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07/Jan/2023

Anxiety In Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Anxiety disorders and symptoms are common co-occurring conditions in youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Research on the prevalence and clinical characteristics of this condition has soared during the past decade. Autistic children feel many of the same worries and fears as other children. Autistic children might also worry or feel stressed about things that are less worrying for typically developing children. Often parents would misinterpret certain behaviours as the child’s tantrums and try to rectify these.

Children with ASD develop anxiety mostly due to the following reasons:

  • Small disruptions to their routines or new sensations they feel in their bodies.
  • Unfamiliar or unpredictable social situations.
  • Situations where it’s hard to know what other people are thinking or feeling.
  • Their own thoughts and feelings, especially unfamiliar or unpleasant physical symptoms that are related to worried thoughts and feelings.

Autism is neuro developmental, whereas anxiety is a mental-emotional. Still, the area of the brain involved in the expression of fear, called the amygdala, may play a role in comorbid anxiety and ASD.

Does your child have the following behavioural pattern?

  • Always feeling on edge
  • Fatigue
  • Trouble with concentration and memory
  • Irritability
  • Muscle tension
  • Uncontrollable worries
  • Reduced amount or quality of sleep

Social and emotional factors may also contribute to anxiety. Autistic people may need support to learn how to read body language and other social cues. Sometimes these situations can make them feel overwhelmed and anxious.

You can help your child learn ways to calm down when they start feeling anxious or stressed.

At Jeevaniyam, we help children who has ASD and suffer anxiety with the help of ayurvedic protocols integrated with:

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – This helps children develop skills to change their thinking in situations that make them anxious

Therapies And Supports – that use gradual exposure to help children face their fears

Social Stories – these can help prepare children for unfamiliar or stressful situations that generally make them anxious

Relaxation Training – to help your child learn to relax.

 

A few things that parents and care takers can teach the child to control anxiety are:

  • Counting slowly to 10
  • Taking 5 deep breaths
  • Running around the yard 5 times
  • Doing 50 jumps on the trampoline
  • Looking at a collection of favourite or special things
  • Reading a favourite book
  • Closing eyes for a few moments
  • Going to a quiet part of the house.

 


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29/Nov/2022

Obsessive Interest In Autism Spectrum Disorder

Many autistic people have intense and highly focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. It can be art, music, gardening, animals, or numbers. For many younger children it might be a particular cartoon character or some characters that might interest them. Autistic children and teenagers can be very intense and focused about favourite toys, activities and topics of conversation. Some children move from one interest or obsession to another, and the interests last for weeks or months before they change. Others develop an interest – for example, in trains – in early childhood and continue this interest through adolescence and into adulthood.

Some autistic children and teenagers have rituals. For example, some children might keep favourite objects in specific places, like the bottom corner of a drawer in the bedroom. They might have to get their objects out and touch them before bed. Or they might drink only from cups or ask the same questions and always need specific answers. Routines are often important to autistic children and teenagers.

They can find change and transitions difficult to cope with. They might like to eat, sleep, or leave the house in the same way every time. For example, children might go to bed happily if you follow their regular bedtime routines but won’t settle if the routines are broken. They might get very upset if their route to preschool is changed, or they might insist on putting their clothes on in the same order each morning. We don’t know what causes obsessive behaviour or the need for routines and rituals. The cause might not be the same for everyone.

Also, obsessions, routines and rituals help some autistic children manage stress and anxiety. When they feel stressed because they don’t understand what’s going on around them, obsessions and rituals let them take some control of their surroundings. Sensory sensitivities can lead to some autistic children developing obsessions and rituals. For example, children might stroke people’s hair whenever they can because they enjoy the sensation, or it helps them feel calm. And some autistic children have trouble with planning, so having a rigid routine or ritual helps comfort them and relieves feelings of stress and anxiety.

At Jeevaniyam we handle autistic children’s obsessions, routines, and rituals. Jeevaniam offers the best autism treatment in Kerala, India. We give trainings to both parents and children so that the child and the families can live with daily obsessive behaviour, routines, and rituals without much of difficulty. Our trained doctors and therapist help the child and the family to identify and answer the following questions:

  • Is your child’s behaviour affecting their ability to learn?
  • Is your child’s behaviour affecting their social life?
  • Is your child’s behaviour affecting your family’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities, or to go on holidays or trips?
  • How would you feel if this behaviour is the same in a few years?
  • Is your child’s behaviour causing harm to themselves or others?

These questions might help you decide whether it’s worth trying to change things. And if you decide you want to work on your child’s obsessions and routines, your answers might help you work out what to focus on. It will be easy to develop a plan to manage your child’s obsessions, rituals and routines, it’s a good idea to think about your child’s developmental level and communication skills.

For example,

Does your child have the communication skills to understand your instructions?
Working out what’s causing your child’s behaviour might also guide your next steps. Is it sensory?

Or

Does your child feel anxious when faced with the unknown?

We might be able to manage the sensory issues or the anxiety, which could lead to a decrease in the behaviour. If your child’s behaviour isn’t affecting their life or other people in a negative way, but you still want to decrease it, you could consider setting some limits on the behaviour.


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21/Nov/2022

Mental Health & Autism Children

Autism is not a mental health(MH) problem, but autistic children can have good and bad (MH) like anyone else. It’s a developmental condition that affects how they see the world and how they interact with other people. Children with autism do often experience mental health problems. seven out of ten autistic people have a (MH) condition such as anxietydepression or OCD. It can be challenging to untangle autism and co-occurring mental health conditions.

The co-occurrence of mental health disorders among autistic children can complicate how clinicians understand the child’s behaviour, evaluate interventions they are participating in, and provide strategies for supporting them. When an child is showing signs of distress, knowing the cause of the symptoms can be rather challenging. For example, an autistic child in the classroom may begin to engage in disruptive behaviour, such as ripping up their paper. The teacher or other support staff may assume this behaviour is a result of autism; however, the child may be displaying an anxious behaviour because they do not understand the task at hand. There is little research into why this is, but it may be because autistic people:

  • Can struggle to try to fit into or make sense of the world, which can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety
  • May face delays in getting their mental health problems diagnosed
  • Children are more likely to face stigma and discrimination
  • Children are less likely to have appropriate support available. For example, group therapy might not be suitable for some autistic people, or therapists might not know how to adapt their approach to helping an autistic person

Research has shown that autistic youth with co-occurring anxiety, depression, OCD, and/or eating disorders often have difficulties in regulating emotions. Emotional dysregulation is the inability to adjust or control one’s emotions, making calming down and/or identifying one’s feelings much harder. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has shown positive results for assisting autistics to understand their emotions and develop the skills to manage their emotions. It is important for parents to have a positive and open communicative.

At Jeevaniyam, we support autistic children with co-occurring mental health conditions by understanding the triggers instead of making vague assumptions with the help of our doctors and supporting staff and digging into the root cause of the problems. Because of emotional dysregulation, autistic individuals are more likely to use maladaptive and involuntary emotional regulation methods, if an individual’s triggers have been addressed and supported yet the individual still demonstrates symptoms of anxiety, professionals should consider evidence-based treatments to provide the individual with healthier regulation methods. Getting an autism diagnosis with our team and developing a better understanding of themselves has helped many autistic individuals with depression to improve the overall mental health.


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17/Nov/2022

Special Kids Aren’t That Special, But They Are Amazing

Isn’t every kid special? We think so. But what do we mean when we say, “kids with special needs”? This means any kid who might need extra help because of a medical, emotional, or learning problem. These kids have special needs because they might need medicine, therapy, or extra help in school — stuff other kids don’t typically need or only need occasionally. Special kids have the same face value as others, they also have ego, fears and anxiety and they need to be happy and hear nice things. We should treat them as normal as we treat others.

No one likes to be excluded from a group. Think back to your own experiences from childhood or adolescence. Perhaps you weren’t invited to a party you wanted to go to or were rejected by members of a social group that you admired and wanted to be part of. To be excluded from a social group can bring up feelings of isolation, anxiety, doubt, confusion, humiliation, loneliness, and sadness, among many other painful emotions.

Knowing this, it is tragic to learn that most children with disabilities are excluded from being part of a normal school program. This perspective of society should change. There is no point in mentioning kids as special kids, they are not special they are just like any other child that wants to be loved and be friends with others. Kids are not only for us to form as good human beings but also to form a good society. All children are beautifully made. All children have different talents and strengths. We need to find those and  enhance those traits that the children are strong in.

At Jeevaniyam, we nurture the kids from a very young age and with our assessment techniques our team of doctors, psychologists and therapists train the children with the required therapies help the child learn new techniques and to remove blocks in the learning process.


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22/Oct/2022

Virtual Autism – A New Threat To Toddlers

Virtual autism is a condition that is understood to occur when young children under the age of four are exposed to excessive screen time. Studies have shown that children with autism show impaired social communication skills and repetitive behaviours. When children spend hours a day interacting with screens, it can lead to reduced brain function and challenging behaviour.

It is thought that this may be caused by the fact that many of the games and apps we use on our phones, tablets, and computers have been developed specifically for children. This has led to an increase in prevalence among children under four years old.

Over-exposure to screentime is defined by experts as more than two hours per day. More than this has been found to affect brain development, leading to cognitive abilities being affected, speech delay and certain behavioural issues, resulting in children that are not able to interact positively with their peers. The age up to three years is very crucial for any toddler to develop language and speech skills.

It is through observing lip movements of those around them that babies learn to speak. Experts opine that if this is replaced by mimicking characters as seen on TV, developmental issues are sure to develop in the child. To find features in children, parents should pay attention to every activity of the child, especially when the child is playing games on the mobile phone computer or PC, watching movies.

If these symptoms are ignored, then your child will grow up with this idea. Takes this direction. The baby is small. As their symptoms start to appear, you have more time. You can stop your child early, which affects his mental capacity.

The symptoms of virtual autism are like other forms of autism. The main difference is that they do not have any physical symptoms. Some of the major symptoms found in children are:
  • They can’t interact in society and are unable to speak, read, or write.
  • Lack of eye contact.
  • inability to play with other people.
  • Unusual speech patterns.

 

Physical activities have a major impact on the emotional development of the child. Emotional health is very important for the development of the child and can be greatly stimulated by movement. With the help of sports, the child grows physically, mentally, and emotionally fulfilled. Sports stimulate interactions.

Encourage parents to seek professional guidance if they have concerns about their toddler’s development or if they suspect symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Provide resources for finding qualified professionals who specialize in early intervention and autism assessment.

While technology has its benefits, it is crucial to navigate the digital landscape with caution, especially when it comes to toddlers’ development. By understanding the risks and challenges of “virtual autism” and implementing strategies for healthy technology use, we can create a balanced environment that supports optimal development and sets the stage for toddlers to thrive both in the virtual world and the real world.

Let us embrace technology as a tool while prioritizing face-to-face interactions, sensory experiences, and age-appropriate activities to foster healthy growth and development in our youngest learners.

Encourage parents to seek professional guidance if they have concerns about their toddler’s development or if they suspect symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Provide resources for finding qualified professionals who specialize in early intervention and autism assessment.

At Jeevaniyam, we are a team of experts who want to help as many parents as possible understand what is happening with their children so they can take adequate actions. Our protocol includes a combination of ayurvedic protocols, diet and physical activities which will enable the child to improve their physical, mental and emotional health.


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18/Oct/2022

Understanding The Effects of Autism on Brain

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that has been widely studied for over 30 years. Despite its high prevalence rate, the causes of autism remain elusive. What’s more, the treatment effect of autism varies considerably from person to person and often depends on the severity of symptoms present at birth. The causes for these differences in prevalence are not fully known at this time, although it is thought that genetic factors may play a role in some people’s risk for developing ASD from birth onward.

The term itself derives from the Greek word “autos” meaning ‘self’, and “-poiein”, or “to make or do”. Symptoms appear before age 3 and may be accompanied by some degree of delay in development. This disorder is characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and nonverbal communication and restrictive, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities.

No two people with ASD. are the same, in terms of their symptoms. For some people on the spectrum, it’s difficult to make eye contact or read other people’s facial expressions. Persons with autism experience information processing in their brains that is different from people without autism.

The brain shows less coordinated activity in ASD. Uncertainty exists on whether autism affects how specific brain regions function on their own.

The brain’s grey matter, which controls the majority of its functions, is far more developed in children with ASD. Children with ASD have brains that are larger overall than those of typical children but underdeveloped in certain areas.

This phenomenon might help explain why some kids with ASD excel at math and other subjects that require keen visual-spatial abilities and learning by role, while other kids struggle in these areas.

The human brain contains extensive structural and functional networks. Early brain imaging shows that a brain region can have different activity and roles with both brain network activities and functions. Functional connections and anatomical connections in the brain can be distinguished from one another. The physical connections that exist between the two hemispheres of the brain contain these connections.

At Jeevaniyam, our doctors have an integrative ayurvedic approach in identifying the symptoms of autism and treating it. There is no cure for autism, but there is evidence to suggest that the earlier a child with autism is diagnosed and treated, the better their life will be and our protocols play a major role in improving the quality of life for these children.

 


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08/Oct/2022

Behavioural Therapy For ADHD Kids

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be difficult to diagnose in children and adolescents because symptoms can vary greatly from one child to another. Behavioural therapy is a treatment that addresses behaviours and emotions that cause problems with concentration, organization, time management, self-control, and cooperation. This is also one of the most widely seen neurodevelopmental problems of children while growing up. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. One of the major treatment techniques used for controlling ADHD is behavioural therapy. Behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that can improve a child’s behaviour, self-control, and self-esteem.

Behavioural Therapy an umbrella term for types of therapy that treat ADHD. This will benefit your child by limiting their destructive behaviour, strengthen their good behaviour and most importantly enable the child to express their feelings in a peaceful manner. Behavioural therapy is used to treat the following symptoms like:

  • Eating Disorder
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Social phobias
  • Self-harming behaviour

The four most common treatments for ADHD under behavioural therapy are:

Applied behaviour analysis (ABA): This is a form of therapy where the child’s environment is changed to help them learn how to behave in a more normal manner. It involves using rewards and punishment to encourage or discourage certain behaviours.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This is based on the theory that many of the problems experienced by people with ADHD stem from their thoughts, feelings, and actions. CBT focuses on helping the individual understand their own behaviour as well as why it may be inappropriate.

Cognitive behavioral play therapy: This type of therapy uses play to help children learn about certain situations and challenges they might face in life. The therapist helps children think about how they would react if they were faced with these challenges and then works with them on how best to handle them.

Exposure therapy: This type of therapy involves exposing the individual to something that scares them so that they can become desensitized to it over time. In this way, the person will eventually stop responding so strongly when faced with similar situations in the future

At Jeevaniyam, we have an integrated approach, which comprises of ayurvedic therapies and behavioural therapies by doctors and professionals, as ADHD is a serious mental health disorder that can make it difficult for some people to work, study and get along with others. Behavioral therapy can help people with ADHD manage their symptoms, so they are less disruptive and more manageable.


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14/Sep/2022

How Social Skills Are Affected By Autism?

Autism is a developmental disorder that can impact the way a person communicates, interacts with the world around them, and manages emotions. The treatment of social skills deficit remains one of the most challenging areas in meeting the needs of people with autism. Social skills are formed through regular interactions with people. Since children with autism have a hard time understanding and reading others, social skills often need to be taught differently.

Social skills can be limited or different in a child with autism regardless of the severity of the disorder. Generally, a higher degree of disability means a more significant impact on behaviour, communication skills, and social interactions. Autistic children can find it difficult to use social skills they’ve learned. For example, your child might be able to share pencils at home with their siblings but not at school with their classmates. They may become easily overwhelmed or frustrated when they try to develop and sustain friendships. Making friends can be frightening, confusing and anxiety-provoking for autistic young people. There are various reasons why people with autism may find it challenging to make and maintain friendships.

The difficulties  related to  social skills and interactions include:

  • Poor non-verbal communication skills and behaviour.
  • An inability to “read” others.
  • Difficulties with back-and-forth conversations and interactions.
  • Difficulty understanding non-verbal communication cues in other people.
  • Trouble adjusting behaviour to the situation, often resulting in inappropriate behaviour.
  • Lack of interest in peers.
  • No desire for imaginary or collaborative play.
  • Inflexibility with routines and schedules.

 

At Jeevaniyam, we have a team of doctors, Behaviour Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists and Speech and Language Pathologists who evaluates each child and help them attain social skills. We guide the child about the importance of social skills with the help of stories, videos and other presentation tools as an introduction. Based on this, as the next step, we ensure that the child participates in all activities and games that makes it easy for the child to understand and follow.

Once the child is familiar with this, we make the child  practice the same with different sets of people so that the child becomes less resistant in interacting with people. Some of the most important social skills that we improve are greeting others, sharing with others, helping others, appropriately expressing emotions, manners, interacting with other kids and adults, following multi step directions and complimenting the tasks achieved. Once all the above things are achieved, we would encourage the child to develop friendships.  We have buddy programs like learning ladders which helps the child to have an integrated play group.


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28/Jul/2022

Everything you need to know about a late talker!

A toddler between 1.5 years – 2.5 years who has good social skills, thinking skills, typically developing play skills, motor skills, and understanding of language, but has a limited spoken vocabulary for his or her age is usually referred to as a late talker. Usually most of the kids start talking from 9 months to 18 months. If you have a child that hasn’t spoken any words at that age, we want to look carefully at that child.

If your child has a Speech or Language Delay, there are a few signs to look for:

  • Incapable of communicating by the age of 2 years.
  • Inability to speak in short sentences before the age of 3 years.
  • Inability to follow instructions.
  • A lack of communication or word pronunciation.
  • Difficulty forming a sentence together.
  • Leaving out words from a sentence.

 

There are two types of late talkers:

  • Speech delay:

    Alludes to the words we say and how we say them. Kids with speech deferrals might battle to figure out words, and you might find them experiencing issues understanding what you are talking about.

  • Language Delay:

    Language alludes to the way we speak with others. Youngsters who are deferred in their language improvement might have the option to say a couple of words yet have a restricted jargon or can’t put multiple words together.

 

Speech or Language delays in children have many possible causes. Some common causes include the following:

  • Several Psychosocial Issues:

    These can cause language delays, as well. For example, severe neglect can lead to problems with language development.

  • Hearing Impairment: 

    It’s common for children who have a hearing impairment to have a language impairment as well. If they can’t hear language, learning to communicate can be difficult.

  • Intellectual Disability: 

    A variety of intellectual disabilities can cause language delays. For instance, dyslexia and other learning disabilities lead to language delays in some cases.

  • Autism:

    While not all children with autism have language delays, autism frequently affects communication.

 

Dealing with a late talker is a stressful experience for parents. A parent should start to raise concerns if you think your child may be a late talker, it’s never too early to seek help. Recognizing and treating speech and language delays early on is the best approach. At Jeevaniyam, we do early intervention using out tailor made assessment protocols and our speech-language pathologist listen to your concerns and will work with your child to improve speech and language skills.


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30/Jan/2022

Ayurveda Feeding Practices for ASD Kids

A healthy diet becomes one of the biggest hurdles when feeding the kid with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder). It can relieve us of all the additional concerns about alternative diets. Nutrition can change the essence of your autistic kids. The good news is that Ayurveda has solutions for multiple problems.

Ayurveda has long used diet as a principal means of creating health within the body and mind. Hundreds of years before Hippocrates instructed, “Let food be thy medicine,” Ayurveda defined principles for making that advice practical.

Choosing foods according to your constitution, paying attention to food and eating as per your capacity are some of the Ayurvedic practices that could bring about a great deal of change in your overall well-being.

Cultivating healthy eating habits is essential for maintaining healthy body weight and the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda has some principles pertaining to just that. Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that goes back 4000 years. It believes in maintaining the balance of the bodily system through diet, natural herbs and some yogic practices.

A lot of these Ayurvedic practices are being studied in labs across the world and many of these practices have been shown to have scientific backing too. An ideal Ayurvedic diet talks about many eating habits that have the potential to cure so many of our modern and urban woes.

key areas Ayurveda concentrate related to food:

  • Digestion – Eating involves sight, smell, taste, chewing, swallowing and digestion. Suitable nourishing diet for each individual need to be set and monitored by the Ayurvedic professional.
  • Allergies – Individuals need to be monitored for food allergies.
  • Toxins – causes of illness could be related to undigested, unsuitable foods that can lead to the accumulation of toxic material.

 

Things to remember while feeding kids with ASD

  • Try to be a vegetarian maximum. Stay away from shellfishes and meat.
  • Maintain a minimum gap of 1.5 hours between food and sleep.
  • Ensure an absolute gluten-free diet.
  • Wash hands, foot, ears, mouth, and face before food with normal water/cold water.
  • The amount of food should be strict as per his/her appetite- not as per the nutritive value or affinity towards that food.
  • Food should always be warm and fresh.
  • Avoid too spicy and fried food.
  • Prefer a calm and quiet place for eating or feeding.
  • Ensure the use of an ash guard.

Food & food practices that parents need to avoid

  • Microwaved food.
  • All refined processed and chemical food (this includes white sugar, chips, chocolates, white flour, legumes other than green and white mung, soft drinks and most anything you would find on a modern supermarket shelf).
  • Dairy Products, including tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers, Citrus Fruits, Peanuts. Preservatives, colours, food additives, Leftovers, Old cheeses, Cold foods and drinks.
  • If you are lactose intolerant and can’t take organic milk, then make almond or rice milk (do not purchase readymade milk powders).

At Jeevaniyam we have professionals & specialists to guide parents or caretakers to create a food habit like this for the child from a very young age.


Copyright by Jeevaniyam Ayurveda Hospital. 2024. All rights reserved.

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