The Autistic Child

What is Autism?
Autism is one of the mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders that appears in early childhood. Autistic children may have a serious lifelong disability. However, with appropriate treatment and training, some autistic children can develop certain aspects of independence in their lives.
Parents should support their autistic children in developing those skills that use their strengths
so they will feel good about themselves.

What Are the Signs Of Autism?

When an infant or toddler:
* does not cuddle or respond to affection and touching.
* does not make eye contact.
* appears to be unable to communicate.
* displays persistent failure to develop two-way social relationships in any situation.
* does not show a preference for parents over other adults.
does not develop friendships with other children.
* has poor language skills; or nonexistent ones.
* shows unusual, extreme responses to objects - either avoidance or preoccupation.
* finds moving objects, such as a fan, hold great fascination.
* may form an unusual attachment to odd objects such as a paper or rubberband.
* displays repetitive activities of a restrictive range.
* spins and repeats body movements, such as arm flapping.
* may repeat television commercials.
* may indulge in complex bedtime rituals.
The symptoms of autism range from mild to severe. Although symptoms of the disorder sometimes can be seen in early infancy, the condition may appear after months of normal development. About 7 in every 10 children and adolescents with autism also have mental retardation or other problems with their brain function or structure.
* Beyond the Silence: my life, the world and autism (released in the US as The Mind Tree:
An Extraordinary Child Breaks the Silence of Autism)
The Mind Tree
"Poem 7"

Maybe it is night
Maybe it is day
I can't be sure
Because I'm not yet feeling the heat of the sun
I am the mind tree

When I had been gifted this mind of mine
I recall his voice very clearly
To you I have given this mind
And you shall be the only kind
No one ever will like you be
And I name you the mind tree

I can't see or talk
Yet I can imagine
I can hope and I can expect
I am able to feel pain but I cannot cry
So I just be and wait for the pain to subside

I can do nothing but wait
My concerns and worries
Are trapped within me somewhere in my depths
Maybe in my roots
Maybe in my bark

When he comes next who gifted me my mind
I shall ask him for the gift of sight
I doubt his return and
Yet hope for it
Maybe he will
Maybe he will not