Can mental agility combat mortality in individuals with autism?
Elaine Claire
Bridging the divide between Mental Health & Special Needs | Reducing Societal Stigmas | Storyteller | Early Intervention | Sustainability | Budding Plant Parent ??
When a child is being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder,
it worries a parent because the life expectancy of an autism child would be about 39 years.
But I think the disorder itself have become immune to the society that people do not see it as an end to the life expectancy therefore the worry becomes at the back of their minds.
the bigger the crowd, the less responsible individuals feel for their own actions. - Darley and Latane
Change is not expected to happen instantly as the bystander effect takes into place, the effect for autism comes in waves when we least expect it but is there even a way to prevent it since the phenomenon has made it easier to adapt through medical and therapeutical interventions? A question that we should ponder about but that in itself is inevitable due to various factors that becomes a barrier for sustaining life.
Factors such as:
Autism covers a wide variety of behaviors and responses to stimuli, often involving social situations . Not only can the condition make it harder for some to communicate, it can impede timely interpretations of social cues, sometimes making it difficult to 'read the room'.
However masking the feelings and the symptoms makes people feel accepted to the society without realising that masking their emotions do not prolong the mortality rate but worsens it - as autism can easily be triggered with mental health illnesses that's being unseen, a higher risk of mental illnesses also means a higher risk of suicide.The risk of suicide increased six times for those on the spectrum with an IQ of 120 or higher compared to those with a lower IQ according to a study made by the University of Lowa.
I feel that less is being spoken about when it comes to the mental health of the child on a spectrum as the mental health is inter-related to the physical health - and even though autism spectrum disorder do not reduce the life expectancy, autistic people die at a younger age are at a higher risk than neurotypical people.
While caregivers and parents continue to work through their routines, medications , therapies to increase the life expectancy of the autistic child as a way to conserve time and to combat the disorder, these interventions act as a temporary guide for wellness in the short term but when it comes to long term investment - its important that we've balance between the body and mind for the functionality of the system to adapt and combat.
Mental agility being defined as a flexible way to combat change and be able to respond to events more quickly could be the best way forward despite unpredictable events.
This should start with developing the child with a growth mindset, children of autism tend to not be able to respond to Theory of mind as it is one of the deficits that is lacking in children of autism.
Children with autism, like many children with disabilities, are at a higher risk of having a negative or fixed mindset when thinking about their abilities (Beurkens, 2019).
Tips to build a growth mindset :
Besides developing a growth mindset, creative thinking skills such as curiosity would enable a child to come out of their comfortability and face challenges ahead of them, such activities that can involve creative thinking skills would be engaging your children with puzzles especially jigsaw puzzles. This could allow the child to hone problem solving skills if the puzzle is complicated - it expands growth in a child - other than puzzles, Rubik's cube and blocks could be other alternatives for them to improve their motor skills but better ability for focus and allowing them to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Rewarding them would enable them to be motivated in tasks using the ABA technique.
I believe in letting a child learn to grow on their own - with that, they would be less-attached to their caregivers and caregivers can've a peace of mind once mental agility overcomes the bond between the caregiver and child. When we nurture a child to be independent through mental agility - it would then create a safe space for a child to be engaged with the caregiver. Therefore its vital that mental energy on tasks needs to be carefully curated - especially situations where the child can be self led on their own by scheduling tasks that they love to do and not what the caregiver enforced on them as that would create distance and breed negativity.
Even though autism do not affect the life - dependency the individuals with autism may have co-current health conditions may increase the risk of life expectancy - so focusing on the overall health being remains key to prolonging life span and this could start with mental agility.