Knowledge is Power

Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. It is only one of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). Although relatively new in the medical scene, autism has been around for a very long time. It is just recently that experts and professionals have made serious studies about it.

Most parents notice the early autism signs in infants upon reaching two or three years old. In some cases, parents notice the signs earlier, when their child reach infancy or about 12 to 18 months old. This is because autism varies in degree in every individual and the symptoms it shows.

Until today, there are still no known standard criteria in diagnosing children with the disorder. There’s no single personality type that characterizes autism in infants. Some parents of children with ASDs describe their children as having been silent and well-behaved when they were babies while others describe their children as moody and easily gets irritated. There are also parents who describe their child as ordinary, without any signs of being different.

This is the reason why it is very important to carefully observe your child if suspecting ASD. Here are some of the early autism signs in infants: (categorized by the impairment caused by autism)

Impairment in communication development

- Do not babble, point or display signs of interest

- Delayed language skills

- Do not respond to his or her name when called

- Display signs of hearing loss

- Avoid eye contact or have different gaze

- Do not make meaningful gestures, instead they display unusual facial expressions

Impairment in social interaction

- Do not make meaningful gestures, instead they display unusual facial expressions

- Barely smile even if cuddled by parents

- Do not make meaningful gestures, instead they display unusual facial expressions

- Show lack of interest in the surroundings

Restricted and repetitive behavior

- Banging of head and rocking the body

- Flapping of hands

- Prefers the same food and likes to wear the same clothing

Aside from these 3 early autism signs in infants, it is also very helpful for parents to observe and compare their child from others in terms of their development. They can evaluate the physical, mental, language, and social developmental standards that normal children achieve. For instance, other one year old children may imitate their parents’ actions when they clap or wave, or respond to their smiles, but you notice your child doesn’t.

A research conducted also showed that an infant who has a brother or a sister diagnosed with autism is more likely to have the disorder also. This is one of the reason in which experts say that autism has a genetic basis. There is also strong evidence that it is caused an abnormal brain development early in the mother’s prenatal life, possibly due to environmental factors such as alcohol, nicotine and drugs.

It is very important for parents to discover the early autism signs in infants so that treatments can be applied immediately. While there is still no know cure for autism, early intervention programs can significantly improve the development of a child.

Anthony Ezail Travis is a professional writer and researcher about parenting. Autism now affects 1 in every 100 child and is now the fastest growing developmental disability in children. Visit AUTISM IN TODDLERS - SIGNS and give your autistic child a brighter future.

One of the unavoidable things about being a parent is your having to deal with a variety of childhood ailments. Children are prone to picking up a variety of bugs causing them stomach ailments and colds on a regular basis. This is something you don’t need to worry about unless your child is constantly ill or failing to thrive. Of course, you need to take your child to a doctor or to the emergency room if his temperature rises too much but there are quite a few things you could do in order to nurse your feverish child back to health.

The first thing is that you need to equip your home with a medical emergency kit. You have to keep a stock of over the counter antipyretics that your doctor normally prescribes. You also need to have a reliable thermometer. Complete your kit with some cooling gel pads.

The first tip to nurse your child who has a high fever is to keep him or her cool and comfortable. Make sure that the clothes are made of cotton and are loose fitting. This will keep your child’s body cool and ensure that you are not inadvertently keeping the temperature high. You might even need to remove a few clothes to enable the temperature to drop quickly.

Your child needs to consume a lot of fluids so that his body does not get dehydrated due to the high temperature. This is easier said than done because the little one is bound to be cranky as well and you can expect very little cooperation. Jello is extremely useful in situations such as this because very few children will reject its sweetness and texture. Soup also goes down very well, as does créme caramel or just plain custard.

These are nutritious foods with a high liquid content. Feed your child with a few teaspoonfuls every minute to ensure a steady stream of moisture can help bring down the temperature.

Keep your child in a well ventilated room that is cool but not drafty. If your child has perspired a lot during the fever, you should wipe it off to keep her body dry. If your child has a damp body she could get pneumonia.

Make notes of your child’s temperature so that you can monitor the progress. Administer the fever medication after carefully calculating the dosage based upon the instructions on the bottle or from your pediatrician. You have to make sure that you don’t exceed the daily dosage which is calculated based upon the weight of the child.

Be prepared to entertain your child because she will be cranky and bored and in great need of rest. You will have to entertain her demands without worrying that you are spoiling her because this is one time she really needs a little indulgence.

I am basically a graduate at the University of Hamburg and you can get awesome articles and valid information from the ones which I submit specially for you to take a look at. Check out Nurse Images, Nurse Graphics or Nurse Pictures.

As a parent, you must have a lot of concerns regarding the various skills you would like your child to acquire, music being one of them. On the one hand you don’t want to stifle your child’s creativity and natural inclinations whereas on the other hand you know that it is great for a child’s overall development if he or she has a an interest in the fine arts.

The advantages of teaching children to play a musical instrument are many. It is well known that they stay out of trouble as teenagers and young adults if they have music as a serious interest. The concentration that they have to muster in order to play an instrument helps them with their grades. Their learning and communication skills are better than those of their peer group. They also develop lots of confidence and self esteem and this will help them navigate their perilous adolescent years with ease.

Another advantage of your child learning music becomes apparent only at a later stage. This is the selection of music as a career. It can be very lucrative and many top notch musicians had a very early exposure to music and credit this with their later successes.

You can start when your child is only a baby, by exposing him or her to a wide range of music at home. You could ensure that there is a song or melody playing in the background and you could sustain your child’s interest by having the both of you singing together.

Some parents start their children on a musical instrument as early as 4 years of age. This is great if the child is having a good time, especially because a child’s brain has a wonderful capacity for mastering new skills. It goes without saying that you should not have to drag your child to lessons just because you insist that they have to learn an instrument. You can be assured that nothing productive will come out of it and your child will have a lifelong aversion to music in general and to that instrument in particular.

It might be a better idea to wait until your child is at least 5 or 6 and able to voice an opinion about his preferred musical instrument. Some woodwind instruments such as the clarinet and flute and not really recommended for children below 10 years of age because of the manual dexterity required.

Give your child to settle down with an instrument before you buy an expensive one for her use. Children are notoriously fickle and therefore you should look for second hand instruments if you really must buy them. If your child shows a lot of promise you could always buy a better and more expensive instrument.

If you start your child on music lessons by the age of 5, taking care to encourage her and not to push her, your child will grow up into an accomplished adult with a well rounded personality.

I am basically a graduate at the University of Hamburg and you can get awesome articles and valid information from the ones which I submit specially for you to take a look at. Check out Music Images, Music Graphics or Music Pictures.