Who are we?

This is an interest group setup with the following objectives:

1. To educate the Maldivian society on autism, a developmental disorder affecting speech, social skills and behaviour;
(We aim to eduate the society on how to identify the symptoms of autism sothat parents can consult a concerned professional (a psycholigist or psychiatrist or a developmetal peadiarician) for a diagnosis before it is too late. While doing this we will discourage the society from labelling a child as autistic and feel indifferent towards him or her. On the contrary, we wish to make the society understand the need to be helpful and supportive towards them by providing information on how to treat such children and where the treatments or therapies are available.)

2. To voice the need for the establishment of diagnosis facilities throughout the country sothat intervention/therapy can be pursued as early as possible;
(Our understanding is that at present there is no means for parents to carry out a formal diagnosis on autism within the country, even if they wish for it. We should understand here that obtaining a formal diagnosis is not the best you can do for your child, but beginning an early intervention program or treatment for your child immediately after it, as success rates are high with those child who begins intervention/therapy at an early age.)

3. To voice the importance of establishing early intervention facilities/centres at the health institutions and elsewhere within the country; and
(We should understand that only a small number of families can afford to get treatment for their children overseas. So, early intervention facilities and scientifically proven therapies must be made available within the country and should be readily available at the local health institutions like other types of treatments. If not, the government must provide opportunities for these children to obtain treatment at affordable rates from places where they are available.)

4. To provide a platform whereby parents and professionals can discuss and share knowledge as well as resources to treat autism.
(Treatment of autism is rather difficult and complex, as there is no ONE cure for it. Symptoms of autism can go away or minimise with treatment. Although some claim autism is incurable records of children who have come out of it and no longer show the symptoms of autism do exist! Whichever the case is, treatment of autism can guarantee an autistic child to be more independent and better off than who has not obtained it. The most important aspect of treatment is obtaining learning resources and guidance from other parents as well as professionals to deal with the children with autism.)

We shall welcome local contributors in order to enrich this weblog with information and resouces useful for the Maldivian society. If you are interested to become a contributor please do not hesitate to write to us stating why you want to be become one. Our email is autismmaldives@yahoo.com

101 Ways to Praise your Child

When a child does something good that action must be praised. Praising is a way of encouraging good behaviours to repeat. This helps to reinforce good behaviour in the child. This is the starting point of behavior modification. Children with special needs require behaviour modification to correct their behavioural problems such as poor eye contact, bad hand writing, poor attention, undesired behaviors, etc. However, behaviour modification is not specific to children with special needs, it can be used on anybody to get a desired behaviour.

Some parents unfortunately do not know what to say when his or her child does something good. I've included below some words, hoping these will be of help to those parents.

Wow * Way To Go * Super * You're Special * Outstanding * Excellent * Great * Good * Neat * Well Done * Remarkable * I Knew You Could Do It * I'm Proud Of You * Fantastic * Super Star * Nice Work * Looking Good * You're On Top Of It * Beautiful * Now You're Flying * You're Catching On * Now You've Got It * You're Incredible * Bravo * You're Fantastic * Hurray For You * You're On Target * You're On Your Way * How Nice * How Smart * Good Job * That's Incredible * Hot Dog * Dynamic * You're Beautiful * You're Unique * Nothing Can Stop You Now * Good For You * I like You * You're A Winner * Remarkable Job * Beautiful Work * Spectacular * You're Spectacular * You're A Darling * You're Precious * Great Discovery * You've Discovered The Secret * You Figured It Out * Fantastic Job * Hip, Hip, Hurray * Bingo * Magnificent * Marvelous * Terrific * You're Important * Phenomenal * You're Sensational * Super Work * Creative Job * Super Job * Fantastic Job * Exceptional Performance * You're A Real Trooper * You Are Responsible * You Are Exciting * You Learned It Right * What An Imagination * What A Good Listener * You Are Fun * You're Growing Up * You Tried Hard * You Care * Beautiful Sharing * Outstanding Performance * You're A Good Friend * I Trust You * You're Important * You Mean Alot To Me * You Make Me Happy * You Belong * You've Got A Friend * You Make Me Laugh * You Brighten My Day * I Respect You * You Mean The World To Me * That's Correct * You're A Joy * You're A Treasure * You're Wonderful * You're Perfect * Awesome * A Plus Job * You're The Best * A Big Hug * A Big Kiss * I Love You!

Bear in your mind that when you use these words with children with special needs you must use them jointly with non-verbal cues. That is, make yourself sound excited and exaggerate the action with a tickle, kiss, pat or something. Then only the desired outcome can be achieved.

What is RDI? Another therapy for autism?

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a proven method to improve development progress in children with autism. It is more therapist-focussed, systematic and well-structured with lots of data gathering. Although it is believed to be effective and well recognised by stake holders of autism, it has been criticised for 'making a robot out of a child'. As a result another therapy method called Floortime came to being. Unlike ABA, Floortime is more child-centred. While the child takes the lead the therapist follows and engages with the child through fun and excitement.

Now we have Relationship Development Intervention (RDI). It is more focussed on improving interaction with the child through joint activities. If you wish to know more about this approach log onto http://www.rdiconnect.com/

Here are some videos http://www.rdiconnect.com/video/default.asp

On the left I've also included a link to a good website. There you can see how RDI is implemented by the parents as a lifestyle to encourage the child to interaction and respond more to them.

Please note that I do not imply that RDI is better than ABA or Floortime approach. For a good result I advise parents to use a combination of them while keeping in mind each child is different and a method which had worked on another child might not work for your child.