scholarly journals Nature as a Healer for Autistic Children

Author(s):  
Hadeer Barakat ◽  
Ali Foaad Bakr ◽  
Zeyad El-sayad

According to estimates from the Center for Disease Control (CDC's) in 2008 and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in 2010, about 1 in 88 children had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2008 and about 1 in 68 children had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in (2010). The eighth Scientific Conference for Autism held by the College of Education in conjunction with the Egyptian Society for Hydration Capacities of Children with Special Needs revealed that 1 out of every 80 children in Egypt are suffering from autism and this number in Egypt was expected to rise from 2.3 million in 2001 to 2.9 million in 2017. The reason for many of autistic children’s symptoms is sensory integration; it is the power to understand, organize, and feel sensory data from the environment and body. The issues surrounding sensory integration are presented in hyposensitive and hypersensitive reactions by children with autism to the vestibular, proprioception, tactile, audio, visual, and olfactory senses. A great deal of research has been conducted on gardens and their effect on health outcomes and how a garden may provide benefit: 1. Relief from physical symptoms or awareness of those symptoms. 2. Stress reduction. 3. Improvement in overall sense of well-being. The aim of this paper is to establish a group of guidelines for designing a therapeutic garden for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to treat the sensory integration problems of children with ASD by designing a sensory garden which should focus on therapeutic interference. By using the elements and principles of design, the guidelines for this garden are focused on producing calming effects for hyper reactive children with ASD and stimulating effects for hypo reactions.

Author(s):  
Menezes Ida Sylvia ◽  
Laveena D’Mello

Purpose: Owing to the time-consuming job of caring for their child's family and friends, parents of children with autism spectrum disorder risk losing family relationships. The main aim was to identify and intervene in the quality of life of parents, the interventions offered to parents as primary caregivers of children with ASD. To explore parents' perspectives on beneficent for children with autism in connection with formative years, resources, and to confront the consequences of upraising a child with ASD. Design/Methodology/Approach: Systematic literature, resulting in the publication of 27 studies that focused on the living standards of parents of children with ASD. Systematic literature scrutiny was performed using the search words "autism spectrum disorder," ‘primary caregiver/ parents/ mother” and "Quality of life" in the electronic databases Research gate, Academia, Google Scholar, and PsycInfo. Findings/Result: QOL autism-specific assessment tools were limited and hence, most studies have employed a general measure tool to assess the influence of the diagnosed disorder on the physical and psychological well-being of parents/caregivers. Originality/Value: The sequel of this study advocate that to date, the appraisal of quality life in parents of children with ASD into clinical practice has been rationalized by the shortage of autism-specific scales. As generically do not catch all pertinent aspects of living with ASD raising the need for immediate measures. Implementing parental interventions in parallel with the child’s interventions may raise QOL. Paper Type: Systematic literature review.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine French ◽  
Class of 2017

The current study examined whether nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, serves as a psychological resource for mothers of children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Twenty-six mothers of children with ASD were asked to complete measures of well-being during an initial visit. Over eight weeks, mothers were asked to write about their experiences with raising a child with ASD, which were coded for the use of nostalgic language. The results revealed that mothers who reported being lower in positive affect and parental well-being had increased nostalgic narratives over time. There were no significant findings for negative affect and life satisfaction. THis work provides a first step in understanding the relationship between nostalgia and mental health. Specifically, nostalgia may serve as a potential intervention to improve the well-being of parents and children with ASD. 


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faihan Alotaibi ◽  
Nabil Almalki

<p class="apa">The present study sought to examine parents’ perceptions of early interventions and related services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia. In this study a survey was distributed to a sample of 80 parents with children who have ASD. Parents also were asked open-ended questions to enable them to provide suggestions. The findings indicate that parents have varying perceptions of early interventions and related services. However, they seem to agree that these services are important in assisting their children. Accordingly, parents have suggested that the government needs to increase these services by providing more centers for children with ASD in Saudi Arabia, providing more specialists to deal with children with ASD, promoting inclusion in regular schools and providing more information on early intervention.</p>


Author(s):  
Ana Gentil-Gutiérrez ◽  
José Luis Cuesta-Gómez ◽  
Paula Rodríguez-Fernández ◽  
Jerónimo Javier González-Bernal

(1) Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently have difficulties in processing sensory information, which is a limitation when participating in different contexts, such as school. The objective of the present study was to compare the sensory processing characteristics of children with ASD in the natural context of school through the perception of professionals in the field of education, in comparison with neurodevelopmental children (2) Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study as conducted with study population consisting of children between three and ten years old, 36 of whom were diagnosed with ASD and attended the Autismo Burgos association; the remaining 24 had neurotypical development. The degree of response of the children to sensory stimuli at school was evaluated using the Sensory Profile-2 (SP-2) questionnaire in its school version, answered by the teachers. (3) Results: Statistically significant differences were found in sensory processing patterns (p = 0.001), in sensory systems (p = 0.001) and in school factors (p = 0.001). Children with ASD who obtained worse results. (4) Conclusions: Children with ASD are prone to present sensory alterations in different contexts, giving nonadapted behavioral and learning responses.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110259
Author(s):  
Brittany A. Dale ◽  
W. Holmes Finch ◽  
Kassie A. R. Shellabarger ◽  
Andrew Davis

The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) are the most widely used instrument in assessing cognitive ability, especially with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous literature on the WISC has demonstrated a divergent pattern of performance on the WISC for children ASD compared to their typically developing peers; however, there is a lack of research concerning the most recent iteration, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V). Due to the distinctive changes made to the WISC-V, we sought to identify the pattern of performance of children with ASD on the WISC-V using a classification and regression (CART) analysis. The current study used the standardization sample data of the WISC-V obtained from NCS Pearson, Inc. Sixty-two children diagnosed with ASD, along with their demographically matched controls, comprised the sample. Results revealed the Comprehension and Letter-Number Sequencing subtests were the most important factors in predicting group membership for children with ASD with an accompanying language impairment. Children with ASD without an accompanying language impairment, however, were difficult to distinguish from matched controls through the CART analysis. Results suggest school psychologists and other clinicians should administer all primary and supplemental subtests of the WISC-V as part of a comprehensive assessment of ASD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 584-597
Author(s):  
Christine Holyfield

Purpose Technology features that maximize communicative benefit while minimizing learning demands must be identified and prioritized to amplify the efficiency and effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention. Picture symbols with paired text are a common representation feature in AAC systems for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are preliterate, yet little research about their comparative benefit exists. Method Four school-age children with ASD and limited speech who were preliterate participated in two single-subject studies. In one study, communication of high imageability words (e.g., nouns) on an AAC app during a book-reading activity was compared across two representation conditions: picture symbols with paired text and text only. In the second study, communication of low imageability words (e.g., verbs) was compared. Both studies had baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases. Results Prior to intervention, participants communicated across both representation conditions at low rates except two participants who were relatively successful using picture symbol with paired text representations of high imageability words. In response to intervention, all participants demonstrated increases in communication across representation conditions and maintained the increases. Participants demonstrated generalization in the text-only representation condition. Conclusions Children with ASD who were preliterate acquired communication at comparable rates regardless of whether an AAC app utilized picture symbol with paired text or text-only representation. Therefore, while larger scale research is needed, clinicians and technology developers could consider increasing the use of text in AAC representation given the inherent value associated with learning to recognize written words. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13661357


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Manor-Binyamini

Although children across the world experience autism spectrum disorder (ASD), most research on ASD has been conducted using Western cultural perspectives and has focused primarily on mothers, leaving significant gaps in the literature. This study aimed to address these gaps by exploring the experiences of fathers raising children with ASD in a Bedouin community. To this end, a sample of 19 fathers of children (aged 6–15 years) with ASD living in recognized and unrecognized Bedouin settlements in the Negev participated in ethnographic, semi-structured interviews designed to investigate their experiences with raising a child with ASD in their community. Two major themes emerged: the challenges that Bedouin fathers of children with ASD face, and the influence of socio-demographic and cultural characteristics on their experience. Findings reflect the complex experiences of fathers raising children with ASD in the Bedouin community, stemming from their socio-cultural context and the limited knowledge and support services that are available in the community for these children. This article concludes with recommendations on how to enhance professional sensitivity and provide more culturally tailored services for parents of children with ASD.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (4pt1) ◽  
pp. 1045-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurit Yirmiya ◽  
Ifat Seidman ◽  
Nina Koren-Karie ◽  
David Oppenheim ◽  
Smadar Dolev

AbstractThe contribution of change over time in parent and child characteristics to parents’ resolution of child's diagnosis was examined among 78 mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Children's characteristics (e.g., mental age and severity of symptoms), parental characteristics (e.g., attachment-related anxiety and stress level), and parents’ resolution of their child's diagnosis (resolved vs. unresolved) were examined at Time 1, and reassessed 3 years later at Time 2. Results indicated a deferential contribution of change in parent and child characteristics among mothers and fathers. An increase in child symptom severity and in maternal attachment-related anxiety, as well as longer durations of time since receiving the diagnosis, significantly predicted maternal resolved status at Time 2. Conversely, none of the changes in children's or paternal characteristics predicted paternal resolved status at Time 2. Results are discussed in relation to child and parental contributions to resolution, the differences in the adjustment and well-being of mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder, parental growth following receiving the diagnosis, and the need for intervention components specific to parental resolution and attachment-related anxiety.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1024
Author(s):  
Laura Reche-Olmedo ◽  
Laura Torres-Collado ◽  
Laura María Compañ-Gabucio ◽  
Manuela Garcia-de-la-Hera

Food selectivity is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It can be defined as the unwillingness to eat common or new foods, resulting in a lack of variety in the diet or limited food consumption for multiple reasons, such as inflexibility or sensory alterations. We conducted a peer scoping review to describe the interventions that are carried out from occupational therapy (OT) in children with ASD with food selectivity. Two authors independently searched the databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE, as well as the OT journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports. Articles exploring OT interventions in children (≤12 years) with ASD and food selectivity, published in Spanish or English, with experimental design, and with full text available were included. Of the 1445 articles identified, 8 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main intervention categories were identified: sensory–behavioral, family focused, and other interventions. Most of the interventions from OT were aimed at treating sensory–behavioral aspects. Only three articles described interventions led exclusively by occupational therapists, and the rest were led by a multidisciplinary team. Finally, although these interventions are not exclusive to OT, occupational therapists can participate together with other professionals as an essential component in the treatment of food selectivity in children with ASD.


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