Spotting Mild Autism among School Aged Kids

Although mild autism is somehow similar to Asperger’s syndrome, there are certain characteristics that distinguish it from the other syndrome. Children with this disorder generally perform and function in a totally better or excellent level. Thus, they tend to stand out from other normal kids, cognitively or socially in school. Any kid who is unusually smart and astute for his or her age can be a potential candidate for mild autism.

In order to have a better understanding of mild autism, here are some challenges that autistic kids face usually in school.

• Think in pictures. Most people think more logically than those people who are diagnosed with autism. The autistic kids tend to be more visual thinkers. Instead of thinking about something in a linear way they tend to visualize and imagine things. Another associated problem within the associative memory of the autistic child is that they tend to have false impressions about the world. This means that they look at things in a different way causing them to have fears and doubts. They have difficulty understanding why things happen in certain ways.
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• Weak auditory processing. Children who have the disorder have problems processing too much information transmitted at one time. When giving instructions to an autistic kid, there is the tendency for them to absorb several instructions at a time causing them to err. This is the reason why some people misinterpret autistic kids to be disobedient, mischievous or with low IQ. This is not because they do not want to follow instructions; they just cannot simply absorb the all the information provided to them.
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• Fixations. People, especially the kids who have this type of disorder usually gets so fascinated with an object or a person that they refuse to learn anything that is unrelated to that specific topic. This causes the person to have poor grades in school. The best way to overcome this problem is to use their interests as great motivators for learning. Instead of taking away their inspiration or their fixation, teachers and parents can work hand in hand to use that as their focus for the teaching-learning experience.
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• Food problems. Most autistic kids have problems in eating. This does not mean that the child has a problem with their appetite; it is just that they seem uninterested with food. This is why some dietitians can help in developing ways on how to capture the interest of an autistic to eat the food that is served to them. Creativity and imagination can be used in the preparation of the food. The parents can make shapes out of the food like circles and squares and give them names like planets or flowers. This depends on what the child is interested in. The color of the food also plays a vital role in feeding the kids. Some kids do not like bright colors; they prefer colors that are dark. It is best to know what the child wants and dislikes in order have a successful eating time.

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Understanding mild autism is not easy and dealing with it is even harder. That is why parents should always research about new ways on how to help the kids face this disorder. Kids with this type of autism should not feel left out and abandoned because of their differences from other normal children.

They should be treated fairly like normal just like the other kids so they do not feel alienated. People should always remember that these kids have certain talents that they can use to leverage in school and work. Their parents and mentors play significant roles in helping them find that talent to mold, hone it and use it to the child’s advantage.