Case Study on Autism

Introduction

Autism is a disease that has greatly affected much of the population particularly strategic at an early age in children or even in infants. Such children usually have difficulties in communicating particularly talking where there are led through group activities. One such child is Oscar who is a four-year-old and suffers from Autism with various complications involving Speech-language delay. Since the diagnosis starts early the parents knew that their child suffered from the condition when he was four years old. In most cases, the children having autism have to be guided by assistants. The main diagnosis was discovered when Oscar was ten years old. The main symptoms that affected Oscar were struggling in communicating. Neurologists mostly help in determining whether children are suffering from a certain condition particularly that which is brain related (Williams& Roberts, 2018). Schools mostly have many children that they may not know suffer from autism. In such cases, most students if not checked properly together with following up on their medical history such children may not receive the needed medical intervention. In this case, Oscar had speech problems. His parents noted that his communication was not that clear since they could not comprehend what he was saying at the start. In most cases, the child usually pointed at things that he wanted and the parents had to decipher what he meant in his gestures. The child in communicating mostly pointed to the papers for example if it is homework that needed to be signed and said "help."At presents, he speaks more words than before though at the time he still sticks to one word or stutters. Furthermore, he has improved particularly since he uses full sentences when communicating. He has great difficulty in communicating with people outside since they are not used to his speaking particularly in using mostly on the word and even pointing at things.

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At a young age, Oscar was producing bubble sounds particularly through spiritual sessions. However, the speech therapy he has been able to reduce on bubbling. The doctor noted the speech delay after being told by the parent. Oscar was the first-born and the parents had not known whether it was just a temporary problem or a serious one. The parent was told that Oscar would grow out of it but that would not be the case after he was diagnosed with autism. The diagnosis, in this case, was not clear, as it did not focus on the symptoms that were most evident in the child together with linking it to various conditions like autism. The speech therapy started at a later age when he was supposed to talk normally. The speech was thus not recognized at an earlier appropriate time. The speech impediment greatly affected the child, particularly in his communication. Parents pass through a lot of hardship when dealing with children having autism in the first years of their child. Speech delays were quite common in Oscar's life, which caused him to have difficulty in his interactions with other children at school. Having such difficulty in interacting with peers usually worries the child since he or she is not easily understood and thus if interventions are not made it may be difficult to understand any communication from the child.

In his school days, he needed to have various assistants by his side who would further assist him in understanding what he had been taught by the teachers in the classroom. At present, he is able to not only utter words but also speaks in full sentences as opposed to the past where he used to point at things while communicating. As such speech therapy helped his situation greatly particularly now that he can communicate well not only with his peers but teachers as well.

Speech difficulty is still present but through the various improvements, he is able to express himself clearly particularly when one understands how to direct what he is saying and even respond to him. Constant clarification has helped boost communication between Oscar, his parents, and even the teaching assistants at school. Even though he is improving his interactive ability the parents still believe that he will not completely be able to communicate effectively since at present he still pauses when speaking. Expressing emotion is another important aspect of communication, which the autistic children have difficulty with (Crist, 2015). In Oscar's case, he usually says he is worried or paces around to show his anxiety. The parents usually respond to his emotions through asking questions and inquiring whether he wants to share what is worrying him. The communication style of Oscar has changed greatly from using gestures to alluding to images and videos from the internet. According to the parents, a lot of patience is needed when dealing with Oscar. In this case, more attention is required particularly in constantly asking and understanding what the child is saying. In advising others the parent of Oscar stresses the importance of detecting the speech impediment early and taking the child to speech therapy classes particularly when is having difficulties communicating at the age of two years. Since they note that had they taken their child early to speech therapy matters would not be the same as they are now.

References

Crist, S. A. (2015). Discovering Autism: A Memoir. BookBaby.

Williams, K., & Roberts, J. (2018). Understanding autism: The essential guide for parents.