What to Do When Your Child is Diagnosed With Autism

Read Read as much information as possible so that you will be prepared for what is to come. This will help you and your spouse prepare to handle the special situations and adjust to them. Treatments in books or on line may or may not work for your child, so keep reading to find what will work for your child's situation. Check your local library to find books on autism and you can find others on-line. The local bookstores such as Borders or Barnes & Noble are great places to start.

Research Research through the Internet, magazines, trade journals and other sources for updated information on autism and how to handle the effects on your child as well as yourself. There are videos and audios available to help your education process. The National Autism Society has journals that you can purchase that will help to keep you updated on new developments in autism. These can be found online and some at books stores.

Join a local support group A local support group can be a wealth of interaction with other parents who are already handling the same situation that you will be going through. Building a relationship with them can give you an outlet to events, functions and outings for your child to attend. Sometimes it is nice to just have a shoulder to lean on in your local area.

Check the Autism Society of America website for the chapter in your area. You can join their email system for free or join as a member for about $40.00. Check your local chapter for the benefits that you receive for joining.

Join a forum Forums can bring another view on your situation and can also help build relationships with other parents who have autistic children. An autism forum is a great place where you can pop in to read info, leave a message or join in a chat. As your child grows up and faces different situations, a forum is a great place to ask questions or discuss the situation. There are all types of people on forums including parents, doctors, practitioners, researchers and people with autism.

Vitamin and Supplementation Autistic children are sometimes picky eaters. Because of this, they may have digestive issues and may not consume enough of the essential minerals and vitamins. Look into providing them with a multi-vitamin and digestive enzymes designed for spectrum disorders. This will insure their comfort and help to keep them healthy. Lacking essential minerals and vitamins will not help their situation or temperament.

Stay calm Patience will be a learned skill that will work in your behalf. One of the most frustrating situations for parents is the ability to have patience with their autistic child. It takes time and patience to be able to learn how to handle each situation.

Staying clam and evaluating the situation before reacting will help the child do the same. Autistic children can be agitated at the smallest change in routine. Over-reacting to routines or situations will only enhance their agitation.

Not knowing what to do or where to get the correct information is very frustrating. Autistic children have special needs for their diet and general well being. You can find out more at Autism Free Information and Reports.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_C_Edwards

Read More.. Read more...

Massage Therapy For Autistic Children

Autism is a brain disorder, usually diagnosed by age 2, in which the child fails to develop language and normal social interaction skills. Withdrawal from social contact and aberrant behavior are common. Parents have been trying numerous treatments, conventional and alternative,the in an attempt to restore what some believe may be permanent damage to brain while others believe that autism is reversible.

The relationship between a parent and their autistic child that has barriers in language and touch is one of the most heartbreaking issues of this condition. An autistic child typically is not able to express feelings of love, whether through words, facial expressions or hugs. Some have even said that children with autism are unable to form a bond or attachment. However, research has concluded that these children do attach to their parents, but some still are unable to act on this bond and do not respond appropriately. Many autistic children have sensory and tactile system issues making them unenthusiastic to certain sights, sounds, smells or touch.

The majority of autistic children are opposed to physical contact, so it is interesting that many massage therapists and parents are finding great success in the use of massage therapy with autistic children. The bonding factor alone would be a major accomplishment. Add massage therapy to the list of beneficial treatments that for some, has a very swift and positive response. There are children that love to get a massage; however, not all of them feel the same way.

Parents should learn some basic techniques and a few different methods of approach to massage before they begin. Always try to start with the child looking at your mouth as you say "massage." This, in time, will also give you an indication of whether or not they look forward to their massage sessions. The helpless feeling many parents often feel will be replaced with active massage treatment between parents and children.

Research has found that these children show less autistic behavior, are more social and attentive after receiving massage therapy. Regular sensory integration and safe, nurturing touch are beneficial in reducing touch aversion, inattentiveness and withdrawal. Clinical trials have also shown massage therapy as a viable complementary treatment positively impacting some of the characteristic behaviors of autism. One important study has emerged in this area within the past few years from the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in Miami, Fla. Escalona, A., Field, T., Singer-Strunk, R., Cullen, C., & Hartshorn, K. (2001). Brief report: Improvements in the behavior of children with autism following massage therapy. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 513-516.

Twenty children with autism, ages 3 to 6 years, were randomly assigned to massage therapy and reading attention control groups. Parents in the massage therapy group were trained by a massage therapist to massage their children for 15 minutes prior to bedtime every night for 1 month and the parents of the attention control group read Dr. Seuss stories to their children on the same time schedule.

Conners Teacher and Parent scales, classroom and playground observations, and sleep diaries were used to assess the effects of therapy on various behaviors, including hyperactivity, stereotypical and off-task behavior, and sleep problems. Results suggested that the children in the massage group exhibited less stereotypic behavior and showed more on-task and social relatedness behavior during play observations at school, and they experienced fewer sleep problems at home.

Through the use of massage therapy, our basic human need for safe, nurturing contact is met with often wonderful results. For children with autism, it provides not only a positive experience of being touched, but the effects hold lifelong benefits. You can find more in-depth information at Autism-Free Information and Reports

Not knowing what treatments or therapies to use can be very frustrating. There are many therapies and no two children are alike. You can find our more at Autism-Free Information and Reports

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tamara_Spencer

Read More.. Read more...

Preparing Our Son With Autism to Ride the Bus

Having a child with autism in a family brings about many situations that leave family members very puzzled. Our family experienced a puzzling situation with our autistic first grader beginning a few weeks before winter break from school. Our son Collin begin to have "melt downs" in the classroom at the end of the school day. This involved crying, falling on the floor, some spitting and hitting.These behaviors are unusual for Collin than usual and we were having a difficult time pinpointing an antecedent to the behavior. What was happening right before these meltdowns to make this behavior occur? After talking with our Collin's teachers, therapists, and aid, we decided he could be having some separation anxiety as he was getting upset when his friends were packing to leave each day. Collin's teacher suggested a new method of transportation home. He was picked up daily in carpool by his mother or me. We decided that leaving at the same time as most of the other children may relieve some of the stress he was feeling at the end of the school day. So, we decided to let him ride the bus..... the typical bus with all typical children.

Collin's teacher did and excellent job at helping everyone prepare for this bus ride. My wife and I, our son's ABA therapist, the bus driver, our son's aid and selected peer helpers all came together to help Collin be successful. First, Collin was taken to the area where the buses were waiting for the children each afternoon for a few days. He got to step up on the bus and have a seat. He met his bus Driver Mr. Albert. He even got to sit on the bus while it pulled through he parking lot one day. He was becoming very excited about riding the bus. Collin's teacher made social story about rules on the bus and we got a copy for home. We used the book as reading material at bedtime and it was used in a couple of his ABA sessions the week prior to riding the bus. Collin was also assigned three peer helpers form the fourth grade to help him with bus safety. these three children were excited to help Collin and took turns one afternoon reading him the social story book as well. So, Collin began riding the bus home and the end of the day "melt downs" have ceased and he is enjoying the experience very much. The small steps taken to help him prepare made all the difference and we have not only changed an inappropriate behavior, but have given Collin more time with typical peers which is something he really enjoys.

Garrett Butch is the father of a 6 year old with autism and the founder of Maximum Potential Group.

Maximum Potential has developed courses that train parents and school systems how to work with children with autism.

http://www.maximumpotentialkids.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Garrett_Butch

Read More.. Read more...

Out With the Old and in With the New - E-Prescribing

Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) is the use of a data entry system to create a prescription, rather than faxing it or writing it on paper. Automation of the prescribing process has several potential benefits to different sections of the health care industry, especially patients, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) began on January 1, 2009 to encourage the adoption and utilization of e-prescribing systems. E-prescribing can save time, enhance office and pharmacy productivity, and improve patient safety and quality of care.

Electronic prescribing is about more than just generating a prescription on a computer and printing it out or faxing it to a pharmacy. E-Prescribing must also provide functionality and workflow flexibility to work not only for physicians but also for the staff involved in the prescribing process. High prescribers, larger practices, and enterprise systems require software that is adaptable to their practice workflow and that draws the practice staff into the prescribing process.

According to the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, some of the advantages of e-prescribing include:

- Improving patient safety and quality of care
- Reducing illegibility
- Reducing oral miscommunications
- Providing warnings and alert systems
- Providing access to patient's medication history
- Reducing time spent on pharmacy phone calls and faxing
- Automation of renewals and authorization
- Improving formulary adherence
- Improving drug surveillance

Getting started with e-prescribing:

1) Decide whether you wish to choose stand-alone e-prescription software or a full EMR system which includes e-prescribing functionality.

2) Choose an e-prescribing software vendor that utilizes true Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The e-prescribing vendor will need to be connected to SureScripts-RxHub the universal electronic prescribing network.

3) Install a high speed internet connection.

4) Purchase hardware such as desktop PC's, laptops, pocket PC's, tablet PC's, PDA's utilizing a wired or wireless network.

This article is brought to you by DrFirst, provider of Rcopia, a full featured stand alone electronic prescribing management system. DrFirst is committed to improving healthcare and patient safety by delivering technologies that enable medical professionals and their staff to quickly and easily access critical medical information at the point of care. For more information about e-prescribing, visit http://www.drfirst.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Semie_Lee

Read More.. Read more...

More Retailers Offering Free Antibiotics - But Watch Your Total Costs

We reported previously on Meijer and Publix offering free antibiotics to their pharmacy customers. Now Giant Food and its sister chain, Stop & Shop, are following suit.

This is a welcome development, but keep in mind that these businesses are not charities - they are offering the antibiotics as loss-leaders in the hope that their pharmacy patrons will do their grocery and/or other shopping at their stores also.

The Giant Food/Stop & Shop program also has a time limit - it runs till March 21, after which the retailer says it will begin charging for antibiotics again.

Although Giant is positioning its move as a way to temporarily help consumers during tough economic times, clearly there's more to it than this. Giant wants to see if offering free antibiotics leads to enough of an increase in overall sales to justify the cost. If it does, my guess is the program will become permanent. If it doesn't, then they'll go back to business as usual on March 22.

My advice to you (if you're in an area serviced by Meijer, Publix or Giant) is this: if you're not currently doing your shopping at these stores already, don't switch over simply because of the free antibiotics. Only go there for the free stuff, and continue with your current routine. If you do choose to switch to Meijer, Publix or Giant for the convenience of one-stop shopping, be sure to look at your total grocery bill and compare it to what you were paying at the supermarket you used before.

Remember, the most common antibiotics are available as generics and not that expensive, so if you're paying more for your groceries to go to Giant, it's probably not worth it.

As a side note, I'm a little embarrassed by the Washington Post's reporting on the Giant program. They hail the program as the first case of a retailer giving away free antibiotics, when Meijer and Publix have been doing it for a while now. A quick Google search would have cleared that up.

My Name is Greg and I am submitting articles on behalf of eDrugsearch.com. eDrugSearch.com provides a community, tools and resources to help consumers make smart decisions when purchasing online medication. As the Internet's leading prescription drug guide, we direct you to licensed international pharmacies through a comprehensive, easy-to-use search engine. Our prescription drug guide currently accesses more than 100,000 online medication listings.

http://www.edrugsearch.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_R_Edwards

Read More.. Read more...