Some effective strategies for encouraging and supporting hobbies for an autistic child include:
You can't - autism is an absolute, you are either autistic or you are not and there is no way that a person can become 'less autistic'. A person with autism can improve in areas such as commnuication, social skills, and functioning, this tends to happen naturally as autistic people get older and learn new skills, but it is helped by supporting and understanding the autistic person.
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network is regarded as one of the best organisations for Autistic people, not sure if they are a charity or not but they are a good first-call for information on helping Autistic people. Avoid Autism Speaks, they are considered to be a hate group and although they claim to help Autistic people they actually harm us. From propaganda to torture, from supporting parents murdering Autistic children to eugenics - Autism Speaks does not speak for us.
When an Autistic student is pressing down too hard with a pencil you would do as you would with a child of any other neurology, it may have absolutely nothing to do with their being Autistic. As they're Autistic they may have sensory issues which can factor into this, often Autistic people prefer firm touch, in which case it would be a matter of encouraging them to be lighter in pressing down. as a teacher you do whatever is needed to encourage that child, every child will be different.
No, there are no prenatal tests for Autism.Organizations such as Autism Speaks are attempting to create prenatal screening as they wish to eradicate Autistic people from the human race which could be achieved by supporting abortion of Autistic fetuses. Obviously many Autistic people and advocates are very much against this.
Yes, a lot of Autistic children grow-up to live and work normally as Autistic adults. There's a lot of focus on Autistic children, many people forget that eventually we grow-up...we don't just vanish after childhood, we're still here and more attention needs to be given to supporting Autistic adults.
No, in fact ABA is considered to be abusive towards Autistic people.At it's best it is a form of training used to attempt to force an Autistic person to act like they are neurotypical - at it's core it assumes neurotypical is normal and that Autistic people are inferior, as such it is ableist and can teach low self-esteem in Autistic people, it also puts the burden on Autistic people to add to their strain by attempting to pass as neurotypical (rather than encouraging Autistic people to be themselves and encourage wider society to accept Autistic people). At it's worst ABA is abusive, involving abuse via punishment and denying Autistic people the things they need to maintain mental and neurological help e.g. preventing stimming or down time to cope with over stimulation, or punishing an Autistic person for suffering a meltdown which is beyond their control.
Parents can prevent an autistic child from putting their hand in their diaper by using strategies such as providing sensory alternatives, creating a consistent routine, using positive reinforcement, and seeking guidance from healthcare professionals.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurological condition, autistic people are born autistic - we do not know why people are autistic.
A person is born autistic - they do not become autistic.
He's not autistic
Yes, he is indisputably autistic.
An Autistic is a person with Autism.