What is autism?
If you think your child has autism, or you have a new diagnosis for your child, know you aren’t alone. There are supports available for your child, and for your family.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder. Autism affects approximately 1 in 100 people, and is more prevalent in males than females. Evidence shows early intervention makes a difference to a child’s development, helping them to develop important skills and encourage independence, the ability to communicate and opportunities for inclusion. We don’t want to ‘fix’ autism; we want to help children overcome the disabling aspects of autism to live their best lives.
Autism is part of a spectrum that is often referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Autism affects everyone differently; while some people are able to live relatively typical lives, others may require ongoing specialist support and care.
However, people with autism experience challenges in two main areas:
Social interaction and social communication, including decoding body language and verbal communication, reciprocal conversation, emotional and social reciprocity, and managing structured parts of the day.
Restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviours or interests, including rituals and routines, and experiencing hyper- or hypo-sensitivity to sensory input
If you’re concerned your child isn’t developing typically, it’s important to investigate this with a trusted medical or health professional. If your child does have autism, working towards a diagnosis early will ensure your child and family can access appropriate supports, giving your child the best chance to develop essential life skills and live their best lives.
What’s the problem?
Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASD can be diagnosed by any trained health professionals who observes an individual for specific behaviours relating to social communication and restricted / repetitive behaviours and interests.
Most commonly, children are assessed by a paediatrician on referral from a general practitioner (GP). Children can be assessed and diagnosed from a very early age—sometimes even under the age of two. Generally, expected developmental milestones will guide when parents choose to consult with a GP.
No doubt you’ll have many questions, and it can be a daunting task to research the various interventions that are available and decide on the right approach for your family. Call our friendly team on 587 772 1600 if you’d like advice on what your next steps should be if you suspect a diagnosis of autism, to access a plan and funding for your child, or if you would simply like more information about Connecting Dots Foundation.
Characteristics of autism
Communication
People with autism have difficulties with both verbal and non-verbal language
People with autism may experience challenges in interpreting:
Some people with autism may have limited speech or be completely non-verbal. Alternative communication techniques, such as sign language or visual symbols, may be a preferred option.
Others will have verbal communication skills, but may need some time to process what has been communicated. At times, they may repeat what the person has just said; this is known as ‘echolalia’. A person with autism may also talk at length about their interests and may not recognize the turn taking nature of conversations or when the other person becomes disinterested.
A person with autism may:
Social Interaction
People with autism generally find socialization confronting. They are often unable to identify, express or understand emotions, which can make interaction and ‘fitting in’ difficult.
A person with autism may experience the following social behaviours:
Social Imagination
Social imagination allows us to understand and predict the behaviour of other people. It also helps us to make sense of abstract ideas and to imagine situations outside our immediate daily routine. People with autism tend to follow routines rigidly and favour predictability.
Those who experience challenges with social imagination may find it difficult to:
Difficulties with social imagination should not be mistaken for a lack of imagination. Many people with autism are very creative and go on to become accomplished artists, musicians or writers.
Sensory Processing
People with autism may struggle to process information that comes to them through their senses. Even though the sensory organs themselves are working correctly, the information is not processed in the typical manner in the brain.
A sensory information processing challenge may look like:
At Connecting Dots Foundation, we support children in our centers by using strategies and practices that are shown to be effective through research. As a result, we assist children and their sensory needs as part of our program.
What causes autism?
There is no single known cause for autism. Genetics are thought to play a role, but autism may also occur spontaneously, or due to other causes; all this is yet to be determined.
What we do know:
While autism is a lifelong condition, with early intervention, many children can develop the ability to communicate, learn self-help and academic skills, and improve fine and gross motor skills which enables them to find a place within the community.
At Connecting Dots Foundation, we don’t want to ‘fix’ autism. But after just one year at CDF, over 95% of children saw improvements in their early learning skills, 98.5% improved their overall communication, and 96.9% of children improved their fine motor skills. Studies have shown children who complete the CDF program experience a reduction in autism symptoms. Each child develops new skills and CDF supports every individual with a plan that is based on their unique strengths and needs.
What next?
If you think your child has autism, or if you suspect they may not be developing typically, it’s important to speak to a trusted medical professional. A paediatrician or clinical psychologist can assess and diagnose your child, upon a referral from your general practitioner.
Early intervention is essential and will give your child the best opportunity to develop the skills they need to live their best life. Once you have a diagnosis, you should choose a service provider which can offer your family the support you need. This is an important and personal choice that should consider the individual needs of your child.
THERAPY & CARE
CDF is passionate about helping children with autism live their best lives: yes, your focus is our focus. Across early intervention therapies and specialized childcare, everything the team around each child does is focused on supporting their needs and building on their strengths and skills, and supporting their family too.
CDF provides children with a minimum of 15-25 hours of autism-specific therapy and education, but each child often receives up to 30 hours per week of this, including developmentally appropriate and skills-building play.
What does a day at CDF look like?
In a naturalistic early childhood setting much like day-care, we specialize in helping children develop essential life skills to foster inclusion and prepare them for their next phase of learning, including functional communication and behaviour, play and social skills, and self-care and independent skills (such as toileting, mealtime and transition support).
Each day at CDF features early intervention therapies alongside specialized childcare, following the same Early Years Learning Framework as other mainstream childcare centres. Children with autism learn differently to their typically developing peers, so we focus on helping children access pre-academic learning.
Everything we do also has a strong family focus. Each child’s journey is mapped by an individual learning plan and parents receive support to build their own capacity to scaffold their child’s learning, which guides the child’s and family’s goals and supports everyone to best achieve development outcomes.
The team around your child
Our high-quality early intervention therapies and specialized childcare is delivered by a transdisciplinary team of autism specialists, including:
The team around the child all works together to support each child’s individual learning, their early intervention therapies, specialized care and any additional tailored supports.
Our transdisciplinary approach
The team around your child is made up of staff qualified by a range of therapy and education experience. They all share the responsibility of planning, implementing and evaluating your child’s individual learning plan. They work with you as the family to understand each child’s needs and goals, and they understand how to apply the evidence-based strategies of our curriculum in each child’s learning journey.
So, you might connect with our early childhood educators who understand how to support behaviour goals in the classroom, or a behaviour analyst who is supporting a child’s speech goal. No matter which member of the team around the child is supporting their goals, they are always supervised and monitored by an appropriate clinician.
Helping children with autism live their best lives
Each CDF team member takes great pride in their work and are equally proud of the children they support. The team at CDF work with children and their families to achieve milestones and individual goals which can take weeks, months and years to realize. When they do, it’s a celebration!
Learning outcomes from CDF’s early intervention program
After one year at CDF, our team has seen early intervention for children with autism leading to improved outcomes, with: