What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers?
Processing of visual sensory information called visual processing is greatly compromised in autism spectrum disorder in toddlers. Autism spectrum disorder is the complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by altered perception of visual stimuli, disturbed social interactions and exhibition of awkward behavior by ASD toddlers towards touch and light stimuli. The symptoms start appearing in ASD toddlers at the age of 6 to 12 months.
Visual sensory processing is markedly altered and the affected ASD toddlers prefer to isolate on details and perseverate visual attention on the continuously performed visual sensory activities. To aware the brain of its surroundings, such affected ASD toddlers usually opt to look at their sides. Balance and equilibrium is often disturbed in ASD toddlers with and such affected toddlers tend to fall forward or backward.
How do autism spectrum disorder in toddlers look like?
These affected ASD toddlers have developed the potential to walk on their toes, a specific walk pattern called toe-walking. Such ASD toddlers tend to touch the other objects and people near them more often in order to maintain their visual sensory strike and the phenomenon is specially observed in toddlers when they are at public places.
How you will come to know if your child is an ASD toddler?
The autism affected ASD toddlers present with the following signs:
- Avoidance of direct eye contact with people
- Not showing any brisk response when their name is called till 9 months.
- ASD toddlers are unable to copy the expressions of parents and other people around them whereas normal toddlers are able do this very efficiently. When someone smiles in front of ASD toddlers, they do not smile or show any response.
- ASD toddlers get upset immediately if any unpleasant taste, sound or smell annoys them.
- Keep on repeating the same phrases and activities. This behavior is called “stimmimg”
- ASD toddlers are noticed to perform the flapping, flicking and other rocking movements spontaneously.
- The ASD toddlers often not talk much.
- The most interesting feature of ASD toddlers is the way they opt to play. Unlike normal children, ASD toddlers tend to line up the toys instead of playing with them.
- ASD toddlers often laugh very much. They produce a rhythmical and tonal laughter called voiced laughter.
- autism spectrum disorder in toddlers have difficulty in managing their emotions so often cry a lot.
At what age the symptoms of ASD toddlers generally appear?
Majority of the toddlers are known of showing their symptoms in the initial 12 months of their life. However, some autism spectrum disorder in toddlers list the symptoms till 24 months or even later. Strikingly, The individuals affected with this disorder also show indifference to pain stimuli, potential adverse response to some sounds, hyper smelling, increased tendency to touch the objects and many different types of visual hallucinations.
Clinical findings that diagnose an ASD toddler
- The affected ASD toddlers with this disorder show indifference to pain stimuli, potential adverse response to some sounds, hyper smelling, increased tendency to touch the objects and many different types of visual hallucinations.
- Rubbing of eyes is one of the most pronounced features of visual ASD.
- About more than 40% of the individuals affected with this visual ASD are known to claim strabismus eye also
Sensory Activities For Autism Spectrum Disorder In Toddlers
The autistic toddlers exhibit greatly depressed social behavior which is improved by stimulating the ASD toddlers by the wide range of sensory activities that lead to the improvements of condition of autistic children. These activities for ASD toddlers are listed below:
Scented playdough
This activity for AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER IN TODDLERS is designed to improve their reaction towards different smells. Pile up the playdough and divide it into separate bowls. Now mix the various ingredients in the bowls to give the playdough peculiar smells like vanilla essence, cinnamon oil and ginger powder. Now let the toddler to play with these fragrant doughs and ask them to identify the smells.
Car wash activity
Make a small and attractive setup of car wash for your ASD toddler. Decorate the setup using different soaps, scrubs and brushes. Encourage your child to play with these elements. This activity for autistic toddler will improve his physical and social interaction.
Mud kitchen
Build a mud kitchen or order an already built kitchen if you have much space in your backyard. Let your ASD toddlers play with the different tools and utensils in the kitchen. This is an excellent activity for autistic toddlers as it greatly improves their sensory visuals.
Painting activity
Ask your child to trace his footprints and then paint with different colors. Let them paint with freedom, this activity for autistic toddlers would help them express their emotions and feelings.
Blind tasting game
This activity for autistic toddlers helps parents and instructors to introduce new tastes to the ASD toddlers. Toddles are blind-folded and asked to guess different tastes given to them. The tastes include cakes, yogurts and brownies. This activity for ASD toddlers would control their hyper-reaction towards different tastes.
Slime playing
This sensory activity for AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER IN TODDLERS is of great value because of the dual nature of slime. Mix corn flour and water in a shallow container until they get slime like consistency. If you punch the slime, it will feel like a solid but when you will scoop it out it again becomes a liquid. This dual nature promotes the judgment and cognition of ASD toddler which is reduced in ASD.
Frozen toys
This is again a valuable activity for autistic children. Freeze the toys in a large tray with water. Then layer up the more toys, finally when they are completely frozen take out the tray and ask your ASD toddler to get out the toys one by one by making use of different tools.
Sensory bottle designing
Fill a neat and transparent bottle with water and glitter and add a few drops of colorful dyes. Now drop some marbles and buttons in the bottle and let the lid seal by using hot gun. Encourage you ASD toddler to focus at this colorful mixture. This sensory activity for autistic toddler will lead to the improvement of focus and attention of ASD toddler.
Edible jewelry collection
Use different types of edible laces and flowers in the meals of your ASD toddler. Now promote the toddler to collect different types of these edibles and thread them together in shape of beautiful bracelets and necklaces. This activity for autistic toddlers is one of the ways to enhance their motor skills.
TEACHING AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Name game
Teaching autistic children this activity will hone their social interactions. This teaching activity ensures that the students learn how to introduce themselves and learn other people names also. It requires the teacher to gather all the autistic children in a circle. Then the teacher will pronounce his name and will ask the student on his right to do so. This procedure is repeated and all the students one by one speak their names. This teaching activity for autistic children promotes their social skills and encourages them to make new friends.
Reading the stories
The teacher is supposed to read different stories like the Cinderella or Peter Pan among the autistic children. Then the teacher asks the ASD children and toddlers to imagine if they are the main characters of story. Teaching autistic children this way would help develop in them a sense of empathy and dealing situations from all perspectives.
Sharing time
Teaching autistic children through this activity will make them an active listener. Every weak an autistic child is asked to bring something he would like to share with other classmates. This sharing time is the period that let the autistic children to express their interests and make new friends of equal interest.
Card games
This is another activity for teaching autistic children. It involves making cards with different emotions imprinted upon them. Now mix the cards and ask the ASD toddlers to pick up the emotion as dictated by the teacher. Teaching autistic children through this way would enable them to recognize and practice different emotions.
Snacks activity
Ask the autistic children to bring them different snacks. You can use snacks of different textures and shapes or of different colors. Ask the autistic children to match and collect the snacks of same colors or shapes. Using this activity, one can teach autistic children the basic mathematics rules like addition and subtraction.
Vegetable paint stamping
Teaching autistic children this painting would increase their focus and cognition and help reduce their impairment. Before the start of class, each autistic child is handed over a few slices of different vegetables like potato, cucumber and peppers. Now ask the autistic children to paint the bottom of each vegetable and then press the painted part against the blank paper. Teaching autistic children to make vibrant botanical impressions will excel their skills.
Fidget toys
ASD toddlers are taught to play with the fidget toys. Teaching autistic children with these toys is considered an important tool for the enhancement of their sensory processing activities.
Puzzle solving
For the betterment of cognition, this cognition activity is designed. The young toddlers and children are allowed to play with the puzzles and solve them.
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