By Jessie Moniz

Although autistic children need educators with a high level of experience, they are often taught by those with the least amount of experience.

That is according to veteran autism expert Joyce Mounsteven, of the Geneva Centre for Autism in Ontario, Canada, who was on the Island recently to help raise awareness of autism, and give workshops to Bermudian educators.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first two years of life.

It is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills.

“Very often the teacher steps aside and lets the para-professional teach the autistic child,” said Ms Mounsteven. “The role of the para-professional should be clearly defined, and the teacher in the classroom should do the teaching.

“Children with autism need teachers with more training, rather than less training,” she said. “Although some of the para-professionals have had some training in autism, very few of the teachers have had any.”

She was here on behalf of Bermuda Autism Support and Education (BASE) an organisation that attempts to raise autism awareness on the Island, and provide support to families.

While in Bermuda, she met with teachers at various schools, gave workshops and also met with the Ministry of Education and the Bermuda College to discuss the possibility of starting courses about autism for the general public.

“School principals and school administrators also need to be fully aware of the implications of autism,” she said.

For example, the sound of a firebell, or 20 classroom chairs being pushed back at once may be agony to some children with autism. Autistic children sometimes have senses that are overreaction or underreactive.

Tennis balls on the end of chair legs can stop chairs scraping. Firebells can sometimes be replaced by flashing lights.

Ms Mounsteven said autistic children often get into trouble for “non-compliance”. “We know that children with autism often have trouble making transitions,” she said. “It is very difficult to get them to stop and change to a new activity.”

She suggested teachers give gentle five minute and three minute warnings when an activity is about to change.

“Our goal has been to look at ways we can support the Ministry of Education in improving the way that schools cope with children with autism,” said Ms Mounsteven.

“I believe BASE turned to the Geneva Centre because we have a strong reputation in training, and working with school systems.

“We don’t work in isolation, but we work towards inclusion of children in the public schools.”

Autism is one of five disorders that fall under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterised by ‘severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development’.

Both children and adults on the autism spectrum typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

When Ms Mounsteven first started working with autistic children in the 1960s, doctors blamed the disorder on “refrigerator mothers”. They theorised that emotionally cold mothers caused their children to pull away from social interaction.

Nowadays, this theory has long been disproved.

“They also used the term ‘childhood schizophrenia’,” said Ms Mounsteven. “They didn’t use the term ‘autism’.

“It is unconscionable when you think about mothers being blamed,” she said. “It was ignorance, and we just didn’t know and jumped to the wrong conclusions.”

She said at that time educators knew very little about autism. Unfortunately, today the experts still don’t know what causes autism.

And autism is on the rise, world-wide.

New data from the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that the incident rate and prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is much higher than previously thought — one in 91, not one in 150 as previously thought.

The increase is happening regardless of region, economics or race.

Ms Mounsteven thought autism may be increasing, in part, because of increasing awareness.

“In certain areas the diagnosis of autism means that parents are entitled to educational services,” said Ms Mounsteven. “So parents are more willing to have that diagnosis for their child if it means they will get more support.

“With the diagnosis comes the research and understanding that we are building.”

There are a number of disorders on the autism spectrum, and they are all increasing except one rare disorder called Rhetts Syndrome.

“There is a debate about whether that syndrome should be under the autism spectrum,” said Ms Mounsteven. “With that disorder children develop normally, but then start losing their skills. It is a degenerative disorder.”

Ms Mounsteven said there has been some evidence of a genetic link.

“We know there is a genetic link because of twin studies,” she said. “We know that if the family has one person with autism, their chances of having a second child with it is higher.

“We know there is a neurological component.”

She said there is a lot of neurological research currently going on to look at autism.

“Then there is an ongoing speculation that there is an environmental connection,” she said. “Those three things together seem to result in a child with autism.”

And she said that previous theories that chemicals in childhood vaccinations caused autism, have also been disproved.

“The symbol for autism is puzzle pieces,” she said. “There is no singular cause, and there is no singular cure.”

For more information about autism, contact BASE at

basebda@yahoo.com, visit their website

www.bermudaautism.org/ or telephone 333-9002.