In today’s society where information flows freely, parents can easily receive different messages. However, these messages are often debatable or even wrong. Believing wrong information can easily lead to misguided choices and delay treatment, the consequences of which may last a lifetime. When conducting one-on-one consultations with parents, I often hear the following misguided views and ideas from parents. I share these with you to avoid detours in the process of choosing and receiving treatment:
Your child is still small, they will improve when they grow up. 
Many children with autism demonstrate different symptoms at an early age. However, due to the limited awareness of autism, parents often fail to detect them in time. Even if they are aware of the problem, they tend to believe that the child is still small and that they will gradually improve when they grow up. However, this mindset will cause the family to miss the opportunity for early treatment. If the child really suffers from autism, the problems will only become more and more obvious as he grows older. Therefore, if parents have doubts, they should take their children to a professional for an evaluation.
I started talking when I was three years old.
The child will know how to speak after going to school.
If the child is purely slow in learning to speak, then this statement may be true. However, if the child also exhibits other behavioral symptoms, such as low awareness towards the environment, narrow interests, and rigid behaviours, then their parents should seek a professional’s help to assess the child as soon as possible, so as not to miss the golden opportunity for early treatment.
Your child doesn’t seem to have autism; don’t be too nervous!
It’s just his character! Don’t worry!
Children with autism cannot be distinguished from other children by their appearance. Many parents, especially mothers, are often able to accurately identify their children’s problems. However, insufficient understanding of autism and a tendency to subjectively believe that the child has no problem, will result in delayed treatment for their child. If parents have doubts, they should seek a professional evaluation instead of presuming or listening to the opinions of non-professionals.
Different treatment methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Parents should not let their children receive only one single treatment, but should let their children undergo diversified treatment.
As early as 1987, studies have pointed out that receiving only ABA-intensive treatment is more effective than receiving a mix of other treatment methods. In 2005, another study pointed out that having a single therapy would be more effective than having eclectic therapies. In fact, this result is easy to understand. Different treatments use different approaches to teach children. For example, when we try to teach children to make requests, AP focuses on teaching children saying the names of the objects that they want. Meanwhile, other therapists may teach children to reach out and say “want” or pat themselves to express their desires. If children receive inconsistent treatment, they often feel confused and lost.
Intensive treatment is too tiring and would impose too much pressure for children.
The intensity of treatment depends on the age and the level of the child. If the child is older or their ability is lower, the required treatment will be more intense. We have high expectations for our children and aim to narrow the gap between them and their peers, in the shortest possible time. In our experience, students as young as two years old can adapt to an ABA class of five to six hours a day in a short period of time. During the session, our students do not sit down all day to do tasks. Our consultants design many games for learning to offset the work tasks.
Let the child go to a mainstream school so he can experience the social opportunities that come from being with other children. His social skills will eventually improve.
As typical children grow older, they establish basic skills before going to school that allows them to learn in a general social environment. They generally have a wide range of interest and keen observation of others. They also have a high motivation to learn and socialize in natural settings. Therefore, typical children can continue to learn and make progress in school. However, children with autism often have low motivation for learning and social interaction. In addition, their ability to concentrate is weak, with a low ability to focus on people and things around them. Under these unfavorable conditions, it is often just a wish to believe that children will learn or improve social skills in mainstream schools.
Information provided by:
Kan Wong (Autism Partnership Program Director) |
Kan Wong Ms. Lai-Kan Wong is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis. She joined Autism Partnership in 2001 and began working as a Program Specialist. She is experienced in working with children across different settings including individual therapy session, small group training, and ABA classrooms. Ms. Wong has also helped training staff in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan office since 2005. She is now responsible for supervising individual cases, staff training, parent training, and overseas consultation. Kan also receives ongoing training and supervision from Dr. Ronald Leaf and Dr. John McEachin in the Los Angeles office. |
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[:zh]在現今資訊流動的社會，家長們很容易接收到不同的訊息。可是，這些訊息往往是未經證實甚至是錯誤的。家長若相信了錯誤的訊息，很容易會導致錯誤的選擇而延誤治療，對孩子的影響可能是一生的。在與不同家長進行一對一咨詢的時候，我常常會聽到家長們以下一些錯誤的觀點和想法，希望與大家分享，避免家長們在選擇和接受治療的過程中走彎路:
你的孩子還小，長大自然會改善的。
很多患有自閉症的兒童，他們在幼年時已表現出不同的行為徵狀， 但礙於對自閉症的認識有限，家長往往未能及時察覺，就算察覺到，也可能因為孩子的年紀還小，以為他們長大後會慢慢改善，以致錯失早期治療的機會。若孩子真的患有自閉症的話，問題只會隨著他年紀長大而越來越多和明顯。因此，若家長有懷疑，應帶孩子到專業人士作評估，而不是自己猜測。
我小時候也是三歲才開始說話。
孩子上學後自然會說話。
若孩子純粹是言語遲緩，那麼這個說法可能是對的。可是，若孩子也表現出其他行為徵狀，例如對其他人的觀察能力低、興趣狹窄、常表現固執行為，那麼父母便要盡快找專業人仕去觀察孩子進行評估，以免錯過早期治療的黃金時間。
你孩子不像是自閉症呢，不用太緊張。
只是性格問題吧! 不用擔心!
患有自閉症的小孩是不能從外表分辨出來的。很多家長，尤其是母親，往往最先觀察到孩子的問題而準確性是很高的。可是礙於對自閉症沒有足夠的認識，以及作為家長，很自然地主觀傾向相信孩子沒有問題，便會相信這些話而延誤治療。家長若有疑慮，應該找專業人士評估， 而不是自己猜測或隨便聽信非專業人士的意見。
不同治療方式都有其優點和缺處，家長不應該讓孩子接受單一治療，應該讓孩子進行混合治療。
早於1987年已有研究指出，只進行ABA密集式治療比混合其他治療方法有效。2005年亦有另一項研究指出，相比同時間進行不同療法，於同時間進行單一療法會較為有效。事實上這是很容易理解的。不同治療會用不同角度或方法去教導孩子。例如教小孩表達要求為例，我們AP著重教授孩子說出想要物件名稱，其他治療機構可能會教小孩伸手說 “要”，或拍自己來表達想要。若治療的方法不一致，往往會令孩子感到混亂及無所適從。
密集治療對孩子來說太疲累太辛苦。
治療的密集程度，是取決於孩子的年紀和程度。若孩子的能力偏低，年齡較大，我們要求的密集程度也較高。我們强調的是有效的治療，目標是在最短時間內把孩子和同齡小孩的差距盡量收窄。以我們的經驗，早至兩歲多的孩子已可以在短時間內適應每天五至六小時的ABA課堂了。在課堂中，孩子並非整天坐著做任務，顧問和導師會設計大量遊戲學習，以不同的活動來平衡課堂。
讓孩子在主流學校上學，可讓他和其他孩子接觸，增加社交機會，社交能力自然會提升。
一般普通孩子隨著年紀增長，在上學之前，便已建立了一些基本能力，讓他們可以在一般社交環境中學習。他們一般對別人的興趣和觀察度高、懂得從自然觀察中學習、學習和社交動機也高，因此，一般孩子可以在學校中不斷學習和進步。可是，患有自閉症的孩子，往往學習和社交動機也低，加上他們的專注能力弱，對身邊的人和事的專注能力也不高。在這些不良條件下，主觀地認為孩子會在主流學校學習或提升社交技巧往往只是一相情願的想法。
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資訊提供:
王勵勤 (Autism Partnership 行為分析治療總監) |
王勵勤 王勵勤小姐為國際認證行為分析師，擁有行為分析的碩士學位。於2001年加入AP, 為個別個案進行ABA訓練。 她經驗豐富且資歷甚廣， 負責個別治療、小組訓練及 ABA為基礎的教室。 自2005年起， 她致力培訓本地、新加坡及日本各級別的治療師及導師。 她現負責監督個別個案、治療師培訓、為各家長提供支援及海外諮詢服務。 她亦定期赴美國洛杉磯總部接受Ronald Leaf博士和John McEachin博士的培訓及持續進修。 |
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