Autism - Theory of Mind Difficulties

There are many symptoms that an individual with autism may experience; however, one of the most frustrating and hard to understand is what has recently been named Theory of Mind.

Within the last few decades, this problem has been more thoroughly discussed and studied, but it is still largely a mystery. Because of Theory of Mind problems, social interactions are even more strenuous for autistic individuals.

Theory of Mind causes these social behaviour difficulties in almost every aspect, from playgroups as children to the social world as adults. The concept behind Theory of Mind is that autistic people fail to recognise that other people in the world have different ways of looking at things. Although an autistic person may not be egocentric, he or she probably inherently assumes that everyone thinks, feels, and knows the same things he or she thinks, feels, and knows.

Most autistic people have an inability to lie, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but is clearly unnatural. They don't even consider lying an option because they assume everyone knows the truth as they know it.

Because autistic individuals have an inability to lie, they also do not realise that other people do so. In fact, it is a rude awakening for autistic people to find out that others lie or are bad in general. This is especially unnerving when first experienced in the business world, and many autistic individuals do not know how to cope with this. Because they believe that everyone sees the world as they do, it is difficult for them to put themselves in others' shoes.

Of course, this can be taught, but it is unfortunately a hard process that those with autism have to constantly remember to do. Even children have trouble with Theory of Mind-they find it difficult to play games with other children that require keeping a secret. They also often must be reminded of sharing and releasing aggression in ways that are not harmful. Some of an autistic person's frustration may stem from this inability to understand why another is not reacting in a situation in the "correct" way.

Autistic children also have a hard time understanding why people don't know certain facts-if they know it, so should everyone else.

Theory of Mind still needs to be studied in order to be able to better understand and treat this symptom of autism. Currently, the best teaching method is continuous social interaction, along with role-playing and other games that require autistic children to see things from many angles. Until modern medicine finds a better answer to Theory of Mind problems, the best thing to do is be patient with autistic individuals and be willing to explain your thought process to them.

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Doctors and Diagnosing Autism

When a doctor first suggests that your child has autism, your immediate reaction might be disbelief and the urge to seek a second, third, or even fourth opinion. Because autism is so different in every child, it is a tricky disorder to diagnose. However, there are a few key ways in which doctors can efficiently identify autism in children, and if your infant or toddler is showing any of these signs of autism, you should visit your paediatrician immediately to express your concerns.

Autism occurs at a young age, rather than being a disorder an older child might develop. It is usually detected before the age of three, and many times much earlier. The first signs or autism are usually delays or regression in speech communication. Another early sign is abnormal behaviour in group play situations and other social situations. The first step to diagnosing autism is a thorough physical examination as well as a review of family history by a specialist.

Although your regular paediatrician will be able to spot unusual behaviour, you'll want your child to be examined by a professional who specialises in autism and other similar diseases to make sure your child is properly diagnosed.

The next step includes hearing tests. Sign language and social skill delays could be due to inadequate auditory sensations. There are two types of auditory tests, one of which records the tones a child can hear and the other of which requires sedation and measures the brain response to certain tones. Of course, the first method is preferred, since it does not require any use of a sedative. After auditory testing, your doctor may encourage testing your child for Fragile X syndrome, which often times goes hand in hand with autism. Metabolism can also be evaluated. To do this, your doctor will need a blood or urine sample to analyse DNA.

An MRI or CAT scan can also be helpful in diagnosing autism. The important thing is to work with doctors you trust. Second opinions can be very helpful, but when your child has been diagnosed, stick with one doctor so that treatment is uniform and so that your child will get used to this person. Autism is difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat, so remember that you should begin to learn as much as possible about the disorder as soon as your doctor identifies it.

If you have yet to speak with your doctor about abnormal behaviour in your child, do so immediately. By detecting autism early, you give your child a better chance at becoming a high-functioning individual with much more opportunities in life.

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Autism - Dietary Concerns: Glutton and Casein

Autism is a disorder that must be treated with a variety of methods since there is no effective way to completely cure it. One of the ways you can help keep the symptoms of autism under control is by studying diet.

Parents of children with autism have reported that by controlling diet, they see a significant difference in their child's behaviour. Two of the main dietary concerns are glutton and casein.
Glutton is a substance found in many common food products, with wheat, rye, and oaks being the main culprits. Casein is found in dairy products, such as milk. If you or your child with autism eats many foods with these products in them, such as bread or cheese, you may be able to better control autistic behaviour by decreasing consumption of such foods.

The difficulty in digesting both glutton and casein comes from an inability to digestively handle the peptides in these substances. Since they are not broken down as in a normal body, these extra peptides are absorbed into the blood stream. Elevated levels of peptides disrupt major brain functions, contributing to the effects of autism.

By cutting foods containing glutton and casein out of you or your child's diet, you can help the body with the process of breaking down the peptides present in the body. To see if you or your child has a high absorption rate of these peptides, your doctor can administer a simple urine test.

Speak to a nutritionist or doctor before making any major changes in your diet. When you decide to cut glutton and casein from your diet, do not attempt to do this all at once. Cutting anything from your diet suddenly is unhealthy, and your body could go into withdrawal. Instead, slowly begin reducing the amounts of breads, grains, and milk products until you are eating none.

You doctor can provide you with a complete list of all the foods containing glutton and casein if you truly want to cut them all from your diet. However, it may be necessary to get the nutrients that you find in glutton and casein products in another way, such as with dietary supplements. Again, your doctor can help in this decision. Overall, maintaining a balanced diet is the healthiest thing to do.

Leaving glutton and casein products out of your or your child's diet may help control autistic behaviour, so it is an option that should be considered, but eating a healthy diet altogether is the best way to keep you and your family healthy.

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Breaking the Autism Stereotypes

As with anyone with a physical or mental disorder, autistic people deal with a wide range of reactions from others, from full support to uncaring ignorance.

Unfortunately, even those who support autistic family members, co-workers, and friends may not understand autism very well. This leads to stereotypes, which can result in hatred, embarrassment, or other unhappy situations. By becoming educated about autism, you can help others in your community cope with this disorder.

It is most important to note that not all autistic people are the same. Other diseases and disorders have their own sets of rules, but autism is such a complex medical condition, that everyone reacts differently to it. Autistic people are usually rated on a functional scale, with high-functioning people being able to hold jobs and low-functioning people needing 24-hour-a-day care. Symptoms include behavioural challenges, uncontrollable movements, speech and communication difficulties, and emotional inadequacies. Some show all symptoms, while other show few, and still others may have most under control to the point where you cannot tell they have autism at all.

Because every person is different, no one thing can be said about autism and be true overall. However, most autistic people have trouble communicating emotions. This does not mean that an autistic person does not feel. He or she simply cannot express this feeling. It also does not mean strong relationship bonds are not possible. On the contrary, many autistic people are happily married and in love. Forming relationships is more difficult for most, but can be accomplished over time.

Many people believe that being autistic coincides with being a genius in some aspect. While it is true that some autistic individuals have extraordinary maths, music, and art skills, this number is nowhere near the majority-in fact, relatively few autistic people function outside of the normal range in any skill. This stereotype is perpetuated in the movies and on television, because the story of a talented person fighting disadvantages (such as autism) makes a good plot. However, this is not the norm, so nothing more than the best they can personally do should be expected from an autistic person.

However, it is important to note that autism is not a form of mental retardation. Some autistic people are mentally retarded as well, but most are not and should not be treated as such.

In the end, the most important lesson to take away from your studies on autism is one of tolerance. You will probably need to be patient when dealing with autistic people, but by understanding a little more about the disorder, perhaps this will be easier. Learn what you can and spread the knowledge to those you know to help create a more tolerant setting for autistic individuals in your community.

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Fixation Behaviour of an Autistic Child

Fixation is a common characteristic in the behaviour of an autistic child. The child may be fixated on a book, a picture, a person, maps, music, numbers, or a movie. Whatever the fixation, the high functioning autistic child will become a resident expert on the subject. They will memorise and will be able to recite in order the exact amount of information they are fixated on.

They may even to be able to read music aloud by sounding out the notes or something more simplistic, your child may be fixated by a music artist and have all their songs memorised.

But fixations can be a good thing. The old method of taking the fixation away from the child has been replaced with the idea of using the fixation to facilitate learning. If a child is fixated on a certain television cartoon, turn the sound off and let them read through close captioning what is going on. If they all the words to the programme they are fixated on, they will soon begin to associate the words with actual audio sound.

Not only does this placate the fixation, but it uses the fixation to stimulate learning in a new medium.

A little known fact about communication and fixation was what the autistic child looked at when they fixated. A research study that looked at video tapes of autistic children interacting during play showed that most of the time during verbal communication the child would fixate on objects instead of faces. When the child finally gave the person talking eye contact, the fixation used by the child was the mouth instead of the eyes. You can use this fact to be conscious of how your mouth moves when you are talking. If you get a positive reaction from a word, it may not be the word that motivates your child; it may be the position in which your mouth was in.

The eye contact problem has been addressed by research and the fixation of the mouth area mystery has been solved. Researchers say that the anyone can be responsible for creating a fear by looking in a person’s eyes. Can you imagine not being able to look anybody in the eye because your brain registers their eyes as a threat? This is even more disturbing because for years teachers and parents have emphasised eye contact as a behaviour change when actually they were making the students learn to deal with their terror instead.

Remember that fixation may be much more involved than just an over exuberant liking of one thing or another. The fixation may be a bridge between understanding and association. The fixation itself can be manipulated to a learning experience that not only contains the fixation information but adds everyday concepts to the fixation experience.

Use all the senses when presenting something about the fixation and the concepts you want addressed. Let there be smells, visions, sound, and touch. If one sense does not make the connection then maybe one of the the other senses will pick it up.

The fixation is not just misplaced attention to one subject. It is something that the child can grasp and of course they are going to like it when they are actually communicating knowledge they are going to be successful at.

Their brain has finally found a place of function and normalcy. To stifle their creative and learning experience by taking away their fixation may be a huge mistake. If the fixation is healthy and no a danger to the child, then embrace it and expand on it. The fixation and the concepts you teach in the alignment of that fixation can make your child’s life easier and happier.

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Cause of Autism Might Be Found in Autistic Mice

About ninety out of every ten thousand person born in the Western World will have a diagnosis of autism before they are three years old. Boys will have a significantly higher chance of contracting these horrible disorders than will girls.

The causes of autism have not been determined as of yet, but researchers at the University of Texas, USA, are closer to determining the causes than most . They have found the traits of autism such as poor social interaction and high sensitivity in mice.

The researchers believe if they can find the cause of the behaviours exhibited in the mice, they will be one step closer to finding the cause of human autism. What the researchers can do with mice, they cannot do with human subjects.

They intend to examine the brain of this autistic mice and specifically the area of the brain that deals with learning and memory. Though autism affects the ability to communicate and interact with people around you, the researchers feel that the chemical reactions in the brains of the mice will be similar to those who experience autism.

Proper communication is a learned behaviour and your brain area that has the job of producing memory and learning is supposed to allow you to accept this information. Without the proper neurons or the interaction of chemicals in your brain, the communication process will be lost.

The researchers are focusing of the Pten gene because this gene has the history of being associated with other brain disorders. The similarity of autistic traits within the mice could be associated with the similarity of autism and brain disorders found among humans. The mice studied showed that they were not as curious as other mice in the pen. When a new animal was introduced, the autistic mice showed little interest.

The same goes with an autistic child. When a new person enters the home or the classroom, the autistic child will be uninterested while the non-autistic children will show great interest and even try to communicate with the new comer.

The affected mice would not build nests nor would they look after their babies. They would show disinterest in any of the normal goings on of normal mice. They seemed disinterested in anything except their primal needs of food, water, and defecation. When exposed to stimuli such as a loud noise or sudden movement like being picked up, the autistic mice would act like an autistic child by overreacting to the stimuli.

The mice would scream and refrain from physical stimuli just as most autistic children run from or cover their ears when over stimulated. The only behaviours that were not in correlation between the mice and human autistics were the repetitive behaviours or the obsessive motions that most human autistic children exhibit.

The only other similarities were that the mice had a larger head and larger brain volume, which is also a typical symptom of human autism. Researchers believe that if they can find the gene responsible for the autistic like behaviours in the mice the quest to find the cause and cure of autism may be one step closer.

This research, if nothing else, proves that there is hope for a autistic sufferers and if not for them, then for the thousands of autistic children that are yet to be born.

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