A new multidisciplinary health practice is hosting an event to raise awareness about autism on Monday 30 March. The first Onesie Walk for Autism is organised by Therapy Smart, a multidisciplinary private practice in clinical and counselling psychology, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, Autism is an increasingly prevalent disorder which affects both those with autism and well as their families.
A new multidisciplinary health practice is hosting an event to raise awareness about autism on Monday 30 March. The first Onesie Walk for Autism is organised by Therapy Smart, a multidisciplinary private practice in clinical and counselling psychology, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, Autism is an increasingly prevalent disorder which affects both those with autism and well as their families.
One in 68 children in the US are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Figures for South Africa are not available.
“It’s quite a scary disease because it is on the rise,” said Amanda Edwards, speech and language therapist.
“It requires such a heavy burden of care, not only on the families but on society.”
April is International Autism Awareness month, as the number of cases increases, with little change in education or in societies dealing with the number of children diagnosed.
As a result of a lack of education, myths about the causes of autism have come into the public eye and taken as fact.
The most popular is that vaccinations are linked to autism.
Edwards said the author of the vaccination research had had his medical licence revoked and served jail time as a result.
The cause of autism is still heavily debated.
The most accepted explanation at the moment is that genetic predispositions to autism are triggered by environmental factors.
Once a cause is determined this does not correlate to an exact treatment either.
Since the disorder is looked at as a spectrum, each child has to be considered in their own right. Each treatment approach has to relate to the child being treated.
“There is a saying in autism circles that if you’ve seen one child with autism, you’ve seen one child with autism,” said Edwards.
Currently the criteria for identifying autism are called the quadrant of impairments.
These include: difficulties in language, difficulties in imaginative play, difficulties in social interactions and sensory disturbances.
Treatments for autism are multifaceted and require a lot of time and energy.
“Behaviour modification would work through with those kids how to cope at home. Working with the families is very important, occupational therapy and of course speech and language therapy," said Asha Dullabh, Director of Therapy Smart and Clinical Psychologist.
“I would say OT and the speech and language therapy are the top two.”
A very successful treatment programme currently used by therapists is Applied Behaviour Analysis, which focuses on re-training a child’s brain so that their behaviour becomes more manageable.
In addition there can be the inclusion of a bio-medical aspect which treats autism as a physical disease rather than solely psychological, a treatment that is still controversial in formal medical circles.
Autistic children often have problems that relate to their gut, diet and feeding and as a result are prone to “leaky gut syndrome”.
“They absorb the proteins from foods into two large molecules and what that does is that it can act as an opiate in a child’s brain.
This kicks off a number of behaviours we see,” explained Edwards.
While the approach to autism in treatment circles is continuously changing, so are the attitudes towards autism by the public.
With the increase in cases there has been an increase in awareness for this disease.
Although this is the case there is still not a lot of access to society for those with autism “I think one of the sad things in South Africa not just for people with autism, but for people with disabilities, is that they do lack access to society and as a result we don’t see them that much,” said Edwards.
“But just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean they are not there."
The Onesie Walk for Autism to create awareness is the first in a host of awareness campaigns for various disabilities that Therapy Smart intend to host.
