April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day and the month
of April is Autism Awareness Month.  During this month we are
asking that everyone change their facebook or twitter profile picture to that of
a puzzle piece. The puzzle piece is a globally recognized symbol representing
the puzzling disorder known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There is no one
cause, no one treatment, and every child is different. Some children may have
high verbal skills but zero social skills, so socializing with their peers is
very difficult. Another child may not speak or use the potty on their own at all
for most of their life. The spectrum of autism is rather broad, so behaviors and
skills are going to vary drastically from child to child.

Buildings around the world will light up blue on April
2ndin honor of Autism Awareness Day. One of the most beautiful sights
was the Empire State Building in New York City lit up blue on this day last
year.Palaces in the Middle East, airports around the world,
restaurants in every city are lighting up the outside of their buildings to
spread awareness. Why blue? The statistics of children diagnosed is 1 out of 88,
but boys are 5 times more likely to be diagnosed as girls. So the color blue was
chosen to represent little boys with ASD. 

So how do you know if your child has Autism
Spectrum Disorder? Every child develops differently but it’s important to be
vigilant of their behavior, the earlier autism is diagnosed, the better the
outcome. Early intervention can improve social skills, learning, and
communication in children with ASD. Normally a professional will be able to
diagnose autism in a child as young as 8 to 10 months.

These are the early signs of ASD:

•No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
•No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions by nine months
•No babbling by 12 months
•No back-and-forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12
months
•No words by 16 months
•No meaningful, two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24
months
•Any
loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age


If your child is showing several of these signs, it is very
important to take them to consult a specialist.  An M-CHAT
(Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) is available online, this will also
help you determine whether there is a need for you to seek the help of
professionals.


Being told by a specialist that your child has been
diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be daunting, but don’t despair.
There are plenty of ways to help treat the disorder, these treatments will not
cure ASD but will help make life more bearable for you and your child. Support
is also very important. Seek out other parents and caregivers of children with
special needs; they will be the best support you could ever find. And never give
up, always stay positive, your child is a blessing despite the disorder; in fact
he or she will be even more special to you. 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When we work with children suffering from a developmental disorder, their physical health is just as important as their mental health. Learning about Nutrition and learning healthy eating habits are necessary steps in ensuring the well being of these special children. One program we have involved ourselves in is the nutrition and healthy eating habits program. The nutrition and healthy eating habits program’s initiative is to wipe out the outward signs of nutritional deficiencies. Some of these signs will include tough, dry, pale, scaly skin; rashes; dry, brittle hair; bleeding gums; and eye discoloration. We see these signs often in the children that we work with and they are only part of the problem.  Often, children who have disabilities or developmental delays are hypersensitive in the mouth area. As a result, new food textures, tastes, or temperatures cause a gagging reflex. This hyperactive gag makes swallowing solid foods very difficult; therefore, we are teaching the mothers how to make nutritional and tasty soups for their children to eat. So far, the children have shown much improvement in their intake and healthy digestion of food.Most everything that is used to make nutritional soups and soft foods is easily available in markets, and can be grown by the mothers. It is our aim to show them how they can obtain these essential healthy ingredients and the benefits of using them. We are also working to improve the development of self-feeding skills, improve oral motor function related to eating/lip closure, identifying and communicating nutritional needs, improving food preparation and mealtime skills, and to improve growth rates.Cooking with the mothers has been an incredible experience. While we prepare the ingredients together I love to listen to them talk about their children and difficulties they have overcome. They laugh much and are very comforting and supportive of one another. Once everything is ready, we throw it in the Jiko and everyone anxiously awaits to try the soup that's emitting such delicious scents. Once it's finally finished, we dish out a cup of soup for everyone present. There's much  mmming and licking the last drops that are left at the bottom. This whole process shows the good food is just as nourishing to the soul as it is the body. Less than ten dollars can easily make enough soup for at least 150 people so please keep that in mind when deciding whether or not you should donate. Any amount is incredibly helpful and our mothers and children will be eternally grateful. And don't forget to check out our cookbook! We upload all new recipes that we make so you can try them too!