Living With Christopher

Mark Haddon has written an excellent book that has become a best seller and won both the Whitbread Book of the Year and the Whitbread Novel awards. In preparing this book, Mark Haddon himself said, "Who on earth would want to read a fifteen-year-old with a disability?" said. He was said to have cried. What he didn't know was that it was a fifteen-year-old disabled boy who made his book stand out, won awards and became a best seller. The title of the book is "The Strange Case of the Dog in the Night Time and the Christopher Boy". Christopher is an autistic scientist. Can name all countries and their capitals in the world. He has a photographic memory and a genius in mathematics and science. Despite his extraordinary intelligence, he is unable to daydream, understand speech patterns, and relate to jokes. He also doesn't like places with lots of people and people touching him. People with autism-savant exhibit traits that are common to people with both autism and Savant Syndrome. Autism is a developmental disorder from the Autism Spectrum Disorders group. This condition is mainly characterized by impaired socialization, imagination and communication. Savant Syndrome is characterized by very low general intelligence but extraordinarily narrow intelligence, usually in mathematics, music, art, and rote. In the story, Christopher's parents are separate. As her mother could no longer cope with the demands of having an autistic child, she decided to leave Christopher and her father. Parents caring for special children, such as children with autism, are likely to experience higher levels of stress than most parents. The main reason for this is that their children have special demands, unusual behaviors and different abilities compared to other children of the same age. These children will likely have trouble communicating, which will lead to unusual reactions. An example of this is when an autistic child cries for no apparent reason and starts hitting himself. Most likely, something upset him, but he can not say what, because he does not know how. Some autistic children with sensory integration problems may be hypersensitive or hypersensitive to touch, pressure, movement, and sound. They will exhibit certain behaviors that are sometimes difficult to understand, such as avoiding certain foods and drinks, pinching or hitting, repetitive movements, and screaming. Some may also show a strong attachment to certain routines and a fear of new places or people. Meeting the needs of these children and coping with their behavior is not easy and can therefore cause a lot of stress. Autism can greatly limit a child's world. They excel in security and anything they perceive as a threat to their security should be avoided. But the many factors, situations and demands of society make them insecure and dealing with them often makes them very anxious. Children with autism unconsciously and unintentionally have a constant worry about anything new or foreign to their understanding. Just like in the book, when Christopher had to leave the familiar part of the city, he felt physically sick and frightened. Unlike most children, those with autism do not easily adapt to new environments or situations. The process of learning to understand and accept what you didn't know before leads to a higher level of anxiety. While adapting to and dealing with autistic children may seem like a daunting task, much has been researched and published on proper management that can reduce not only children's anxiety but also their parents' stress. Some methods such as Cognitive Behavior Modification, Behavior Modification Techniques and Environmental Modification Techniques have proven to be effective in changing the inappropriate behavior of children with autism and improving their learning skills. Some with complex conditions other than autism may need additional treatment as prescribed by doctors. Autistic children who also have manic depression because of their unhappiness with being involuntarily trapped in self-protective behaviors may need more therapy than previously mentioned. In this case, it is highly recommended to consult a psychiatrist and other medications may be prescribed. Christopher's story came to an end when he managed to overcome the difficulties that worried him so much, and his mother decided to return to take care of him. As in this fictional novel, the same can be done in real life in dealing with the stress and anxiety of families who have had to deal with the situation. Through appropriate management, medication or therapy, stress and anxiety among parents and autistic children can be effectively addressed.