· Mark Haddon wrote an excellent book that became a bestseller and won both the White bread Book of the Year and White bread Novel awards. It was said that Mark Haddon himself said, “Who on Earth would want to read about a fifteen-year-old boy with a disability?” while he was preparing this book. Nearly he is known that it was exactly the fifteen-year-old boy with a disability that made his book stand out, win awards and become a bestseller. The book is called, “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, and the boy is Christopher.” Christopher is an autistic-savant. He can name all the countries in the world and their centers. He has a good memory and a genius in math and science. In spite of his unusual intelligence, he cannot imagine, understand figures of speech and relate to jokes. He also does not like places with gatherings and people touching him. People who are autistic-savants show both properties common among those with autism and those with Savant Syndrome. Autism is one developmental illness among the group of Autism Spectrum Disorders. This condition is basically distinguished by disability, in socialization, imagination and communication. Savant Syndrome is characterized by very low general intelligence but extraordinary narrow intelligence, usually in the areas of mathematics, music, art and memorization.
In the story, Christopher’s parents are separated. His mother decided to leave Christopher and his father because she cannot compete anymore with the requirements of having an autistic child. Parents who take care of special children such as those with autism may probably have a major stress level compared to most parents. This is mainly because their children have special demands, unusual behaviors and different abilities compared to other kids of the same age level. These children will most likely find it difficult to transmit, thus, resulting in unusual reactions. An example of this is when an autistic child cries for no noticeable reason and begins hitting himself or herself. Most likely, something has caused him or her to feel upset but cannot communicate what it is because he or she does not know how. Some autistic children with sensory combination problems may either be hypersensitive or hyposensitize to touch, pressure, movement and sound. They will show special behaviors that are sometimes difficult to understand such as avoidance of certain types of food and drinks, pinching or hitting, repetitive movements and shouting. Some of them can also show strong attachment to certain routines and fear of new places or people. To meet the needs and cope with the behaviors of these children is not easy and, therefore, can result in a lot of stress. Autism can greatly limit a child’s world. They flourish in security, and anything they perceive as a threat to their security should be avoided. However, a lot of factors, situations and demands of society make them insecure and being forced to deal with these makes them very worried most of the time. Unconsciously and unintentionally, children with autism have a constant feeling of concerned to anything that is new or foreign to their understanding. Just like in the book, when Christopher had to go ahead of the area of the town that is familiar with him, he felt physically sick and afraid. Unlike most children, those with autism cannot easily get used to new environment or situations. The process of learning to understand and admit what is formerly unknown to them results in a higher level of anxiety. Despite what seems to be a difficult task to modify and coping with autistic children, a lot has already been studied and published regarding proper management that will not only lessen the children’s eager but also their parents’ stress. Certain methods such as Cognitive Behavior Modification, Behavior Modification Techniques and Environmental Modification Techniques had been proven effective in changing the unsuitable behaviors and improving the learning skills of children with autism. Some, having compounding conditions other than autism, may need additional treatment, as said by the doctors. Autistic children who also have hectic sadness due to their unhappiness with being involuntarily trapped in their self-protecting behaviors may need more therapy than what was mentioned earlier. Consulting a psychiatrist is highly suitable in this situation, and other medications may be prescribed.
Christopher’s story ended with him being able to overcome challenges that have caused him too much fearful and his mother deciding to return to take care of him. Just like in this fictional novel, the same can be attained in real life in terms of dealing with stress and anxiety among families who need to compete with the condition. Through proper management, medication or treatment, stress and worry among parents and autistic children can be addressed efficiently.
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