Autism: there is a way out.
In almost every class and in every group of kindergarten today you can meet a child with signs of one of the mild forms of autism. Many parents don’t recognize the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their children: “Now they are such modern children!” They say, and it’s clear that it’s very difficult to admit to yourself that your child is not like that. The range of feelings experienced by parents ranges from anxiety to complete denial and rejection of their own child.
Studies confirm that early intensive corrective intervention leads to a more favorable development of events for the child and family. It is important to notice and recognize signs of autism in time, as pediatricians often cannot diagnose ASD in the early stages. Parents are the best experts for their children, so by the age of 18 months it is recommended to take the next test.
Autism Sign Test
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Risk sharingAutism High Risk Group: No answers in paragraphs 5, 7. Averageth autism risk: the answer is “NO” in paragraph 7, but there are no other items from the high-risk group. Low risk of autism: all other “NO”, with the exception of the first and second groups. If all the answers are “YES” - the child is normal. Averageth autism risk, strong suspicions - do as above, weak suspicions - repeat the test in a month. Lowth risk: even with one answer “NO”, repeat the test in a month. |
Behavioral Signs of Autism
In addition to the fact that by the age of 18 months a normally developing child should indicate what he wants, look where you show him, and play “pretentious” with objects, he must have formed social and communication skills, developed large and fine motor skills, sensory perception and a sense of security. If the child does not have any skills, then this may be a sign of autism. We list some of them.
Problems of socialization
Communicative problems
Stereotype, or repetitive behavior
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Large and fine motor skills
Sensory overload
Self damage
Security
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Gastrointestinal disorders as a sign of autism
Dr. Tim Buoy, a gastroenterologist at Harvard University and Boston Public Central Hospital, performed an endoscopy of more than 1,000 children with autism and found gastroenterological problems in 400 of them. In children with ASD, stomach problems are much more common than in ordinary children. Esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) was found in 20% of children, gastritis in 12%, duodenal inflammation in 10%, colitis in 12%, and lactase deficiency in 55%. Such children often have undigested food in the stool, constipation or diarrhea occur. If necessary, consult a gastroenterologist.
Family blow
Autists can stay awake for several days, not distinguish day from night or with difficulty falling asleep and constantly waking up. They can sleep for a short time - 1-2 hours a day, while their parents do not get enough sleep. These children have a low or absent pain threshold, frequent cramps, inexplicable spontaneous bouts of crying or laughing. A family raising an autistic child is limited in visiting public places, cinemas, shops, cafes, and cannot fully travel and relax in nature. To rehabilitate a family with a child with autism, you should contact specialized centers where specialists in early intervention will provide speech, labor or physiotherapy assistance.
Unfortunately, many professionals working with autistic children still do not own the new information and continue to rely on older and more pessimistic information. This leads to the two most common scenarios. So, for example, the psychiatrist to whom the parents brought the autistic Justin when he was a child said: “He has autism, and you must be prepared for the fact that when he grows up, he will be placed in a special medical institution.” Parents who have heard such sentences know how desperate they can plunge. Clinicians often justify such words by saying that it is better to prepare parents for meeting reality than to allow them to hide behind denial. However, they forget that it is the denial of such a sentence that makes hope possible. To deny the future, to choose not to see it now, is fundamentally important for the healing process and for getting rid of sadness that goes hand in hand with the realization that your child is not at all like the child you dreamed about, with which your hopes and births were connected which you have been patiently waiting for. New information about the effectiveness of the intervention (both early and throughout childhood) does not allow doom to look to the future, especially in relation to highly functional groups, for example, children with Asperger's syndrome.
The psychiatrist consulted by Tom’s parents preferred a different, now more common approach: he tried not to be diagnosed as long as possible because the clinical manifestations of the disorder were not “classic”. He did not know that there was no longer such a thing as “classic” autism. The realization that the number of variants of the clinical manifestations of autism is huge, that the clinical picture changes over time, and that there are other forms of autism that, although similar to “classic” autism, differ from it, are perhaps the most important achievements of the science of autism over the past two decades. Most parents notice something not quite normal in the development of their child during the first two years of his life. However, they often recognize the diagnosis when he turns five or six years old. It is difficult to make a diagnosis at an earlier age, but we will learn more and more about the earliest signs of the disorder. One can only hope that as new information gets from researchers to clinicians who are at the forefront of the fight against this disorder, such delays in diagnosis will be eliminated. Perhaps the most important discovery is that early diagnosis primarily depends on assessing the social and communication skills of young children.
Early diagnosis: the key to successful treatment
Preschoolers with ASD infrequently demonstrate repetitive, stereotypical actions (swinging, rituals, resistance to change, whirling, etc.), more characteristic of middle and older children. Too often, the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome is made between eight and nine years old, or even at an older age. Family doctors who are not yet familiar with this new information are trying to assure parents that their anxiety about the social and communication skills of infants and preschoolers is the result of excessive excitement, inexperience with the fact that this is the first child, or a complete lack of knowledge about development of children. Such a lack of readiness to make a diagnosis at an early age leads to a serious delay in getting a child into early intervention programs. Some children starting these programs when they are five or six years old are less likely to improve than they would have if they had started studying them much earlier. It is difficult to imagine a greater despair than the despair of parents, who were first told that they were too worried that their child was not talking, and two years later they said that he had autism and that they would not be treated soon, because it’s too much great.
Clinicians are not inclined to pay attention to the fact that for several decades we have been receiving information about the good treatment results of some children with autism. Kanner entitled one of his latest articles: “How far can children with autism advance in social adaptation?” In this article, published in 1972, he wrote about the "best results" among the first 96 patients that were observed in his clinic. Of these 96 people, he singled out 11, which, in his opinion, "functioned in a high-level society." Indeed, specific sociological studies have shown significant progress, but they have also shown difficulties in adult intimate relationships. In terms of the development of adult individuals with different forms of autism, perhaps the most striking is the huge variation in results. Some (our data allow us to talk about about 20% of people with Asperger syndrome and about 10% of people with autism) manage their life very well, their social and communication skills are rated as “average,” and their autism symptoms are either mild or not are absent. Perhaps another 15-20% cope with life well enough to live independently and use only minor assistance. However, the new generation of children with whom they started conducting early intervention programs has not yet reached adulthood, and therefore it is possible that even these data will need to be reviewed in the future.
Limits of achievement
The reality is that with age, the condition of most children with autism and Asperger syndrome will improve. There is a tendency according to which each subsequent year of their life is better and less stressful than the previous one. The most difficult ones are the first years when the diagnosis is first made and when all efforts should be directed as early as possible to the intervention. But some time passes, the situation "settles down", and the children develop according to their own "schedule." Different skills will develop in different ways, each with its own speed; sometimes a step will be taken back, sometimes two steps forward, which will bring great relief. Sometimes what seems to be a regression actually turns out to be a reaction to a new challenge, to which the child is still not quite ready to answer; eventually, with a little help, he will do it.
We do not know how the development of this or that child will end; no one is able to predict the final result. Achievements of a child with some form of autism can disappoint only if you look at them from the side and approach them with a common standard. “I'm afraid it does not live up to our expectations,” Justin's teacher once told his parents, and his son’s progress immediately disheartened them. It is much better to evaluate the achievements of the child in terms of his own world. What obstacles did he have to overcome to reach this level? Victories of a child with ASD often have a purely personal character: persistently continue to go to school, despite constant ridicule and bullying, try to speak with another child in the dining room, and work with a brother for the first time at a computer. Many of these victories are known only to parents, but from this they do not become less significant. In families where ordinary children grow up, these achievements are often taken for granted, as a matter of course. Parents of children with some form of autism cannot take anything for granted; every step towards “typical development” is a victory that illuminates the events of everyday life like a guiding light. You need to evaluate the success of a child with autism by comparing him not with other children, but with himself, with what he was in the past or the year before last.
When, about two decades ago, I began to be interested in the problem of autism, I was struck, among other things, by the fact that in the literature about the consequences of autism practically nothing was said about those adults who coped well with life. The published studies are clearly outdated, they were carried out at a time when autism was considered a consequence of poor performance by parents of their duties. Then, social workers often subjected parents to lengthy psychotherapy, and children to long-term play therapy. This literature has already lost its significance, for the studies described in it were carried out before the appearance of more effective forms of early intervention based on behavioral principles. However, the new information did not reach the general public. Moreover, there was no evidence of the effects of other forms of autism, such as Asperger Syndrome.
Since many children were diagnosed with just such a diagnosis, this was a significant information gap. Can I help make up for it?
My first experience in research was the study of long-term results, conducted in 1987. with the West End Creche Center in Toronto. At that time, Creche was known as a center for treating children with autism. The head physician was Dr. Milada Havelkova, a Czech anesthetist who emigrated to Canada after the war. She was only able to find work in the field of child psychiatry, and she was given the Creche Center as a clinical base. She became very interested in the problem of autism, and from the beginning of the 50s, Creche turned into a children's therapeutic center in Toronto.
I wanted to get acquainted with adults whom Dr. Havelkova diagnosed with autism with high functioning as a child. She was very kind and enthusiastic that her work could continue. I remember how I spent the eve of a very snowy Christmas in the basement of the Creche center, looking through the files of all his old patients. I sat in the basement of the old building, where there was once a laundry room and where hopelessly outdated presses for wringing clothes were still preserved. There were cabinets and boxes full of old folders everywhere. The room was damp, cold and dusty. I had to look at least five hundred folders. Reading these old case histories with their outdated terms (child psychosis, brain trauma, symbiotic psychosis) was an extremely useful activity: it helped to get an idea of \u200b\u200bToronto and how children with specific needs were treated before. I was confused by the idea that at the same time when I was growing up in this city, dramatic events and genuine tragedies unfolded in families living a few miles from my house.
I managed to get in touch with twenty adult autists who in the 50s. were treated at Creche. In childhood, they were recognized as "highly functional", and they still lived in Toronto. I visited their home and talked with both them and their parents. I was struck by how well the life of some of these children went well. Of the twenty people, four were just fine-tuned: they lived on their own, worked or studied (librarian, salesman, assistant teacher, university student), went on dates, and had friends. One of them was even married. But in the days of their childhood there were still no effective methods of treatment! The first thing I understood was the following: the real stories of highly functioning people with autism reveal remarkable opportunities for improving personality, even without any treatment.
Stories of Fred and Herschel
Fred's story is an illustration of one of the best results that I met. I arranged to meet him in the evening near his house. Acutely aware of how punctual many people with autism are regarding their routine, I arrived on time, which is uncharacteristic for me. From what I knew, I knew that Fred had a special schedule and that he would be very upset if I was late. However, no one was at the appointed place. I waited, not understanding what might have bothered him. I was about to leave when a young man appeared, very elegant, in a suit and tie, and, panting, began to apologize for being late. Is it really Fred, the same autistic person I should have met? Yes, it was him. He explained to me that he studied geography with one high school student and that the lesson lasted longer than he expected. He politely asked if I had lunch, and, receiving a negative answer, offered to have lunch somewhere together. I was shocked. He was not just polite, he was worried about whether I was hungry! It would never have crossed my mind that this young man had autism if I had not read in the medical history about the terrible symptoms that he had in his childhood. It was written about outbreaks of irritation, rigid behavior, the lack of social contacts with adults and children, and active resistance to change. Is this the same person?
By my car we drove to the restaurant. It was one of those small Italian restaurants where they made their own pasta. We talked for a long time about his childhood, about his present life and about what he expects from the future. He remembers almost nothing about his autism, and that at five years of age, he does not remember anything at all. He studied in the same class with other children with autism, and it was an unpleasant experience. He was always interested in maps; we can say that in childhood he was simply obsessed with them. It seemed significant to me that geography became his profession, that he managed to turn “obsession” into a useful specialty. He earned his living in private lessons, but hoped for a more promising career in pedagogy. Anyone who saw us sitting at the table and eating our pasta could well assume that we were talking about girls, about sports, and about the latest gossip in our office. However, we talked about what it means to be autistic, how it is perceived from the inside and what remains of the violation in him as part of his personality. It seemed to him that the only reminder of her was the excitement that he experienced in social situations. He met with the girls, was going to marry in the end, but he felt mild nervousness in people. He was lively, cheerful, making jokes at him, constantly gesturing, Yes, he was slightly constrained and formal, but he was hardly different from many of his peers. Was Fred normal? How different was it from the millions who grew up as healthy children? Indeed, his development turned out to be triumphant. It should be recognized that such a result is a rarity, but it is not excluded. According to the results of many studies, this is only possible with very capable individuals. The most striking thing in the history of Fred was that in childhood he was treated disgustingly, and therefore I could not even imagine how his situation changed. However, one conjecture was born to me thanks to the story of Herschel.
Herschel’s result may not be as impressive as Fred’s result, but in his own way he is also admirable. He lived together with his mother in the suburbs and was enrolled in a local university. He attended a history course and several liberal arts courses, but he struggled with the program and attended additional classes. I was with him. A modest one-story house with a veranda among massive trees on a quiet street. I quickly realized that the Herschel family was deeply religious. Herschel was a quiet youth. He wore a yarmulke. He spoke little and answered my questions politely, but succinctly. He led a secluded life, but regularly attended the synagogue. Herschel had several friends with whom he talked only in the synagogue. He had virtually no particular hobbies or interests. He had a poor idea of \u200b\u200bhis future, but he was very worried about the marks he received at the university. Perhaps he was even too preoccupied with graduation to the detriment of everything else. For him, the marks were not milestones on the way to ending, but they themselves marked the end.
Nevertheless, I was amazed at how much he had changed for the better over the years. There was no possibility that the early diagnosis was wrong: I was convinced of this later when I re-read his medical history. It said that in childhood, Herschel had many symptoms of autism and a pronounced inability to learn. This made his academic success even more remarkable.
However, the greatest impression during the visit was on Herschel's mother. She was a short, but very strong-willed woman. We sat in the dining room at a table surrounded by family photographs of children and relatives from the “historical homeland”. She vividly talked about Herschel's early childhood, about her pain and her worries about his future. Noticing that something was wrong with the boy, she took him to a specialist in a large clinic at a medical higher educational institution. The specialist said that the boy has autism, and advised the mother to prepare for the fact that her son will not be able to study with normal children, and in the end he will end up in a specialized medical facility. Herschel's mother listened to this verdict with stoic calm, thanked the doctor for his advice, and tried to quickly erase everything he said from his head. She seriously looked at me and said: “Having left his office, I swore that I would make a man out of this boy, even if it would cost me my life.”
After a visit to the clinic, her mother enrolled Herschel in an ordinary kindergarten at the nearest school and at all local events in which a child from a religious family was not forbidden to participate. She recalled how she fought with specialists in the school department of local self-government, with petty officials who were in charge of children's recreation programs, with doctors who thought they knew better. No one could shake her determination to help her son. She can be ostracized, she can be laughed at, but who can tell how his life would have been if she had not fought so decisively and fearlessly for him? She had an inhuman will, which almost no one could resist. At that time, what she was doing was not accepted at all in Toronto. Unlike the present time, then there was no evidence that staying among healthy children is more beneficial for autistic children than studying in special schools and isolation from healthy peers. There is no doubt that the specialists in their offices, who have two and a half children at home, at five-minute intervals thoughtfully nodded their heads to each other and said that she was interfering in her own business and was mistaken about the mental abilities of her son. But what almost none of them seemed to understand was the fact that it was thanks to her actions that Herschel's life had changed radically.
Susan's story
Susan's life is a completely different story, no less magnificent in her own way, despite the appalling poverty in which she and her father lived. She lived in the heart of Toronto, in a very seedy neighborhood. I recall how, standing on the porch of her house, rang the doorbell. The house was in disrepair, the paint peeled off, and deformed nets protruded from the windows. Finally Susan appeared on the doorstep. She looked at me in surprise, but then she remembered that we had made an appointment and invited her into the house. She said she was upstairs and doing some calendaring. She took me to a small living room. All the walls were haphazardly hung with calendars for different years, opened on the same month. An elderly and, apparently, very decrepit gentleman was sitting in an armchair in front of the TV and watching some show; the sound was turned on almost at full power. I politely introduced myself, but soon realized that the old man could hardly hear anything. Susan told me that her mother died a few years ago and now she is looking after her father. Periodically, they are visited by social workers who provide some help with housework, but Susan does daily household chores herself: she makes purchases, prepares food, and cleans up. She does not work and does not study, but spends time in her room, looking at calendars and magazines devoted to cinema. Such a life completely suits her, and she does not need anything else.
Many years ago, her mother taught Susan how to cook and do light housework. It took a lot of time, but she must have been a strong-willed person, too, because in the end she managed to teach her daughter to take care of herself and her house. Having formed, these skills began to live on their own, and now that the mother was gone, it was the routine and routine that allowed her to look after her father and live in her own house. Her victory lies in the fact that, despite her own limitations, she was able to look after her father. One of the benefits of autistic stiffness is that it turns an established routine into part of his life. Perhaps she does not consider caring for her father such a heavy load, but I could only be surprised at how she manages to live in such conditions. This family was saved precisely by the ability inherent in autists to strictly follow the routine. Susan went about her business calmly and efficiently, but I understood what enormous efforts and training it took to get this routine in place. Her mother must have had the same unyielding will that I have so often seen in other families.
It is necessary to treat the child and concentrate sv →
It is necessary to treat the child and concentrate his forces on this.
From your questions it is clear that not everything is so bad with you, so look for ways to deal with this disease, and not how to live with it :-)
Good luck
01/07/2008 9:26:58 p.m., Olga U
1. how to live with it further? what are they autistic? what can we expect from the future?
For everyone who tells you ... autists are so different, some will be able to adapt to society, others will not.
2. What professions are suitable for them?
there is such a stereotype that all programmers are autistic. But at the same time, autistic people often have problems with math. In general, do not think about professions at the age of five, solve more pressing problems ..
3. Can they coexist in an ordinary team? (in a regular school, for example)
Yes, there are such cases.
4. Can they play sports? What sports are optimal for them?
5. ADHD and autism - are they mutually exclusive of each other or can they be in a person together?
may
6. he constantly needs to touch everyone, "poke", hit on occasion - what to do? (this is perhaps the biggest problem at this stage)
To strike is calm, but resolutely nip. Poke - wrap the game. Touch - turn in your favor, touch in response, joke, use to develop communication, try different reaction options.
7. How appropriate is the rigor in raising autism? in general, how "educated" are they?
It is appropriate, but for each child in an individual size. Brought up, like all other children.
Work in the direction of setting the correct boundaries, something is impossible categorically, something is always possible, and something is possible or impossible according to the situation, here the most interesting begins, this is material for teaching communication. Teach your son to communicate first with loved ones, and possibly with strangers, gradually expanding the circle.
01/07/2008 18:24:54, JuliaF
It all depends on the degree of autization, the level of intelligence, the state of his somatic health and your activity. There are autistic people who study in ordinary schools quite successfully, and there are non-learners. Forecasts do business unpromising, especially not knowing the characteristics of the child.
2. Profession depends on the tendency of the child. There are autistic people who are fixated on a computer. In and replenishment to Mr. Gates.))
3. Depends on pre-school training and the work of psychologists and other therapists
4. I will not say for sure, but they love water very much, it would be nice to horseback riding. Many people prefer music - almost all autists are very musical, the pitch is absolute.
5. Very often this is combined in such a way that it is difficult to understand what is more.
6. Watching why he needs it. It is possible that this is an aggressive contact - i.e. the child does not know how to properly draw attention to himself, invite another child to play with himself. This is due to inability. And if he doesn’t feel his body, that’s different. It really happens to be one of the most unpleasant moments in the outs. Maybe the translation of his aggression into something is suitable - a ball, a big pillow.
7. Strictness is very appropriate if you do not forget to praise him for every positive moment and reward him immediately, and not for the holiday. This is all complicated, but possible.
01/06/2008 01:27:22, Tulle
Thank you so much for the answer !!!
As for the profession, we are still far from a programmer. While there is one cherished dream - to become a bus driver :))) In fact, no computers, designers ... Buses, metro - yes! He knows all the stops by heart, all the buses - “in person” (as soon as a bus appeared on the horizon, he can immediately tell what number it is, because he knows them by external signs)
He loves water to madness. But the pool because of otitis is contraindicated: (There is no riding nearby, but I’ll look and try. Music is also to the point! I don’t know about hearing, but love to dance. Moreover, he does it very well. Very good sense of rhythm and plastic ( with poor coordination of movements, for example, to climb somewhere is not a problem, but getting down from there is almost always accompanied by a tantrum)
They tried the translation of aggression, but it doesn’t work yet. And he likes to throw the ball very much into the basket. In general, he likes to throw everything. :(
To praise! Perhaps we sometimes forget about this! :(
Thanks again!
01/08/2008 00:18:56, ostrich
Psychologies:
How old was your son when he was diagnosed with autism?
Dina Gassner:
A little over three. He was also diagnosed with mental retardation (now we in the USA say "intellectual disability"). In fact, he was always smarter than it turned out according to tests, just experts could not establish contact with him. The specialist, who first received positive IQ test results with my son, first discussed video games with him for two meetings in a row. They were sitting on the floor in his office, and the psychologist showed Patrick how to get to the next level of one game. It was just some kind of magic - my son believed that this uncle wished him success, and his results were pretty good.
What was your first reaction to your son’s diagnosis?
You know, probably, the fact that I myself am autistic was an advantage rather than a problem. I did not get depressed, but immediately began to act. I know that many neurotypical (that is, ordinary, without autistic features. - Ed.) Parents go online, intimidate themselves, spend days and months mourning for a child. I had nothing of the kind.
Now, if you asked me about my emotions, not in relation to the diagnosis, but in relation to the educational system with which we had to struggle, this is a completely different story. I was told that Patrick requires "too many" resources and that he is not "promising" enough to spend these resources on him. Here I really sobbed for hours.
In Russia, it is sometimes believed that in the USA everything is just perfect in relation to autism. It turns out that this is not so?
My husband and I were married for 22 years. When the daughter, our oldest child, went to college to study, and my son was 10 years old, I left my husband. Only to find better services for his son. Over the course of five years, Patrick and I moved from city to city four times to find the help he needed.
There is knowledge about autism in the United States, there are resources, but they are distributed very unevenly. Lucky parents prefer to keep silent about it so that everyone does not move to their school
In the USA, the education system as a whole recognizes that it should support children with autism, and in Russia, as I understand it, the state does not believe that it is worth spending money from the budget on autism. But even here everything is far from perfect.
Sometimes schools simply state that they don’t have money for additional services for children with autism. But this is also a matter of priorities: if you have enough money for a baseball field, then it means that you have financial opportunities to provide education for every child. Just the field is more important to you. So there is knowledge about autism in the United States, there are resources, but they are distributed very unevenly. Lucky parents prefer to keep quiet about what services their children receive.
And what kind of help is this? Does it include applied behavior analysis?
It's not always the same. If Asperger's Syndrome is diagnosed at two or three years old, then most likely they will not work with a child using the method of applied behavior analysis. Well, if a child has severe manifestations of autism, there is no speech at all, if he has many undesirable behaviors, his parents will seek an intensive program of behavioral therapy (40 hours a week). Not every educational complex can offer something similar, therefore, as a rule, such parents either begin to struggle with the system, or are forced to move.
Did your son go to general education or correctional school?
From the very beginning, we believed that our son needed complete inclusion, which means a regular school. But Patrick needed more help. Someone had to make notes for him, write for him under dictation, adapt working materials.
The school where the son is studying, adapted the teaching materials, provided him with a mentor. He even played in the school’s hockey team, and I became the manager of this team
For example, instead of detailed answers in control ones, he needed to do a test with a choice of different answer options or make sentences from ready-made words. As soon as we achieved such a system of evaluation, his abilities immediately began to appear in a new way. But they still wanted to transfer him to a correctional school. One school simply changed his curriculum from general education to correctional and stated that he would not be allowed to take the exams for the matriculation certificate. We appealed to lawyers to reverse this decision.
And what is it like for a child at school in such a conflict situation?
I am still amazed that, despite all the chaos that I was trying to deal with, Patrick calmly attended all the lessons every day and continued to study, as if he had something like a “protective bubble”. He never realized that his school experience was very different from that of other children. I believe that it was this factor that protected him from low self-esteem and poor results.
In addition, the last five years at school (he was given an extra year to study in high school), he had simply excellent academic performance. Because this school adapted the teaching materials and provided him with the support of a tutor (mentor). He even played in the school’s hockey team, and I became the manager of this team. He made friends, he still communicates on Facebook with former classmates.
And what happened after school?
At first he was in a special program at a local college, and the next year we enrolled him at Marshall University in West Virginia. It is the university with the oldest autism student support program in the country. It is very difficult to get there, every year they accept only 10-11 students.
One requires almost constant social support, but he can easily master the academic program, and the other student may have trouble sleeping, which will cause him to miss classes
There are about 40 guys in this program. It provides personalized services. One will need almost constant social support, but at the same time, he will easily master the academic program, while the other student may have trouble sleeping, because of which he will miss classes.
My son, for example, will never miss a lecture, but if he needs to ask the teacher about his scores or find out the details of the assignment, someone must go with him, he won’t cope alone. At first, Patrick could not ask teachers even the most basic questions.
Did he live on campus on his own or did you live with him?
For the first two years I moved to live next to his hostel, on weekends he sometimes came home, but gradually learned to live independently, he began to wash his things and the like. He had three levels of support. Firstly, a special program for students with autism, which helped him understand the structure of the university, communicate with teachers and fellow students.
Secondly, the student assistance service for students with disabilities (which is available at every university), which, for example, takes care of abstracts. Finally, there is a third level of support that is provided by the state - rehabilitation. It includes, in particular, additional classes with a tutor and a laptop with software that reads texts aloud.
In December 2017, Patrick is due to receive a bachelor's degree. When he comes to me next week on vacation, we will be attending something like “rehearsals” for interviews, that is, learning to go through job interviews. If you asked me when he was three years old, do I hope that he will receive a certificate of secondary education, I would most likely answer: “No”. And for him to go to college - this I could not imagine at all.
We dreamed that by the age of forty he would be able to live alone if a housekeeper came to him, and his sister would deal with his accounts. And now he is 28 - and he can already live completely independently.
What does his life consist of?
He coped so well with living in a university dormitory that I returned to New York and entered the magistracy. And Patrick moved from the hostel to a tiny one-room apartment, he makes purchases, walks around the city, goes to bookstores, movie theaters, and restaurants.
Recently, one of the most amazing changes has occurred in the life of his son thanks to a computer program that "reads" the text for him. She flashes every word, so that he simultaneously sees and hears each word individually
Recently, one of the most amazing changes has occurred in his life - thanks to a computer program that “reads” the text for him. She flashes every word, so that he simultaneously sees and hears each word separately, while not losing the place where he stopped. And for the first time he had the desire to read for his own pleasure, already without a computer!
Neurotypical children can read at this level at about 9 years old, but for him this is a giant progress. It is believed that if a child has not learned to read by a certain age, then he will never learn this, but my son refuted this myth.
You mentioned that you also have a diagnosis of autism. Looking at your son, you found in him a resemblance to yourself and decided what is called a “check”?
The fact is that the manifestations of autism in my son were almost nothing like mine. Everything was exactly the opposite! In childhood, I had hyperlexia, that is, I learned to read very early on my own. I was very smart, I dreamed of becoming a scientist, although with mathematics things were going very badly.
When I was eight years old, my little sister died in a car accident. In middle school, I was sexually abused by a family member, and then the same violence in the church. It was a serious injury, but whether it is associated with autism is difficult to judge.
My son’s autism was almost nothing like mine. Everything was exactly the opposite! In childhood, I had hyperlexia, that is, I learned to read very early on my own
A huge role in my life was played by a meeting with Liane Holliday Willie, who wrote the book Pretending to be Normal. There was a lot in common in our experience! I first began to think that I might also have an autism spectrum disorder.
And at 38, I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, although I had previously found bipolar affective disorder. As a result, I had to "get off" with a whole ton of drugs that I took, and it was very difficult. There were losses. For example, despite the problems with mathematics, I had the ability to memorize long and complex numbers without difficulty and in large numbers. I don’t know how. But perhaps this is age. I'm 58 years old.
Has your life changed due to your own diagnosis?
It is important to be aware of your limitations and not to consider them as character flaws. I have a good example. In graduate school, I study statistics. At the same time, as a child, violence was committed against me by a person who also studied mathematics with me. Only at the age of 50 was I able to enter the math class without experiencing a panic attack. And then it dawned on me: I did not understand the equations because of that mental trauma!
And then I realized who and what I could ask for in order to succeed. I began to conduct quantitative statistical studies, corrected them with the teacher, then did it again. In summer I studied with a tutor - in a word, I worked more than anyone. I really wanted to pass the math exam! And I passed it on an equal basis with others.
How did you get the idea to write and talk about people with autism?
In college, I performed in amateur productions, and then worked as a sales manager and conducted training for sellers. So I was never afraid of a large audience. At the same time, I also had a unique opportunity to understand what is happening in the mind of a person with autism.
Our goal is to get our son to work in the museum. My daughter calls me to stay with her in Kentucky, but in this state there is no social support that Patrick needs. And if we move there, I will have to become his “social program” again
I began speaking at autism hearings in both Washington and my home state. But then it was not until I completely took care of my son. And only when the situation more or less normalized, did I again begin to take an active part in public work. On the other hand, I never stopped writing articles, doing my personal development and training.
What are your immediate plans for Patrick?
I need to pass the remaining subjects in doctoral studies, then write a dissertation. If everything works out, I will stay in New York, and my son will move here, he wants to live in this city. I so hope that he can find a job!
Our goal is his work in the museum. My daughter calls me to live with her and her grandson, in Kentucky, but in this state there is no social support that Patrick needs. And if we move there, then I will have to become his “social program” again, and this will be a huge step backward for both of us. In addition, he now has navigation skills, he uses public transport very well, so it will be easy for him in New York. By the way, I think he will like it in Moscow. I hope someday I can come back to Russia, already with him.
The publication was prepared jointly with the Exit Foundation.
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About the expert
Social worker, creator and program director of the Center for Understanding (USA). He specializes in supporting adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities and autism. Member of the Board of Trustees of the Autism Society of America and the national organization for helping people with intellectual disabilities. She made presentations at the National Autism Society of Scotland, the UN headquarters in Geneva, as well as the University of Cambridge and the University of Birmingham.
There are more and more babies diagnosed with autism every day. This prevalence of the disease is associated primarily with improved diagnosis. Often, talented and gifted babies in Russia are missed with a diagnosis of autism. Such children require special attention and must necessarily be socialized in society.
What it is?
In simple words, “autism” is a mental disorder or disease characterized by changes in the psyche, loss of social adaptation in society, and altered behavior. Typically, a child has a persistent violation of the interaction within society.
Often, autism is not diagnosed for a long time, as parents attribute changes in behavior to the characteristics of the character of the baby.
The disease can indeed be mild. In this case, identifying the first characteristic signs and recognizing the disease is a very difficult task not only for parents, but also for doctors.
In Europe and the United States, the diagnosis of autism is much more often established. This is due to the presence of excellent diagnostic criteria, which allow the commission of doctors to accurately diagnose even with mild disease severity or in complex clinical cases.
In autistic babies, various changes occur in the cerebral cortex. They appear immediately after birth. However, they can appear much later, after many years. The disease proceeds without periods of persistent remission. With a long course of the disease and the use of various psychotherapeutic techniques that can improve the behavior of an autistic baby, parents can see some improvements.
To date, no specific treatment has been developed. This means that a complete cure of the disease, unfortunately, is impossible.
Prevalence
The statistics of autism incidence in the USA and Europe differs markedly from Russian data. This is primarily due to the high detectability of sick children abroad. Foreign doctors and psychologists use numerous questionnaires and diagnostic behavioral tests, which allow them to accurately determine the correct diagnosis in children of any age.
In Russia, the statistics are completely different. Often, not all babies have the first symptoms of the disease on time and at an early age. Russian children who suffer from autism often remain simply withdrawn babies.
Symptoms of the disease are "attributed" to the characteristics of the character and temperament of the child, which leads to serious consequences. Such children subsequently poorly integrate into society, cannot find themselves in the profession, or they fail to create a good and happy family.
The prevalence of the disease is not more than 3%. Most often, boys have autism. Usually this ratio is 4: 1. Girls from families where there are many cases of autism in relatives can also have this mental illness.
Most often, the first vivid symptoms of the disease are detected only by three years. The disease, as a rule, manifests itself even at an earlier age, but up to 3-5 years, in most cases remains unrecognized.
Why are babies with an autism spectrum disorder born?
To date, scientists have not decided on a common opinion on this issue. In the development of autism, many experts consider several genes guilty, which cause a violation in the work of some parts of the cerebral cortex. Often when analyzing cases, it becomes apparent pronounced heredity.
Another theory of the disease is considered mutational. Scientists believe that the cause of the disease can be a variety of mutations and breakdowns in the genetic apparatus of a particular individual.
Various factors can lead to this:
- the effect of ionizing radiation on the fetus during pregnancy of the mother;
- infection with bacterial or viral infections of the fetus during fetal development;
- exposure to hazardous chemicals that have teratogenic effects on the unborn child;
- chronic diseases of the nervous system in the mother, in which she took various symptomatic psychotropic drugs for a long time.
According to American experts, such mutagenic effects quite often led to various disorders characteristic of autism.
Especially dangerous is such an effect on the fetus during the first 8-10 weeks from the moment of conception. At this time, the laying of all vital organs takes place, including those responsible for the behavior of the zone of the cerebral cortex begin to form.
The gene or mutational disorders that underlie the disease ultimately lead to the appearance of specific damage to individual sections of the central nervous system. As a result of this, the coordinated work between the various neurons responsible for social integration is disrupted.
Also, there is a change in the functions of mirror cells of the brain, which leads to the appearance of specific symptoms of autism, when a baby can repeatedly perform a similar action and pronounce individual phrases several times.
Kinds
Currently, quite a few different classifications of the disease are used. All of them are divided according to the variants of the course of the disease, the severity of manifestations, and also taking into account the stage of the disease.
There is no single working classification that would be used in Russia. In our country, the development and streamlining of specific criteria for the disease, which will underlie the diagnosis of the disease, is currently underway.
Autism can usually occur in several forms or variants:
- Typical.With this option, the signs of the disease appear quite clearly already in childhood. Toddlers are more reserved behavior, lack of involvement in games with other children, poorly make contact even with close relatives and parents. To improve social integration, a whole range of different psychotherapeutic procedures and the help of a child psychologist, who is well versed in this problem, are required.
- Atypical.This atypical variant of the disease occurs at a much later age. As a rule, after 3-4 years. This form of the disease is characterized by the manifestation of not all specific signs of autism, but only some. Atypical autism is diagnosed quite late. Often, untimely diagnosis and delayed diagnosis leads to the development of more persistent symptoms in the child, which are much worse for therapy.
- Hidden.Accurate statistics on the number of babies with this diagnosis are not available. With this form of the disease, the manifestation of the main clinical symptoms is extremely rare. Very often, kids are considered simply overly introverted or introverted. Such children practically do not allow strangers into their own inner world. Communicating with a child diagnosed with autism is very difficult.
How is a light form different from a severe one?
Autism can occur in several forms in severity. The mildest form is found in most cases. It is characterized by violations of social adaptation, when the baby does not want to make contacts or communicate with other people.
It is important to understand that he does this not because of modesty or excessive isolation, but simply because of the manifestations of the disease. Such kids, as a rule, start talking late.
Self-disorders with a mild form of the disease practically do not occur. Kids can make contact with people closest to them. Usually a child chooses several family members who, in his opinion, treat him with more care and attention. Autistic babies have poor body contact. Usually the child tries to deviate from the hug or does not like kisses.
Toddlers with more severe illnessin every possible way try to avoid contact with other people. Even touching or embracing from close relatives can cause them severe psychological trauma. Only the closest, according to the child, people can touch him. This is a very important clinical sign of the disease. A kid with autism is very sensitive to any interference in his personal space from a very young age.
Some severe variants of the disease are characterized by mental inclinations to harm themselves. Such babies may even bite themselves or make various injuries at an older age.
Such a manifestation is not common, but it requires urgent consultation of a psychiatrist and the appointment of special medications that reduce the manifestations of aggression in relation to one's own personality.
A mild form of the disease often remains undiagnosed, especially in Russia.Manifestations of the disease are simply attributed to the features of the development of the child or the uniqueness of his character. Such children can grow and carry the disease already into adulthood. The course of the disease can vary at different ages. However, the classic violation of social integration is observed almost constantly, without remission.
Severe forms of the disease, which often manifest themselves in complete forced isolation of the baby from the outside world, are much easier to identify.
The behavior of a child with severe autism is manifested by a pronounced unwillingness to communicate with any people. Such kids are more likely to be alone. This brings them peace and does not violate their usual way of life.
Failure to provide therapeutic psychotherapy can lead to a worsening of the condition and complete social maladaptation of the child.
Symptoms and first signs
Manifestations of the disease can be checked already in the first years of a child's life. With a thorough and careful analysis of the behavior of the baby, even at a very young age, you can identify the first characteristic signs of autism syndrome. There are special psychological traits and features for this disease.
The main characteristics of the disease can be divided into several main categories:
- Reluctance to create new social contacts.
- Disturbed interests or the use of special games.
- Repeating typical actions repeatedly.
- Violation of speech behavior.
- Change in intelligence and different levels of mental development.
- Change in one's own sense of personality.
- Violation of psychomotor functions.
Unwillingness to create new social contacts manifests itself in babies from birth.At first, the children are reluctant to respond to any touch from the side of the closest people. Even the hugs or kisses of parents do not cause positive emotions in babies with autism. Such children from the outside seem overly calm and even “cold”.
Kids practically do not respond to smiles and do not notice the “grimaces” that their parents or close relatives make. They often fix their gaze on some object that is of great interest to them.
Newborns with Autism Syndrome for hours they can look at a toy or look at one point all the time.
Kids practically do not feel the expressed joy from new gifts. Children of the first year of life can be absolutely neutral to any new toys. Most often, it is difficult to get a smile from such kids in response to a gift. In the best case, the autistic kid will simply turn the toy around for a few minutes in the handles, after which it will be postponed indefinitely.
Children over one year of age are very selective in their choice of people close to them. Usually they choose no more than two people.This is due to the reluctance to create close contacts, as this leads to severe discomfort for the baby.
Usually they choose one of their parents as a “friend”. It can be both dad and mom. In some cases - grandparents.
Autistic children have practically no contact with their peers or babies of a different age. Any attempt to disturb their own comfortable world can bring such discomfort to such children.
They try to avoid any traumatic situation for their psyche. Autistic kids have virtually no friends. Difficulties with acquiring new friends they experience throughout life.
The first serious problems in these babies appear at the age of 2-3 years. Usually at this time, children are sent to kindergarten. As a rule, the disease is detected there, since it is simply impossible to not notice the characteristic manifestations of the disease.
When visiting a kindergarten, the behavior of autistic babies stands out sharply.They seem more closed than other children, can stay away, play with the same toy for hours, performing some stereotyped repetitive movements.
Children with autism are more alienated. Most babies ask for almost nothing. If they need something, then they prefer to take it on their own without outside help.
Kids up to three years old can get used to the potty poorly.
If you ask the child to give you a toy or some object, then most often he will not give it into his hands, but simply throw it on the floor. This is a manifestation of a disturbed perception of any communication.
Autistic kids are not always completely passive in a new unfamiliar team. Often, when trying to introduce a sick child into a new society, he may experience bright negative outbursts of anger or aggression towards others. This is a manifestation of a violation or intrusion into the borders of one’s own and so cozy, and most importantly, safe inner world for kids with autism. The expansion of any contact can lead to violent outbreaks of aggression and a deterioration in mental well-being.
Disturbed interests or use of special games
Very often, children with autism remain indifferent to any active recreational activities. They are, as it were, in their own inner world. Entrance to this personal space for other people is usually closed. Any attempts to teach a child to play very often lead to the complete failure of this venture.
Autistic babies pick 1-2 favorite toys,with which they spend a huge amount of time. Even with a large selection of different toys, they are completely indifferent to them.
With careful observation of the game of a child with autism, one can notice a strict repetition of the sequence of actions that he performs. If a boy plays with boats, then very often he builds all the ships he has in one line. A child can sort them by size, by color, or by some special signs for him. He performs this action every time before the game.
Strict ordering is often manifested in babies with autism in everything. This is a manifestation of a world that is comfortable for them, in which all objects stand in their places and the absence of chaos.
All new items that appear in the life of an autistic baby cause him severe psychological trauma. Even the rearrangement of furniture or toys can cause a baby to have a severe attack of aggression or, conversely, put a child into a state of complete apathy. It is better that all objects stand in their places constantly. In this case, the baby will feel more comfortable and calm.
For girls who have autism, a change in the form of the game is also characteristic. Pay attention to how the baby plays with her doll. During such a lesson, she will perform all movements and actions according to the established algorithm every day. For example, she will first comb her hair, then wash the doll, then change clothes. And never the other way around! All in a strictly established sequence.
This systematic action in children with autism is due to the peculiarity of impaired mental behavior, and not to character. If you try to clarify with the baby why every time he does the same actions, you will not receive an answer. The child simply does not notice what actions he performs. For the perception of his own psyche, this is absolutely normal.
Repeating common actions
Not always the behavior of a baby with autism is very different from the way a healthy child communicates. Such children from the outside look absolutely normal, since the appearance of the kids practically does not change.
Children with autism often do not lag behind in physical development and do not differ at all in external signs from their peers. However, a closer observation of the child’s behavior reveals a few actions that differ from normal behavior.
Often, children with autism can repeat different words or combinations of several letters or syllables. Such disorders can occur in both boys and girls.
This symptom can manifest itself in different ways:
- Repeating the count or sequential naming of numbers. Often, autistic babies count multiple times throughout the day. Such an occupation gives the child comfort and even positive emotions.
- Repetition of previously spoken words. For example, after the question “how old are you?”, The baby can repeat “I am 5 years old, 5 years old, 5 years old” several dozen times. Very often, such babies repeat one phrase or word at least 10-20 times.
In other cases, children with autism can perform the same action for a long time. For example, they repeatedly turn off and on the light. Some babies often open or close water taps.
Another feature may be the constant wringing of the fingers or the same type of movement with legs and handles. Such typical actions, repeated many times, bring babies peace and tranquility.
In more rare cases, babies can perform other similar actions, for example, sniff various objects. Many scientists attribute this to the fact that disturbances occur in those areas of the cerebral cortex that are active for the perception of odors. Sense of smell, touch, vision and taste perception - these areas of sensory perception in a baby with autism are also often damaged, and various manifestations appear.
Speech Disorders
Speech disorders occur in babies with autism quite often. The severity of manifestations is different. With a milder form of the disease, as a rule, speech disturbances are slightly expressed. With a more severe course, a complete delay in speech development and the acquisition of persistent defects can be observed.
The disease can manifest itself in different ways. Often, children with autism start talking late. As a rule, after a child speaks the first few words, he may be silent for a long time. The baby’s vocabulary consists of just a few words. Often he repeats them many times throughout the day.
Kids with autism are poorly expanding their vocabulary. Even remembering the words, they try not to use a large number of different combinations in their speech.
A feature of speech behavior in a baby older than two years is the mention of objects in the third person. Most often, the child will call himself by name or will say, for example, "girl Olya." The pronoun "I" from a child with autism is almost never heard.
If you ask the baby if he wants to swim, then the child can answer "he wants to swim" or call himself by the name "Kostya wants to swim."
Very often, children with autism do not answer the direct questions that are addressed to them. They can be silent or leave the answer, transfer the conversation to other topics or simply ignore it. This behavior is associated with a painful perception of new contacts and an attempt to invade personal space.
If the baby is harassed with questions or too many questions are asked in a short time, then the child can react even very violently, showing aggression.
The speech of older children often includes many interesting combinations and phrases.They perfectly remember various tales and proverbs.
A child with autism can easily memorize an excerpt from Pushkin’s poem as early as five years old or declare a complex poem.
These children often have a tendency to rhyme. At a younger age, babies are very pleased to repeatedly repeat various rhymes.
The combination of words may seem completely pointless, and in some cases even crazy. However, for children with autism, the repetition of such rhymes gives joy and positive emotions.
Change in intelligence and different levels of mental development
For a long time it was believed that children with autism are mentally retarded. But this is a huge mistake! A large number of autistic babies have the highest IQ.
With proper communication with the child, you can notice that he has a high level of intelligence. However, he will not show it to everyone.
The peculiarity of the psychic development of autism is that it is very difficult for him to concentrate and be purposeful in achieving specific goals.
The memory of such kids has the property of selectivity. Not all events will be remembered by the child with equal ease, but only those that, according to his personal perception, will be closer to the inner world.
Some babies show defects in logical perception. They poorly perform tasks for the construction of an associative series.
The kid perceives ordinary abstract events well,can easily repeat a sequence or chain of events even after a long time. Violations of long memory in children with autism are not observed.
Toddlers with a higher level of intelligence integrate very poorly in school. Often such a child becomes an “outcast” or “black sheep”.
The impaired ability to socialize contributes to the fact that autistic children are even more distant from the outside world. As a rule, such kids have a penchant for various sciences. They can become real geniuses if the right approach is applied to the child.
Different variants of the disease can occur in different ways. In some cases, in children there is a decrease in intellectual abilities. They are unsatisfactory in school, do not answer teachers' questions, poorly solve difficult geometric tasks that require good spatial and logical abilities.
Very often, for such children, special training is needed with the use of special pedagogical programs that are designed specifically for kids with autism.
It is important to note that any deterioration in the condition can occur in a child suddenly when exposed to any provoking reason. Often, they can be severe stress or peer attacks.
Autistic children suffer such provocative events very hard. This can even lead to severe apathy or, conversely, cause violent aggression.
See the next video for teaching children with autism spectrum disorders.
Change in self-esteem
If any contact with other people is disturbed, autists often project any negative events onto themselves. This is called auto-aggressiveness. This manifestation of the disease in varying degrees of severity is quite common. Almost every third child with autism suffers from this adverse manifestation of the disease.
Psychotherapists believe that this negative symptom occurs as a result of a disturbed perception of the boundaries of their own inner world. Any threat to personal safety is perceived by the sick child overly acutely. Kids can cause themselves various injuries: bite themselves or even deliberately cut themselves.
Even in childhood, the child is disturbed by the feeling of limited space. Such kids often fall from the arena, previously swaying heavily. Some children may unfasten themselves and fall to the ground.
Usually such a negative and painful experience will cause a healthy baby not to do such actions in the future. A child with autism, even despite the pain received, will still repeat this action again and again.
Rarely enough, the baby shows aggression towards others. In 99% of cases, the manifestation of such a reaction is self-defense. As a rule, kids are very keen on any attempts to invade their personal world.
Inept actions in relation to a child with autism or even a simple desire to make contact can cause a baby to have an attack of aggression that provokes internal fear.
Disorders of psychomotor functions
Quite often, in children with autism, an altered gait occurs. They try to tiptoe. Some babies may bounce while walking. This symptom occurs daily.
All attempts to make comments to the baby that he walks incorrectly and needs to walk differently do not cause him a response. The child remains true to his gait for a long time.
Kids with autism do not notice the changes that appear in his daily life. Older children try to choose routes familiar to him. A child who has autism will almost always choose the same path to school without changing his own habits.
Toddlers often remain true to their taste preferences.Such children should not be accustomed to a certain regimen of meals. Anyway, a child with autism will have his own idea and even a whole system in his head about what and when he should eat.
Making the baby eat an unfamiliar product will be next to impossible. They remain faithful to their taste preferences throughout life.
Key characteristics by age
Up to a year
Toddlers with autism will respond poorly to any attempt to access them, especially by name. Children do not babble or pronounce the first words for a long time.
The emotions of the child are quite depleted. Gesticulation is also significantly reduced. The kid who is sick with autism gives the impression of a very calm child who cries a little and practically does not ask for pens. Any contacts with parents and even mom do not deliver strong positive emotions to the child.
Newborn babies and infants practically do not express various emotions on their faces. Such kids seem even a little renounced. Often, when trying to make the baby smile, he does not change his face or perceives this attempt rather coldly. Such kids are very fond of considering various subjects. Their gaze dwells on some subject for a very long time.
Toddlers often try to choose one or a couple of toys with which they can spend almost all day. For games, they absolutely do not need any of the outsiders. They feel great alone with themselves. Sometimes attempts to invade their game can cause a panic attack or aggression.
Children of the first year of life who suffer from autism practically do not call for adult help. If they need something, then they try to take this item on their own.
Intellectual disorders at this age, as a rule, do not happen. Most babies do not lag behind their peers in terms of physical or mental development.
Up to 3 years
At the age of 3 years, the symptoms of limiting your own space begin to manifest themselves to a greater extent.
Playing on the street, the kids categorically refuse to play in the same sandbox with other children.All items and toys that belong to a child with autism belong only to him.
Such children from the outside seem very closed and “on their minds”. Most often, by the age of one and a half years they can only utter a few words. However, this is not the case with all babies. Often they repeat various verbal combinations that do not carry a large semantic load.
After the child has spoken the first word, he may suddenly become silent and practically not speak for a sufficiently long time.
Autistic babies almost never answer the questions they ask. Only with the people closest to them can they utter a few words or answer in a third person a question addressed to them.
Very often, such children try to look away and do not look at the interlocutor. Even if the child answers the question, he will never use the word “I”. Autistic kids define themselves as “he” or “she." Many kids just call themselves by name.
For some babies, manifestations of stereotypical actions are characteristic.They can sway strongly in a chair. Parents' comments that doing this wrong or ugly do not cause a child any response. This is not due to the desire to demonstrate their character, but simply to a violation of the perception of their own behavior. The kid really does not notice and does not see anything wrong in his action.
Some babies may have problems with fine motor skills. When trying to take any small objects from a table or floor, the child does this very awkwardly.
Often, babies cannot squeeze their palms well. Such a violation of fine motor skills without fail requires special classes that are aimed at improving this skill.
In case of untimely correction, the child may have a violation of the letter, as well as the appearance of gestures, unusual for an ordinary baby.
Autistic kids love to play with faucets or switches. They also enjoy opening and closing doors. Any similar movements cause the child excellent emotions. He can perform such actions as long as he wants, until his parents intervene. When performing these movements, the baby absolutely does not notice that he performs them repeatedly.
Autistic kids eat only those foods that they like, play on their own and practically don't get to know other children. Many people around mistakenly consider such kids too spoiled. This is a huge mistake!
A child who has autism, under the age of three years, absolutely does not see any differences in their behavior relative to the behavior of others. He simply tries to limit the boundaries of his inner world from any outside interference.
It was previously believed that children with autism have certain facial features. Often such features were called aristocratic forms. Autists were thought to have a thinner and elongated nose. However, this is not at all true.
To date, the relationship between the features of the structure of the face and the presence of autism in the child has not been reliably established. Such judgments are mere speculation and do not know how to scientific evidence.
From 3 to 6 years
At this age, there is a peak in the incidence of autism. Children begin to be taken to kindergarten, where violations in social adaptation become noticeable.
Kids with autism perceive morning trips to a preschool educational institution without expressed enthusiasm. They would be more willing to stay home than to leave their usual safe home.
A child with autism is practically not acquainted with new friends. In the best case, he has one new acquaintance who becomes his best friend.
A large number of people will never accept a sick child into their inner world. Very often, such children try to close themselves even further, to escape from a traumatic situation.
The child is trying to come up with some kind of magical story or fairy tale explaining why he should go to this kindergarten. Then he becomes the protagonist of this action. However, visiting the kindergarten does not give the baby any pleasure. He does not get along well with his peers and practically does not obey teachers.
All things in the personal locker of the baby are usually stacked by him strictly in order. This becomes clearly visible from the side. Such kids cannot stand any chaos and scattered things. Any violation of the ordering of the structure can cause an attack of apathy, and in some cases, aggressive behavior.
Attempts to force a child to meet new babies in a group can cause him extreme stress.
Children with autism should not be blamed for the fact that they perform some kind of similar actions for a long period of time. You just need to pick up the "key" for such a child.
Often, kindergarten teachers simply cannot cope with a “special” baby. Teachers perceive many features of impaired behavior as excessive spoiling and character traits. In these cases, compulsory work of a medical psychologist is required, who will work daily with a child in a preschool institution.
Over 6 years old
Toddlers with autism in Russia attend regular schools. In our country, there are no specialized educational programs for such children. Typically, autistic children learn well. They have a tendency to various disciplines. Many guys even show the highest level of proficiency in the subject.
Such kids often focus on a single subject. In other disciplines, which do not find a response in the inner world of the child, they can have very mediocre performance.
Kids with autism concentrate rather poorly, and also have an insufficient concentration of attention on several objects at once.
Often in such children, if the disease was detected at an early stage and there were no strong defects from fine motor skills, brilliant abilities for music or creativity are found.
Kids can spend hours playing various musical instruments. Some children even independently compose various works.
Children, as a rule, try to lead a fairly closed lifestyle. They have few friends. They practically do not attend various entertainment events, which can be attended by a huge number of people. Finding a home is more comfortable for them.
Very often, babies have a commitment to certain foods. In most cases, arising in early childhood. Kids with autism eat at the allotted time according to their own schedule. All meals are accompanied by the performance of a particular ritual.
They often eat only from their usual plates, try to avoid dishes of new colors. All cutlery is usually laid out by the child on the table in a strictly defined sequence.
Kids with autism can very successfully graduate from school, showing excellent knowledge in one discipline.
Only in 30% of cases, children suffering from this disease lag behind the school curriculum and have poor academic performance. As a rule, such children were diagnosed with autism rather late or had not had a good rehabilitation program to reduce the adverse symptoms of the disease and improve social adaptation.
Problems
Very often, in children with autism, there are not only behavioral disorders, but also various pathological manifestations of the internal organs.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Manifested in the form of possible diarrhea or constipation, which are practically independent of the food that the child receives. Children with autism have special taste preferences. A gluten-free diet is effectively used to normalize adverse manifestations and stool disorders. Such a diet, in which the amount of gluten is limited, contributes to the smooth functioning of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract and reduces the negative symptoms of indigestion.
You can learn more about the autism diet by watching the following video.
Sleep disorders
Kids have almost the same activity day and night. It is very difficult to put such children to bed. Even if they fall asleep, they can oversleep for only a few hours. Very often, babies wake up very early in the morning. In the daytime, they can give up sleep. In some cases, under the influence of strong psycho-traumatic situations, insomnia may intensify or nightmare dreams may appear, which further contribute to the violation of the general well-being of the child.
When is a psychiatrist consultation needed?
Seek the help of a doctor immediately if the parents suspect the first signs of the disease in their baby. Only a psychiatrist will be able to accurately establish the diagnosis and recommend the necessary therapeutic treatment.
As a rule, all children diagnosed with autism should be monitored periodically by a doctor. Do not be afraid of this doctor! This does not mean at all that the child has severe mental disorders. Such observation is important primarily for the prevention of the development of unwanted long-term symptoms of the disease.
In our country, children who are diagnosed with autism practically do not undergo any specialized rehabilitation programs. European specialists and doctors from the United States apply a whole range of different psychotherapeutic techniques that can improve the quality of life of a child with autism many times over.
From the very young age, medical psychologists, professional physical education instructors, defectologists and speech therapists work with the kids. Throughout life, such a patient is necessarily observed by a psychiatrist.
At what age is the disease most often diagnosed?
According to statistics the largest number of cases of newly registered disease occurs at the age of 3-4 years. It is at this time that the symptoms of social maladaptation of the baby begin to manifest itself clearly.
There are scientific assumptions that suggest that when developing more advanced diagnostic criteria, it will be much easier to identify cases of autism in children at an earlier age.
Determining the first manifestations of the disease in newborns is a very difficult task even for an experienced pediatric doctor. A full examination and diagnosis requires the organization of a full-fledged medical examination, which usually involves at least 5-6 different specialists with skills and knowledge on the treatment of autism in children.
Diagnostics
Diagnosing the disease is difficult enough. In Russia, the diagnosis of "autism" will most often be made upon detection of the following psychological disorders:
- social maladaptation of the child in the environment;
- expressed difficulties with establishing new communications and contacts with other people;
- repeated repetition of typical actions or words over a long period of time.
If the course of the disease proceeds in a typical or classic form, then the above symptoms occur in 100% of cases. Such babies require a mandatory consultation with a psychiatrist, and if necessary, an extensive consultation with specialists from related specialties who work with autistic children.
During a more detailed examination, doctors try to determine the presence or absence of not only the main signs, but also additional ones. To do this, they use several classifications of diseases.
When autism is used:
- ICD-X is the main working document for Russian specialists.
- DSM-5 or Diagnostic Statistical Manual of mental disorders is used by psychiatrists around the world, including in Europe and the United States.
According to these medical guides, a child with autism should have at least six symptoms in it. To determine them, doctors resort to various questionnaires, which assess the condition of the baby in a playful way. Such a study is carried out in the most gentle way so as not to injure the disturbed children's psyche.
An interview with parents is also required. This study allows us to clarify the presence and nature of violations in the behavior of the child that cause them concern.
Several psychiatrists and a medical psychologist conduct interviews with parents at once. Such diagnostic methods are mainly used only in Europe and in the USA. In Russia, unfortunately, the diagnosis of autism is in an extremely deplorable state.
Kids with this disease remain unexplored for a long time.
Over time, their negative manifestations of social maladaptation intensify, apathy and inability to establish contacts with people around them can increase. In our country, working diagnostic criteria have not yet been developed by which such a diagnosis would be easily established. In this regard, there are few cases of establishing the correct and timely diagnosis.
Is home testing possible?
It is almost impossible to conduct a full examination of the house. During such testing, you can get only an approximate answer. The diagnosis of autism can only be made by a psychiatrist. To do this, he uses several different tests that are used to diagnose the disease, as well as various other methods to clarify the degree and level of damage.
When conducting testing at home, parents can often get a false result. Very often, an information system automatically analyzes responses without applying a differentiated attitude to a specific child.
To make a diagnosis, a multi-stage medical examination is required for the presence of autism in the baby.
How to treat?
No specific treatment for autism has been developed at this time. Unfortunately, there is no special pill or magic vaccine that would reliably protect the baby from the possible development of the disease. A single cause of the disease has not been established.
The lack of understanding about the primary source of the disease does not allow scientists to create a unique medicine that would completely cure babies with autism.
The treatment of this mental illness is carried out comprehensively, taking into account the symptoms that have arisen. Such psychotropic drugs are prescribed only by a psychiatrist.They are written out on special prescription forms and are issued under strict registration in pharmacies. The appointment of such drugs is done in courses or for the entire period of deterioration.
All treatment methods can be divided into several groups:
- Drug treatment.In this case, various medications are prescribed to eliminate the adverse symptoms that occur in various stages of the disease. Such drugs are prescribed by a doctor only after examining the baby and the possibility of additional examinations.
- Psychological counseling.An autistic child psychologist must work with a child. Using various psychological techniques, the specialist will help the baby cope with the emerging outbreaks of anger and auto-aggression, as well as improve the inner feeling when integrated into a new team.
- General health-improving treatments.Kids with autism are not at all contraindicated in sports. However, they should be engaged in special groups with professional instructors or trainers who are trained in the elements of working with “special” children. Such children can show excellent results and achieve good sports achievements. Success is only possible with the right pedagogical approach.
- Speech therapy classes. With a baby under 3 years old, a speech therapist must conduct classes. At such lessons, children learn to speak correctly, refuse to use multiple repetitions of words. Speech therapy classes can improve the baby’s vocabulary, add even more words to his vocabulary. Such educational games help children to better adapt to new teams and improve their social adaptation.
Drug treatment
Prescribing various medicines on an ongoing basis is not required for babies with autism. Such drugs are used only to eliminate the negative manifestations of the disease. In this case, untimely treatment can lead to the development of various adverse effects and even worsen the condition of the baby.
Most often with autism, babies are prescribed the following drugs.
Psychotropic drugs and antipsychotics
They are used to treat attacks of aggressive behavior. They can be prescribed for a course or once to eliminate a violent outbreak of autoaggression. Psychiatrists choose various drugs that can eliminate the negative symptoms of the disease. For example, the antipsychotic drugs “Rispolept” and “Seroquel” allow you to cope with acute attacks of strong aggression and calm the baby.
It is important to note that the appointment of antipsychotic drugs on an ongoing basis is carried out only in severe cases of the disease. In this case, the severity of symptoms is excessively high.
Prolonged use of any antipsychotic medication can be addictive and cause various side effects. In order to prevent this, doctors resort to the appointment of a course application.
To eliminate panic attacks or improve mood, the doctor may prescribe special drugs that affect the level of endorphins. These drugs also have a number of contraindications. They are used only when various psychological methods of correcting behavior were carried out, but they were not successful and did not lead to an improvement in the well-being of the child.
Probiotics for the treatment of dysbiosis
In children with autism, in 90% of cases, doctors register persistent irritable bowel syndrome or dysbiosis. In this case, the microflora in the gastrointestinal tract is disturbed. It contains practically no useful lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, but microorganisms of the pathogenic flora reproduce very well. Very often, these children also show increased growth of yeast.
To eliminate these adverse symptoms, doctors resort to the appointment of various drugs enriched with lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. Kids are prescribed: "Bifidobacterin", "Acipol", "Linex", "Enterol" and many others. The appointment of these funds is carried out after an additional study - bacterial feces and a test for dysbiosis. Drugs are prescribed for course administration. Usually it is designed for 1-3 months of daily use.
In addition to medicines, it is absolutely necessary to include fresh sour-milk products with a high content of microorganisms useful for the intestine in the diet of a child with dysbiosis.
You can also make them at home. In this case, the useful properties of the product are not lost, and you can safely give it to the baby.
The effect of the use of dairy products occurs, as a rule, by the end of the first week.
Vitamin therapy
In children with autism, there is a pronounced and almost constant deficiency of a number of vitamins: B1, B6, B12, PP. To eliminate this condition requires the appointment of a complex of biologically active substances. Such vitamin-mineral preparations can eliminate the deficiency of any vitamins, as well as normalize the trace element within the body.
Since babies with autism are very committed to some kind of diet, their diet is often very monotonous. This leads to insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals from outside.
In order to improve this condition, the daily addition of various vegetables and fruits to the diet is required, especially in the summer. These products contain a high content of various vitamins and minerals, which is vital for the baby.
Sedatives
They are used to eliminate anxiety. Very often, when exposed to a strong psycho-traumatic situation, a sick child may experience a severe panic state. In this case, psychiatrists prescribe psychotropic drugs that can effectively eliminate this manifestation. Course prescribing of such drugs is not required. A single dose is enough.
Very often, children with autism do not sleep well. It's hard for them to fall asleep. The duration of sleep can be no more than 6-7 hours a day.
For a small child, this is not enough. To improve night sleep, as well as normalize the circadian rhythm, doctors recommend the use of mild drugs that calm the nervous system and contribute to rapid falling asleep.
It is safe for kids to use various herbs that have a sedative effect. Such natural medicines practically do not cause side effects and do not have numerous contraindications. To normalize sleep, decoctions of lemon balm or mint are used. You can give these herbs to the baby in the form of tea. It is better to drink such a sedative medicine no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime.
Prescribing sedative drugs is allowed only with severe sleep disturbances.Typically, such drugs are prescribed for a rather long time. It is not advisable to use these agents in milder forms of the disease, since they may have a pronounced tranquilizing effect or be addictive. The appointment of drugs is done by a psychotherapist after a preliminary examination.
Psychologist's help
The use of various psychological techniques is an important element in the treatment of children with autism. American experts who conduct daily classes with sick babies recommend conducting such classes at least 2-3 times a week.
It is better that the psychologist also has a medical education. In this case, this can quickly orientate him when the condition worsens and send the baby for a consultation with a psychiatrist.
The psychologist does not prescribe medication. He treats with just a word.Usually, for babies with autism, the first meeting with a specialist is very important. It is at this time that one can understand: will such classes be successful and will the child and the psychologist find a common language.
In order to penetrate the inner world of a child with autism, a psychologist must make friends with him very delicately. Only in this case, the baby will make contact.
Often, treatment may not bring a pronounced positive effect in the absence of primary contact between the autistic baby and the psychologist.
All classes are held in a specially equipped room. Often, to work with children with autism, all lessons are held in only one room. This helps to create a more relaxed and comfortable atmosphere for the child.
Psychologists try not to move or rearrange the toys for no reason, as this can bring pronounced mental discomfort to the baby.
Usually, game forms for conducting classes are selected.During such games, children are as open as possible and can show real emotions. The duration of each lesson is usually no more than an hour.
With longer communication, the baby may experience severe fatigue and unwillingness to make contact with a specialist.
Work with babies who have autism is usually carried out throughout the life of the child. In this case, only the types and forms of psychological techniques change.
Very often, psychologists become real family members or very close friends.In America, there have been several cases of family treatment of psychologists. In this case, not only the child, but also one of the parents suffered from autism.
It is important to note that family activities also have a good therapeutic effect.
Classes with a psychologist with kids up to 3-5 years old are often held together with one of the parents. Usually, the parent with whom the baby has a closer relationship is chosen. The psychologist in a playful way creates various everyday situations that can occur in everyday life. During such a game, he teaches the baby how to react to new people. Children learn to communicate better with other kids, and also acquire new useful skills that can be useful to them every day.
Lessons
To improve the integration into society of a child with autism, it is necessary to carry out additional activities that will help him in this. Usually, such a complex of various activities is compiled in conjunction with a child psychologist or on the recommendation of a psychiatrist.
Usually, before choosing a hobby that will be interesting for the baby, a good analysis of his abilities and a qualitative assessment of the level of health and physical development are required. Not all kids with autism will perform the same tasks with the same interest. The right choice of classes to a large extent improves the prognosis of treatment and favorably affects the mental and mental development of the baby.
Usually, children with autism are recommended various corrective exercises that can improve the social integration of the baby in society. Sport is recommended for kids.However, you can not choose all sports training. For autistic kids, calm sports are more suitable: swimming training, playing chess or drafts, golf. Choosing is worth those sports that require concentration on any one subject.
Sports that require high speed or a high risk of injury are best left. Kids with autism should not engage in running, jumping, boxing or various power wrestling.
Team games are also not suitable. It is better to give preference to more relaxed sports that will help strengthen the baby's health and have a positive effect on his nervous system.
Autistic babies are very warm about different animals. In such children, doctors often note even a certain "cult" of animals. An autistic kid can have a collection of kittens or dogs. Direct contact and contact with pets can cause strong positive emotions in the baby and even improve the prognosis of treatment.
Children with autism can benefit from spending time with different animals. Doctors recommend hippotherapy or dolphin therapy. Such contacts with animals will bring the baby great joy and will have a positive impact on its development.
When the baby touches any living creature, special endorphin molecules begin to be produced in the cerebral cortex, which cause him a sea of \u200b\u200bpositive emotions.
If possible, such activities with animals should be carried out as often as possible.It is better that the child has the opportunity to constantly monitor living creatures and communicate with them. During communication with a dog or cat, the baby learns to communicate with the environment. This positively affects his ability to make new contacts and improves social adaptation in society.
What toys to buy?
Often parents puzzle over what kind of gift to give their baby, whose doctors have found autism. It seems that every new toy practically does not bring any joy to the child. However, this is not quite true. Every child with autism has his own personal addiction to a particular type of toy.
Often boys choose different planes or ships, and girls choose different animals or dolls. It is important to note that autistic babies may be delighted with donated animals. The main thing is to determine which particular animal your child likes. Usually this is no problem: an autistic kid will never let go of his favorite toy in the form of a beast.
If a plush dog that was once presented is the most beloved of the child, then any other dogs will also cause great delight.
Babies diagnosed with autism are not at all prone to hoarding. They only need 2-3 different toys for a state of comfort and happiness. A huge number of different gifts can even scare them!
Children under three years old should choose toys that improve the fine motor skills of their fingers.Usually, children with autism do poorly any tasks related to drawing or modeling.
You can try to interest the baby in collecting various jigsaw puzzles consisting of large and bright details. Designers are perfect, from the elements of which you can build numerous combinations of shapes.
In adolescence, it is better not to buy computer games for a child. Most of these toys can cause a baby to have a spontaneous attack of aggression, or vice versa, increase apathy.
Very often, children with autism love to play computer games, as this does not require any real contact with the outside world. However, the consequences can be very negative.
Can autistic people have healthy children in the future?
Scientists note a pronounced genetic pattern in the possibility of inheritance of the disease. There are also theories about the presence of special genes that are responsible for the development of the disease in babies in whose families cases of autism have been previously identified.
Autistic children may have healthy children. Inheritance of genes occurs even at the stage of intrauterine development. If the baby was born in a family where only one of the parents has autism, then he may well be healthy.
If both parents have autism, the chance of having a sick child is 25%, and the probability of having a child carrier of this gene is 50%. This disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.
If more than one baby is born in such families, then the risk of giving birth to sick babies may increase. It also increases with the influence of various provoking factors on the unborn child during fetal development in the body of a pregnant mother.
To determine latent autism in newborns, the heel method is used. It suggests the presence of this mental illness in the baby. It is usually carried out by autistic parents or in cases where there is a suspicion of the possibility of developing a disease in a born child.
Is the child given a disability?
In Russia, the diagnosis of autism provides for the establishment of a disability group. However, it is not for all babies. In our country, special medical and social criteria are applied that take into account various factors.
The decision to establish a group is made strictly collegially. This involves specialists from several specialties at once: a psychiatrist, psychologist, and rehabilitologist.
In order for a child to have a disability group, all the necessary medical documentation must be submitted to the medical and social examination bodies. The child’s card must contain the conclusions of the psychiatrist and child psychologist who observed him. In this case, medical experts may have a more informative picture of the duration of the disease.
Before undergoing medical and social examination, the baby is often prescribed additional tests and examinations. This can be either various laboratory tests or specialized brain studies that can clarify the nature and extent of violations. Usually, in our country, EEG or electroencephalography of the brain is prescribed.
Using this method, it is possible to establish various violations of the conduction of nerve impulses in the cerebral cortex. The method is quite informative and quite often used in children's psychiatric and neurological practice.
The test results allow doctors to establish the nature and extent of the disorders resulting from the disease.
Not all forms of autism may have a disability group. As a rule, it is determined in the presence of persistent disorders of nervous activity, which lead to severe maladaptation of the baby.
The level of mental development and intelligence also significantly affect the prognosis of the course of the disease and the establishment of the group.
Often, disability is established after three years. Cases of the establishment of a group at an earlier age in Russia are practically not found and are episodic in nature.
Autism is a disease that in most cases occurs without persistent periods of remission. This leads to the fact that the disability group, as a rule, set for life.
Children with disabilities for mental illness must undergo a whole range of rehabilitation measures. Speech therapists, psychologists, and rehabilitation therapists are involved with such kids. The rehabilitation course is usually designed for a sufficiently long period, since the treatment of the disease is carried out throughout the life of a person with autism.
Parents who have faced the establishment of a disability group for their baby often notice some difficulties when conducting a medical and social examination. Most often they note: a huge amount of pre-prepared medical documentation and long lines for examination. Disability groups were not always established during initial treatment. Often, only from the second or third attempt, medical experts made a positive decision about the presence of disabling signs in the child.
Establishing a group is a very complex and often controversial task. However, for babies with autism, this step is often forced, but really necessary. To conduct full-fledged classes with a child, sufficiently large financial costs are required:training with a psychologist, consultations with a speech therapist, hippotherapy courses, the use of special psychotropic drugs. All this without a disability group becomes very difficult and financially burdensome for many families.
For parents raising autistic babies, the main thing is to understand that this disease will remain with the baby for life. Unfortunately, it’s currently impossible to cure autism.
Autistic kids, with the right approach, are developing well and are not even completely different from their peers. Only a few strangers can notice that the baby is slightly different from others. However, they often believe that such a child is simply too spoiled or has a bad character.
In order to improve the quality of life of the baby and help him in social adaptation, use the following tips:
- Try to communicate with your child correctly. Autistic babies categorically do not perceive an increased tone or abuse. It is better to communicate with such children in the same calm tone, without using curses. If the baby did something wrong, try not to react excessively violently and aggressively, but simply explain to the child how to make this action true. You can show this also as a kind of game.
- Both parents should be involved in raising a child.Even though, as a rule, the baby chooses to communicate with dad or mom, they both must participate in his life. In this case, the child feels more comfortable and receives the correct idea of \u200b\u200bthe organization of the family. In the future, when creating his own life, he will be largely guided by the principles laid down in childhood.
- It can be difficult to teach kids with autism to potty.Usually child psychologists help with this. In a playful way, they create a similar everyday situation and work out the correct sequence of actions with the baby. For self-study at home, remember that you should accustom the child to the potty gradually and consistently. Never raise your voice and do not punish the baby if he did something wrong. In the case of an autistic child, this measure will not lead to a positive result.
- Learning to read a child with autism is possible only with daily activities with him.Try to choose training books without overly vivid pictures. A huge number of varied colors can alert and even scare a child. Choose editions without colorful pictures. Training is best done in a playful way. So the baby will perceive this process as a normal game.
- During a strong tantrum, the baby should be carefully reassured. This will be better done by that member of the family with whom the child has closer contact. If the child is overly aggressive, then try to quickly take him to the nursery. The familiar environment will help the baby calm down easier. Never raise your voice at a child trying to shout at him! This will not lead to anything good. Explain to the baby that he has nothing to fear, and you are there. Try to switch your attention to another event or subject.
- Make sure to get in touch with the autistic baby.Only with the people closest to him is the child communicating calmly. To do this, never ask your baby a million questions. Frequent hugs will also not lead to contact. Try to spend more time with your baby just by watching his games. After a while, the child will perceive you as part of his game, and it will be easier to make contact.
- Accustom your child to the correct daily routine.Typically, autistic babies are well aware of a well-organized routine. This creates a feeling of complete comfort and security. Try to have the child fall asleep and wake up at the same time. Be sure to follow the feeding regimen. Even on weekends, keep your baby’s daily routine.
- Be sure to undergo regular examination and observation by a child therapist and psychologist.Such consultations are very important for assessing the prognosis of the disease and determining the dynamics of the condition of the child. Typically, small patients with autism should visit a psychotherapist at least twice a year. With deterioration in well-being - more often.
- Organize proper nutrition for your baby. Given the characteristics of disturbed microflora, all babies with autism need to eat fermented milk products. They must be as fresh as possible. It is in this case that the concentration of beneficial lactobacilli and bifidobacteria will be sufficient. Only such products will be beneficial for the child and improves his digestion.
- From the very first days of a child’s birth, try to take care and affection for him more often.Autistic babies react very poorly to various bodily manifestations of love and tenderness. However, this does not mean that this is not necessary. Doctors advise more often to hug a child and kiss. This must be done without causing him mental pressure. If the baby is not in the mood, it is better to postpone the hug for a while.
- Give your baby a new friend.Most autistic children are very fond of pets. Communication with furry animals brings the baby not only positive emotions and favorably affects the course of his illness, but also has a real therapeutic effect on tactile sensitivity. A cat or dog will become true friends for the baby and will help him easier to establish contacts not only with animals, but also with new people.
- Do not scold the child! A child with autism perceives any voice increase very painfully. The reaction may be the most unpredictable. Some babies fall into a strong apathy and become more indifferent to everything that happens in everyday life. Other children may experience an overly strong attack of aggression, which will even require the use of medications.
- Try to choose an interesting hobby for the kid.Very often, children with autism paint or play musical instruments beautifully. Studying in a specialized art school will help the kid achieve high professional success. Often these kids become real geniuses. Be sure to monitor the load that falls on the baby. Excessive enthusiasm can lead to severe fatigue and impaired attention.
- Do not move furniture in the children's room or throughout the apartment. Try to keep all the toys and items that belong to the child in their places. Strong rearrangements can cause a child with autism, these bouts of panic and excessive aggression. Acquire new items carefully, without attracting much attention to this.
Autism is not a sentence. This is just a disease that requires increased and special attention to the baby who is sick with this mental illness.
The right approach to organizing life and establishing personal contact helps these children feel more secure and improves the prognosis of the course and development of the disease.
Moms and dads should remember that a baby who is diagnosed with autism requires your attention and care every day throughout his life. Such children are often called "special", since they need to build a unique approach.
Children with autism, with good rehabilitation, integrate quite well in society and are quite successful in later life.
Useful videos
Yana Summ (ex-wife of Konstantin Meladze) in the next video on my own experience talks about what you should pay attention to suspect autism in a child.
You will learn a lot of nuances about autism by watching the programs of Dr. Komarovsky and "Live Healthy."
In preparing the article, materials from the site "autism-test.rf" were used.
