Health Related Reading

Autism and instruction strategies in children must be individualized in order to gain the greatest degree of success.  Children with autism frequently struggle to learn at the same rate as non-autistic children, and therefore very specific modifications must be made for autism and instruction methods to cater to the autistic children’s unique needs.

The following list includes autism instruction strategies that have been known to help autistic children in the classroom.  These are only broad descriptions as any practiced strategies must be child-specific, depending on the individual’s needs, symptoms, and strengths. 

1. Autistic children tend to be visual learners.  Therefore, a visual structure to the overall learning environment should be carefully designed in order to allow the child to clearly see and comprehend expectations of him or her.  This should include clearly defined workstations and other basic elements of the classroom.  Visual schedules are also an important part of the classroom’s visual structure, as they allow the autistic child to benefit from a predictable routine where the expectations are laid out specifically in a visual way.  This minimizes unexpected occurrences and allows students to anticipate and prepare for transitions in their day.

2. Stimulation in the classroom – especially visual and auditory – should be carefully considered and controlled, whenever possible.  Many autistic students can be easily over-stimulated by visual and auditory input and may have a challenging time processing their lessons should they be distracted or overwhelmed by sounds, lights, or images that cannot be properly managed.  Workstations should be set away from any excessive auditory and visual stimulation (especially sounds, movements, and any flickering or bright lights) to allow for optimal concentration and learning.

3. Many autistic children struggle with – or have yet to develop – communication skills, especially with regards to expressive communication skills. Instruction for non-verbal students may also be required.  An augmentative communication system (methods or devices to aid communication) can be greatly beneficial to autistic students of all communication levels.  This could include strategies such as PECS (picture exchange communication system), where picture cards are used to express words for objects, feelings, concepts, places, and other areas where words would typically be helpful.

4. Instruction of social skills has typically been among the more challenging aspects of the curriculum.  Overall, it is best to teach social skills very directly.  Autistic students will not normally develop social skills through simple interaction within social environments.  Instead, they must learn their social interaction skills in the same way that other academic topics and skills are taught.  

5. A high priority should be placed on instruction of literacy.  The reason for this is that many autistic students often depend on one form of communication for another, even if they are capable of communicating verbally.  Frequently, a kind of back-up form of expressive communication is required especially for when the child is feeling upset or overwhelmed.  Though PECS is effective, with literacy in the student, communication – even non-verbal communication – can occur at a might higher level, as it opens up a greater vocabulary for expression. 

Autism and instruction strategies are exceptionally unique.  Before beginning to work with an autistic child, it is important to be aware of the individual needs of that child, and the characteristics of autism exhibited by that child.  Instructors and other school staff working with the child should be provided with training about at least the basic features of autism.  Every member of the team working with the child should understand the child’s needs as well as teaching strategies such as those listed above, so that they may maximize the child’s potential for successful learning.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans’ brand new Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about the best Autism and instruction strategies and for information on other autism resources please visit The Essential Guide To Autism. 

If your stomach feels queasy and you’re feeling fatigued, you could be suffering from heartburn nausea weakness.   Although it may seem strange to suffer from nausea or weakness if you have acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), you need to remember that there are a number of symptoms related to acid reflux, not just heartburn.

The following is an individual breakdown of heartburn, nausea and weakness, why these symptoms occur, and how they can be treated.

Heartburn – Heartburn is the number one sign of acid reflux, and frequent heartburn indicates GERD.  Heartburn occurs when acid has been refluxed up into the lower esophagus and has had prolonged contact with the unprotected lining of the esophagus.    Heartburn is characterized by a painful burning sensation in the chest, which may rise up to the upper esophagus towards the neck.  Heartburn typically occurs after eating, or shortly after lying down.

Nausea - While nausea is an uncommon condition among GERD sufferers, it can be quite frequent and severe for the unfortunate people who do experience it.  When related to acid reflux, nausea typically occurs when acid backs up past the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) and into the throat.  When acid is refluxed into the throat and larynx (voice box), it can cause a sour or bitter taste to occur in the throat.  Due to the unpleasant feeling, a person may experience regurgitation with their nausea, or may actually vomit if nausea is severe. 

Nausea is a more common condition among ‘uncomplicated’ GERD sufferers and those who have laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).  Furthermore, acid reflux sufferers who experience nausea rarely suffer from heartburn, and vice versa.

Weakness – A GERD sufferer may experience two types of weakness associated with heartburn.  The first is the weakness that occurs in the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which is the primary cause of acid reflux.   The LES is designed to open to let food into the stomach, but should close to keep digestive acids from flowing back up into the esophagus.  However, the LES muscle can become weak and malfunction.  A weakened LES is attributed to many causes including:
- Food (foods high in fat, caffeine, citrus fruits and juices, etc.)
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Excess weight

The second type of weakness may be an actual feeling of fatigue which could be related to:
- Eating heavy meals – It takes plenty of energy to digest food, and certain foods such as meat are exceptionally hard on the digestive system. As the body diverts resources to the digestion process you can often feel drained, fatigued or sleepy.
- Night time heartburn – heartburn tends to frequently occur when a person is sleeping because the muscles of the body naturally relax during sleep, this includes the LES muscle.  Heartburn can keep you awake and disrupt your sleeping pattern leading to daytime fatigue.
- Lack of exercise and excess weight – If you lead a very sedentary lifestyle and are overweight, your body will often feel sluggish.  Furthermore, excessive weight places stress on your muscles and other internal functions making your body work harder to carry out its normal processes.

Treatment options – Related heartburn, nausea and weakness can be treated using virtually the same methods.  In regard to heartburn and nausea, you can relieve the symptoms by neutralizing acids with a herbal remedy such as ingesting Active Manuka Honey, ginger tea, or papaya, or by taking anti-acid medications such as antacids (I.E. Tums, Gaviscon, etc.), H2 receptor blockers (I.E. Zantac) or Proton Pump Inhibitors.  On the other hand, to help alleviate feelings of weakness and fatigue, adopting some low impact exercises and reducing stress can help you feel better and increase your energy. 

Nevertheless, the best way to cope with related heartburn nausea and weakness symptoms is to prevent acid reflux from occurring by:
- Avoiding foods that weaken the LES
- Eating slower and more frequent meals
- Avoiding eating 2 – 3 hours before sleeping or lying down
- Sleeping with your head elevated a few inches
- Avoiding exercising or engaging in high-impact activities directly after eating
- Losing excess body weight through a healthy lifestyle change

Lastly, before you begin any form of treatment, make sure you have any heartburn, nausea or weakness symptoms checked out by your doctor incase you are suffering from another condition or a more serious health problem.

 Grab your free copy of Kathryn Whittaker’s brand new Acid Reflux & GERD Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you find out about Heartburn, Nausea and Weakness and for information on heartburn remedies please visit Stop Acid Reflux Now.