How to Deal With Autistic Toddlers?

 

Raising a child is tough enough, but when your toddler is autistic, you will be experiencing a greater degree of difficulty and frustration. Autistic toddlers can have trouble communicating, recognizing appropriate social behaviors and may perform repetitive activities that you find annoying. It's easy to lose your temper, but this often makes the situation worse. Working on reducing your own temper flare-ups can help in a better relationship with your child.

Highlights for the four most challenging autism behaviors and advices on how to best handle them:

1-Meltdowns:

• Step 1

Develop a predictable routine for your child. Autistic children may be more likely to have a meltdown when things are different, and meltdowns can cause you to lose your temper. When your child knows what to expect, he's comfortable and you can be, too.

• Step 2

Avoid activities that trigger anger. Identify the things your child does that make you the angriest. If he's constantly spilling his drink, try different types of cups with tops. If you get frustrated when he doesn't follow your directions while making a craft, try crafts that are more open-ended, the type that don't have a "right" way of doing them.

• Step 3

Take deep breaths when you feel anger coming on. It may seem cliché, but taking a short break from a situation where you might lose your temper can help calm you down, according to Operation Autism.

• Step 4

Reduce other areas of stress in your life. When life piles it on, you might take out your frustrations on your child. Take time for yourself to do things you enjoy doing, like reading a book or exercising. If there's a part of your day that tends to be particularly stressful, find a way to make changes. For example, if your child has frequent meltdowns during the time when you're trying to cook dinner, you may get less angry if you prepare dinner during his nap time or in a slow cooker in the morning.

 

2-Sleep Disruption:

Sleep can be tough for kids with autism, as they tend to have highly sensitive nervous systems. Even the slightest variation in their day can affect their sleep for the night.

• Be extremely careful not to give your kid anything that has any caffeine
• Avoid chocolate after 3 PM.
• Make sure he gets a lot of exercise during the day
• Use room-darkening shades, a white noise machine, weighted blankets (Basically anything you can do to make sleep more appealing)
• Teach their bodies that it's nighttime and we're not going to start the day just because you woke up in the middle of the night...A lot of parents feel that when their child wakes up in the middle of the night they have to get him something to eat, turn on the TV, and immediately cater to the fact that he stirred or woke up as opposed to bringing him or her back to bed. Show them a picture of a clock and a picture of Mom and Dad and say: "You can come into our room when your clock matches this clock."

3- Food Sensitivity:

Kids with autism tremendously picky and selective and limited in what they will eat. "It's a sensory thing; you have to have lots of trial and error, certain textures, and certain foods."

• Don't make them eat anything they didn't want to eat. Everybody eats more if they feel relaxed
• Try slow, gentle and positive approach because you want them to take their fear and anxiety around food and transform it into a sense of empowerment and a sense of control.

4- Aggressive Behavior:

Aggressive and self-injurious behaviors are fairly common in children with autism, when your son acts aggressively; it's usually due to sensory overload or frustration with his inability to communicate his needs effectively. Most times, when people better understand the basis for the aggressive or self-injurious behavior and then accommodate or support the person with autism, things can improve dramatically…

• Keep scrupulous notes about the toddler and his behaviors and all the factors in his day; what he eats, how much he sleeps, even whether his father is on a business trip. You can actually identify seasonal behavioral arcs. So when something is wrong, you can go back and figure it out.

Good Luck!

Causes of Red Tired Eyes.

Tired eyes occur as a consequence of the effort. In general, there is a serious phenomenon. Tired eyes may indicate an eye disease in children or an age problem to person who are over 50 years old. In rare cases, eye fatigue is due to the presence of a disease or a medical treatment. However there are many contributing factors that can be the cause of red tired eyes. Genetics can play a part but this is not the main cause of this problem.

 

The symptoms include:

Burning sensation, heaviness in the eyes, sore eyes, watery eyes, dry eyes, blurred vision, an uncomfortable sensation of the eyelids or a pressure in the eye. Sometimes, eye fatigue can be accompanied by headaches, dizziness and migraines.

What are the causes?

• The air conditioning
• Heating system
• Caffeine, tobacco or cigarette smoke
• Industrial dust or other dust
• Reading for extended periods
• Spending several hours a day in front of the TV or computer
• Under-performing liver or kidneys
• Allergies, hay fever, sinus problems and nasal congestion
• Inadequate sleep
•  Excessive crying
• Inadequate oxygen supply to the cornea
• Pollution
• Exposure to bright light or glare
• Straining to see in very dim light
• Fluid retention, salt (sodium) intake and lymphatic drainage
• Increased pigmentation of the periorbital area (Indian, Asian, African and Mediterranean people)
• Aging: It is the main cause of eye fatigue after 50 years; the body releases fewer tears, determining eye dryness.

Home remedies for tired eyes:

• Apply compresses of warm water on the eyelids, if the eyes are dry. It's not necessary to use sterile water.
• Use eye drops that will temporarily relax sensitive and irritated eyes.
• Create a proper humidity in the room at night, in order to avoid waking up with red eyes.
•  Plan a break from your computer. Take a break of 10 minutes at every hour.
• Improve your working environment. Reduce the brightness of the computer screen or install a protection screen, reduce the intensity of colors.
• Consult your doctor when you have an eye problem. People often regret that they haven't asked for the advice of a doctor earlier, because the eye exam is not painful and the remedies are efficient.

 Have a beautiful day!

Need For Sleep!

Skipping 1 night's sleep makes a person cranky and clumsy. After missing 2 nights of sleep, a person will have problems thinking and doing things; his or her brain and body can't do their normal tasks nearly as well. After 5 nights without sleep, a person will hallucinate (this means seeing things that aren't actually there). Eventually, it becomes impossible for the brain to give its directions to the rest of the body without sleep!

 

Sleep is as vital for survival as food, it gives your body a rest and allows it to prepare for the next day…But chronic lack of sleep can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, depression, irregular hormone production, a weakened immune system and memory lapses…

 

5 Signs You Need More Sleep:

1. Cravings & Hunger: If you find yourself hungry all day (and not because you skipped breakfast or have recently amped up your gym routine) it might be because you've been skimping on sleep.
   Research presented at the 2010 linked insomnia and lack of  sleep with higher levels of the hormone Ghrelin, the same one that triggers hunger. This uptick in the hunger hormone seems to lead to not only increased snacking, but also a craving for high-carb, high-calorie foods, which may help explain why people who don't get enough sleep are at a greater risk of obesity.
2. You Are Emotional: Ever find yourself tearing up over an embarrassing TV commercial? While women might be quick to blame PMS, it could be a lack of sleep sending your emotions into overdrive. A 2007 study found that sleep-deprived brains were 60% more reactive to negative and disturbing images.
3. You're Clumsier Than Usual: First you knock the alarm clock off the dresser, then you spill the milk as you're pouring your cereal, then you stub your toe on the way out the door...etc.
   Researchers don't know exactly why, but sleepy people seem to "have slower and less skills," Reflexes are dulled, balance and depth perception can be a little wonky and since you may also have trouble focusing, reaction time can be slowed, meaning you can't quite catch the egg carton before it hits the floor.
4. You feel sick and you never get sick: Your immune system repairs and strengthens while you sleep. So in addition to eating flu-fighting foods, try to sleep at least seven hours a night to stay healthy all season.
5. You can't remember where you put the car keys:  Your brain needs sleep to refresh and regenerate. Without it, your short-term memory may be impaired... And it’s not just your short-term memory: sleep deprivation has been shown to have negative consequences of student’s test scores and grades.

How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Really Need?

The average amount of sleep needed changes over our lifetime, especially during childhood and adolescence. Although there are averages, there will be individuals who fall both above and below these needs:

• Infants (3-11 months) need 14-15 hours
• Toddlers (12-35 months) need 12-14 hours
• Preschoolers (3-6 years) need 11-13 hours
• School age (6-10 years) need 10-11 hours
• Adolescents (11-18 years) need 9.25 hours
• Adults need an average of 8 hours
• Elderly adults may need less than 8 hours

Have a Peaceful Night! :)