Mark Haddon wrote a wonderful book that became a bestseller and won both the Whitbread Book of the Year and Whitbread Novel awards. Mark Haddon himself was said to have exclaimed, "Who the hell would want to read about a fifteen-year-old boy with a disability?" while he was writing this book. He didn't know that it was the disabled fifteen-year-old who made his book stand out, win prizes and become a bestseller. The book is called "The Curious Dog Accident in the Night and the Boy is Christopher".
Christopher is an experienced autistic. He can name all the countries of the world and their capitals. He has a photographic memory and a genius in mathematics and science. Despite his unusual intelligence, he cannot imagine, understand rhetorical figures and relate to jokes. He also doesn't like places with a lot of people and people who touch him. People who are autistic-savant exhibit both common characteristics between people with autism and those with Savant's syndrome. Autism is a developmental disorder in the autism spectrum disorder group. This condition is mainly characterized by impaired socialization, imagination and communication. Savant syndrome is characterized by very low general intelligence but extraordinary restricted intelligence usually in the fields of mathematics, music, art and memorization.
In the story, Christopher's parents are separated. Her mother has decided to leave Christopher and her father because she can no longer cope with the demands of having an autistic child. Parents who care for special children such as those with autism are likely to have a higher stress level than most parents. This is mainly due to the fact that their children have special needs, unusual behaviors and different abilities than other children of the same age. These children will most likely have difficulty communicating, resulting in unusual reactions. An example of this is when an autistic child cries for no apparent reason and starts hitting himself. Most likely, something made him feel upset but he can't convey what it is because he doesn't know how to do it. Some autistic children with sensory integration problems may be hypersensitive or hyposensitive to touch, pressure, movement, and sound. They will exhibit certain behaviors that are sometimes difficult to understand such as avoiding certain types of food and drink, pinching or hitting, repetitive motions and screaming. Some of them may also show a strong adherence to certain routines and fear of new places or people. Accepting the needs and coping with the behaviors of these children is not easy and, therefore, can be very stressful.
Autism can severely limit a child's world. They live in safety and anything they perceive as a threat to their safety should be avoided. However, many factors, situations and demands of society make them insecure and being forced to deal with them makes them very anxious most of the time. Unconsciously and involuntarily, children with autism experience a constant feeling of anxiety about anything new or foreign to their understanding. Just like in the book, when Christopher had to go beyond the area of town that he is familiar with, he felt physically ill and scared. Unlike most children, those with autism cannot easily adapt to new environments or situations. The process of learning to understand and accept what was previously unknown to them results in a higher level of anxiety.
Despite what appears to be a difficult task of adapting and coping with autistic children, much has already been researched and published on proper management that will not only reduce children's anxiety but also their parents' stress. Some methods such as cognitive behavior modification, behavior modification techniques, and environmental modification techniques have been shown to be effective in modifying inappropriate behaviors and improving the learning skills of children with autism. Some, having aggravating conditions other than autism, may need additional treatment as advised by doctors. Autistic children who also suffer from manic depression due to their unhappiness of being involuntarily trapped in their self-protective behaviors may need more therapy than previously mentioned. Seeing a psychiatrist is highly advisable in this situation and other medications may be prescribed.
Christopher's story ended with him being able to overcome the challenges that caused him too much anxiety and his mother decided to return to take care of him. Just like in this fictional novel, the same can be achieved in real life in terms of managing stress and anxiety among families who need to cope with the condition. Through proper management, medication or treatment, stress and anxiety between parents and autistic children can be effectively addressed
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