Signs of Autism in Children

Most experts agree that it's best to catch and treat autism as early as possible. What are the early signs of autism in children?

There are a number of red-flag symptoms that parents and teachers can look for. These may be evident even in a child as young as one year old -- or may not become evident until age three or older.

Some signs to look for include:

unresponsiveness to people, and/or intent focus on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods;

lack of response to their name;

lack of eye contact;

difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling;

delay in gaining speech and/or odd speech patterns;

repetitive movements such as rocking or twirling, or self-abusive behavior such as head-banging;

speaking in a flat or sing-song voice;

unusually low or high sensitivity to pain, noise, light or crowds.

Source: About.com

Don't Compare

We often can't deny that we compare our kids to other kids. Oftentimes, this has become the reason of our frustrations. I have experienced this before when one parent came to our school and complained something about her child. She was complaining why her child can't write, and yet her classmates can now write correctly. I told her that each child is different. Some may develop early, some develop late. Especially in writing, it's a skill that needs to be learned and it needs to have practice for it to develop. I guess her child's fine motor skills are not yet fully developed that is why she can't write yet compared to her other classmates.

As parents, let us try not to compare and we need to understand them as they developed.

I Can Share!

Kids in their base nature are indeed selfish. They always have the tendency to talk about "mine, mine, and mine". The "yours" and "us" are still not present on their vocabulary unless somebody should teach them. In our school, it's always our priority to break this selfish attitude towards each child and help them become considerate about others. During snacks, we taught them to share their snacks to someone who forgot to bring. To motivate them to give and share, we taught them the song: "I can Share". Here's the complete lyrics of the song:

*Sing to the tune of "Where is Thumbman"

I can share, I can share

like _______ ( name of the child) like ______ (name of the child)

(Repeat twice)

The song is indeed effective, becuase after we sing the song, the child who doesn't want to share changes his mood and starts to share.

10 Signs of Good Nutrition

It was our schools Nutrition Month Celebration last July 30, 2008. I invited my friend Sheryl, a nutritionist who works in a government. In her speech, she talked about foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals which are basically good for kids. She even mentioned about "FOOD PYRAMID" as a guide for our daily food intake. One of the topics that gives interest to the parents is the topic on"10 Signs of Good Nutrition". It's a very nice guide for parents to check their kids if they are properly well nourished. I've heard this on TV because of a milk commercial but her talk gave us a more detailed knowledge on it.

Here's what it is:

1. Right Weight For Height
2. Good Muscle Development
3. Good Posture
4. Clear Skin
5. Shiny Hair
6. Clear Eyes
7. Alert and Cheerful
8. Sleeps Uninterruptedly
9. Regular Bowel Movement
10. Good Appetite

Hope you find this helpful! :)