Literature Review
Nursing care for children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) is increasingly becoming crucial due to an increase in the number of children with ASD especially in the last two decades (Souders, Freeman, DePaul & Levy, 2003). Autism is characterized by reduced social skills such as the inability to maintain relationships, unrefined nonverbal communication and delayed and awkward verbal communication and repetitive behaviors (Vejar, 2014). Children with the condition have difficulty adjusting to new environments and routines. Therefore nursing care should involve an understanding of their condition to provide the best care.
Although awareness on ASD has increased leading to early diagnosis, erroneous perceptions towards the condition are a hindrance towards providing the best care for children with the condition (Garg et al., 2015). Hence, increasing awareness in public will improve the knowledge and quality of care given to such children. This section looks at the previous research on ASD and draws on the knowledge and conclusions from this research to understand how environmental and routine change affects children with ASD and the relevance of this knowledge in nursing care. Nursing care for autistic children also needs to consider parental input. Parental stress is higher in mothers with autistic children than with other mothers (Silva & Schalock, 2012). Considering that mothers spend the most time with such children, nursing care for such children should also involve methods of reducing stress in parents such as mindfulness interventions (Cachia, Anderson, & Moore, 2015). Reducing stress in parents impacts on the quality of care that ASD children receive.
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Early diagnosis of ASD is vital in nursing care for children with autism since it utilizes the plasticity of the child’s brain in the long-term management of the condition (Mozolic-Staunton, Barbaro, Donelly & Yoxall, 2017). Knowledge of the condition enables the nursing caregivers to identify signs of the condition in young children which leads to further diagnostic tests and identification of the condition. Caregivers often have challenges attending to ASD children because of the reaction to new environments and items. Knowledge of the procedures and tests devised for ASD children is thus vital in overcoming these barriers (Garg P., LillyStone, Dossetor, Keffor, & ChonG, 2014). Invariantly, children with autism have different degrees of symptoms that are associated with the deficits (Wiggins et al., 2015). The implication is that nursing care should not take a similar approach for all children with ASD. Therefore, nurses should have the ability to assess the deficits in the child and identify the best approach for caring for the child.
Notably, the prevalence of ASD among children has increased in recent years (Garg et al., 2015). Despite the increased knowledge of the conditions, nursing caregivers still experience challenges attending to children with ASD. Thus, there is the need for caregivers to have an in-depth understanding of the condition. Care to give is not limited to the children, the nurses also need to impart crucial skills to the parents of such children to ensure the children receive the best care while at home. Nurses can also contribute to early diagnosis of ASD through the ability to identify signs of the condition in young children.
Annotated Bibliography
Cachia, R. L., Anderson, A., & Moore, D. W. (2015). Mindfulness, Stress, and Well-Being in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25, 1-14.
The authors posit that parental stress related caring for children with ASD affects the way the parents handle such children. ASD is a lifetime condition with the child having little independence over regular activities. Thus parental care is necessary. Burn-out and feeling of isolation by the parent result in stress which directly affects the child (Cachia, Anderson, & Moore, 2015). The relevance of this article to this research is that nursing care to children with ASD extends to parents. Hence nurses must advise parents on methods of avoiding stress. This article is especially important in explaining the methods of improving nursing care to children with ASD.
Garg, P., LillyStone, D., Dossetor, D., Keffor, C., & ChonG, S. (2014). An Exploratory Survey for Understanding Perceptions, Knowledge and Educational Needs of General Practitioners Regarding Autistic Disorders in New South Wales Autistic Disorders in New South Wales. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research , 8(7), 1-9.
The researchers surveyed a small percentage of general practitioners and discovered that their knowledge and perceptions of ASD and how it impacts the services that they offer. The general practitioners believed that early diagnosis of ASD significantly improved the care provided. The findings correspond with previous research which related the quality of care to the time of diagnosis. Thus, these findings support the idea of this paper that understanding the nature of the child's condition impacts on the care provided.
Garg, P., LillyStone, D., Dossetor, D., WilKinson, H., Kefford, C., Eastwood, J., & Liaw, S. T. (2015). A Framework for Developing a Curriculum Regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders for Primary Care Providers. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research , 9(10), 1-6.
This article reiterates the research findings that prevalence of ASD has increased in recent years. Consequently, there is the need for caregivers to be knowledgeable on how to handle children with the condition. The information provided in the article efficiently explains the methods that will be used to improve care for children with autism. This article supports the thesis of this research on improving knowledge to nursing caregivers to give the best care to ASD children.
Mozolic-Staunton, B., Barbaro, J., Donelly, M., & Yoxall, J. (2017). Interrater reliability of early childhood education professionals involved in developmental surveillance for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood , 42(2), 61-68.
The researchers explain that developmental surveillance of children at risk of developing ASD improves the chances of early diagnosis. Early diagnosis ensures that the best care is given to the child. The relevance of this article to the research topic is that nurses can contribute to the surveillance. Nursing care of diagnosed children can also be standardized to the type of care that the child needs. Hence, this article provides valuable information for the research about diagnosis and providing care.
Silva, L. M., & Schalock, M. (2012). Autism Parenting Stress Index: Initial Psychometric Evidence. Journal of Autism Development Disorder , 42, 566-574.
Silva and Schalock (2012), apply data collection and analysis methods to assess stress levels in parents with children with ASD. The parents exhibit high levels of stress. The high levels of stress are a hindrance to the providing quality care to their children. The authors relate stress levels and care for autistic children. Nursing care for autistic children is adversely affected by stress hence the need to reduce stress levels in parents.
Souders, M., Freeman, K., DePaul, D., & Levy, S. (2003). Caring for Children and Adolescents with Autism who Require Challenging Procedures. Journal of Pediatric Nursing , 28(6), 555-562.
This article describes the challenges that autistic children face in their daily lives. Autism is characterized by reduced ability to interact and communicate. The implication is that special attention needs to be provided to these children. The information in this article is relevant in supporting the thesis of this research that autistic children experience difficulties in adjusting to new environments. Therefore, the article is s vital source for nursing caregivers to understand the challenges that autistic children experience in new environment and take relevant measures to ease their adaption to the environment.
Vejar, C. (2014). Students with Mental Illness . Great Neck Publishing.
Vejar explores the educational requirements of ASD students. Autistic children need to attend a school where their curriculum should be designed according to their needs. Caregivers in the school setting must understand the varied needs of each of the children and how best to provide the environments for them to learn. This article is important since it explains the process of caring for autistic children in a different setting. The information helps in this research through the provision of relevant knowledge for caring for children with ASD.
Wiggins, L. D., Levy, S. E., Daniels, J., Schieve, L., Thompson, P., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., . . . Schendel, D. (2015). Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms Among Children Enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorder, 45, 3183-3194.
The researchers explain the phenotypical differences between children with ASD. According to their findings, ASD in children is characterized by various degrees of symptoms. The findings are significant in nursing care since understanding the degree of symptoms informs decisions on how to handle the children. It also helps caregivers to devise methods of caring for different kinds of ASD children. This article is valuable in explaining ASD’s varied levels and differences in care that should be provided.
References
Cachia, R. L., Anderson, A., & Moore, D. W. (2015). Mindfulness, Stress, and Well-Being in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25, 1-14.
Garg, P., LillyStone, D., Dossetor, D., Keffor, C., & ChonG, S. (2014). An Exploratory Survey for Understanding Perceptions, Knowledge and Educational Needs of General Practitioners Regarding Autistic Disorders in New South Wales Autistic Disorders in New South Wales. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research , 8(7), 1-9.
Garg, P., LillyStone, D., Dossetor, D., WilKinson, H., Kefford, C., Eastwood, J., & Liaw, S. T. (2015). A Framework for Developing a Curriculum Regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders for Primary Care Providers. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research , 9(10), 1-6.
Mozolic-Staunton, B., Barbaro, J., Donelly, M., & Yoxall, J. (2017). Interrater reliability of early childhood education professionals involved in developmental surveillance for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood , 42(2), 61-68.
Silva, L. M., & Schalock, M. (2012). Autism Parenting Stress Index: Initial Psychometric Evidence. Journal of Autism Development Disorder , 42, 566-574.
Souders, M., Freeman, K., DePaul, D., & Levy, S. (2003). Caring for Children and Adolescents with Autism who Require Challenging Procedures. Journal of Pediatric Nursing , 28(6), 555-562.
Vejar, C. (2014). Students with Mental Illness . Great Neck Publishing.
Wiggins, L. D., Levy, S. E., Daniels, J., Schieve, L., Thompson, P., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., . . . Schendel, D. (2015). Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms Among Children Enrolled in the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorder, 45, 3183-3194.
