To all the parents who are going through one sort of neurological disorder challenge or another, this post is for you. It serves as an eye opener into things you may not have understood before.
A fellow mum friend asked me to share this on the blog today, so as to equip mothers not to make certain mistakes and take certain precautions when faced with such challenges. Her son is autistic and when she found out, she thought her world had come to an end. Thanks to modern day exposure and technology, now she knows better.
According to Wikipedia, autism is a developmental disorder characterized by troubles with social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior.
Just the way it feels when you are on a roller coaster, breathless, terrified, fear driven and all, everything is just hazy. Having an autistic child can make you feel completely lost and clueless. There is no manual of any sort but yet you feel in your guts that something is wrong… parental instincts.
At first, you don’t want to accept it, but once you get over that hurdle, avowal sets in, you want to amass as much knowledge as you can about the topic so that you can be the best parent possible to your vulnerable little one.
It could be a scary journey, especially if one is not well informed. Some signs could be there initially, from not making eye contact, being too loud to always being in motion (restless) but reality would finally dawn when the psychologist confirms the unspoken fears. It would take lots of adjustments and getting used to, especially those first few years. I mean here is a parent who loves her child more than words itself walking in the line of hoping the diagnosis was wrong and all.
Below, I’ve highlighted some of the very important factors that have really helped her along the journey;
v Learn About Autism. This will help to make informed decisions for your child. Thanks to research, a lot has been discovered to make things easy.
v Always Stick To A Schedule. Routine and consistency goes a long way to help. It also encourages the child to understand his environment better and faster.
v Creating A Home Safety, Child Proof Zone. This is to ascertain that some important safety measures are put into consideration and the child is out of harm’s way.
v Rewarding Good Behavior Immediately. This should not be delayed or postponed or it may interfere with the process of getting your child to be more independent.
PS: Promoting independence as much as possible and leading a normal, healthy life style should be the long term goal.
v Figure Out Your Child’s Triggers. When you know what elicits a positive or negative behavior from your child, you will be better at improving or avoiding such occurrences.
v Some of the questions below can inform your child’s treatment progress;
v What Are My Child’s Strengths Or Weaknesses?
v What Does My Child Enjoy?
v How Best Does My Child Learn?
v What Basic Skills Is He Or She Lacking?
v Finally, Don’t Give Up. It’s impossible to predict the course but don’t jump to conclusions. God still and will always have the final say. There is nothing too herculean for Him to achieve. All will be well, if you just believe.
On the bright side, be rest assured that most of the children with autism spectrum disorders are able to live relatively normal lives just like you and I and develop their abilities.
You might be astonished to know that world changers like Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Charles Darwin to name a few, have also been considered by researchers to be on the autism spectrum.
This is a sneak peak into the private world of special needs parenting. Huge thanks to this courageous mum who shared her thoughts with me for this post. You have really helped someone or two.
Please feel free to share your thoughts as well.
XOXO,
Yours Truly.
