Amenities Schools for Autistic Children Should Provide

Autism spectrum disorder includes a wide range of neuro-developmental disorders. Kids who have been diagnosed with Autism display two types of symptoms – drawbacks in social communication and interactions; restricted/repetitive patterns of behavior or activities. Schools that cater to autistic children need to pay meticulous attention to each child.

Needless to say that it’s imperative for each tutor and caregiver to must have a commendable amount of experience with autistic children. Because kids with autism suffer from more than one disorder out of the following:

• Social defects
• Sensory issues
• Communication difficulties
• Repetitive behavior
• And cognitive delays (in some cases)

Autistic children’s schools must provide some basic assistance and facilities to each child. Few of which are listed below:

Types of Therapies

• Music Therapy – music can be utilized as an amazing tool for therapy in schools for autistic children. It has a unique aspect of providing a deep stimulating effect on both (left and right) sides of the brain. A music therapist can effectively make use of songs and/or instruments to support and develop (or improve) the cognitive ability of the child. It can help in building self-awareness of the child and improve his/her relationship with others. Therefore, an autistic children’s school must have a professionally trained music therapist.
• DIR Floortime Therapy – one aspect of the Developmental Individual Difference Relationship-based model is ‘floortime therapy’. This assists the child in developing (or improving) the ability to communicate, relate, and think. Dr. Stanley Greenspan the founder of DIR-Floortime therapy suggests that the responsibility of schools should be to assist children to relate to others (caregivers, family, classmates, etc.) in a meaningful way, and become abstract and creative thinkers. DIR-Floortime therapy aims to achieve all these objectives.

Clinical Services

Clinical services largely include all therapies that a school provides to children with ASD. Apart from that, the school must realize that children need other support such as psychologists that hold one on one as well as group counseling on regular basis.

Additionally, the school must keep parents in the loop (and vice-versa) about the developments and improvements in the child’s abilities. Consultation and transitional planning should also be carried out by the combined opinion and agreement of the caregivers as well as the parents.

Importance of April as Autism Awareness Month

April is the month dedicated to Autism Awareness. 2^nd April is an internationally recognized day for members of the United Nations to take effective measures to create awareness about the people diagnosed with Autism.

The month of April has schools, non-profit organizations, governments and the public raising awareness, educating people, informing them about the manifestations of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its effects, as well as about the potential of those who are on the spectrum.

About Autism

It is a condition wherein the diagnosed child or person faces challenges in communicating effectively, shows repetitive behavior and has underdeveloped social skills. The symptoms of Autism can range from mild to severe from person to person as this neurological condition can manifest itself in a multitude of forms.

The indicative symptoms of Autism usually become identifiable around the age of 2 and 3 years, but there can be cases where the symptoms are identifiable even earlier.

According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in every 68 children across the United States of America is found to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is a significant increase of 30 percent from the same value estimated in the year 2012.

When talking about Autism Awareness, the Autism Awareness Ribbon ought to be mentioned.

It was adopted in 1999 and is characterized by brightly colored puzzle pieces of different shapes and sizes. The puzzle pieces stand for the complexity of the disorder and the bright colors and unique shapes of these pieces serve as beacons of hope and remind us all of the diversity within the ASD community.

Educators in the special education schools of New York now have the opportunity to instruct and assist students diagnosed with ASD in the general educational settings. This has been made possible due to the increase in timely diagnoses along with the increase in the placement of students in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

In the present time, we can say that autism schools create environments that are accommodative towards the needs of the students, however minor they may be and the diversity among the students is celebrated.