What happens to children with Autism when they become adults?
When
a child has been diagnosed with Autism the most worrying question a parent has
is "what will happen to my child after me? Will he/she be able to survive
independently?” As a Speech Pathologist, I have been asked this question many
times. It's my responsibility to guide parents to help their child to live
independently. Based on my knowledge it is possible to train children with Autism and
other developmental disabilities to find their perfect job and live
independently. Organizations today have created an ecosystem where
Autistic people can be employed in a conducive environment to build an
independent living. The ecosystem is getting developed and we should see more autistic
associates joining the work force, but is the skill development program tuned
to meet the need? Let us briefly look into how parents and
professionals can work together to build a better living.
The
first thing we should notice is if their child is visual thinker or non-visual
thinker.
1. Children
who have very good visual perception will be able to learn better through
pictures and text, and this will help parents and therapist to make the child
comprehend concepts and follow instructions through pictures or textual cues.
2. Non-
visual thinkers perform better in auditory tasks than visual tasks.
This is
fundamental classification which will not only influence the training
techniques for the kids, but will also help us identify the suitable jobs for
the children as they grow up. Hence it’s critical we get this one right!!
Dr. Temple
Grandin explained that "providing structure and rules will be beneficial
to all individuals in the autism spectrum, ranging from a brilliant individual
with Asperger's to an individual who remains non-verbal". Areas
parents need to work and who can help includes
1. Social
rules (limits on behavior, manners), - (Speech
Pathologist, Behavior Analyst)
2.
Problem solving skills, - (Speech Pathologist)
3.
Personal grooming, - (Speech Pathologist, Behavior Analyst)
4.
Turn taking and sharing, (Speech Pathologist)
5.
Socializing through shared interests, (music, painting, skating or swimming tutors)
6.
Anger management, (Psychiatrist)
7.
Sensory (Occupational
Therapist),
8.
Health (Paediatrician,
Physiotherapist, Ophthalmologist)
9.
Diet related issues. (Dietician)
She
herself been diagnosed with Autism in childhood shares her experience at work
place and personal life.
Clearly
the skills span across the areas of Speech therapy, Occupational therapy,
Physiotherapy, etc. over a number of skills and Parents will have to be
prepared to understand the developmental path for their children and work with
the different specialist to enable development of appropriate skills at each
level. This exercise does involve a lot of effort and would need parental counselling
at different levels to keep the parent motivated. The awareness in the society
will improve to benefit the children and also provide them with right opportunities
when they are ready. This process resembles
the career planning process for the children, but in this case the skill
planning is completely done by the parents of the children under the guidance
of professionals, from respective fields.
According to Ruby Singh, Vice President, Autism
Society of India, Every child is unique and their abilities & disabilities
differ. Hence there is NO one module to train them. Hence parents,
along with teachers, relatives and well-wishers, should observe the strengths
of child and start shaping those skills to higher level. For example, few
autistic children are very good in painting and few are very good in singing.
In this case parents can join their children in painting and singing classes
and develop those specialized skills. In terms of weakness parents need to
target one problematic area at a time. For example, if child's tantrums
increases when exposed to new targets, he/she need to be taught how to cope up
with it in an appropriate way.
We need to
start from the base and build stronger foundation in small steps i.e. skills
which are necessary based on age need to be taught first and advanced skills
that need to be taught can be planned in later years. For example, child needs
to learn toilet training and have proper sleep and eat schedule before he
learns how to use toilet and use spoon independently. Concentrating on one
skill at a time helps the child to focus and learn faster and also reduces
stress for parents.
I would
like to highlight an advance skill as this is very critical for independent
living - SELF ADVOCACY. Parents should teach their children to advocate for
themselves. For most of your child’s life, you have probably been advocating
for your child– making decisions for him or her. However, as
individuals with autism age, they will need to advocate for themselves to
the best of their ability. Helping adolescents with autism to
develop a sense of self will aid in the transition process and will develop
a skill that will benefit them throughout their lives.
To summarize, Autistic children have every opportunity
to lead independent living as the society is gearing up to create the right
ecosystem to enable every individual to live to their true potential. Now to address the question if we have the
right skill development program, well the program has to be created for each
child, while we have an opportunity to build a framework for the same.
Nevertheless it’s a roadless travelled and a hence a challenging one for
parents and therapists, but it’s a HOPE to enable autistic children to lead an
independent living!!
Though am
signing off on this topic, but I have a sure next step to explore more and get
back to you with the next steps, because I believe together we can be the
change we want to see!
Posted by: Ms. Sai Harika Boppana,
Consultant Speech Pathologist,
Dhara Speech Therapy Clinic
Reference
links:
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