The Use of Treatment and Inclusion on Autistics

How can inclusion be a treatment too? You would be surprised. Inclusion can help with concentration and setting up social ties. The constant routine of being in a school system instead of an institution helps the child to learn and establish a way to control their outbursts through having routine. Institutions do not establish a routine of learning, exercise or stimulation. They believe that drugs would be enough help to keep them calm.1

In my experience, treatments such as sensory integration (use of pressure points, sensory toys, and rehabilitation devices), diet, exercise and some drugs do help the ways of an autistic person. Having gone to school with an autistic child most of my elementary school career, I know how to handle mild to medium cases. When these two factors combine, inclusion and treatment can help in the control and function of autistic individuals.2

Drug treatments work, but some come at a cost. My mother was an aide in my school system with this autistic child. His drug treatment, then, was Ritalin. This drug, with its calming ability and way of reducing ‘tics,’ also decreases appetite and makes the person a little less coherent. Since the boy would normally take his medication before lunch, my mom changed it to where he was taking it after lunch. This helped the drug to work better and the time release to work slower. 3

However, Ritalin is not long lasting. When taken, the time release is quick at the beginning, giving the child that necessary ‘high’, if you will, of calm. Then it’s a rollercoaster as the dosage starts to wear off, until the second or third dose is taken. As the high wears off, the agitation and stress levels rise, causing chaos and sometimes severe outbursts. But it works, despite the side affects. Even with these drugs to help calm the overactive brain stimuli, many don’t help enough. That’s where the use of sensory stimuli and inclusion come in.4

Sensory stimuli can be a multitude of things; you just have to watch the reaction of the person receiving it as to whether they like it or not. Pressure points seem to be a key ingredient to this integration; it helps to calm a person down when having a tic or sensory overload. To achieve this, pressure by pressing the autistic behind a door, between two bean bags, or sitting on them with pillows in between are good ways to start. (Treatment of Autism).5

Here is an example of pressure sensory being used by my mother during a ‘breakdown:’6

"When the child didn’t want to go home one particular day, he had a ‘violent breakdown’ in the classroom, where he became emotionally unstable-crying, screaming, yelling, throwing items (i.e. chairs and desks). There were three other teachers in the room with me, trying to calm him down. It just seemed to make matters worse as an over stimulation. The only way that he became calm was when [I] forcibly set [him] in a bean bag chair, with another on top and sat on him, applying pressure. This outburst was due to an upheaval at home, from possible child abuse, his mother losing her job, and moving in with his grandparents from a house he had known for years."7

However, there are other calming stimuli that can be of use. Such as the brushing of the arms, physical activity or by touching a therapy ball or porcupine ball. These are just a few ways in which sensory can be used in the treatment and control of autism with out the use of drugs.8

Going back to my previous argument about how inclusion can help with an autistic person establish a routine, a counterargument has been made. According to the writers of Inclusion and Autism: Is it Working?, inclusion can cause disruption in the classrooms:9

"Such individuals may function in the mainstream but only with careful attention to their needs. Some may be easily distracted, have poor concentration, be anxious or confused, suffer 'overload' of information or sensory stimulation or be unable to interpret subtle academic or social rules."10

This may be in some cases, but not all. According to Autism Speaks, children with autism ‘respond to highly structured behavioral programs.’ That helps tie in with constant routine, with little to no deviation from that set course of action.11

When concentration is broken or over stimulation occurs, that is were the sensory integration comes into play, to help bring the child back on track and in a calm state of mind. In most circumstances, classmates become accustomed to the outbursts and little quirks of the autistic child in their midst. 12

Another argument from this study is the lack of available aides and teachers to help with the involvement and inclusion of these individuals. One in five kids with autism (or Asperger’s) is excluded from school at some point, from lack of aides or staff (Barnard, Prior and Potter). As aides change for an individual, they become disoriented and their comfort level becomes unstable.13

On the other hand, if an autistic child is streamlined—meaning that they are kept in the same group of students throughout their school career—then the stress levels won’t be as bad. For the first few weeks it will be, for the child will be getting accustomed to a new person, but then routine and order is reestablished. Such happened to my mom when she was first assigned to the boy.14

I had witnessed many outbursts from the boy my mother worked with during school and after. She was pretty much a paid volunteer to help out in the classroom with this child. She had no previous background of working with autistics or any other behavioral disordered child and walked into this somewhat blind. At the time, there wasn’t a lot of information on how and why autism comes about, or how to best treat the syndrome. Doctors may tell you one thing, therapists and psychologists another; in the end, you find something that works and stick with it, even if it is against doctor regulations. 15

Inclusion and treatment are pretty close to one in the same. Giving an autistic person a chance to learn and be with others of their age and interact to help to curb the outbursts. They begin to understand more about themselves, about how they are different and why. Inclusion also brings about an understanding on how well such a person can function in society. Nothing is quite clear on how inclusion really works; some believe it should be abandoned all together, for fear their own child will be bothered by disruption and classroom productivity. This isn’t the case. Strong willed support is needed for this to become a necessary part of any child’s life. Give it a chance, and it will work. Inclusion is just another step in the treatment direction.