Autistic Pride Day: There is Nothing to Be Reluctant of Autism

The world celebrates Autistic Pride Day on 18^th June 2019, dedicated to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Various organization across the globe, working for autistic people, work on awareness campaigns and organize health camps on this day.

The pioneers for this day are Aspies for Freedom (AFF), an association that works for raising awareness regarding the rights of autistic people. Autistic pride realizes the significance of pride for people with autism and the role it can play in bringing positive changes in the society at large.

What is Autism?

It is a complicated neurobehavioral state which adversely affects social interaction, communication and growth skills along with repetitive and austere actions/behaviors.

Things You Should Know About Autism:

• ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is diagnosed usually during the initial 3 years of an individual’s life.
• It affects the functionality of the brain and thus the affected individuals face developmental issues.
• Autistic people find it hard to make changes to their routine and are often stuck on a set pattern of behavior and routine.
• For autistics people it is difficult to make sense of day-to-day activities. They are very anxious of crowd, events and places.
• The disorder was seen as subtypes during the initial time. The disorder included childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Asperger’s syndrome, autistic disorder.
• Starting May 2013, all these autism disorders were clubbed into ASD, by DSM-5 diagnostic manual.

Reality Check on Autism:

• 4 times more cases of autism have been registered for boys than girls.
• Death rates among autistic people is twice more than normal people.
• 1 in 68 children is affected by autism.
• 40% of the autistic children have no speech.
• Autistic is more like a personalized condition, i.e., no two individuals can have same kind of autism. The symptoms and degree/severity vary from individual to individual.
• The past 20 years have seen a significant growth in autism cases.
• There are various conditions related to autism. These include allergies, epilepsy, sleeping disorders, digestive disorders, fragile X, sensory integration dysfunction, anxiety disorder, immune disorders, OCD, bipolar disorder, frequent viral infections, bowel issues, asthma and feeding disorders.
• Autism is among the rapidly growing developmental disorders.

People with autism need your support, love and care. They should not be treated as an outcast and one should understand the issues they have to deal with. As much as it is difficult for individuals with autism to deal with the situation, that much is for the parents of such individuals.

Since symptoms of autism are visible from the initial 2-3 years, the parents of such individuals should be extra careful. Other than medical care and treatments, there are various things that you can incorporate in your daily lives so that you can care for you child in a better way. Here are a few things you can do to make living more comfortable for your child who is suffering from autism/ASD and care for autistic children:

• Look at the greener side: Staying positive solves half the problems. Children with ASD will most likely respond in a better way when given a positive environment. Applaud them when they are doing good and it will make you both feel good. Be very particular as it will help them to know what specific trait or action of theirs is liked by you. Find ways you can accolade them. Love them as they are. Understand their situation. Showering them with your love and support is the key.
• Persistency and scheduling: Autistic children are very particular about their routine. Make sure to give them proper time so that they can revise what they have learnt from therapies. This will ease the process of making them learn new skills, abilities and behaviors and implementing them in distinct real-life situations. Stay in touch with their trainers and therapists, so that you can keep a track of what are they learning via therapy and you can make them practice the same things at home.
• Let them play: Don’t over-burden them with lessons, trainings or therapies. Introduce them to fun activities and let them play and enjoy. This will help such children to open-up more and thus their interactive skills will be improved.
• Have patience: Dealing with autistic children is not easy and making them learn even the littlest things might take a lot of time. Patience is the crux here. Give your kid time and be patient. They will eventually start learning and meanwhile you can try different techniques of learning and training and figure out what suits them the most. Don't be disheartened if they are not responding well to a specific technique.
• Involve them in day-to-day activities: Often when the behavior of autistic children is erratic, parents are of the opinion to keep them away from various situations and not exposing them much to the outside world. Instead, keep them with you while you’re going for some routine activities like grocery shopping or sightseeing. Exposing them to the outer world will help them in getting used to it.
• Look for assistance: Getting help and guidance from other similar families, friends and experts can be of good use. Reach out to support groups, whether offline or online, for advice and learn how to deal with autistic children in a better way. Think of the ways you can make your and your child’s life easy and reach out for support. Hire a caregiver if your child has some ardent needs due to ASD. This will help you get some rest and keep your health good while someone is taking care of your child.

There is nothing to be ashamed of if your child or anyone else in your family and near and dear one is suffering from autism. One should try to support people with these conditions and treat them as a part of the society. Our acceptance can make a big difference for people with autism/ASD.

It is time when we change our outlook and behave as humans. Extend your hand in support to the associations working for the betterment and autistic rights. Autistic Pride Day delivers the message that people who are suffering from autism are not diseased but are just somewhat different from the rest. This difference should be respected. This day says that people with autism are not ill, but they just possess different set of traits. The ideal treatment plan for such individuals is behavioral, educational and speech therapy.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions supports people with autism/ASD and believes in giving them respect, love, support, care and equal rights as others. Turacoz is of the opinion that autistic people are a beautiful part of our society, just as we others are. The only need is to understand them and extend our support so that they can live comfortably and be happy.

Turacoz is a medical communication firm offering services in scientific communication, medico-marketing, advisory board meetings, etc. To know more about us and the services we offer, write to us at hello@turacoz.in