Autism in Kenya and its Prevalence
Outline
2.1 Symptoms of Asperger syndrome
2.2 Prevalence of Autism in Kenya
Autism in Kenya and its Prevalence
Outline
2.1 Symptoms of Asperger syndrome
2.2 Prevalence of Autism in Kenya
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by
impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive
behavior. The signs usually begin before a child is three years old (Autistic
disorder, 2000). Autism has a strong
genetic basis, although the genetics are complex. It is unclear whether the Aspergers syndrome (ASD)
one of the three recognized disorders is explained more by rare mutations,
or by rare combinations of common genetic variants (Abrahams,
2008). In rare cases, autism is strongly
associated with agents that cause birth defects (Stodgell, 2005).
According to Doshen,
(2008) the term "autism spectrum" refers to a range of developmental
disabilities that include autism as well as other disorders with similar
characteristics. Shriver, (2010) observed that different
people with autism can have very different symptoms. Health care providers think of autism as a
“spectrum” disorder, a group of disorders with similar features. One person may have mild symptoms, while
another may have serious symptoms. But
they both have an autism spectrum disorder. There are various types of the
autism disorders:
a)
Autistic disorder (also called “classic” autism)
b)
Asperger syndrome
c)
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise
Specified (or atypical autism).
In some cases, health care
providers use a broader term, pervasive developmental disorder, to describe autism. This category includes the autism spectrum
disorders above, plus Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Rett
syndrome.
This paper
examines closely Asperger syndrome. The sections covered include definition
of the syndrome, symptoms of Asperger syndrome, prevalence of Autism in
Asperger
syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by an
inability to understand how to interact socially. Typical features of the
syndrome also may include clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements, social
impairment with extreme egocentricity, limited interests and unusual
preoccupations, repetitive routines or rituals, speech and language
peculiarities, and non-verbal communication problems.
Because the symptoms of Asperger syndrome are often hard to differentiate from
other syndromes, it's best to let a doctor or other health professional
evaluate your child's symptoms. According to Doshen,
(2008) the key sysmptoms that would differentiate
this syndrome include the following:
a)
Inappropriate or minimal social interactions
b)
Conversations almost always revolving around self
rather than others
c)
"Scripted," "robotic," or
repetitive speech
d)
Lack of "common sense"
e)
Problems with reading, math, or writing skills
f)
Obsession with complex topics such as patterns or music
g)
Average to below-average nonverbal cognitive abilities,
though verbal cognitive abilities are usually average to above-average
h)
Awkward movements
i)
Odd behaviors or mannerisms
Autism in
Autism is a devastating and complex
developmental disorder affecting approximately 4% of the Kenyan population. (Autism Society of
Due to prevalence of Autism in
In an effort to cater for the
autistic children, a unit was established in
Today, many schools and special units combine all people with disabilities into one group irrespective of the fact that different disabilities require different programs and ways of handling the individual.
In order to protect the rights of the disabled, more especially those who are mentally challenged (as in the case of autistic persons), the Government of Kenya passed a disability Act in 2003 under which it is an offence to conceal or imprison the mentally ill or disabled person
From the early 1900s, autism has referred
to a range of psychological conditions.
The word "autism," which
has been in use for about 100 years, comes from the Greek word
"autos," meaning "self." The term describes conditions in
which a person is removed from social interaction hence, an isolated self. Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss
psychiatrist, was the first person to use the term. He started using it around
1911 to refer to one group of symptoms of schizophrenia. In the 1940s,
researchers in the
According to Stokes (2010) the
child with Asperger's will need to be directly taught
various social skills (recognition, comprehension and application) in
one-to-one and/or small group settings. Social skills training will also be
needed to generalize previously learned social skills from highly structured
supportive contexts to less structured settings and, eventually, real-life
situations. It is important to emphasize that children with Asperger's
Syndrome will not learn social relations by watching other people, or by
participating in various social situations. They tend to have great difficulty
even recognizing the essential information of a social situation, let alone
processing / interpreting it appropriately. Tools for teaching social skills is
the best intervention to child with Asperger's these
include the following:
Social
Stories - The use of Social
Stories and social scripts can provide the child with visual information and
strategies that will improve his understanding of various social situations. In
addition, the Social Stories/scripts can teach the child appropriate behaviors
to exhibit when he is engaged in varied social situations. The repetitious
"reading" of the Social Story/script makes this strategy effective
for the child with Asperger's Syndrome. A 3-ring
binder of Social Stories/scripts kept both at home and school, for the child to
read at his leisure, has proven very successful for many students with Asperger's Syndrome
Role-playing
-This takes place by role-playing various social situations which can be an
effective tool for teaching a child appropriate social responses.
Video-taping/audio-taping
- This takes place by video-taping/audio-taping
both appropriate and inappropriate social behaviors can assist the child in
learning to identify and respond appropriately to various social situations.
Lunch/recess
club -This is a structured lunch/recess time with specific peers to
focus on target social skills for the child with Asperger's
Syndrome. This strategy can assist in generalizing social skills previously
learned in a structured setting.
Comic
Strip Conversations – This can be used to visually clarify social
interactions and emotional relations. Peer partners/buddies: Specific peer(s) can be
chosen to accompany and possibly assist the child with Asperger's
Syndrome during less structured social situations and when experiencing social
difficulties (e.g., out of class transitions, recess, lunch, etc.). This peer
support network should initially be established in a small group setting.
Individualized
visual social "rule" cards can be taped to the child's desk as a
visual reminder regarding appropriate social behaviors to exhibit. Portable
"rule" cards can be used for environments other than the classroom.
The rules can be written on index cards, laminated, and then given to the child
to carry along as visual reminders of the social "rules" for any
particular context.
Autism Society of
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