Juniper Hill Farms, an Autism Haven

       Much has been said about children with Autism. Have you ever wondered how would their life be when they become adults? Are they capable of living independently?
      Meet Andy, Brent, Patrick, Jose, Michael and Ray. Despite being regarded as individuals with special needs, they proved their worth as men and equally productive members of the society. Let's take a look and learn from their lives at Juniper Hill Farms.

Brother's Keeper

      It was truly a trying time when the couple found out that J, their eldest son has autism.
     J  has severe autism. Though his parents knew about his disorder, no intervention was given to him until the age of 9 due to lack of knowledge in properly addressing his needs.  
       J is now 29 years old. Like most individuals with severe autism, he has very poor communication skills, not even capable of using non verbal gestures, depends on others even on his toileting needs, with aggressive and self-injurious behavior. 

Finding Toys with a Purpose

  All children love toys. Special needs kids are no exception.  Actually, playing with toys can be a great way for them to have fun while their different sensory issues and development of some skills are being dealt with all at the same time. You just have to find the right toy that can serve that purpose. Also,consider your child's interest to make play time truly enjoyable.

  To find a purposive toy, you may want to consider these pointers:

1. Toys that perk up the senses

• toys that light up  - good for visual stimulation
• picture books
• toys that make sounds 
• toy clay - for tactile stimulation

2. Toys that develop motor skills

• crayons and coloring books - for development of fine motor skill
• paints & water colors - develop fine motor skill, creativity and self expression
• building blocks
• sorting and matching toys
• bicycle - helps in achieving good sense of balance

The Need to Have a "World of their Own"

  Our senses help us discover, learn and understand the world we live in and everything around us. Our perception or reactions to various stimuli that we encounter in our day to day living is governed by our senses.
  Our body is equipped with a lot of senses. The five most recognized of them are:

• sight
• hearing
• taste
• smell
• touch

  In addition to that, other senses include:

• thermoception -  sense of temperature
• proprioception - sense of position.location,orientation and movement of the body and its parts
• vestibular sense - sense of balance
• nociception - sense of pain

Silent Worshiper

   D is a 36 year old , non- verbal person with autism. During his younger years, he had his special education (SPED) in a public school and never had any sort of therapy. Despite his condition, he cannot be considered a "burden" since he helps in the family owned poultry farm which is their source of livelihood. 
  Every Sunday, D never fails to fulfill his spiritual obligations. As he comes inside the prayer hall, he would quickly go to his favorite spot at the corner where he would sit in silence. When greeted, he would respond by waving a little and make a peculiar sound.

Preparing for Your Visit to the Doctor

  Making an appointment to see a Developmental Pediatrician is not as easy as one would think. Since there are only a few doctors within this sub-specialty, it may take months or even a year before  your child gets an evaluation. This is especially true if you would like your child to be seen by the illustrious doctors of this field. So when that day comes, make sure you are prepared and make the long wait all worthwhile.
  Here are some tips to help you prepare and hints of what your doctor might do to make the fullest out of that visit.

List down :

• all the observed changes in your child's behavior
• all the medications your child is taking
• your child's eating habits and food preference

Finding a Developmental Pediatrician

  A Developmental Pediatrician  is a doctor trained and gained expertise to evaluate and care for children with developmental, learning and behavioral problems. There are only a few doctors in this Pediatric sub-specialty so it may take sometime to make an appointment with them.  Their clinics may be found in a number of big hospitals in Metro Manila. It would cost PHP3,000 for a child to be evaluated.  
Ask about professional fees whenever you make an inquiry about the doctor as this may vary depending on the area or location of the clinic. This may not be affordable to some families making financial aspect a big factor why some children suspected having some form of developmental disorder are left undiagnosed hence being denied of intervention and treatment.
  There are two government hospitals in Metro Manila that offer developmental assessment at minimal to no fees at all:

Autism Tell Tale

* Updated June 5, 2012

  Being the first born and only grandchild, everyone in the family is so fond of  C. His parents have big dreams for him. 
  As he was growing, he was like any other child until he reached 10 months of age. He seemed not to look at people, nor responding to his name anymore. When someone tries to play with him, asking him to do "flying kiss", "close open", he did not mind as if no one was playing with him. 
  At 18 months, C was not saying any words yet. He was still incapable of doing communicative gestures like waving bye-bye or pointing. 
  By age 2, C had no vocabulary and still babbling like a 6 month old. He was hyperactive- running around aimlessly, mesmerized by spinning objects like the blades of the electric fan. His mother noticed all these alarming behavioral manifestations, but clinged  to the common belief that boys develop later than girls. And that C will soon catch up.

  The early behavioral manifestations of Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) may show at 12 months of age but valid screening can be obtained when child reaches 16 months of age.[1].
  According to First Signs , the very early indicators, the so called RED FLAGS of Autism include:


1. failure to elicit social smile and other joyful expressions by 6 months of age and thereafter
2. no back and forth sharing of sounds and smiles by 9 months of age and thereafter
3. no babbling by 12 months
4. no gesturing (pointing, waving bye-bye) by 12 months
5. does not say single words by 16 months
6. does not say 2 word spontaneous phrases by 24 months (not just echoing)
7. losing language or social skills at any age

Ribbon of Many Hues

*Updated April 14, 2012

  The Puzzle Ribbon- designed with multicolored pieces of jigsaw puzzle is the awareness ribbon symbolizing Autism [1]. The jigsaw puzzle pattern perfectly represents the complicated nature of the disorder. The various colors and shapes represent the fact that Autism can affect anyone regardless of race and socio-economic status. The radiant hues signify hope that people with Autism will have better lives through early diagnosis and appropriate intervention.
  Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the brain's normal development leading to social impairment, communication difficulties, restricted stereotyped patterns of behavior[2]. Physical attributes are unaffected. They look just like any other children but their behavioral patterns are different from those of typical children.