Autism

What Is Autism?

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life due to a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. It is four more times prevalent in boys than girls. Autism shows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries, and cuts across family income, lifestyle and educational levels. Autism and its associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many as 1 in 68 newborns.

Parents usually see the symptoms in the children between the ages of two and six. Some of the symptoms that are most often found to be associated with autism are: not being scared of danger, either being too sensitive or not sensitive at all to pain, avoiding eye contact, has difficulty expressing what they want or need, routine has to always be the same, and may show an overall difficulty interacting with others.

Autism affects the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities. This disorder makes it hard for them to relate to the outside world. It is hard for them to communicate with others. Aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present in some cases. They may exhibit repeated body movement, such as hand flapping or rocking, unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes in routines. They possibly will experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.

Some children with autism do not speak at all, but most do develop speech although speech is usually delayed, limited or inappropriate. Some may repeat words or mimic sentences or phrases they have observed from someone else. As yet there is no cure for autism, but there is a great amount of different medications that are prescribed to reduce the symptoms and better manage the patient.

Awareness of Autism

Discussions About Autism Are Increasing Lately. Why The Sudden Interest In Autism?

Autism is one of the fastest growing disorders with a great amount of studies being put behind it. With its vast amount of different signs and symptoms, different forms, how its treated, and arguments about how exactly the disorder came to be, Autism can very well be one of the most confusing, and researched disorders, that stirs up a lot of questions but yet gets hardly any answers.

According to Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in United States,the incidence of autism are at 1 in 68 children. That would mean that approximate 9,000 children in Malaysia are born with autism every year. In a few short years the kids will be looking for autism intervention programs and that is likely to increase every year by the same number. This will be a challenge for education services authorities to meet the needs of this growing group of Malaysians with autism. All the NGOs combined today do not handle more than 1500 children. Hence we need to at least double and triple our resources in the country to develop facilities and programmes to cater for this anticipated increase in demand for services.

Are There Any Studies On The Subject That Help Us Understand Better?

There has been a number of studies on the behavior and development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), mostly about how autism effects communication, socialization, cognitive development, and a number of other areas in children.

The majority of this research also focuses on verbal use, repetitive movements, the assessment, and behavioral responses in children with ASD. Each study focused on a different aspect of the development of children with ASD, but they all reached the same conclusions in the results. Children with ASD develop differently in many areas than typical children.

Has Public Awareness of Autism Increased and How has It Helped?

Public awareness of autism has increased, and more and more children are being identified as having ASD at an earlier age. Increased awareness has helped autistic children have access to equal education similar to a normal child. Awareness also means early diagnosis, treatments and positive behavioral support which is crucial for children on the Autism Spectrum. Increased awareness translates into increased acceptance. In the process we hope that Malaysians will realize that not all people are born the same and that some people are more challenged and have special requirements. We have to ensure that such people get all the help they need in order to succeed.

What Will Happen To People With Autism Eventually?

The long-term question for all parents of people with autism is who would look after their children when they are gone? To address this issue NASOM has embarked on a programme to help young adults with autism live independently, away from home. We have set up group homes, where these young adults live together with a supervisor. It is an important programme because it helps the adults with autism get on the path of living independently. Besides this it is also necessary to teach them skills which will allow them to be gainfully employed or self employed so that they will have a degree of financial independence as well.

How They Can Be Helped

Although there is no known cure, children with autism have emerged from their autistic disabilities to function like a near-normal child. This is achieved through early intervention and rehabilitation programme, which till today, offers the best hope for children with autism. Intensive Early Intervention in optimal educational settings results in improved outcomes in most young children with autism, including speech in 75% or more and significant improvements in rates of developmental progress and intellectual performance (Dawson and Osterling 1997; Rogers 1996, 1998)

There are instances of children with autism in the west being able to achieve Ph. Ds and Masters, such as Dr. Temple Grandin, an American woman with autism who graduated with a Ph. D and is now an Associate Professor. Jean-Paul the son of Dr. Julie Donnelly, the author of ‘Emergence from Autism – Is there Hope?’ managed to obtain two Master degrees and now has a steady job. Donna Williams, an Australian woman who had been diagnosed as severely autistic is now a lecturer.

Given the appropriate early intervention programme and education, children with autism have the chance to improve themselves and contribute to society.

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What Do You See Are The Future Challenges For NASOM?

The challenge for us as an NGO run by volunteers is to continue addressing and meeting the needs of a growing number of autistic individuals. In recent years, NASOM has seen a 30% increase in the number of those seeking its services across all age groups. Meeting the service needs of all groups from all backgrounds and all walks of life requires resources. We would like to do more especially in the remote and under-served districts in the country but as an NGO, dependant on public charity, our resources are limited.

Another major challenge is to raise funds to pay for our activities and operations that serve people with autism. We need to keep the centres open and running. And we need to open new centres. We try not to raise our fees as we want to make it affordable and be accessible to all.

INCREASE SERVICES

How Public Can Get Involved If They Want To Contribute?

With the right support at the right time, people with autism can live rewarding and fulfilling lives.They can achieve great things, but only if they are supported by people who believe in their potential .We need all kinds of resources from land, buildings, equipment, money and volunteers. Members of the public are welcome to assist us and associate with our people, understand their difficulties and give them the same opportunity as other people.

Get Involved