Author: thetentmaker

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Friendly Health Worker TTM Lifestyle Blogs

Tantrums Versus Autistic Tendencies

Question
How does one differentiate between typical toddler tantrums and a child with autistic tendencies?

Adenike O.

Tantrums are temporary while the tendencies of autism are sort of permanent or consistent

Adelola G.

Tantrums are not signs that a child may have autism, but if the child shows symptoms of autism, and then throw tantrums, we can then differentiate between tantrums and what we call meltdowns.

Gbemisola B.
Tantrums are not the only features of Autism spectrum disorder. In addition to the tantrums there WILL BE OTHER SYMPTOMS. One of which commonly is COMMUNICATION DEFICIT.
In toddlers the social communication delay often manifesting as speech delay and/or repetitive restricted patterns of behaviors are the usual common symptoms first observed by parents and caregivers.
Possible “Red Flags”

A person with ASD might:

• Not respond to their name by 12 months of age
• Not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14 months
• Not play “pretend” games (pretend to “feed” a doll) by 18 months
• Avoid eye contact and want to be alone
• Have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
• Have delayed speech and language skills
• Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
• Give unrelated answers to questions
• Get upset by minor changes
• Have obsessive interests
• Flap their hands, rock their body, or spin in circles
• Have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel.
Social Skills
Social issues are one of the most common symptoms in all of the types of ASD. People with an ASD do not have just social “difficulties” like shyness. The social issues they have cause serious problems in everyday life.

Examples of social issues related to ASD:

• Does not respond to name by 12 months of age
• Avoids eye-contact
• Prefers to play alone
• Does not share interests with others
• Only interacts to achieve a desired goal
• Has flat or inappropriate facial expressions
• Does not understand personal space boundaries
• Avoids or resists physical contact
• Is not comforted by others during distress
• Has trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about own feelings


Communication

Each person with ASD has different communication skills. Some people can speak well. Others can’t speak at all or only very little. About 40% of children with an ASD do not talk at all. About 25%–30% of children with ASD have some words at 12 to 18 months of age and then lose them. Others might speak, but not until later in childhood.

Examples of communication issues related to ASD:

• Delayed speech and language skills
• Repeats words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
• Reverses pronouns (e.g., says “you” instead of “I”)
• Gives unrelated answers to questions
• Does not point or respond to pointing
• Uses few or no gestures (e.g., does not wave goodbye)
• Talks in a flat, robot-like, or sing-song voice
• Does not pretend in play (e.g., does not pretend to “feed” a doll)
• Does not understand jokes, sarcasm, or teasing


Unusual Interests and Behaviors

Many people with ASD have unusual interest or behaviors.

Examples of unusual interests and behaviors related to ASD:

• Lines up toys or other objects
• Plays with toys the same way every time
• Likes parts of objects (e.g., wheels)
• Is very organized
• Gets upset by minor changes
• Has obsessive interests
• Has to follow certain routines
• Flaps hands, rocks body, or spins self in circles

Other Symptoms

Some people with ASD have other symptoms. These might include:

•Hyperactivity (very active)
• Impulsivity (acting without thinking)
• Short attention span
• Aggression
• Causing self injury
• Temper tantrums
• Unusual eating and sleeping habits
• Unusual mood or emotional reactions
• Lack of fear or more fear than expected
• Unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel

Read more here

Kemi K
A tantrum can be stopped or controlled by either the parent or the child. A meltdown can not. The autism spectrum is vast and a combination of symptoms will give a diagnosis. One single “symptom” does not mean a child is autistic. If all other development markers are hit, it is very unlikely that the singular issue of meltdowns will lead to a diagnosis.

You can join the discussion and share your thoughts here.

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TTM Lifestyle Blogs

Managing Fevers In Children

Bimbo Ajinibi

As a Casualty Clinician in the Children Emergency Room, I have seen beautiful promising babies lose their lives because of PARACETAMOL. Yes! Paracetamol has killed so much more babies than you can ever imagined.

A case scenario: This two year old was rushed to the emergency room with gasping respiration. Obviously he was about to die on arrival.

As usual, we launched into action to salvage this young chap.While working to save his life, we were asking questions from the mother to know when the illness started.

“It started with fever last week” was the response.

“Why then did you not bring the child since then?”, we inquired.

“The fever came down after I gave him paracetamol”, the mother answered.

That was how the mother continued to give this baby paracetamol until the child could no longer stand erect. Then the baby became breathless and was rushed to the hospital.

When we examined, it was obvious the child needed blood as an urgent test confirmed the PCV to be 09% and the baby’s heart was already failing (Anaemic Heart Failure). We tried our best but it was too late, we lost the child to the cold hand of death.

I was grieved in my heart. As I watched the mother crying unconsolably; she killed her own baby, though ignorantly.

Now this is the message I want to pass across:

Paracetamol is an analgesic (pain relieving) and an anti-pyretic (Fever ‘relieving’) drug. It does not cure any disease.

Picture from Cleveland Clinic

For the child in the story above, we later found out through a laboratory test that what the child had was malaria. There are so many causes of fever. Fever is not a disease, it is just one of the symptoms of a disease. What paracetamol does is to relieve the symptoms of fever or pain but it does not care for the disease.Malaria was destroying that baby’s blood, but it was also giving a signal (fever was the signal in this case) but the mother ignorantly ignored the signal by giving paracetamol.

To my readers, use this story to educate people around you, especially those who have children. When you have fever, this is what to do:

Have a warm bath. Do not use cold water. Do not run to buy paracetamol.

For younger children, do what we call Tepid Sponging. Tepid means warm. Dip a clean towel into warm (not cold) water and rub the baby’s body. As the water dries from the body there will be cooling.

If after Tepid Sponging for a while the fever did not subside, it is time to see a doctor. Do not prescribe paracetamol for a child. See a doctor and let the cause of the fever be dealt with.

Thank you very much for your time.

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TTM Lifestyle Blogs

Two Valuable Diamonds

I got this lovely story from a WhatsApp group a few months ago. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.

A merchant wanted to purchase a gorgeous camel in the market and after spotting one began to settle for it with the seller.

There was a long bargain between the merchant and the camel seller, and finally the merchant bought the camel and took it home.

A Camel



On reaching home, the merchant called his servant to take out the camel’s kajava (saddle) .

Under the kajava, the servant found a small velvet bag which upon opening revealed him to be full of precious diamond gems.

A Saddle



The servant shouted, “Boss, you bought a camel, but look what came with it for free!”

The merchant was also surprised, he saw diamonds in his servant’s hands which were shining and twinkling even more in the sunlight.

The merchant said: “I have bought a camel and not the diamonds, I should return it immediately!”

The servant was thinking in his mind “how stupid my boss is.”

He said: “Nobody will know who the owner is!” However, the merchant did not listen to him and immediately reached the market and returned the velvet bag to the shopkeeper.

The camel seller was very happy and said, “I had forgotten that I had hidden my precious stones under the kajava“.

Now you choose any one diamond as a reward!

The merchant said, “I have paid the right price for the camel so I do not need any gift and prizes!”

The more the merchant was refusing, the more the camel seller was insisting!

Finally, the merchant smiled and said:

“In fact, when I decided to bring back the bag, I had already kept two of the most precious diamonds with me.“

After this confession, the camel seller was infuriated and he quickly emptied the bag and began to count his diamond gems.

But after he counted with a heavy sigh of relief, he said “These are all my diamonds, so what were the two most precious ones that you kept?”

The merchant said: “My honesty and my self-respect.”

Honesty is a valuable diamond

The seller was dumb-struck!

We have to look within ourselves to find out if we possess any of these two diamonds.

Do you have these two precious diamonds Anymore?

Anyone who has these two diamonds, HONESTY AND SELF-RESPECT, is the richest person in the world.

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TTM Professionals

Practical Steps To Getting A Promotion

My sister shared these tweets with me. I think they are useful as 2021 gradually comes to an end. Please share your thoughts.

I’m not sure about the “ALL” bit. However, there are valuable insights in there.
Add Value
Document Your Achievements And Let Stakeholders Know About Your Achievements
Louie Bacaj’s Career Trajectory
Recruit Allies BEFORE The Next Promotion Cycle
People In Charge Care About What ELSE You Can Do For Them In Future
Managing An Acquisition/Merger As An Employee
There should be a career objective
If you are ready to launch out on your own, Tentmakers Online Reloaded is waiting to support you as you grow.

You can share your thoughts on the topic here.

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TTM Lifestyle Blogs

Our Golden Penny Jollof Noodles Story

I came back from work a few months ago and Great Madam, the Princess Chef (GMPC) started going on and on about Golden Penny Instant Noodles Jollof Flavour.
I asked her how she learnt about it and she said she saw the advert on TV.

Golden Penny Instant Noodles Jollof Chicken Flavour


She would daily talk about how she can’t stop thinking about the Golden Penny Instant Noodles Jollof Flavour. She told everyone that it concerned and those it did not concern.
We mentioned it to the lady we buy stuff from in the “adugbo”.
We got a carton of the regular Golden Penny Instant Noodles as a Christmas gift so GMPC had mentioned yesterday that we could try to create the Jollof Noodles from the regular Golden Penny Noodles and have that for lunch today.
I went to buy some sharpeners from the lady we buy stuff from in the “adugbo” when all the sharpeners in the house developed wings and flew away. The girl in the shop mentioned that they now had the Golden Penny Instant Noodles Jollof Flavour.
That’s how I bought two packs to try out and the short story is that the Golden Penny Instant Noodles Jollof Flavour is actually worth the hype. We have officially switched brands o. Na endorsement deal remain.

Our Cooked Jollof Noodles Is Ready

Food brands, GMPC is available to be your brand ambassador and affiliate marketer ati be be lo.

Watch Video

Welcome to my world!

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TTM Lifestyle Blogs

Christmas Party At Yaba Correctional Centre For Boys

The Parents Raising Godly Children Community (PRGCC) had a Christmas party for the boys in the Yaba Correctional Centre For Boys. AMA and GMPC joined the community to celebrate the boys.

A few pictures and videos for your viewing pleasure.

Join the Parents Raising Godly Children Community… WhatsApp|Facebook|Instagram

The Cake
Worship
Worship
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TTM Lifestyle Blogs

Food Pictures From The 2019 Ibadan Trip

Food pictures From Our Trip To Ibadan In December 2019. Enjoy.

Fufu and Okra
Rice, Plantain and Meat
The Famous Amala Skye
Fufu and Okra, the passport to heaven, lol
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Money Talks

Money Management Tips

I made the payment for my daughter’s school fees today. I’m sure someone would ask “Kini big deal?”
Smiles…
It’s a big deal to me because this time last year, we had to pay in 3 instalments. We were experiencing “cash flow challenges”, as one of my friends put it.

We had to make a lot of lifestyle changes and do away with frivolities. We may not be exactly where we want to be but we are not where we used to be. For that, I’m grateful.

I guess some are wondering how I managed to share the recharge cards and other “freebies” I was giving in the midst of the cash flow challenges. Hehehehe.

First of all, I made up my mind to resort to asking for help online if and only if I had truly tried everything I could and nothing worked. As we now know, some of the things I tried worked well enough to cover for those that did not.

Secondly, I said “cash flow challenges” because the truth is that the man/woman that is DILIGENT and SKILLFUL will stand before kings, not obscure men. If the skills you currently have cannot pay the bills for now, consider diversification.

Also, I talked about making lifestyle changes. We had to cut our cloth according to our material. We cut out unnecessary expenditure and found opportunities to reduce our spendings on the “essentials” (Eg, a power surge spoilt our DSTV decoder and we somehow got used to GOTv). There is nothing wrong with DSTV ooo, it’s just that the small savings we made by switching to GOTv made a difference… We found small small savings here and there.

Image By Premium Times

We found other streams of income that do not really interfere with our regular jobs. Sure, we need to cut down on our “social time” but I think the gains outweigh the pains.

Finally, God’s mercy is the prevailing factor in all of these things. There were strategies I received for the business streams in the place of prayer. I had and still have my pen and paper constantly with me because strategies keep coming from “above”.

I pray that I will be able to influence and support people currently experiencing “cash flow challenges” to maximize their resources to improve their financial conditions. That’s what drives the many pages, groups and profiles. I really want to help and support people as they maximize their online presence.

Welcome to my world!

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TTM Professionals

Experience alone is not enough

Dr Strive Masiyiwa

In a few weeks, I will be 56 years (young). I have been working for more than 33 years (old). By all measures, you might say I’m experienced. But what does this mean in the age of constant change, in which I must change my career (the way I do my job) every five years? Either I change the way I do my job, or my job changes, or it might disappear altogether!

Experience is important but it is not enough.

In fact, when you get to my age or older and all you can talk about is your experience, it’s nothing more than vanity!

What’s one definition of experience? “The process of getting knowledge or skill from doing, seeing or feeling things.”

“I don’t read any books,” the veteran began proudly. “Really, I could write most of those books myself because I know it all. I have been doing this job for 30 years.”

__This guy needs to retire quickly because he will destroy the organization!

You can be old and young at the same time… You cannot afford to think old!

Experience is important, but it is not enough.

Experience Is Important But It Is Not Enough

You must complement it with a constant desire and hunger to learn new things and change your career, again and again and again.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is for a team to win back to back World Cup soccer titles?

When you have a winning team, you don’t want to make changes, but that’s when change must be uppermost in your mind.

Much of our older executive corps in Africa really battle with change, and wear their experience as a right of entitlement. This needs to change. Management and leadership roles are not immune to change.

Experience is important but it is not enough.

Probably the best engineer I ever worked with was a South African guy called Les Cullen. He was already in his 60s when I first hired him, and he worked for me well into his 70s. In every way, Les was like a 26-year old!

His curiosity was insatiable. It always seemed that every day he was trying out a new idea or reading about a new idea.

So this is not an age thing. It’s about a mindset. I have known 30-year old who, only 10 years out of college, cannot absorb a new idea! I have known 80-year olds who embrace new ideas and change their careers with extraordinary energy and gusto.

Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus (70+) wrote something interesting. (He’s a social entrepreneur that pioneered the ideas of microcredit and microfinance). He said his greatest challenge has been to change the mindset of people.

“Mindsets play strange tricks on us,” he wrote. “We see things the way our minds have instructed our eyes to see…”

Now don’t let the idea of change panic you. Get your mindset around the idea that in this rapidly changing world, we’ll ALL need to be prepared to change our career, again and again and again.

I saw a quote recently that made me smile: “A year from now you will wish you had started today!”

You can join the discussion and share your thoughts here.

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AMA Writes

The Storm Is Sure To Come

Compliments of the season!

I heard Pastor Yemisi Ashimolowo preaching on TV yesterday and she said something that has been ringing in my spirit. She was talking about the story in Mark 4:35-39. She said and I noted that the disciples were in the right place STILL THE STORM CAME.

Many ‘methodical’ Christians cannot deal with this. They are so stuck on Cause and Effect that they can’t deal with the fact that some people who were in the right place at the right time still had to face storms.

I remember talking with someone about a death that really shook me. There was so much ‘Cause and Effect’ so I changed the topic.

I’ve come to realise that many people that make insensitive comments to hurting people do so because they are trying to convince themselves that it can never happen to them.

Verse Of The Day

I love the quote “There goes I but for the grace of God”. You are not enjoying financial freedom simply because of your excellent financial acumen. You are not enjoying a good marriage simply because you do all the things you do. You did not conceive simply because of your ability to correctly calculate your ovulation period. Your excellent career/marriage/pregnancy is primarily because of God’s grace and mercy.

The things we do are necessary but they do not give us the freedom to look down on those dealing with one challenge or the other.

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalm 127:1).

Be careful so you don’t end up like Herod who was struck down by an angel because he refused to give glory to God when he gave an excellent speech #BeGuided.

I’ve learnt that God will share His glory with no man. It’s very very easy to cross the line and try to play God in the lives of others. #HeartCheck

Have a blessed and productive day.

(c) AMA Writes, 2014