Why doesn’t my child respond while talking? Why does she avoid eye contact and social interaction? Why does she prefer being alone? Are you as a parent diagnosing these signs in your child? If yes, then your child likely suffers from a developmental disorder known as autism.

This kind of disorder is characterized by the impairment or delay in functions related to central nervous system maturation. This may affect a single area of development (speech or language disorder, disorder of scholastic skills) or several (behavioral and intellectual). Sleep dysfunction, seizures and gastrointestinal distress are additional conditions that may be associated with autism.

It is estimated that there are around 3 lakh people with autism in Nepal. Though the causes of autism are still unknown 10% of autism is genetic. Since each child with autism is unique the treatment is also based on the specific needs of the child. Treatment can involve behavioral interventions, medicine or both.

It is almost impossible to treat autism without the active participation of parents. If a child shows problems in his or her behavior, then it is vital that parents be involved in the assessment procedure, behavior intervention development and intervention implementation. Having a child with autism might be a stress to the family.

It’s important for families to understand the sources of stress and how to cope with those stressors so they are more readily available mentally and emotionally to help their children. Common types of stressors are transitional stress (shock, denial and anger upon the diagnosis of the case), emotional stress (feeling of grief upon the diagnosis because their hopes and dreams have been altered), care giving stress (added responsibility of physical, medical and other types of assistance and care) and stress from negative professionals and societal attitudes.

In order to take care of the child, first the parents should be able to cope with these kinds of stress themselves. One way to reduce such type of stress is by engaging in passive appraisal technique which involves refusal to think much about the future and relaxation (deep breathing, muscle relaxation, meditation, yoga, listening to music etc).

Beside this, the professional and personal support they receive from relatives, family, counselors or psychologists is of utmost importance to cope with these stress.