Self care has become trendy with top ten and top 25 tips. The tips include advice like "stop over thinking", "be still", "eat as many greens as possible" and "forgive yourself and others."
For others, self care is a core issue. I went on-line to find the definition of self care. I came up with this link from an on-line medical dictionary. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/self-care
The definition has to do with nursing care and occupational therapy.
I have an iron in the fire on this issue. Autism has touched our family. I'm also on the board for the FOCUS Center for Autism. They work with children on the spectrum on socialization skills including self care. With one in 80 children being diagnosed as being on the spectrum, this is an issue that will become more prevalent in the near future. Something to think about is how we're going to pull together the resources for the services needed to make many of these children functional (holding a job - having a degree of self-sufficiency). Many parents are now facing this on their own with little help from insurance coverage.
Number three is pretty basic.
3 personal care accomplished without technical assistance, such as eating, washing, dressing, using the telephone, and attending to one's own elimination, appearance, and hygiene. The goal of rehabilitation medicine is maximal personal self-care.
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
Number three is also an issue with people on the autism spectrum. Setting up a routine with visual cues to help with focus on some basic self-care issues. Basic issues like washing and brushing teeth, dressing, toilet habits and eating. Living Well With Autism has some good visuals to help children learn theses skills.
I went to the Education Resource Information Center to get more information about self-care for autistic children. They suggest systematic, intensive teaching in self-care skills due to deficits in language and attention skills. There are hundreds of scholarly articles about autism and the issue of self care. A lot depends on how early autism is diagnosed and how early treatment begins. The autism spectrum is a pretty broad range. How deeply the person is affected by the disorder has to do with where he or she falls on the spectrum. This the individual's ability to learn and practice self care.
I have an iron in the fire on this issue. Autism has touched our family. I'm also on the board for the FOCUS Center for Autism. They work with children on the spectrum on socialization skills including self care. With one in 80 children being diagnosed as being on the spectrum, this is an issue that will become more prevalent in the near future. Something to think about is how we're going to pull together the resources for the services needed to make many of these children functional (holding a job - having a degree of self-sufficiency). Many parents are now facing this on their own with little help from insurance coverage.
Not addressing the issue could result in a tsunami of adults with emotional and behavioral issues on the streets. During the early years of the Reagan administration, federal funding and grants to community clinics were cut. "We can no longer afford to pay for this service." These clinics dealt with individuals with mental health issues. The result was that many of these people were put on the street. They had illnesses like schizophrenia. If they were "lucky", they got warehoused in institutions. If "unlucky" many became homeless. There are many more individuals diagnosed with Autism. I realize libertarians and conservatives will cry, "we can't afford this." I suggest as a civilized and progressive society, we're going to need to be proactive. We will need to come together and find solutions.
The Real Life Survival Guide airs Sunday afternoon at 4:30 on WNPR. You can hear episodes anytime on their website.
The Real Life Survival Guide airs Sunday afternoon at 4:30 on WNPR. You can hear episodes anytime on their website.
