While children with autism require specialised teaching, huge demands on the education budget mean subsidies are woefully inadequate
Barbara Erasmus
As soon as you enter a classroom at the Key School in Johannesburg, you know these children are different.
They don’t look different. Just kids busy with puzzles at their desks. But no one notices your arrival. No giggling or whispering to the boy next door. They finger the puzzle pieces with rapt attention. The kids appear more interested in the shape of the edges than in the picture they’re trying to build.
They are more self-contained, and inward looking almost mind blind.
The Key School is one of six South African schools which specialise in the education of children with autism a complex, life-long development disability, estimated to effect as many as seven people in 1?000 to varying degrees. The majori-ty of people with autism are profoundly alone cut-off from normal social relationships. Although they can see the world around them, they’re blind to what it means. They don’t understand the nuances of language. Even if they’re able to talk, they often echo what they hear rather than respond to what is said.
The autistic spectrum disorder covers a wide range of disabilities. The high achievers a minority can pass through mainstream education. They may be highly verbal with above average intelligence. Some claim Bill Gates has autistic characteristics.
His voice lacks tone. He’s single-minded. Rocks repetitively during business meetings and avoids eye contact. He is reported to be able to recite passages of the Bible from memory as a child. Phenomenal memory is a characteristic splinter skill of a small percentage of autistic people who may be highly talented in one narrow field, despite other disabilities. Dustin Hoffman won an Oscar in Rainman for his portrayal of an autistic man with the ability to remember random numbers.
Unlike Downs syndrome, autism can’t be detected in the womb. The new-born child looks normal, and passes all the tests with flying colours. After about 18 months, anxieties are beginning to creep in as parents begin to notice some abnormalities as the child plays around.
As the other little boys drive their cars around and crash into each other, the autistic child sits by himself or puts his cars into a row, over and over again. He may spin his top obsessively and become distraught if it’s taken away. If the daily schedule changes, he cries a lot.
Autism is not an emotional disorder and early theories blaming a “refrigerator mother” who failed to bond with her child are unfounded. It’s a neurological and genetic condition. Research indicates that a cluster of up to 10 genes may be involved. Autistic people lack the normal capacity for coherence. They can’t see the bigger picture or get the gist of a situation. The autistic world is overwhelmed by detail. It’s like living in a dream where nothing makes sense.
Children with autism require specialised long-term education, and this doesn’t come cheap. A low pupil-teacher ratio is essential if any progress is to be made. There are huge demands on the education budget in South Africa so government subsidies are woefully inadequate and decreasing.
Education for autistic children excludes conventional tuition about mathematics and science. Rather, its focus is on everyday life skills to enable the kids to function. The alternative education provided targets the deficiencies of their mind-blindness.
The Key School caters for about 40 children aged three to 14. As a private school it relies heavily on donations and school fees to cover overheads such the payment of the 16 specialised teachers and support staff members.
Some of the subjects provided daily include behaviour modification, art therapy, speech therapy, music, reflexology and occupational therapy.
Behaviour modification was pioneered in Los Angeles by Ivor Lovaas. Instead of trying to understand the reasons for autistic behaviour, the Lovaas technique aims to reinforce positive behaviour patterns, through a one-on-one interaction between therapist and child. Lovaas made progress by creating a highly structured environment using repetition and consistency, which is an integral part of the autistic personality.
The second technique employed is art therapy. Samantha Davis, a qualified art therapist from the University of Hertfordshire, has made small but rewarding steps with autistic children.
“The children’s art tends to reflect their need for ritual. They draw the same images over and over again and tend to lack imagination. My goal is to encourage them to express themselves through art.”
Speech therapy is also vital in the treatment of autism. Inge Kimmel, a speech therapist, has been involved in helping autistic children in Johannesburg for more than four years. She finds that picture symbols facilitate language development because autistic children lack language and their visual or eidetic memory is over-developed in compensation.
‘Pictures of the classroom, the bathroom and playground help them to learn the structure of the day. They don’t like a change in routine and pictures help then to anticipate what’s going to happen next,” says Kimmel.
Janet Dancer, who teaches music at the Key School, says music can reestablish a connection between them and the outside world. “The energy used in clapping or stamping is contagious. In this way, music helps to improve coordination.”
Reflexology uses automatic responses to nerve stimulation because autistic people are tactile defensive. Laurie Moult provides 15-minute sessions to each child daily.
“Nerve stimulation gives the child a neutral space. Some children like to cover their faces with a towel during treatment. Others feel safe because I make no demands on them. Touching is valuable treatment because it involves personal contact,” says Moult.
In addition to the most characteristic impairments regarding communication and social skills, autistic people often have poor muscle tone. Brushing their bodies with a surgical brush helps to reduce sensory defensiveness while the application of deep pressure seems to have a calming effect.
Autistic children often wedge themselves tightly in a small place. They experience severe body boundary problems and even familiar household noises such as a vacuum cleaner of flushing toilet can be traumatic.
An occupational therapist may encourage a child to climb on to a large PVA ball to increase confidence as many are afraid of unstable surfaces and a playground swing or see-saw can be threatening.