Discover The Best Solutions To ASD Health Concerns
ASD is a complicated condition. Since ASD is a spectrum children with this condition can be incredibly different. As such, it’s difficult to determine the right practices that can help them physically or mentally. This is also complicated by the fact that children with ASD are more likely to develop particular health issues on top of their main condition. It’s worth exploring these health issues so that you are aware of the best ways to deal with them as a parent.
Trouble With Sleep
Children with autism do often have issues sleeping. They might struggle to get to sleep at a reasonable hour each night. They can also have difficulty getting the right type of sleep. Due to their sensory issues, children with ASD can struggle to find a comfortable sleeping position. A mattress that you think is hard, they might find too soft. They can also have too much energy built up to sleep, particularly if they weren’t active enough through the day.
This is why it’s important to ensure that children with ASD do remain on a set schedule. If you keep them on the right schedule, you will be able to make sure that they are accustomed to going to sleep at the same time each night. You can also try natural medication such as melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that triggers sleep. You can get melatonin in tablet form which will ensure that your child is sleepy when it’s time for bed.
Headaches And Migraines
Children with ASD may experience both migraines and tension headaches. This is often caused when they have meltdowns and whiteouts. When children with ASD scream or lose control, it causes them immense sensory pain. This is why they can continue screaming for hours because they develop severe headaches. Headaches may be dealt with using natural herbal medicine such as Papa And Barkley CBD. Various research has shown a positive impact of CBD on children with ASD. You can learn more by researching this herbal medicine online. It helps them relax and calms them down. You also might want to consider writing down the triggers of your child’s meltdowns so that you can potentially avoid them. Or, at the very least ensure that they don’t get worse than they need to.
Chronic Pain
ASD has also been correlated with issues of chronic pain. This could be due to the fact that kids with ASD do experience pain differently compared with other people. You might want to consider trying massage treatments. The best massage treatments can relieve tension and help children feel more relaxed at the same time.
OCD
On the surface, it might seem as though ASD and OCD have little to nothing in common. However, various research studies have found that there is a correlation between the two and it’s common for one to develop with the other. The obsessive compulsive disorder causes individuals to complete repetitive behaviour. One of the most stereotypical types of OCD will often be related to cleanliness and hygiene such as washing your hands multiple times. However, it can cause any repetitive behaviour such as switching off a light multiple times. There is often no logical reason for an individual doing this.
It can be frustrating for parents because of how time-consuming a behaviour like this can be and what can happen if you attempt to break the behaviour. The first step will always be to recognize signals of behaviour like this in a child with autism. You need to make sure that you watch out for signs like simple tasks taking longer than they should. Kids with OCD also tend to have trouble sleeping at night due to the symptoms that they develop. While OCD is difficult to ‘fix’ you can establish an environment that is understanding and nurturing of your child’s needs.
Depression
Unfortunately, depression is a common health issue with children who have ASD. Depression may be caused by a number of key factors. Children with ASD often have trouble interacting and establishing connections with other individuals. So, they might feel alone and isolated from the world. They also think about things in a different way from other people. This can mean that they feel ostracised and unable to share how they think. It can be incredibly lonely when you feel completely different from everyone else.
While depression may be treated with medication, it’s important to work on strengthening the emotional wellbeing of your child. You need to make the effort to understand their point of view, even though it will be completely different from yours. Remember, children with ASD won’t be able to express themselves in the same way as other people. This is why meltdowns or white-outs are often misconstrued as naughty behaviour. When a child with ASD screams, yells or cries it is a typical sign of frustration that they are not being understood.
It’s vital that you do watch for signs of depression in your child. This can become severe and may lead to suicidal thoughts.
Obesity
Finally, obesity is another common health issue that children with ASD tend to experience. This is usually due to the limitations on what a child will eat. Children with ASD can be incredibly fussy eaters and will often only eat very particular foods. This can be associated with the smell, texture and even the colour. For instance, some children with autism will only eat foods that are grey shades. It can lead to parents relying on junk food and fast foods to feed their children.
You need to make the effort to try and get your child to eat different foods and limit the junk food as much as possible. There are always workarounds, even if your child does have specific foods that they will and won’t eat. For instance, if your child refuses to eat foods of certain shades and colours, you can think about using food dye. This is a great process to start when they are younger and you can get a dye that contains zero artificial ingredients.
We hope this helps you gain a better understanding of some of the common health issues that children with ASD can experience. If you take this advice, you can make sure that you tackle these health issues head-on and ensure that they don’t become a massive problem in your life.
