Caitlyn H.

REALISM ON AUTISM

February 2014

PARENTS OF AUTISTICS SPEAK OUT ABOUT FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

LIVING WITH AUTISM

BY CAITLYN HANLEY [1]

LIVING WITH AUTISM While living with an autistic person may be difficult, imagine how much you would learn from

autistics. They don’t think about how others feel about certain problems. Not thinking about how their actions might affect others. The average child

different scenarios. You would be a genius on

usually learns to speak English decently by the age 2 or 3, sometimes at the latest. However, for

autism. Families with many kids may complain here and there about how frustrating and hard it is to be

autistics, they may learn until they are 6, that is you

a parent, but when you have a child with a brain

are diagnosed at a very young age. With this being said, 40% of people with autism will never speak,

disorder, you would definitely need a good support group because it can be like have 8 kids screaming

or be mute, their whole life.

at once. Sibshop, is an organization that provides that. The definition of Autism is “a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by

CURES autism. But there are different medications parents

relationships with other people and in using

put their child on to make the “ride” smoother, but getting that is a huge financial investment,

cases is it recognized from birth. Even though you have had it all along, the symptoms catch you as a child, or even as an adult. The prefix “aut-” means

sometimes draining thousands of dollars. The actual medicine might not cost all that much, however, because every autistic child is extremely unique, you need to pay for an individual doctor,

yourself, or the same one. The definition of the

not just your regular pediatrician. All of this money

suffix “-ism” is characteristics in ones behavior or the action/precess of it. That is how the title,

leads to one big question families are asking themselves, “is it worth it?” Your immediate answer,

autism, came about.

“YES! I would do anything for my children!”. This

SYMPTOMS They have a hard time controlling their body or taming their behavior. People with special needs

AUTISM?

It is now a proven fact, there is no full cure for

difficulty in communicating and forming language and abstract concepts”. That means that you have autism for your whole life, however in rare

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW

big question especially may come across frightening when you have other kids and college, or food. However that doesn’t stop the investment.

This was an event showing that there are many blue balloons (regulars) and a couple whites (autistics). One in 20 kids have autism and everyone is unique.

often struggle with controlling their temper resulting in temper tantrums. People who have special needs almost always lack in social skills, or communication with others effectively. They can be very sensitive to little things an their emotions may change frequently. Failure to create friendships easily with people their own age is very common for

Doctors have found that playing with blocks or doing puzzles help your brain progress when you have autism.

One of the many symptoms, could be extremely sensitive ears.

This is a baby around who has just discovered he has autism. They are trying to intervene with the way his brain functions to try to cure his autism--no success.

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FINANCIAL FEARS

GUARDIANS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE FUNDS Parents love their children unconditional.

the same expenses as they did for the first child,

When you have one autistic child, your changes

however, it is now tripled. This causes a lot of

for having a second autistic child goes from one

stress for families and more specifically, parents.

in 1000, to 1 in 20. Many parents fear having

The average family spends about 50,000 dollars

other children after giving birth to a child with

a year just on therapies, such as a applied

special needs. With every child comes great

behavior analysis The Harvard School of Public

expenses. Starting with lots of diapers, nothing

Health did a study in 2006 showing that overall,

comes cheap. However, with autistics, things

it costs 3.2 million dollars to take care of an

can be double, come triple the price. You have

individual in their entire lifetime. “it costs society

to hire special daycares so that they can get

an estimated 35 billion dollars each year to care

special attention with trained workers. When it

of all individuals with autism.” says the National

gets to school, some guardians put them in

Conference of State Legislatures. However, due

private schools, or special extra classes that not

to how high that price is, some states are only

only works at the child's speed of learning, but

allowing coverage for treatments if you have an

also takes frequent therapy breaks to get them

insurer.

This shows all of the different variations of autism. It can go from being gifted in certain subjects, to potentially doing great self harm.

moving around so they don’t get antsy. As the child grows older, the expenses just grow bigger. In a lot of cases, families have one regular child in seek of another, but didn’t know that the fathers ancestry carries some past of autism. Now, thinking that the couple will have

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Glossary Autistic (32)

noun

A disorder of the brain which affects how you treat yourself and others.

“An autistic person experiences many limits in life.”

A person who is autistic is very different from everyone else.

My younger cousin is autistic.

Behavior (22)

noun

A way some one makes himself act.

“The behavior of autistics is normally out of control. They may make it seem like they have no control over it.”

Wild behavior is one of the symptoms of autism.

When you have autism, your behavior is very different from everyone else.

Brain (27) noun

A soft organ inside the skull that sends messages to the rest of the body through nerves.

“When you have autism, it might mean that your brain hasn’t fully developed yet.”

Autism is a form of a brain disorder which means that when you have autism, your brain works differently.

The brain sends nerves that controls what you do.

Communication (34)

verb

The exchange of words within one another.

“Melissa and her family have learned how to communicate with Brandon.”

Only a few people know the correct way to communicate with the autistic in a way that does not seem scary to the child.

Counselors are very good with communicating with autistic people.

Diagnosed (25) verb

to have an illness or another problem found (in your body).

“Autism isn’t something you are diagnosed with, you are born with .”

Even though you are not diagnosed with autism, certain things may lead to other diagnoses.

He got diagnosed with autism at the age of 4.

Disorder (GVRL)

noun

When you are confused; scrambled.

“Autism is another word for a brain disorder” A brain disorder is what you have when you have autism.

My friend, has a brain disorder, so she has a lot of restrictions when it comes to sports.

Gifted (GVRL)

adjective

To have exceptional talent.

“Every autistic is gifted in different ways.”

Autistics have talents in add and sometimes randoms topics.

Even though he is not the best in math, he is very gifted in english.

Medicine (32)

noun

A mixture of different elements that treats and cures different diseases.

“No medicine can fully cure the disease of autism.”

Although autism is a characteristic that you are born with, there are medicines that can help.

There are a few medicines that help when dealing with autistics.

Mute (65)

adjective

to be silent “Sometimes, an autistic may be mute, but not in all scenarios.”

Muteness could be one of the symptoms of autism.

Since she was mute, she had to communicate through typing on the computer.

Needs (Instagrok)

adverb

To have to do something “When you have autism, you have special needs” Autism comes with special needs, needs that are not required for the normal child.

Since she had autism, she lived with her mom until she was in her 30’s.

Sibshop (35)

noun

An organization that takes care and helps kids with needs learn basic steps.

“Melissa attends a support group called Sibshop”

The organization that supports families with kids who have special needs.

Many families attend Sibshop.

Special (36)

adjective

A person that is different from the normal person; unique.

“People with autism have special needs” Many people describe people with brain disorders describe them as being special.

Even though every person is special in their own way, every autistic person is special in a similar way.

Support (50)

verb

to hold the weight of; to help guide “When you have autism, you need a lot of support.”

Autistics need the support of their guardians constantly; financially and physically.

Even though sometimes it is very difficult to pay for the bill of having an autistic child, with a good support group, they can do it.

Symptoms (33)

noun

A feature that comes with the characteristic of the disease.

“In many cases, autistics do not have symptoms serious enough to need professional medical care.”

The symptoms of autism are verbal connection between people, especially of the same age, delay in learning how to talk correctly, and more.

Some of the symptoms of autism are very strong, others are mild.

Temper Tantrums (32) noun

When a person acts up--has a hissy fit.

“He often has temper tantrums and violent outbursts.”

When you have autism, you don’t have as much control of your behavior, resulting in temper tantrums.

Because he didn’t get the ice cream flavor he wanted, he had a huge temper tantrum.

Therapy (21)

noun

Treatments thats goal is to heal a disorder.

“Some parents put their autistic kids through different therapy classes .”

A physical medication that exercises certain areas of the body that OCD medication doesn’t help.

Betsy put her autistic son in 3 different therapy classes to exercise his brain.

Unique (69)

adjective

to be one of a kind “Every autistic child is totally unique.”

Almost every autism story is unique; how they got it, when they got it, and why they got it.

His story was unique in that he had gotten it in his mid 40s after he got in an accident.

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Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipa. Understanding Diseases and Disorders. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

En.wikipedia.org. "Brain - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Healthline.com. "[Title]." N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Kidshealth.org. "[Title]." N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Nimh.nih.gov. "[Title]." N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Psychcentral.com. "Autism." N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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