Greetings everyone,
Me again with yet another batch of questions to ponder!
I've been communicating with a parent of a toddler who is having some problems with some past trauma. Naturally, the todder's been diagnosed with autism and has been subjected to ABA/IBI type therapy.
Fortunately, the toddler has been seen by a psychiatrist and diagnosed with PTSD, which more approriate given the child's history.
Some points brought up by the parent that I thought were very accurate:
"I spend most therapies discussing with the therapists WHY they wont' treat [my child's] behaviors as if there is a cause behind them....seek the cause, CARE about the cause...and then we can get to the heart of the problem.
They act like [my child] is a bad dog and I am just catering to the problem."
"They act like my child is a bad dog"...I could not have worded that better myself.
* Why are autistic people treated like bad dogs?
* Why are therapists not looking for the cause behind the behaviour?
* If you are providing therapy as a therapist, is it not your job to treat the problem, not just force a kid to act the way you want them to without finding out why?
"They want [child] to just sit and cry and cry and cry it out. I don't see how that is helping. [my child] is so terrified of all adults now. [my child] doesnt' trust that anyone really wants to be [child's] friend. [my child] acts like everyone that offers to play with [child] is a secret therapist in waiting......waiting to test [child's] abilities. It breaks my heart."
Yes, terrifying a child...how does that help?
How is that helping the child's brain and response system to react to this world like it is a safe place when all people do is demand, torment and terrify?
How is it helping a child to learn social skills if said child is afraid of everyone? Afraid that any person who wants to be friends and play has an "ulterior motive"?
The child in this story is not even three years old, yet this child is pretty darned perceptive when it comes to motives!
I've said it hundreds of times before and I'll say it a hundred times more: "Autistic children are not stupid and they are not oblivious to their surroundings." Despite the fact that they may seem to be, they really are more aware of the area.
They are also aware of what is being said around them. Just because they may not be speaking does not mean they do not understand language or are not responding to it.
Given the fact that most autistic children seem to live in a state of constant emergency and coping with a perceived "hostile" environment, I'd say they are probably more aware of what's going on in their surroundings than other people would be.
If you were in a threatening situation: a war, an axe murderer in the house, a bad storm, a very uncomfortable situation (like being hauled into the boss' office); you'd likely be aware of every little sound, every little shift in the air. You'd likely withdraw into yourself, not make a sound and stay very still.
If you were in a chronically uncomfortable or painful situation: a prisoner of war, suffering with a painful chronic illness, living with an abusive person, etc.; you'd likely be obsessing over something that you can "cling" to in order to keep your sanity, you may rock back and forth and cry, you might rock back and forth because it helps you feel not so sick, you might not make eye contact with someone who is your tormentor, you may retreat into fantasy...a quick little mental escape from the situation. You might imagine yourself being well, or free or the abusive person going to jail for a very long time.
If you were constantly being harrassed at work or by the kids, you'd likely just want to lock yourself in the bathroom and cover your ears...perhaps have a hot bubble bath and tell the kids that they are not to disturb you on "pain of death or at least a good smack". At work, you might just leave the office and go sit in the bathroom or go for a walk outside to blow off steam. You might go to the pub and have a stiff drink.
If you had to write a big exam tomorrow and your grades were counting on it, would you be fiddling with a pen, pacing back and forth, muttering the things you know so you don't forget the answers when they get asked on the exam?
All of these examples above are natural human reactions to extreme or prolonged stress.
Can you pick out the autistic behaviours in the normal human responses to stress?
I'll give you some:
* Pacing
* Avoiding eye contact with people perceived as a threat
* Rocking back and forth
* Withdrawing
* Retreating into fantasy
* Obsessing over a concept, phrase, thing, etc.
* Not wishing to socialize
Some interesting places to read up on the human responses to stress:
http://www.fi.edu/brain/stress.htm The Franklin Institute Online - UCLA's findings on stress response
http://www.math.utah.edu/vigre/reu/reports/sandy_schaefer_summer_2006.pdf A model of the Human Stress Response in Relation to the Gastrointestinal Tract by Sandy Schaefer
Scientific research shows that they have been able to study exact physical responses, such as hormonal changes, etc.
I wonder if anyone has studied autistic people to see if these hormones, etc. are at the same levels as someone under extreme stress? Is adrenaline up? Are the endocrine glands working harder? Could that be the problem?
Should steps be taken to restore homeostasis to the body rather than forcing kids to act normal?
That might make for some interesting study.
Some signs of PTSD:
hypervigilance (feels like but is not paranoia)
exaggerated startle response
irritability
sudden angry or violent outbursts
flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive recollections, replays, violent visualisations
triggers
sleep disturbance
exhaustion and chronic fatigue
reactive depression
guilt
feelings of detachment
avoidance behaviours
nervousness, anxiety
phobias about specific daily routines, events or objects
irrational or impulsive behaviour
loss of interest
loss of ambition
anhedonia (inability to feel joy and pleasure)
poor concentration
impaired memory
joint pains, muscle pains
emotional numbness
physical numbness
low self-esteem
an overwhelming sense of injustice and a strong desire to do something about it
See if you can pick out some of the behaviours exhibited by autistics in the above list.
Anyway, more things to ponder, more questions to look at.
Above all, the big question I have is: Why are autistics treated like bad dogs as part and parcel of their treatment?
Are people still held by the myth that there is a normal child inside the autistic child; just waiting to come out?
Are autistics receiving real and proper therapy for their medical problem....or are they attending "obedience school"?
Why are they not being treated like human beings that have real problems underlying their behaviour?
Have a great Easter Weekend!
