Autism is multifaceted, so one scheme of how a child will develop is difficult to isolate. There are many factors that can influence how this happens.
This is a form of the disease and features of the child. In the diagnosis of autism, the development of the patient depends on whether or not the necessary actions were taken.
With the onset of treatment of children with autism, it is possible to teach them to serve themselves, to talk and interact with people.
No episodes of complete recovery from the disease were recorded.
It is not enough to take a baby to a psychologist who will start working with him, or to a doctor who will prescribe the necessary medicines. Much of the success depends on the parents, who must collaborate with experts and follow their recommendations.
The success of the forecast is influenced by how close the children are to the child, regardless of its features, how close the father and mother are to it, how much they are included in the process of education, rehabilitation and upbringing.
When making a diagnosis of autism, child care should consist of a whole range of activities that must be individually tailored. Medications are rarely used and only for relieving some of the symptoms. The main treatments for autism are psychotherapy and social adaptation. Autistic parents should be prepared for the process to be long, complicated, physically and psychologically debilitating.
Autism and Cerebral Palsy
Often, the diagnosis of autism, especially in children of the first years of life, is difficult, since some of its manifestations may resemble the symptoms of other abnormalities of mental development – mental retardation, neuropathy and deafness. Sometimes mistaken early autism is replaced by a diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
This is due to the fact that in these diseases children may not use speech, it is unusual to move, tiptoe, have difficulty with balance and coordination, lag behind in development, and be afraid of the new. Cerebral palsy and autism have many similar symptoms, but their nature is different. It is important to find a competent specialist who can make the correct diagnosis, which will allow starting timely and correct treatment.
According to research data, in addition to traditional methods, dolphin therapy and art therapy show good results in the treatment of autism. Use them only as a supplement to the main methods of dealing with the disease.
For parents, one of the frightening diagnoses that can be made to a child is autism. The disease is characterized by a violation of the patient’s abilities to the knowledge of society and the surrounding world. In people with autism, parts of the brain cannot work together properly, which leads to communication difficulties, restriction of interests, and disruption of social interaction. Patients live in the world of inner experiences, they have no emotional connection with family and everyday skills. They are concerned only with their own difficulties.
Causes of Autism
Many works on autism have been carried out. A single theory or opinion about the causes and methods of treatment of the disease has not emerged. Most scientists consider it a genetic disease, but there is no evidence to support this.
Autism occurs due to impaired brain development. Experts identify several reasons that can provoke it.
- Heredity. The most popular theory, since autism is manifested in several relatives. Scientists are still not able to identify the genes responsible for its occurrence. Autistic children are often born in families whose members did not suffer from this ailment.
- Damage to the fetus during childbirth or fetal development. Sometimes such injuries can provoke viral infections – chickenpox, measles and rubella, which a woman suffered during pregnancy.
- States that adversely affect the brain. These include: chromosomal abnormalities, tuberculous sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
- Mother obesity. In overweight women, the risk of having a baby with autism is higher than that of women with a normal physique. Unfavorable factors are premature pregnancies and an increased age of the parents.
Autism – a problem , which develops most often in boys. About 4 boys with a diagnosis account for 1 girl.
Recently, the number of children suffering from autism has increased. What was the reason is difficult to say. Perhaps this is the result of improved diagnostics, and perhaps the active influence of environmental factors.
There is a theory that a child can inherit only a predisposition to autism, and a change in the gene structure takes place in the womb. It is assumed that the activation of such changes is promoted by adverse external factors that affect a pregnant woman – exhaust gases, infections, phenols, and some foods.
Symptoms of autism
The very first signs of autism can be cured in children at 3 months. They rarely disturb the parents, since abnormalities in the child’s behavior are explained by the infancy and character traits. Adults notice that something is wrong with a child when their child cannot do what his peers do without problems.
Experts identify several signs, in the presence of which the diagnosis of autism is confirmed. These include the stereotypical nature of behavior, lack of social interaction, limiting the range of interests and disrupting a child’s communication with other people.
Children of all ages are subject to autism. The first symptoms of the disease can manifest as in the period up to a year, in preschool, school and adolescence. Most often, the disease makes itself known early on – around the year you can see the unusual behavior of the crumbs, the lack of response to the name and a smile. Newborns with autism are less mobile, have an inadequate response to external stimuli – wet diapers, sound and light, lack of response to speech and their own name.
Symptoms that help identify autism in newborns and babies include:
- Facial expressions not relevant to the situation. The autistic person is mask-shaped, with grimaces periodically displayed on it. Such children rarely smile in response to a smile or trying to cheer them. They can often start laughing for reasons they know.
- Disturbance or delay of speech. This can manifest itself in different ways. A child can use only a few words denoting basic needs, and in one form – sleep or drink. Speech can be incoherent, not intended to be understood by others. The baby can repeat one phrase, speak softly or loudly, monotonously or indistinctly. She can answer the question with the same phrase, unlike ordinary children, without asking at all about the world around her. For two years, autistic children cannot utter phrases of several words. In severe cases, they do not master the speech.
- Repetitions of repetitive movements that have no meaning. Sick children use them in an unusual or frightening environment. These can be shaking your head and clapping your hands.
- Lack of eye contact when the baby is looking “through” the person.
- Lack of interest to others. The child does not stop looking at relatives or immediately looks away, starting to consider what surrounds him. Sometimes people do not cause interest in the crumbs. The object of attention are inanimate objects – drawings and toys.
- Lack of response to loved ones and others. The baby does not respond to others, for example, does not pull the handle to the mother when she approaches or starts talking to him. They may not respond or inadequately respond to the emotions and mood of adults, for example, cry when everyone laughs, or vice versa.
- Lack of affection. The child does not show affection for relatives or reveals excessive affection. Sick baby, may not respond to the care of the mother, or not allow her to leave the room.
- The child has no interest in peers, he perceives them as inanimate objects. Sick kids do not participate in games, they are located side by side, are suspended and go to their own world. Children differ isolation and detachment.
- The baby uses gestures only to indicate needs. By the age of one and a half, healthy children, having noticed an interesting object, share it with their parents – smiling and pointing at it with their fingers. Autists use gestures only in order to identify their needs – to drink and eat.
- Often, children with the disease slightly or moderately lagging behind in development. If a child has mild autism and no speech disorders, his intellect remains at a normal level or above average. In some cases, the disease may experience severe mental retardation.
- A child loops in class and cannot switch to something else. For example, a kid can sort cubes for hours or build towers, while pulling him out of this state is difficult.
- The kid reacts sharply to any changes in the daily routine, setting, arrangement of things, toys. A child can respond to any changes with aggression or withdrawal.
All signs, depending on the form of the disease, can manifest very weakly, for example, as a small detachment and enthusiasm for monotonous actions, and strongly – as a complete detachment from what is happening.
