filter out outside stimuli and provide a comforting connection to "home."
8. Minimize changes to eating habits. Try to keep your child's diet consistent to prevent constipation, indigestion, allergic reactions or other adverse developments. Feed your child something satisfying to comfort them before a long trip, and take along favorite utensils as a connection to more familiar situations. Don't expect your child to sit for an entire meal. Rather, prepare a spot where he or she can rest, play or calm down while the meal continues.
9. RX for safer travels. Ready a medicine kit with prescriptions, medical information and OTC products to confront fevers, allergies, cuts and other issues that may surface when you travel out of your home.
10. Preserve the moment but reserve time for breaks. The ingredients of posing for pictures - people huddled close together, bright flashes, noise and the need to stay still - can lead to overstimulation. Don't oblige your child to participate in all the photos, and be sure to take breaks in between.
"Traveling with a special needs child - or any child, for that matter - needn't be a stressful event," Weiss says. "In fact, it can be a great experience, offering lessons and fond memories for all. The keys are to prepare everyone in advance, include a few fun and familiar items and activities, and above all remember that it takes time and patience to learn how to manage change."
About Aviva Weiss and Fun and Function LLC
Aviva Weiss is founder of Fun and Function LLC, a Merion Station, Pa.-based provider of engaging, durable and functional play and therapy products at affordable prices, including an exclusive line of scooters and portable writing kits. A mother of a child with sensory processing disorder, she is also a certified pediatric occupational therapist with expertise in creating inclusive environments where all children can thrive together, and is currently working with developmental pediatrician Dr. Wendy Ross to guide children's museums toward improving experiences for children with special needs and their families. She previously worked at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher's Hospital, and earned her B.S. in Psychology from Touro College and her Masters in Occupational Therapy from The Richard Stockton College, graduating summa cum laude from both programs.
Weiss launched Fun and Function in 2005 when she first identified her daughter's challenges and was frustrated by the lack of kid-friendly styling and high prices of existing special-needs products. She began designing products that elicit the potential of all children, help them feel good and achieve their best. Today, the company offers hundreds of innovative products marked by affordability and durability, scoring points with parents, pediatric therapists and educators. For more information or a free catalog, visit www.funandfunction.com or call 1-800-231-6329.
Pediatric neurologist
Mar 17, 2008 by AnonymousMy son was diagnosed with ADHD 3 years ago. Recently, he was re-evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD, PDD-NOS, and reading and writing deficits. His psychologist feels he has acquired TBI from birth. Does anyone know of a pediatric neurologist that may be knowledgable in this area?
Lorin
Compassion
Feb 22, 2008 by AnonymousThis past Tuesday’s meeting at school was disappointing. Not because of what anybody said, but because I really didn’t need to be there. The upshot was that there will be some additional testing and we’ll re-convene in May. Uh…that’s pretty much what was said at the conference late last month, but whatever. I’m glad I didn’t go to the trouble of finding someone to take care of Hayley while I went into school for this. The form-letter that they sent home said “childcare won’t be provided,” and I should “make other arrangements for my children.” If I had actually done that, I would have been steamed. I brought Hayley with and she was fine. She sat nicely in a little chair for the entire ten-minute duration of this thing.
Okay, a few other things were mentioned during this meeting…the school nurse was there, the speech and occupational therapists and Thomas’ teacher. The psychologist and assorted others who were supposed to attend didn’t show. The nurse said that Thomas wouldn’t allow her to test his hearing or vision last year, but he did fine with it this year and passed both tests satisfactorily. That saved me a difficult trip to the pediatric opthamologist and ear testing facility.
Something interesting that Thomas’ teacher does with him to get him to sit still during circle time (still his biggest challenge at school) is give him a bit of lotion to rub into his hands. His teacher has “magic lotion” (that’s what she called it until one of the other kids in class recognized it as the same lotion his mother keeps at home and pronounced that it is indeed “not magic” – the emperor that is their teacher has no clothes, so to speak) that smells like lavender which, for normal kids, is supposed to be a soothing scent. Nothing soothes Thomas much, except for the Clonidine. But this lotion seems to keep him occupied enough to sit still. The occupational therapist doesn’t even need to use the weighted vest that she had me sign a consent form for a couple weeks ago. Lotion is cool…much more socially acceptable. I’m excited about that.
I don’t want to seem like I’m reading too much into this meeting (which, as it turns out, included much more than I originally stated above), but the way that the school nurse was talking about the need for additional testing, it almost seemed like the school staff might be experiencing a bit of disagreement with the autism diagnosis. She asked several questions that led me to think about that. She wanted to know who diagnosed him, when he was diagnosed, if his current neurologist was actually the doctor who originally diagnosed him, if she could get a report from this doctor (good luck!), etc. The need for “new” testing came up, too. They want him to be re-tested by the psychologist in particular. Despite my amazing ability to jump to the best-case scenario, I didn’t make statements like, “Gee, by the way you’re talking, it almost seems like you don’t think Thomas is autistic! He’s healed! Halellujah! Thank you so much, and of course we’ll be suing the school district for emotional distress if you’re wrong!” I didn’t ask questions, either. I know they can’t answer anything about medical diagnoses. I’m just going to play it cool and see what happens. Even if they don’t think he’s “autistic,” he’s still definitely got issues.
Everyone at school has been telling us how much Thomas has improved with social interaction. He still has to work on using language appropriately, but he is definitely communicative and shows compassion toward others. When Thomas’ cousin was here two weeks ago, he brushed against her and accidentally knocked her on her little bottom. She was fine, but Thomas was very upset about it. He was sad and cried for a few minutes. When he was with the occupational therapist a couple weeks ago, he broke something in her office (which was very small and not important, she assured me) and cried about it. His ability to show compassion for others and regret for his actions – especially those that were accidental – is a very encouraging thing.
Of course, due to our frequent use of the word “accident” at home, we’ve had to help the kids understand the difference between that and “on purpose.” Unfortunately, both Thomas and Hayley have realized that if anybody says that something was an accident, that means that nobody gets mad and a disinterested and apathetic apology will make everything okay. Hmpf. I have a hard time not laughing when I see Thomas willfully whack Hayley on her arm or yank a toy away from her and then tell me that it was an “accident.”
An amusing anecdote before I close: Last week, Thomas was riding his tricycle around the living room at break-neck speed and crashing into the ottoman. I had spoken to him about this a moment before so I was getting frustrated. I said, “Thomas, if you can’t ride your tricycle nicely, I’m going to put it in the garage and only let you ride it outside.” His reply: “Don’t say that to me, old lady!” I had to hide in the pantry so he wouldn’t see me laughing. It took me several minutes to re-gain my composure and by then, Thomas had moved on to destroying something else. I decided to let it go for the time being. I was in no state to dispense discipline. Thomas, 1; Mom, 0. I guess I’ve really got to watch what I say in the car to less-astute drivers when the kids are with me. It must be divine retribution.