Alberta
Girl Guides

Autism is a developmental disability, appearing within the first three years of a child’s life and occurring more often in boys than in girls. It has no racial, ethnic or social boundaries, and family income, lifestyle or educational levels have no bearing on occurrence. A variety of other disorders may also present such as mental developmental delay, Tourettes’s Syndrome and seizures.

Autism is not something a person has, or a shell that the person is trapped in. There is no normal child hidden behind the condition and it is not possible to separate the person from the autism.

Characteristics of Autism

Autistic children have slow language development, if any at all. Some use words without attaching the usual meaning to them and may use gestures to communicate. Others talk and communicate very well. Some sing better than they talk. Some have short attention spans. They often prefer to spend time alone rather than with others, and show little interest in making friends. Autistic children are less responsive to social cues such as eye contact and smiles. They tend to show a lack the spontaneous or imaginative play. Autistic children may have sensitivities in relationship to sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.

They may be overactive or very passive, and may throw temper tantrums for no apparent reason. They may also show obsessive interest in a single item, idea, activity or person. Autistic children have an apparent lack of common sense and may show aggressiveness to others or themselves. Change of routine is very difficult for these children to deal with. Many autistic Children exhibit repeated body movements—flapping or fluttering of hands/fingers or rocking the body.

It is important to remember that every child with autism is an individual, and like all individuals, has a unique personality. Autistic children mildly affected may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challenges with social interactions, or vice versa. Some may make eye contact, show affection, smile and laugh, and show a variety of emotions. Like other children, they may respond to their environment in both positive and negative ways. The condition may effect their range of response and make it more difficult to control how their bodies and minds react. Sometimes, visual, motor, and/or processing problems make it difficult to maintain eye contact with others. Some use peripheral vision rather than looking directly at others. Sometimes the touch or closeness of others may be painful to the autistic child, resulting in a physical withdrawal, even from family members. Anxiety, fear and confusion may result from being unable to “make sense” of the world in a routine way.

As the child grows older, behaviours associated with autism may change or even diminish. Some begin to use skills in natural situations and participate in a broader range of interests and activities. Many with autism learn to compensate for and cope with their disability, allowing them to enjoy their lives and to contribute to their community in a meaningful way.

An autistic girl in your Unit

Dealing with an autistic girl in your Unit can initially be frustrating, but later will prove to be a rewarding experience. Autistic girls will often have an aide who comes to the Unit meeting and outings with her. If your autistic member does not have an aide and you would like to have help with her, consider approaching family, friends, her school, church, student teachers, Senior Branches members or older Pathfinders.

Talk with the autistic girl’s parents. They may be able to give you some insight into the girl and ideas on how to deal with her characteristics. There are also many books on the subject.

Some helpful guidelines are:

Take the time to get to know her. A minute here, or a minute there will help her feel and believe that she belongs, is respected, and is capable. Do not underestimate her!

Keep your expectations high The girl should be expected to complete all tasks within her ability. A good rule of thumb is to give her the benefit of the doubt when you are unsure of whether she is capable of doing something. Let her know you believe she can meet the expectation. Provide her with sufficient time to attempt tasks on her own. If assistance is necessary, provide the minimal amount of prompting necessary for her to succeed. Deal with her in a consistent fashion and follow through on your requests of her. Praise for completing a task is always beneficial with any child.

If inappropriate behaviour is a problem, praising appropriate behaviour may be helpful. If she has temper tantrums, deal with them in a consistent fashion. She will soon learn that tantrums are not an appropriate method of getting one's needs met. Always avoid getting into any kind of physical struggle with a child. A quiet area with a chair for a brief time-out may be helpful. Avoid long strings of verbal instructions. Children with autism have problems with remembering the sequence. Prompt as to what will happen next (e.g. “We will work on this for another five minutes and then we will have a game”). Some prompts will be more beneficial if given quietly and directly to the girl.

It might help you to be aware of the following characteristics of some autistic children

Many autistic children have problems with fine motor control in their hands. Handwriting, crafts, tying knots, etc. may be very frustrating for them. Some children with autism have problems with sounds that hurt their ears. Typical sounds that cause problems are school bells, PA systems, buzzers on the score board in the gym, chairs scraping on the floor, running and cheering. Visual distractions and fluorescent lights bother some children with autism. Although some of these things will be out of your control, being aware of their effect on autistic children and knowing why they cover their ears may be useful.

Most children with autism ‘stim’. This is when they flap or flutter their hands/fingers or rock back and forth. Some have other unique little habits. These tend to be more of a distraction to others than a problem, but generally just asking the girl to put your hands down please or please stop rocking is all that is needed. Some non-verbal children cannot process visual and auditory input at the same time. They are mono-channel and cannot see and hear at the same time. They should be given either a visual task or an auditory task. Non-verbal children will find it easier to associate words with pictures if they see the printed word and a picture on a flashcard.

For further assistance on autism, contact your Area Special Needs Adviser.

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