Autistic Children: Features and Solutions
   
   James Lung Wai Man
   In-charge, Hong Kong Community Development Network
   Community Worker, Hong Kong

   
   Autism was first found by Leo Kaner, an American psychiatrist in 1960’s. Most autistic children have high acutely sensitivity to sound and are hypersensitive to visual input.
   
   Features of Autism
   
   Autism is a complex disorder with uncertain causes. High intellectual ability and low social awareness, spinning, head banging; endlessly repeating phrases are remarkable symptoms of autism. They are coping mechanisms rather than hard wired behavior. Autistic children are in lack of emotion and unable to love, which make them impair in communication. It is supposedly high incidence of mental retardation. When they talk with other people, they look at other people’ mouths (not their eyes).
   
   Brains of Autistic Children
   
   Brains between autistic children and non-autistic children are different. Autism is a pervasive problem with the way the brain is wired:
   
   Cerebellum: This region plays a key role in physical coordination, motor planning and anticipating events. Inside brains of autistic children, this part is overloaded with white matter (the nerve fibers / the brain connectors).
   
   Amygdala: Relating to the high level of anxiety in autistic people, this part is enlarged. Their amygdale is activated when looking at faces, and if confronting a threat.
   
   Hippocampus: It is 10% larger than normal. It is enlarged because autistic children rely on memory to interpret situations (most people will not do that).
   
   Corpus callosum: It, which uses to link left and right hemispheres of the brain, is smaller inside brains of autistic children. So, their ability of memory, logics, thinking and multi-tasking are weaker.
   
   Fontal lobes: Inside the brain of an autistic child, it is enlarged to excess white matter. It grows at an unusual rate by age of two and has puzzling signs of inflammation.
   
   White matter of autistic children is too much in local areas: cerebellum and forehead. It is too little in long distance: right and left brain connection. It lacks connections among brain regions. Each area does is own jobs.
   
   In summary, autistic brain is larger than non-autistic brain. A 4 years old autistic brain is as big as a 13 years old non-autistic brain.
   
   Solutions for Autistic Children
   
   Autism is a lifelong struggle. When it is treated at early stages, some exhibit symptoms will no longer come out. In the US, there is one autistic child, out of 766 children (5 boys:1 girl).
   
   ABA
   
   Skinners uses the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Before applying that analysis method, he has run tests in different kinds of animals. He states that behavior can be altered with carefully repeated drills and rewards.
   
   Ivar Lovaas of the Californian University in 1987 and 2000 has run a test based on the ABA. Nineteen children came to train for 40 hours per a week. After the test, IQ and academic results of the children have been greatly improved. Skills are greatly learnt.
   
   However, there are shortcomings: robotic behavior, lack of emotion, and inability to use trained skills. Children lack the ability to think on their feet to engage socially and to solve problems.
   
   DIR
   
   Due to the shortcomings mentioned above, DIR (developmental, individual-difference, relationship based) is developed. Exchange of motional signals; stimulations of banners, photos, artworks on wall (to adapt a real world); how to express emotion / spontaneous thinking; cope with complex social interactions (to build many skills at once); games and social rewards (physical and verbal merits) are important values in that analysis.
   
   Some people think that it is neither genetic nor environmental problems cause autism.
   However, a research has been carried out although it is not easy to carry out genetic tests and comparisons, as there are many autistic symptoms. The researchers think that there are genetic vulnerabilities and environmental triggers behind autism. 1800 autistic children and their family members have joined the research. The conclusion is that: some antibodies are actually raised against proteins in the fetal brain. It may alter brain development and lead to autism.
   
   It is very important for us to search out the bud of self-identity in very autistic child. We believe that they are capable of more!
   
   Daily Life Therapy
   
   Doctor Kiyo Kitahara thinks that if autistic children can have suitable amount of exercises at daytime, they can sleep well at night, be hungry enough to accept new food and reduce anxiety (better than use medical injections).
   
   Conclusions
   
   The excess white matter in brain causes autism, just like excess blood vessels in heart causes heart diseases.
   
   By and large, autistic children have difficulties in bringing different cognitive functions together in an integrated way. To autistic children, before we extinguish a behavior, we need to understand what they are telling us. When we are dealing with their repetitive motions and words, we need to search for local coherence. We need to understand that it is extreme sports for autistic children to chat with strangers.
   
   To autistic children, which one is more difficult for them: intelligence traps in their bodies, or, no one understand their feelings, strengths and weaknesses?