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Autism
Jonathan F. Rubalcaba
Autism
The evolution of the human gene is upon us. I believe the purpose of life has to come
back to the state in which it came from, a loving father that guides his children in life. We have
to come together as children of God and humble ourselves to help our current situation. The
main situation that will be addressed in this paper is autism. I will be addressing several topics
The term autism is a term that is used for an umbrella spectrum of specific disorders that
fall under the spectrum of autism. Some of the specific disorders are Aspergers syndrome,
Some of the characteristics of autism include speech and language delay. Children on the
spectrum could have speech and language delays. In extreme cases a child could be nonverbal at
the age where children should typically have some speech. A typical developing child goes as
follows; When children turn 3, they have a grasp of approximately 300 words and use language
eagerly. When they reach age 4, they can speak completely comprehensibly, use questions
starting with Why? When? How? and listen to stories (Yavuzer, 2000). Another sign of autism
is no eye contact or limited eye contact. Another characteristic that falls under the autism
spectrum would be unusual behavior. Unusual behavior could be a number of things. Some
behaviors that would fall under unusual behaviors are repeated behaviors like spinning around in
circles, flapping of the hands and arms, self-regulation, and or verbal stemming. Another key
characteristic of unusual behavior would be if the child seems to be in a world of their own. This
is one of the main behaviors that would hinder education and learning. These characteristics are
key for doctors, psychologist, and field professionals to determine if a child is or is not on the
autism spectrum.
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In our society there are several steps to get a diagnosis of one of specific disorders that
fall under the umbrella of the autism spectrum. The first step would be to schedule an
appointment with the pediatrician. During the pediatrician they should have you fill out an
Autism Rating Scale and an Ages and Stages Questionnaire which will help the doctor get
information on your child. After all that is finished and completed just ask for a referral in
(CVRC) Center Valley Regional Center. CVRC will set up an appointment with the parents and
child and assess the child. During the assessment there should be about 3 professionals, a doctor,
a speech pathologist, phycologist. After that first assessment there will be one more assessment
one on one with a doctor or a phycologist that will give their diagnoses.
Education and children on the spectrum is such a wide spread variation just like the
spectrum itself. Children on the spectrum and their educational outcome could be two polar
opposites. Think of an umbrella when thinking of autism and children. You have high
functioning children on the spectrum and you have severe children on the spectrum. Some
children on the spectrum will need more help than others. Some children will need help even in
adulthood due to having a severe case of autism. Being on the spectrum will sometimes affect
the ability to learn life skills and social skills and is one reason why a child will need assistance
in adulthood. While others on the spectrum are so highly functional they can be considered to
Children on the spectrum and family can sometimes be a touchy subject. With any
condition that a child could have the family can react in different ways. In some cases, it could
bring the family that much more together. In some cases, the hardship of having a child on the
spectrum could have a negative effect on the family and family members. Some negative effects
on the parents could be a blaming one. For example, a parent could blame themselves or the
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other parent for a childs condition. Siblings could again have two different outcomes when
having a sibling on the spectrum. For example, a sibling can very easily fall into a roll of a
young sibling parent. Taking care of the sibling on the spectrum and watching out for them
constantly. This could generate suppressed emotions. If a sibling is taking care of another
sibling all their childhood life than this could cause those suppressed emotions. On the other
hand, if a sibling is taking care of a sibling on the spectrum they could have a strong and unique
bond. The bond could be such a good experience that it just strengthens their bond together and
bond to God.
Again with autism and the specific disorders that fall under the umbrella of autism could
have a wide spread outcome. Being active in the community and being a productive citizen
could be an achievable goal depending on the severity of the autism. As for the polar opposites
of the spectrum, on one side of the spectrum you could have a gold winning Olympic athlete or a
CEO of a billion-dollar computer company. On the opposite side of the spectrum you could have
an adult that might need assistances their whole life and work on life skills even in adulthood.
Again something to remember about being on the spectrum is that it is a spectrum and one
childs life is one childs life, and will have a different and unique outcome from the next child.
From experience and research the best and effective way to assist a child on the spectrum
is early intervention with ABA therapy. ABA or applied behavior analysis is the best researched
and evidence based type of therapy to assist children on the spectrum. This therapy if introduced
early could be the determining factor for a child on the spectrum to catch up to milestone before
the age of 5.
many different programs in the central valley currently. Before the Autism Center at Fresno
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State closed down this year they were using this research based intervention therapy for their
clients. Another program in the central valley that using ABA therapy is The Village Preschool/
BIA Behavior Intervention Association. This is a combo program that using in-home services
and center based services with the bonus factor of having their own preschool that has the
inclusion factor for their clients is a high quality program that serves children in the central
valley. I have seen these programs in action and they both gave me hope. My children are
examples of the effectiveness of both programs working together with the parents to assist
I believe that with a high quality ABA intervention at an early age could help a child to be
on track as that of a typical child. I also believe that if a child during their school years can get a
similar approach to their education like an early intervention than this approach would be the
best and more effective way to assist a child on the spectrum during their school years. One
thing to keep in mind again is that not all children will have the same outcome in life. Each child
will be unique in their own way. The outcome of a child will determine on several key factors.
I have seen different special education class rooms and regular mainstream class rooms
during my life. I have seen how mild to moderate special education classroom used the pec
system to assist their students. I have seen classrooms use the pec system to help give the
students a visual aid of their day. Autism has impacted our educational system in a huge way.
We have seen a boost in numbers of children being diagnosed with a form of autism. We have
Again, I believe that the evolution of the human gene is upon us. I believe the purpose of
life has to come back to the state in which it came from, a loving father that guides his children
in life. We have to come together as children of God and humble ourselves to help our current
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situation. Autism has help me do just that. I have humbled down for a better life with my
children. I believe that I have been working hard towards a more guiding life with my children.
I believe God has a plan for me and my children. I will continue to assist my children as God
References
Turnbull, A, Turnbull, R, Wehmeyer, M., Shogren, K. (2013). Exceptional Lives (7th Ed.). Upper
Dr.. Horowitz, S (2013). The National Center for Learning Disabilities. What is autism spectrum
Aydin, A. (2016). Development of the Parent Form of the Preschool Children's Communication
Skills Scale and Comparison of the Communication Skills of Children with Normal
Development and with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Educational Sciences: Theory And