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| What is it? |
| Autism is a neurological disorder that causes delays in cognitive, social, emotional, verbal and non-verbal development. Autism CANNOT be "cured." People effected by autism have it for the rest of their life, but with help, many can learn to function "normally" in society. There are some great resources for information on the web, that better explain what autism is and how it effects the person who has it, and the people around them. I have provided some of those link for you below. Please take a few moments to visit one or more of these websites and learn more about autism. Note: when you click on one of the links, you will leave this site, so you might want to save this one in your favorites. |
| Autism Links: |
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| How Autism has effected Taehler.... We began noticing when Taehler was only an infant (about 4 months old) that something wasn't right. She didn't like being held or cuddled, and we didn't understand why. A few months later, we began noticing that when we would go to town, she would chew on her hands. As she got older, this hand chewing got to the point that she would chew them until they bled. Taehler just got worse as the months went on. She began having extreme obsessive compulsive behaviors. She also acted as though she was deaf, although her hearing had been tested and came out normal. She also began banging her head into walls when she would get upset or frustrated. But we never could understand what was making her upset, or when it was going to happen. After some time, we began to notice that any change in Taehler's routine would set her into these violent behaviors. We began occupational and speech therapy, which helped tremedously. But there was still something wrong. And Taehler was getting older and stronger and more violent as the days and months went on. When Taehler was 3, she was finally diagnosed with having autism. It in some ways came as a great relief, because it gave us understanding to the behavior. And yet, it is kind of scary too. Because there is still so much unknown about this disorder. We do know though that Taehler still continues to have severe anxiety and sensory problems in public. For this reason, we have decided the best thing to do would be to get her a dog who can undestand her, and help her to get through the day. We have already seen how dogs tend to calm Taehler down just by them being with her. And we are able to get through the store without the meltdowns and issues she would normally have. |