Down Syndrome and Autism: Can They Coexist?

Sometimes, children with Down syndrome begin to develop atypical or strange manners in their behavior and in the relationship with others that could be related to ASD.

Sometimes, children with Down syndrome begin to develop atypical or strange behaviors in their relationship with others, either at an early age or in adolescence. When this occurs, it’s possible that a Down syndrome with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is coexisting. Although it can differ between studies, it can be from 5 to 10%.

During childhood, it’s possible to observe a series of motor behaviors in children with Down syndrome that may lead us to believe that they are also affected by ASD.

How to Recognize this Coexistence of Down Syndrome with Autism?

-Repetitive motor behavior.

-Focus on lights or other objects, keeping an eye on them.

-Extra rejection for certain foods.

-Problems of receptive language, poor comprehension and use of gestures, possibly giving the-ppearance that the child doesn’t hear.

-Highly repetitive spoken language.

-Sometimes, convulsions, dysfunctional swallowing, a constant movement of the eyes, or severe hypotonia.

-Considerable delay in motor skills.

However, if a child with Down syndrome presents one or more of these behaviors, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she has or will have ASD. The diagnosis must always be made by a specialist doctor.

Characteristics observed among children already diagnosed with both syndromes (ASD and Down syndrome):

-Unusual response (weakness) to sensations; especially sounds, lights, touch or pain.

-Rejection for food.

-Verbalizations and babbling without meaning.

-Aggression or extreme disobedience.

-Hyperactivity.

-Low capacity for attention.

-Impulsiveness.

Correctly and accurately diagnosing the coexistence of Down syndrome and autism is very important and fundamental. Specialists doctors say that diagnosing this in time is the only way to take timely measures, both at the level of therapy and medication. At the school level, it’s also an important issue since the child would need educational strategies, support, methods, and adaptations for a good education and development of the same.

The knowledge and diagnosis will give confidence and tranquility to parents and family members of the child. In this way, they’ll know what to do and how to help for a good evolution.

From the strictly medical point of view, it's the only way that the appropriate and precise actions can be taken at the level of therapy and, in some instances, of medication.

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Girls with Autism: They Do Exist

Autism is often associated with the male of the species, but it's not always the case.

Currently, autism prevails in males, and official figures indicate that for every four children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, three are boys and only one is a girl. That is why society maintains a myth that autism only occurs in boys.

In this article, we will show you that this may not be true. Keep on reading!

Girls with autism do exist!

Recent studies have found that many of the symptoms that influence girls with autism are in many cases ignored by families and specialists, since they are similar to the behaviors expected of girls because they are so.

Female stereotypes seem to go against the diagnosis of autism. Sometimes symptoms such as extreme shyness, certain obsessions, and fears, extreme sensitivity are traits that although socially strange in a man, are considered appropriate in women and therefore aren’t interpreted as warning signals.

Simon Baron-Cohen, an autism specialist at the University of Cambridge, said:

“We know that people with high functioning autism have two basic problems: communication and socialization. However, we have discovered that in girls studied within this same spectrum, the symptoms are different, women tend to have an obsessive interest that is centered around people and relationships, but since these behaviors are expected of a girl, many times they are overlooked.”

Nowadays, in the scientific community is considered a mistake to have thought that the disorder of autism is the same in boys than in girls. And this has opened an exciting debate that is putting autism on girls in the spotlight.

It seems that girls may have more skills to camouflage their difficulties, and therefore their difficulties may be more unnoticed than those of boys. They learn to observe others and imitate their social behaviors, even if they don’t understand them and seem not to be spontaneous, they want to achieve social acceptance of the group. Girls with autism usually have a more significant interest in interacting with other children, especially younger ones, something that doesn’t typically occur in boys with ASD so frequently.

All this has led the scientific community to think that there may be more girls with ASD than those who are diagnosed, or that girls are diagnosed later than boys.

Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder with or without associated hyperactivity is also being produced in girls and teens, who actually have features of ASD, but who haven’t been adequately detected and diagnosed.

We join the campaign and ask for more research on autism in girls.

Girls often live their lives not knowing they are within the spectrum, the reason of this lies on their behavior.

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How to Explain Special Conditions to Other Parents

For parents of a child with special needs, one of the hardest things to do is explaining their child's condition to other parents. This happens because of many things that might interfere with the perception that others have regarding the situation of these children. It’s important for other people to understand how the condition not only affects the child but also everyone around them in the close environment of their home, as well as their community. To take the charge of that fact and assume the role of their child's advocate is hard work.

These children rarely have the chance to show others how they feel and what makes their condition different, that’s why for their parents explaining the situation to other parents it’s important. Why? It often sets the behavior of these special kids, as adults explain to them how they are unique and should be respected. It also helps them showcase their children in the best light, not making them the target of jokes, but instead, a learning experience for others. Parenting, in this case, is vital, as it makes the difference between a well-adapted kid with a special condition and a child that’s bullied and it’s not a part of the environment in the activities outside their home.

Here you have some advice on how to make explanations easier for parents of children with special needs:

Be positive: Let others know that although their condition is a challenge some days, you take it as a great experience and a unique moment in your life. That positivity sets their behavior towards your child in a better way.

Explain it simply: Yes, your child might have a thousand little medical conditions, but for parents that are not well-versed in the medical terminology, the simple explanation works better to make them understand your child.

Portray them in a good light: Once again, the way you talk about your child's condition is going to be the main factor that other people are going to consider when processing that information. Talk about your child in a good way, and good reactions will come.

Be proactive: When explaining what your child goes through, make sure to set them into action. Whether by inviting them to a talk if they show special interest, or introducing them to your child. Remember that you are their advocate!

Shake away the fear: Feeling guilt, remorse, failure, and such emotions might come to a parent of a child with special needs, but don’t let that stop you from showing others the wonders of your child. Don’t be afraid, the world is harsh but you can accomplish everything with a good attitude.

Show correct behaviors: Some children react strongly to other people, so when you are explaining their condition to other parents, it's a good idea to tell them about behaviors that are correct when it comes to interacting with your child.

What are you doing to let other parents know how you feel when it comes to your child? Remember that you are their first line of defense against the world and with your help, they can happily be a part of it. Some organizations bring together parents as well as children, helping kids reach out to others in similar conditions by sharing their unique stories. One of those is Autism Soccer, an organization that’s inclusive for both adults and children. Visit their website to know more about their initiative!

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What is the Sensory Processing Disorder?

Although specialists are looking for a solution, Sensory Processing Disorder is a condition that affects many children. 

Some conditions and diseases tend to have no symptoms, but when those diseases have symptoms, people might confuse them with others. That’s why I will talk about the Sensory Processing Disorder today, which is a condition characterized by the difficult of the brain in terms of receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses. It might also affect the proprioception and balance, which means that people who suffer from this might have walking and coordination problems. However, the sensory system of the people who suffer from SPD are oversensitive by the touch or the sound, among other things.

On the other hand, this condition is often diagnosed in children, but sometimes also in adults. The fact is that if children are diagnosed at an early age, parents might help them prepare for what they have to live in the future. These kids often feel left out and disconnected from the rest of the world, and it might lead to problems in their growth process if they are not properly guided.

Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder

Each individual can show different symptoms to the same condition, but most of them are interconnected or related in a certain way that makes the job easier to -specialists when they have to identify this disease. Some of those are:

• Walking problems: Walking or moving after being slightly bumped might be hard for these people, because their coordination is affected by SPD.
• Strong responses to stimuli: In most cases, this condition ocationates radical responses to stimuli by leading to outburst and problems in the day-to-day interactions.
• Delayed motor development: Fine and gross motor are often delayed, creating handwriting problems.
• Problems to sleep: Noise is a nuisance to these people, which might interfere with their rest time.
• Eating through the commotions: Flavors are often incredibly hard to manage by them, and it might lead to problems in the eating process.  
• High tolerance to pain: These children and adults have difficulty in feeling pain, that’s why their high resistance to pain makes them prone to accidents.
• Emotional withdrawal: Children and adults with this condition are commonly withdrawn. Usually, they are labeled as introverted by other people.
• Aggressive responses: People with this condition are especially  jealous with their personal space, which make them act against people who surpass that space.

How to manage their condition

It is important to keep in mind that in order to manage this condition the specialist must know the behavior of each child. Here are some advices to manage this:

• Create sensory integration activities: These are ways to create a development in their senses by making different activities.
• Work with playtime: There’s no better way to interact with a child than playing and using this as a method to connect with them.
• Join in with professionals: Physical therapists and MDs are great at helping you reach the goals when it comes to children’s development.    
• Use the DIR Model: Acronym for “Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based model”. It’s an integral activity that helps to have a better relationship between parents and children

Sensory Processing Disorder is a particular condition that requires work from every single patient with specialists. That’s why it’s important that only specialists in the subject take care of people with this condition This is exactly what makes Autism Soccer a good option, because they have the professionals skills that are important when it comes to working with different conditions in order to create the best environment for them to feel safe and included. Contact them now!

Discomfort of noises, touch sensitivity, lack of coordination are some of the symptoms that children with SPD might show. 

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Is Your Child Scared of Going to The Dentist?

Kids need to be taken to the dentist to keep their smile healthy but they are usually afraid of doctors. 

On the one hand, you’ve probably been with your kids in the waiting room at the dentist’s office surrounded by soft colors, soft music, and the terrible sound of the tools that specialists usually use. That annoying sound can create horrible scenarios inside children’s minds about what goes on behind closed doors. This is one of the things that can generate the lasting fear on children, which in turn can put their health on risk, and it’s a common reason why they won’t probably come back to get checked.

On the other hand, the mouth is one of the dirtiest places of the body, because of the enzymes in there: these are the responsible for breaking down the food we eat. These problems can lead kids to painful situations that require more dedication, and costs at the dentist’s. To avoid this, it’s important to schedule a routine to check their teeth every 3 months or so. In this way, they can be treated before problems get bigger.

Now, I’m going to give you some tips to have a better experience with the dentist:

• Don’t threaten them: Most parents make the mistake of using fear as a tool to control their children. They usually say “If you don’t do that, I’ll take you to the dentist”. Make sure you don’t use those words on them.
• Teach them about oral health: Children don’t often know why some things need to be done, so you need to teach them why oral health is important for them.
• Schedule with the same person: Kids need to trust people, especially doctors. Try to work with the same dentist to create a comfortable environment.
• Use toys with them: Toys are a great option to make kids feel better at the dentist’s office, and this can help them feel confident with the doctor.

What do you do to make sure your child has a good oral health? Let us know your answer through our comment box or our social media profiles. In the meantime, let your kids know that their teeth need to be in perfect conditions to make them feel more confident within any environment; that way, they’ll enjoy their activities with Autism Soccer! Teach your kids how to be healthier!

When you teach them the importance of going to the dentist, they are more likely to react positively. 

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