The changes in this, autistic child, how he went from, keeping everything to himself, learning, and starting to, interact with his own, external environment better as the day passes, translated…
The Same Kind of Behaviors, on a Kinesthetically Sensitive Child, This “Gentle Tap” May Feel Like a Heavy Blow on the Shoulders………
Their Sensitivity, Comes from Their Abnormal Sense of Experience
I’d offered my services at the First Child Development Center, the children who are placed in my class, can all walk on their own. But, it doesn’t mean, that they can, walk very far or steady, some of the children, they’d, “trekked with great difficulties”, and, if an adult pushed them with a finger, they’d, fallen down, easily. When in a class of ten, you have, two, three children like this, the teachers needed, to pay close attention to them, so the other children won’t bump into them in play time. If they fell down lightly, they get back up; what’s most worrisome, is if the kids bumped into something hard, gotten injured, and, it’d, freaked the caretakers, out.
The majority of students in my class are autistic, they’re, sensitive, and very, stubborn, and so, I’d needed to, be extremely careful, as “changes happen”—for this group of children, this is, something, HUGE, and, if the caretakers don’t handle it well, then, there would be, the wailing, the temper tantrums that happens right afterwards. How to communicate with the children, help them steady their, emotions, it’d been, what I’d, been working on.
Yu had come to my class at the age of three, at first, he couldn’t, do anything, didn’t even know his own name, he was, also, a very picky eater; and on top of that, Yu couldn’t, speak, and if things don’t go according to his wishes, he’d started, throwing a full-blown tantrum, to show his displease. His parents are, too stressed, caring for him, their marriage was, on the rocks, and, everybody can see, that his mother, no longer, how to, handle him anymore, she’d had, that look of despair, that sense of, helpless from her eyes.
children with autism, learning, to socialize with other children in the classes…photo found online
The autistic children normally had the problems of experiencing the world differently, for instance, as you’d, tapped someone on the shoulders, the individual may think that you have something to tell her/him; but, when the same thing happens to an overly sensitive child, this “gentle tap”, may feel like huge FIST, onto the child’s shoulders, and so, they would, react, more overtly, compared to ordinary people. All of us, had adapted ourselves, to all the other senses of sights, olfactory, touch, and everything that the prefrontal cortexes allows us to experience, but, for the children with autism, these seven senses are, underdeveloped, and so, they’d become, ultra sensitive.
The early intervention programs will, help them using multiple methods to desensitize themselves, so the kids can, adapt themselves better, to the external stimuli. Like how Yu didn’t know that someone was, calling out to him, because there’s, the incomplete development in his, prefrontal cortex, that he’d, not “felt” anyone’s calling out to him. And after, we’d, trained him to adapt, he’d known what his own name was, and can respond, correctly, when he heard his name being, called aloud.
The Child’s Conditions Reflect What’s Happening at Home
In taking care of Yu, other than him being able to, know his own name, he’d also, stopped, being, a picky eater, and started, following the rules in the classrooms too. He still, couldn’t speak, and became, almost invisible in class, but I’d, slowly, seen how he was, different, from the rest, every time he’d noted I was, telling and hearing a joke with the assistant teacher, he could, always, understand the punchline when it’d, happened. Or maybe, he just, has difficulties, expressing what he’d, understand? And so, I’d, taught him, to “type out how he feels”.
In a very short time, Yu had, learned this means of, communications, and this made it easier, to connect with him, and we’d, discovered, sometimes, that he’d, known more than we did.
And yet, at the final year of his early intervention program, Yu became a totally different student, he’d, become the exact opposite of his, formerly, well-behaved, self. Based off of understanding and past experiences, the children’s change are, a reflections of what’s happening at home, so we’d, found his mother to talk with her.
Turns out, her and her husband, are at the point of breaking up, and this had, directly, affected Yu, causing his, emotional, outbursts. And yet, we can’t, effectively, intervene, into Yu’s family situations, but we can, become, an emotional outlet for his mother, to support her, so she can, gain the strengths she needed, to teach her own son.
After that difficult time, Yu is now, in the elementary years, his mother became, stronger by the day, and learned more effectively, to handle her own son’s emotions, and can, be effective as a middleman, helping his father connect with him better, their relationship improved. Last time Yu’s mother reached out to me, she’d told me, that his IQ score was in the 130s; and, although we all agreed that he is, intelligent, but we’d, never imagined him to be, THIS intelligent! Currently in the third grade, Yu started going to the normal classroom sessions a few times a week, and we’d hoped, that he could, successfully, transfer back to the regular classes for good.
Recalling how Yu had, rolled around on the floors, throwing his, temper tantrums, the mom that hoped he never, grows up, looking at that young man, in his elementary school uniform, whom everybody thought was, very handsome, seeing how certain his mother’s look, even though, they both have a long road ahead, we’re, very sure, that they’ll be able to, offer one another the supports they’re needing, and keep going forward in their lives together.
And, this just showed, that with some extra “training”, a child with autism, can adapt her/himself well to the regular school settings, and, it’s sometimes, not that easy, working with these children, because as the primary caretakers, hadn’t, figured out the children’s tendencies, what makes them tick, etc., etc., etc., but once the adults figured out a way, to interact with these children with their, special needs, then, the kids will, thrive, the key here, is in the adults’ attitudes.
Life, the Obstacle Course 