Overcoming autism: Family struggles to help child communicate
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 (10:30:42)

Posted by lightfoot

By VICTORIA GUAY

Brian Newman, 5, attends a morning kindergarten class at Alton Central School, where he is learning to write his own name on paper — a task more challenging for him than for a majority of his classmates because he has autism.

Nationwide, some medical experts say, autism has evolved into an epidemic. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of every 150 children and one of every 90 boys is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

One of every 10 female siblings of a child with autism will acquire an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and one in five male siblings will acquire ASD.

There is no cure, and researchers are scrambling to determine whether autism is linked to genetics, environmental factors or a combination of both.

Some think vaccinations which contain thimerosal, a mercury preservative, may cause autism, though no research studies have conclusively linked the two.

Nationally, 5,200 legal claims of damage from childhood immunizations were filed in a joint class action lawsuit against the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The families sought money from the Vaccine Injury Compensation program, a government insurance pool funded by a vaccine tax.

Attorney Michael Noonan of the Shaheen and Gordon law firm in Dover represented 85 New England families who joined the suit in 2006. The case was scheduled to go to U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., last year and is still pending this year because of the volume of cases involved, according to court do*****ents.

Christine Newman said she and her husband, Neil, first noticed their son was experiencing some developmental issues at age 2, when, instead of forming the speech skills typical of that age, he could only utter four unintelligible words. He also began frequently flapping his arms and he became fixated by anything that spun, like to a top or a wheel.

"He didn't play, he would line toys up or stack them," Newman said, noting another typical behavior of young children with autism.

Newman said they got him enrolled in an early intervention program at age 21⁄2 and he was soon diagnosed with pervasive development disorder-not otherwise specified, which is one of they many developmental disorders that fall under the autism spectrum.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, located in Bethesda, Md., ASD, also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders, or PDD, can cause mild to severe and pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others.

These disorders are usually first diagnosed in early childhood and range from a severe form, called autistic disorder, through pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified, of PDD-NOS, to a much milder form, Asperger syndrome.

Child development researchers say the highest rate of human learning and development occurs during the preschool years.

Early intervention programs such as intensive speech therapy or occupational therapy help children with ASD learn things they might not be able to learn later in life. Many of the programs involve repetitive exercises to reinforce communication, and other tasks such as matching shapes and solving puzzles.

Newman said Brian's early intervention, consisted mostly of play therapy at home.

Now, Brian is in mainstream kindergarten where he is receiving one-on-one occupational, speech and physical therapy.

Newman said speech therapy involves teaching Brian how to initiate communication, either verbally or through pictures. By using a learning tool called the Picture Exchange Communication System, Brian and other children with autism can choose a picture or symbol representation of what they want, or want to do.

Newman said although Brian has verbal skills, much of those skills consist of parroting back what someone has said to him.

Through using the Picture Exchange Communication System at school and at home, Brian is learning to say the word or words that represent the picture of what he wants, instead of just repeating what someone has said to him.

"He's getting better," Newman said, happy about his ability to indicate preferences.

Yet autism still prevents the boy from communicating emotional needs.

"He can't express feelings," Newman said. "He can say 'I'm sad,' but he can't tell me why. He can't tell me when he's sick."

The physical therapy Brian receives involves developing coordination of gross motor skills. Newman said Brian is in an adaptive physical education class, where he and other student with developmental disabilities complete simple obstacle courses and do repetitive motion exercises.

Through occupational therapy, Brian is learning to further develop his fine motor skills, such as those needed to use a pencil and write. Newman said although Brian can say and spell his name his still in the process of learning how to write it down.

Another form of occupational therapy that is helping Brian both in and out of school is a technique called Applied Behavioral Analysis, Newman said.

The technique uses a repetition and rewards model where a child with autism is encouraged to repeat a task or set of tasks several times a day. When the child successfully completes the task, the child is rewarded with something such as being to able to play with a favorite toy or getting a small snack.

Newman said they are currently using the technique to potty train the boy.

Brian, like most little boys, loves to run; however, because of his autism, when he starts running, he doesn't want to stop, whether it's down the street or in a crowded department store.

For this reason, the Newmans have to keep a watchful eye on Brian while at home and in public.

"He has no concept of 'someone could take me,' or 'a car could hit me,'" Newman said.

In order to help better protect Brian, the family, which includes the boy's father, Neil, and his sister, Gabrielle, 2, held a fundraiser earlier this year to be able to have enough money to purchase a service dog.

Newman reports that in three weeks, she will be flying to Oregon to pick up a golden retriever/yellow Labrador mix dog that will become their son's constant companion.

A belt around the boys waist will be attached to the dog's harness, Newman said, so if Brian starts to run in a store, the dog has been trained to sit still and stop the boy.

Newman said the dog will also help Brian develop more social skills, especially among peers who may be interested in the dog.

And being able to pet the dog will be soothing for Brian, Newman said.

While many children with autism have hyperdeveloped senses — some to the point that being touched, wearing certain clothes, hearing certain sounds or seeing certain colors is physically painful — Brian is able to be hugged and seeks sensory experiences, Newman said.

"He's more of sensory seeker," Newman said. "He likes to jump a lot because he likes the feeling on his feet and he likes to be hugged. It would kill me if I couldn't hug him."

From: Citizen.com