Children themselves are special.  Then why some children only are referred to as "Special Children?"  Is it because their needs are special, they need special care and attention in every way?  Or is it because they need special mothers and educators to take care of them?

All children born in this world are a gift to their parents.  They cry when they are born, making the people around them happy.  Yet, there are some children who make their parents cry and feel for them throughout their lives.  Parents do not feel concerned about their lives.  But, they are afraid that how their child will be able to carry on with life when they are gone. 

Children are affected by various congenital defects such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, down's syndrom, muscular distrophy, autism etc.  In this autism is a severe condition in which there are a spectrum of developmental disorder.  Children affected by this condition become lifelong dependents.  That is, someone has to take care of them day and night. 

Not all autistic persons are aggressive or non-functional.  Some are able to speak and take care of themselves.  They are able to indicate their needs.  They even prove academically strong and achieve in certain areas like math and music.  When the degree of the condition is mild or moderate, some even become famous artists and scientists.  Some famous thinkers, philosophers, actors also are said to have had autism features.

Nevertheless, the life of autistic children is really pathetic.  They may seem to be happy.  But when it comes to indicate their needs and desire to people, it really becomes a herculean task.  They try in different ways to make their parents and care takers understand them.  When they fail to do this successfully, it becomes a traumatic experience for them.  They start getting restless.  Autistic children exhibit temper tantrums during this time.  Even the mother is not able to pacify the child.  It takes much patience and understanding to calm the child.

Sleep disorder is another major problem associated with autism.  They are not able to remain asleep for more than four hours continuously on many of the nights.  So the mothers find it very difficult to take care of them during the night time, and do their routine work during the day.  She becomes irritated and shouts at the child.  This makes the child nervous and so development is hindered again. 

So it is best to understand the needs of the child.  Communicate to the child even if he is not verbal.  He will understand in course of time.  Your love alone will better the child and nothing less.   Take him outside as and when possible.  Make him socialize with the people around him slowly, preferably one at a time.  This will help the child understand the world around him.

Article Posted By : Nisha Hassan  On June 17, 2012lView All Articles

Love nature, travel and books. Writing is my passion.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/life-of-a-child-with-autism-article-763.htm

Keywords :
autism , life skills , congenital defect