Today is World Austism Awareness Day, so we thought we would introduce you to two remarkable brothers.
Nine-year-old Kai (left) adores mental stimulation and loves games on his iPad, books and action-based toys.
Seven-year old Bay (right) never forgets details, can count to a trillion, and has a passion for advanced Minecraft.
Bay was diagnosed with Austism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at age three, after two years at a specialist school he’s now kicking goals in a mainstream school.
Kai is a complex care patient, and was only diagnosed with ASD two years ago. His diagnosis has allowed his parents and clinicians to better understand him and help him minimise ASD-related anxiety. While children with ASD often have difficulty perceiving unwritten rules of social interaction; Kai and Bay are friendly, cheerful young boys who love talking about their favorite activities.
Kai, Bay and their parents face many challenges, but with support from the RCH and community-based care they have developed concepts and plans to simplify situations, build up tolerances and work through strategies and routine.
“People with ASD aren’t making behavioral choices, it’s not stubbornness or defiance – you can’t negotiate with ‘normal’ parenting,” their dad David said. “We have to accept, adjust and then life goes on. You need to change the rules to suit the new game.”
More than 1 in 100 children are diagnosed with an autism in Australia today. It is most likely that the increased number of people diagnosed with autism is due to changes in definitions, services and social awareness and attitudes.
Although autism is characterised by difficulties with social interaction, communication, and aspects of behaviour, individuals with autism often have many strengths and talents, and may outperform people without autism in many ways.
Happy World Autism Awareness Day! Find out more about ASD here.