Autism, a developmental disorder, is one of an umbrella of conditions impact the senses.
Children on the autism spectrum often have challenges with social skills, language and communication, imitation, play skills, daily living habits, and motor skills.
Autism shows up as differences in how your child processes information.
Most of us have one or two sensory challenges we deal with.
For example, maybe I don’t like to wear socks. Or, I can’t study if it’s too noisy.
For kids with autism, the number of sensory challenges increases to the point that they withdraw or melt down.
LeeAnn Mateffy is here to discuss Autism and the ways you can help your child deal with it.
Selected Podcast
How To Support A Child Who Has Autism
Featured Speaker:
She said at a young age she became interested in occupational therapy because she saw them making cookies and doing crafts which looked like more fun than what they were doing in physical therapy.
Learn more about LeeAnn Mateffy
LeeAnn Mateffy, -Lead Pediatric Occupational Therapist, MS, OTR/L, Courage Kenny Kids
LeeAnn Mateffy, of New Brighton, Minn., is a pediatric occupational therapist with professional interests in sensory integration, therapeutic listening, interactive metronome (IM), teens, pre-driving skills, SOS and feeding. She says the best part of her job is working with families and their children.She said at a young age she became interested in occupational therapy because she saw them making cookies and doing crafts which looked like more fun than what they were doing in physical therapy.
Learn more about LeeAnn Mateffy
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): Children diagnosed with autism face special challenges and it’s important that parents know how to address these challenges so that they can get early intervention for their children. My guest today is LeeAnn Mattify. She is the lead pediatric occupational therapist at Allina Courage Kenny Kids. Welcome to the show, LeeAnn. What challenges do kids with autism face and how can rehabilitation therapy help them?
LeeAnn Mattefy (Guest): Melanie, as you know we have lots of children who are diagnosed with autism. The latest figures that I have looked at from the CDC state that about one in 68 kids are diagnosed with autism or autism spectrum disorder. These kids are very smart. About half of them are average intelligence to above average intelligence. Autism is diagnosed in five times as many boys as it is in girls. A physician will diagnose your child with autism by looking at their behavior and what kind of developmental milestones your child has either made or hasn’t made. There is no easy blood test for diagnosing autism. It is a development disorder and the kids on the spectrum have lots of challenges with things like interpreting sensory information, with talking, with social skills, with communicating, with playing, with imitating other kids playing, with doing their own daily cares and with gross motor skills and fine motor skills.
Melanie: What differences might they have from their brother or sister that their brother or sister would notice and be unsure about?
LeeAnn: We’re all wired differently neurologically and that’s great. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s just different. You would see the sibling with autism processes information a little bit differently. I am an occupational therapist, or an OT, and I really look at sensory processing and motor skills for kids. Most of us might have a sensory challenge or two that we deal with – maybe you don’t like things that are very noisy so you like things a little quieter; Maybe you don’t like wearing socks because of that little line that you can feel in the sock; or maybe you can’t study or do what you need to do if it’s too noisy. Kids with autism, the sensory challenges are just really increased. It’s to the point that the noise is so loud that maybe they withdraw or they melt down. Other kids have a hard time with fine motor skills. Maybe writing is tough; maybe things like fastening your zipper or buttoning buttons is really hard. Handwriting can be really tough. Maybe I would work with your child to teach them how to keyboard to do homework assignments, text or email friends. Sometimes, I’ll encourage kids to learn to use one of those “texts to speech” programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking. I also work with speech therapists and they really look at things like social and language skills with kids. Maybe one of the things they really work hard on is keeping kids stay engaged when they play. Sometimes it is challenging to follow a kid’s lead in play, even though that is what we are really trying to do. So, maybe you work with whatever the kid is really interested in – maybe Thomas the Train – and you try to help the kid play with the train but not just get stuck in some kind of a repetitive action like watching the wheel spin and spin. Kids learn from play and if you’re just spinning something you’re not going to learn a lot from that. Maybe a speech therapist would work with a kid to help them understand words that you speak and also help others understand what this child is saying. If kids can’t communicate or can’t understand what you’re saying, sometimes they develop behaviors that are really undesirable. So, instead of the child being able to tell you that you’re bugging them or they want you to go away, they are just going to hit you instead. That’s where they might get into trouble and you may need a therapist involved. Physical therapists also work with kids on the spectrum. They work a lot on gross motor skills. Most of the kids on the spectrum can walk but then, they might be a little uncoordinated or a little clumsy or their balance isn’t quite adequate enough. Things like running and kicking a soccer ball, riding a bike – all the things that typical kids do are really hard to do for these kids. They need a little extra boost, a little extra help from a physical therapist. You think about how complicated playing soccer is. You have to be able to watch the ball. You have to run. You’re moving quickly. The ball’s moving quickly. You need to run up to the ball. You need to kick it and you need to kick it to a team mate or kick it between the goal lines so that you can do what you need to do. Those are a lot of the things that an OT, a speech therapist and a physical therapist would work on with your child with autism.
Melanie: How early can you start to identify some of the red flags and what should parents be looking out for so that they can seek early intervention?
LeeAnn: What we’ve really learned these last few years is that early intervention with kids on the spectrum has really helped them have better outcomes. Most parents will tell you that they could tell that something was something different with their child by the child’s first birthday. A lot of the research has shown that physicians can diagnose kids with autism by their second birthday and their diagnosis is reliable, it’s valid, it’s stable, it doesn’t change. Once you, as a parent, understand how your child reacts to the world, you can work with the therapist to help develop goals so that you can make your child succeed. Once you see some developmental or behavior issues, you would take your child to the doctor. The physician might diagnose your child being on the autism spectrum and then, usually, they would make a referral to therapy. As a therapist I talk to the parents and evaluate the child’s strengths and challenges. What kinds of things do we need to work on? What kinds of goals sound reasonable and realistic so that we can make the child more successful? In therapy, once children meet some of the short-term or long-term goals, then we would look at stopping therapy and discharging a child. They could start therapy again once the parents maybe see a change or there is some kind of a transition that is tough for kids to be able to move through successfully. As an OT, I work with kids on self-regulation. Most kids by the age of ten are able to self-regulate, they have some coping skills and they can feel like they know when they need to do something different so they don’t have a meltdown. Kids on the spectrum, this is a hard thing for them to realize so maybe that would be when I would work with a child again. As kids get older, we might look at different things. Maybe could they be a successful car driver? Do they want to volunteer? Do they want to get a job? Can we help make some recommendations for how they can be successful with those types of things as they age?
Melanie: You have to do therapy sometimes at different points as they age and when they are getting just a little bit older. What would you have to do with them – things that change in school, things that change in their family situation – and how do you work with them then?
LeeAnn: That’s right. We work with kids that we call the therapy “episodic.” That’s where we’ll work on some goals with the child and the parents and once they meet those goals, we discharge them and then we’ll get involved again. There are other different points in a child’s life where we might get involved. Maybe there’s a new baby in the family. Maybe the child is starting preschool or maybe they are going from elementary school to junior high – changing schools, having to go to different lockers. Maybe the family is planning a vacation where this child has never flown in a plane before. Maybe the child needs to learn to ride a bike or as they get older and they get invited to birthday parties or have sleep overs. Entering high school can be a tough one with kids going through puberty. Graduating from high school – at that time, kids might want to start volunteering, they start looking for their first job. All of these little transitions are times when therapy might be appropriate to jump in again and work with your child and you, as parents, to help manage these new things and provide a safe place to practice and try new ways of doing things.
Melanie: In just that last few minutes, LeeAnn, give your best tips for families when their children are somewhere on the autism spectrum, give your best advice, your best tips for working with these kids and what they can do at home on a daily basis to help their children thrive.
LeeAnn: It seems like the kids that do the best have a really structured home environment. The parents are great at using things like picture schedules so the child knows what to expect. First, we’re going to get up and have breakfast and then we’re going to brush our teeth. So, maybe there are pictures of having breakfast and brushing teeth. It also helps with transitions from one thing to another. Another thing at home that is helpful is to have a defined space for the child so they can go and veg-out and get away from some of the stressors but still have it be a safe environment. Sometimes at school, kids do better if they have a little defined workspace so things aren’t so confusing. Maybe we’ll use some colored tape and put it on the floor around the child’s desk area so that they know this is your work area; this is where you need to get your stuff done. As I said before, I can’t really stress enough how picture cues are really helpful. You can tell a child what to do but that is kind of fleeting. If you use a picture schedule, it seems that it just helps them organize their day. If you can figure out what kind of triggers do children have, especially sensory-wise, that make them melt down? Maybe the lights are too bright. So, can you turn down lights? Have natural lights. Have a child use sunglasses. Do noises bother them? Maybe they wear headphones or earplugs or bring them to an area that’s more quiet. Help the kids work on social scenarios. If they are going to be with a friend, how do you do greetings? You would practice that. As a parent, just plan for the transitions. Transitions can be tough for any kid. If you can anticipate some of these transitions and get some help if you think that is something that your child will need. The therapist will help you determine what would be best for your child. Remember to love your child. They are fun. Be patient and understanding like you would with any of your other children.
Melanie: Thank you so much, LeeAnn. It’s great and very important information. You’re listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information you can go to AllinaHealth.org. That’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): Children diagnosed with autism face special challenges and it’s important that parents know how to address these challenges so that they can get early intervention for their children. My guest today is LeeAnn Mattify. She is the lead pediatric occupational therapist at Allina Courage Kenny Kids. Welcome to the show, LeeAnn. What challenges do kids with autism face and how can rehabilitation therapy help them?
LeeAnn Mattefy (Guest): Melanie, as you know we have lots of children who are diagnosed with autism. The latest figures that I have looked at from the CDC state that about one in 68 kids are diagnosed with autism or autism spectrum disorder. These kids are very smart. About half of them are average intelligence to above average intelligence. Autism is diagnosed in five times as many boys as it is in girls. A physician will diagnose your child with autism by looking at their behavior and what kind of developmental milestones your child has either made or hasn’t made. There is no easy blood test for diagnosing autism. It is a development disorder and the kids on the spectrum have lots of challenges with things like interpreting sensory information, with talking, with social skills, with communicating, with playing, with imitating other kids playing, with doing their own daily cares and with gross motor skills and fine motor skills.
Melanie: What differences might they have from their brother or sister that their brother or sister would notice and be unsure about?
LeeAnn: We’re all wired differently neurologically and that’s great. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s just different. You would see the sibling with autism processes information a little bit differently. I am an occupational therapist, or an OT, and I really look at sensory processing and motor skills for kids. Most of us might have a sensory challenge or two that we deal with – maybe you don’t like things that are very noisy so you like things a little quieter; Maybe you don’t like wearing socks because of that little line that you can feel in the sock; or maybe you can’t study or do what you need to do if it’s too noisy. Kids with autism, the sensory challenges are just really increased. It’s to the point that the noise is so loud that maybe they withdraw or they melt down. Other kids have a hard time with fine motor skills. Maybe writing is tough; maybe things like fastening your zipper or buttoning buttons is really hard. Handwriting can be really tough. Maybe I would work with your child to teach them how to keyboard to do homework assignments, text or email friends. Sometimes, I’ll encourage kids to learn to use one of those “texts to speech” programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking. I also work with speech therapists and they really look at things like social and language skills with kids. Maybe one of the things they really work hard on is keeping kids stay engaged when they play. Sometimes it is challenging to follow a kid’s lead in play, even though that is what we are really trying to do. So, maybe you work with whatever the kid is really interested in – maybe Thomas the Train – and you try to help the kid play with the train but not just get stuck in some kind of a repetitive action like watching the wheel spin and spin. Kids learn from play and if you’re just spinning something you’re not going to learn a lot from that. Maybe a speech therapist would work with a kid to help them understand words that you speak and also help others understand what this child is saying. If kids can’t communicate or can’t understand what you’re saying, sometimes they develop behaviors that are really undesirable. So, instead of the child being able to tell you that you’re bugging them or they want you to go away, they are just going to hit you instead. That’s where they might get into trouble and you may need a therapist involved. Physical therapists also work with kids on the spectrum. They work a lot on gross motor skills. Most of the kids on the spectrum can walk but then, they might be a little uncoordinated or a little clumsy or their balance isn’t quite adequate enough. Things like running and kicking a soccer ball, riding a bike – all the things that typical kids do are really hard to do for these kids. They need a little extra boost, a little extra help from a physical therapist. You think about how complicated playing soccer is. You have to be able to watch the ball. You have to run. You’re moving quickly. The ball’s moving quickly. You need to run up to the ball. You need to kick it and you need to kick it to a team mate or kick it between the goal lines so that you can do what you need to do. Those are a lot of the things that an OT, a speech therapist and a physical therapist would work on with your child with autism.
Melanie: How early can you start to identify some of the red flags and what should parents be looking out for so that they can seek early intervention?
LeeAnn: What we’ve really learned these last few years is that early intervention with kids on the spectrum has really helped them have better outcomes. Most parents will tell you that they could tell that something was something different with their child by the child’s first birthday. A lot of the research has shown that physicians can diagnose kids with autism by their second birthday and their diagnosis is reliable, it’s valid, it’s stable, it doesn’t change. Once you, as a parent, understand how your child reacts to the world, you can work with the therapist to help develop goals so that you can make your child succeed. Once you see some developmental or behavior issues, you would take your child to the doctor. The physician might diagnose your child being on the autism spectrum and then, usually, they would make a referral to therapy. As a therapist I talk to the parents and evaluate the child’s strengths and challenges. What kinds of things do we need to work on? What kinds of goals sound reasonable and realistic so that we can make the child more successful? In therapy, once children meet some of the short-term or long-term goals, then we would look at stopping therapy and discharging a child. They could start therapy again once the parents maybe see a change or there is some kind of a transition that is tough for kids to be able to move through successfully. As an OT, I work with kids on self-regulation. Most kids by the age of ten are able to self-regulate, they have some coping skills and they can feel like they know when they need to do something different so they don’t have a meltdown. Kids on the spectrum, this is a hard thing for them to realize so maybe that would be when I would work with a child again. As kids get older, we might look at different things. Maybe could they be a successful car driver? Do they want to volunteer? Do they want to get a job? Can we help make some recommendations for how they can be successful with those types of things as they age?
Melanie: You have to do therapy sometimes at different points as they age and when they are getting just a little bit older. What would you have to do with them – things that change in school, things that change in their family situation – and how do you work with them then?
LeeAnn: That’s right. We work with kids that we call the therapy “episodic.” That’s where we’ll work on some goals with the child and the parents and once they meet those goals, we discharge them and then we’ll get involved again. There are other different points in a child’s life where we might get involved. Maybe there’s a new baby in the family. Maybe the child is starting preschool or maybe they are going from elementary school to junior high – changing schools, having to go to different lockers. Maybe the family is planning a vacation where this child has never flown in a plane before. Maybe the child needs to learn to ride a bike or as they get older and they get invited to birthday parties or have sleep overs. Entering high school can be a tough one with kids going through puberty. Graduating from high school – at that time, kids might want to start volunteering, they start looking for their first job. All of these little transitions are times when therapy might be appropriate to jump in again and work with your child and you, as parents, to help manage these new things and provide a safe place to practice and try new ways of doing things.
Melanie: In just that last few minutes, LeeAnn, give your best tips for families when their children are somewhere on the autism spectrum, give your best advice, your best tips for working with these kids and what they can do at home on a daily basis to help their children thrive.
LeeAnn: It seems like the kids that do the best have a really structured home environment. The parents are great at using things like picture schedules so the child knows what to expect. First, we’re going to get up and have breakfast and then we’re going to brush our teeth. So, maybe there are pictures of having breakfast and brushing teeth. It also helps with transitions from one thing to another. Another thing at home that is helpful is to have a defined space for the child so they can go and veg-out and get away from some of the stressors but still have it be a safe environment. Sometimes at school, kids do better if they have a little defined workspace so things aren’t so confusing. Maybe we’ll use some colored tape and put it on the floor around the child’s desk area so that they know this is your work area; this is where you need to get your stuff done. As I said before, I can’t really stress enough how picture cues are really helpful. You can tell a child what to do but that is kind of fleeting. If you use a picture schedule, it seems that it just helps them organize their day. If you can figure out what kind of triggers do children have, especially sensory-wise, that make them melt down? Maybe the lights are too bright. So, can you turn down lights? Have natural lights. Have a child use sunglasses. Do noises bother them? Maybe they wear headphones or earplugs or bring them to an area that’s more quiet. Help the kids work on social scenarios. If they are going to be with a friend, how do you do greetings? You would practice that. As a parent, just plan for the transitions. Transitions can be tough for any kid. If you can anticipate some of these transitions and get some help if you think that is something that your child will need. The therapist will help you determine what would be best for your child. Remember to love your child. They are fun. Be patient and understanding like you would with any of your other children.
Melanie: Thank you so much, LeeAnn. It’s great and very important information. You’re listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information you can go to AllinaHealth.org. That’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.