Home Orthopedics Autistic people can. Good question

Orthopedics

Autistic people can. Good question

There are more and more children diagnosed with autism every day. This prevalence of the disease is primarily due to improved diagnosis. Talented and gifted children in Russia often miss the diagnosis of autism. Such children require special attention and must be socialized in society.

What it is?

In simple words, “autism” is a mental disorder or disease characterized by mental changes, loss social adaptation in society and changed behavior. Typically, the child experiences a persistent disruption of interaction within society.

Often autism is not diagnosed for a long time, since parents attribute changes in behavior to the child’s character traits.

The disease can indeed be mild. In this case, identify the first characteristic features and recognizing the disease is a very difficult task not only for parents, but also for doctors.

In Europe and the USA, the diagnosis of autism is much more common. This is due to the presence of excellent diagnostic criteria, which allow a committee of doctors to accurately make a diagnosis even in mild cases of illness or in complex clinical cases.

In autistic children, various changes occur in the cerebral cortex. They appear immediately after birth. However, they can appear much later, after many years. The disease occurs without periods of stable remission. With a long course of the disease and the use of various psychotherapeutic techniques that can improve the behavior of an autistic child, parents may see some improvements.

To date, no specific treatment has been developed. This means that a complete cure for the disease is, unfortunately, impossible.

Prevalence

Statistics on the incidence of autism in the USA and Europe differ markedly from Russian data. This is primarily due to the high detection rate of sick children abroad. Foreign doctors and psychologists use numerous questionnaires and diagnostic behavioral tests, which allow them to accurately diagnose children of any age.

In Russia, the statistics are completely different. Often, not all children show the first symptoms of the disease on time and at an early age. Russian children who suffer from autism often remain just withdrawn kids.

Symptoms of the disease are “attributed” to the child’s character and temperament, which leads to serious consequences. Such children subsequently integrate poorly into society, cannot find themselves in a profession, or they fail to create a good and happy family.

The prevalence of the disease is no more than 3%. Boys are most often affected by autism. Typically this ratio is 4:1. Girls from families where there are many cases of autism in relatives may also suffer from this mental illness.

Most often the first clear symptoms diseases are detected only by the age of three. The disease, as a rule, manifests itself at an even earlier age, but remains unrecognized in most cases until 3-5 years of age.

Why are children born with autism spectrum disorder?

To date, scientists have not yet reached a consensus on this issue. In the development of autism, many experts believe that several genes are to blame, which cause disruption in the functioning of certain parts of the cerebral cortex. Often when analyzing cases of the disease it becomes obvious strongly expressed heredity.

Another theory of the disease is mutation. Scientists believe that the cause of the disease can be various mutations and breakdowns in the genetic apparatus of a particular individual.

Various factors can lead to this:

impact ionizing radiation on the fetus during the mother's pregnancy;
infection with bacterial or viral infections fetus during intrauterine development;
exposure to hazardous chemical substances which have a teratogenic effect on the unborn child;
chronic diseases of the nervous system in the mother, in which she long time took various symptomatic psychotropic drugs.

According to American experts, such mutagenic effects quite often led to various disorders characteristic of autism.

This effect on the fetus is especially dangerous during the first 8-10 weeks from the moment of conception. At this time, the formation of all vital organs occurs, including the formation of the areas of the cerebral cortex responsible for behavior.

Genetic or mutational disorders that underlie the disease ultimately lead to specific damage to individual areas of the central nervous system. As a result, the coordinated work between the various neurons responsible for social integration.

There is also a change in the functions of the mirror cells of the brain, which leads to the appearance of specific symptoms of autism, when the baby can repeatedly perform the same type of action and pronounce individual phrases several times.

Kinds

Currently, many 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, specific criteria for the disease are currently being developed and streamlined, which will form the basis for diagnosing the disease.

Autism can usually occur in several forms or variations:

Typical. With this option, the signs of the disease appear quite clearly in childhood. Children are characterized by more withdrawn behavior, lack of involvement in games with other children, and have poor contacts even with close relatives and parents. To improve social integration, a whole range of various psychotherapeutic procedures and assistance is required. child psychologist, who is well versed in this problem.
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, failure to diagnose in time and delay in making a diagnosis leads to the development of more persistent symptoms in the child, which are much more difficult to treat.
Hidden. There are no exact statistics on the number of children with this diagnosis. In this form of the disease, the manifestation of the main clinical symptoms happens extremely rarely. Very often, children are considered simply overly withdrawn or introverted. Such children practically do not allow strangers into their own inner world. Establishing communication with a child diagnosed with autism is very difficult.

How does the mild form differ from the severe form?

Autism can occur in several forms depending on severity. The mildest form occurs in most cases. It is characterized by violations of social adaptation, when the baby does not want to establish contacts or communicate with other people.

It is important to understand that he does this not because of modesty or excessive isolation, but simply due to the manifestations of the disease. Such children, as a rule, start speaking late.

Violations of one's personality in mild forms of the disease practically do not occur. Kids can make contact with the people closest to them. Usually the child chooses several family members who, in his opinion, treat him with more care and attention. Autistic children do not perceive physical contact well. Usually the child tries to shy away from hugs or does not like kisses.

Babies with more severe illness They try in every possible way to avoid contact with other people. Even touching or hugging from close relatives can cause them severe mental trauma. Only the closest people, according to the child, can touch him. This is very important clinical sign diseases. A child 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 tendencies to cause harm to themselves. Such babies may even bite themselves or attempt to inflict various injuries at an older age.

This manifestation is rare, but requires urgent consultation with a psychiatrist and the prescription of special medications that reduce manifestations of aggression towards one’s own personality.

The mild form of the disease often goes undiagnosed, especially in Russia. Manifestations of the disease are simply attributed to the developmental characteristics of the child or the uniqueness of his character. Such children can grow up and carry the disease into adulthood. The course of the disease may change at different ages. However, the classic violation of social integration is observed almost constantly, without remission.

Severe forms of the disease, which often manifest as complete forced isolation of the baby from outside world, is much easier to determine.

The behavior of a child with severe autism is manifested by a pronounced reluctance to communicate with any people. Such kids are more willing to be alone. This brings them peace of mind and does not disrupt their usual way of life.

Failure to provide therapeutic psychotherapy can lead to deterioration of the child’s condition and complete social maladjustment.

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 attentive analysis of the baby’s behavior, even at a very young age, the first characteristic signs of autism syndrome can be identified. There are special psychological traits and characteristics 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 use of special games.
Repeating typical actions many times.
Speech behavior disorder.
Change in intelligence and different levels mental development.
Changing your own sense of personality.
Psychomotor dysfunction.

The reluctance to create new social contacts is evident in children from birth. At first, children are reluctant to respond to any touch from those closest to them. Even hugs or kisses from parents do not evoke positive emotions in children with autism. From the outside, such children seem overly calm and even “cold.”

Babies practically do not respond to smiles and do not notice the “grimas” that their parents or close relatives make to them. They often fix their gaze on some object that is of great interest to them.

Newborn babies with autism syndrome They can stare at a toy for hours or stare at one point.

Children practically do not experience any expressed joy from new gifts. Children of the first year of life can be absolutely neutral towards any new toys. Most often, it is difficult to even get a smile from such kids in response to a gift. In the best case, an autistic child will simply twirl the toy in his hands for a few minutes, and then put it aside indefinitely.

Children older than one year are very selective in choosing people close to them. They usually 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.

They usually choose one of their parents as their “friend.” This could be either dad or mom. In some cases - grandmother or grandfather.

Autistic children have virtually no contact with their peers or children of a different age. Any attempt to disturb their own comfortable world can bring such children significant discomfort.

They try in every possible way to avoid any situation that is traumatic for their psyche. Autistic children have practically no friends. They experience difficulties making new friends throughout their lives.

The first serious problems in such children appear at the age of 2-3 years. Usually at this time children are sent to kindergarten. As a rule, this is where the disease is detected, since it becomes simply impossible not to notice the characteristic manifestations of the disease.

When visiting kindergarten The behavior of autistic children stands out sharply. They seem more withdrawn than other children, they can stay aloof, and play with the same toy for hours, performing some stereotypical repetitive movements.

Children with autism exhibit more withdrawn behavior. Most kids ask for almost nothing. If they need something, they prefer to take it themselves without outside help.

Children under three years of age may have difficulty potty training.

If you ask a child to give you a toy or some object, most often he will not give it to you, but will simply throw it on the floor. This is a manifestation of impaired perception of any communication.

Autistic kids aren't always different complete passivity in a new unfamiliar team. Often, when trying to introduce a sick child into a new society, he may experience vivid negative outbursts of anger or aggression towards others. This is a manifestation of a violation or invasion of the boundaries of one’s own and such a cozy, and most importantly, safe inner world for children with autism. Expansion of any contacts can lead to severe outbursts of aggression and deterioration of mental well-being.

Disturbed interests or use of special games

Very often, children with autism remain indifferent to any active recreational activities. They seem to be in their own inner world. Entry into this personal space is usually closed to other people. Any attempts to teach a child to play very often lead to the complete failure of this idea.

Children with autism choose 1-2 favorite toys, with whom they spend a huge amount of time. Even with a large selection of different toys, they remain completely indifferent to them.

If you carefully observe the play of a child with autism, you will notice a strict repetition of the sequence of actions that he performs. If a boy plays with boats, then very often he lines up all the ships he has in one line. A child can sort them by size, color, or some characteristics that are special to him. He performs this action every time before the game.

Strict orderliness often manifests itself in everything in children with autism. This is a manifestation of a world that is comfortable for them, in which all objects are in their place and there is no chaos.

All new objects that appear in the life of an autistic child cause him severe mental trauma. Even rearranging furniture or toys can cause a strong attack of aggression in a child or, conversely, put the child into a state of complete apathy. It is better that all items remain in their places at all times. In this case, the baby will feel more comfortable and calm.

Girls with autism also experience changes in the form of play. Notice how the little girl plays with her doll. During such a lesson, every day she will perform all movements and actions according to the established algorithm. For example, she will first comb her hair, then wash the doll, then change her clothes. And never vice versa! Everything is in a strictly established sequence.

This systemicity of actions in children with autism is due to the peculiarity of the impaired mental behavior, not character. If you try to ask your child why he does the same actions every time, you will not get an answer. The child simply does not notice what actions he performs. For the perception of his own psyche, this is absolutely normal.

Repeating typical actions multiple times

The behavior of a child with autism is not always very different from the communication style of a healthy child. From the outside, such children look absolutely normal, since the appearance of the children practically does not change.

Children with autism often do not lag behind in physical development and do not differ at all in their external signs from their peers. However, with more careful observation of the child's behavior, it is possible to identify actions that differ slightly from usual behavior.

Often, children with autism may repeat various 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:

Repetition of counting or sequential naming of numbers. Autistic children often count repeatedly throughout the day. This activity brings comfort and even positive emotions to the child.
Repeating words previously spoken by someone. For example, after the question “how old are you?”, a child can repeat “I’m 5 years old, 5 years old, 5 years old” several dozen times. Very often, such kids repeat one phrase or word at least 10-20 times.

In other cases, children with autism may perform the same activity for a long time. For example, they turn lights off and on repeatedly. Some kids often open or close water taps.

Another feature may be constant wringing of fingers or the same type of movements with legs and arms. Such typical actions, repeated many times, bring peace and tranquility to children.

In more rare cases, babies may perform other similar actions, for example, sniffing various objects. Many scientists attribute this to the fact that disturbances occur in those areas of the cerebral cortex that are active in the perception of odors. Smell, touch, vision and taste - these areas of sensory perception in a child with autism are also often damaged, and various manifestations appear.

Speech behavior disorders

Speech disorders occur quite often in children with autism. The severity of manifestations varies. In milder forms of the disease, as a rule, speech disorders slightly expressed. In more severe cases, there may be a complete delay in speech development and the acquisition of persistent defects.

The disease can manifest itself in different ways. Children with autism often start talking late. As a rule, after the child says the first few words, he may remain silent for a long time. A baby's vocabulary consists of only a few words. He often repeats them many times throughout the day.

Children with autism have difficulty expanding their lexicon. Even when memorizing words, they try not to use a large number of different combinations in their speech.

A peculiarity of speech behavior in a child over two years old is the mention of objects in the third person. Most often, the child will call himself by name or say, for example, “girl Olya.” The pronoun “I” is almost never heard from a child with autism.

If you ask a baby if he wants to swim, the child may answer “he wants to swim” or call himself by name “Kostya wants to swim.”

Very often, children with autism do not answer direct questions that are addressed to them. They may remain silent or avoid answering, move the conversation to other topics, or simply ignore. This behavior is associated with a painful perception of new contacts and an attempt to invade personal space.

If your child is pestered with questions or asked too many questions a short time, then the child can even react quite violently, showing aggression.

The speech of older children often includes many interesting combinations and phrases. They perfectly remember various fairy tales and proverbs.

A child suffering from autism can easily recite an excerpt from Pushkin’s poem by heart at the age of five or recite a complex poem.

Such children often have a tendency to rhyme. At a younger age, children get great pleasure from repeating various rhymes over and over again.

The combination of words may seem completely meaningless, and in some cases even crazy. However, for children with autism, repeating such rhymes brings joy and positive emotions.

Changes in intelligence and different levels of mental development

It has long been believed that children with autism are mentally retarded. But this is a huge misconception! A large number of autistic children have the highest IQ levels.

With proper communication with a child, you can notice that he has a high level of intelligence. However, he will not show it to everyone.

The peculiarity of the mental development of an autistic person is that it is very difficult for him to concentrate and be purposeful in achieving specific goals.

The memory of such children has the property of selectivity. The child will not remember all events with equal ease, but only those that, according to his personal perception, will be closer to his inner world.

Some children have defects in logical perception. They perform poorly on tasks to construct an associative series.

The baby perceives ordinary abstract events well, can easily repeat a sequence or chain of events even after a long time. Long-term memory impairments are not observed in children with autism.

Children with a higher level of intelligence integrate very poorly at school. Often such a child becomes an “outcast” or a “black sheep.”

The impaired ability to socialize contributes to the fact that autistic children become 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 may progress differently. In some cases, children experience a decrease in intellectual abilities. They perform unsatisfactorily in school, do not answer teachers' questions, and do not solve difficult geometric tasks that require good spatial and logical abilities.

Very often, such children require special training using special pedagogical programs that are designed specifically for children with autism.

It is important to note that any deterioration in the child’s condition can occur suddenly when exposed to any provoking cause. Often these can be severe stress or attacks from peers.

Children with autism have a very difficult time with such triggering events. This can even lead to severe apathy or, conversely, cause violent aggression.

Watch the following video about teaching children with autism.

Changing your sense of self

When any contact with other people is disrupted, autistic people often project any negative events onto themselves. This is called self-aggression. This manifestation of the disease in varying degrees of severity occurs quite often. Almost every third child with autism suffers from this unfavorable manifestation of the disease.

Psychotherapists believe that this negative symptom arises as a result of a disrupted perception of the boundaries of one’s own inner world. Any threat to personal safety is perceived excessively by a sick child. Children can cause various injuries to themselves: biting themselves or even cutting themselves on purpose.

Even in childhood, the child’s sense of limited space is disturbed. Such babies often fall out of the playpen after swaying violently. Some children may unfasten from the stroller and fall to the ground.

Usually such a negative and painful experience will cause healthy baby do not do such actions in the future. A child with autism, even despite the resulting pain syndrome, will still repeat this action over and over again.

It is quite rare for a child to show aggression towards others. In 99% of cases, the manifestation of such a reaction is self-defense. As a rule, kids are very sensitive to any attempts to invade their personal world.

Inept actions towards a child with autism or even a simple desire to make contact can cause an attack of aggression in the child, which provokes internal fear.

Psychomotor dysfunction

Quite often, children with autism experience an altered gait. They try to walk on tiptoes. Some children may bounce when walking. This symptom occurs every day.

All attempts to make comments to the baby that he is walking incorrectly and needs to walk differently do not evoke a response from him. The child remains faithful to his gait for quite a long time.

Children with autism do not notice the changes that appear in their Everyday life. Older children try to choose routes that are familiar to him. A child with autism will almost always choose the same path to school, without changing his own habits.

Kids often remain true to their taste preferences. Such children should not be taught a certain diet. All the same, a child with autism will have his own idea and even a whole system in his head about what and when it is best for him to eat.

It will be almost impossible to force your baby to eat an unfamiliar product. They remain true to their taste preferences throughout their lives.

Basic characteristics by age

Up to a year

Children with symptoms of autism react poorly to any attempts to address them, especially by name. Children do not babble or utter their first words for a long time.

The child's emotions are quite impoverished. Gesticulation is also significantly reduced. A baby with autism gives the impression of a very calm child who cries little and practically does not ask to be held. Any contacts with parents and even mother do not give the child strong positive emotions.

Newborn babies and infants practically do not express various emotions on their faces. Such children even seem somewhat renounced. Often, when trying to make a child smile, he does not change his face or perceives this attempt rather coldly. Such children love to look at various objects. Their gaze stops on some object for a very long time.

Kids often try to choose one or a couple of toys with which they can spend almost the entire day. They absolutely do not need any outsiders to play. They feel great alone with themselves. Sometimes attempts to intrude on their play can cause an attack of panic or aggression.

Children in their first year of life with autism practically do not call on adults for help. If they need something, they try to take the item themselves.

As a rule, there are no intellectual impairments at this age. Most children do not lag behind their peers in terms of physical or mental development.

Up to 3 years

Before the age of 3 years, symptoms of limited personal space begin to manifest themselves to a greater extent.

When playing outside, children categorically refuse to play in the same sandbox with other children. All objects and toys that belong to a child with autism belong only to him.

From the outside, such children seem very closed and “on their own.” Most often, by the age of one and a half years, they can only utter a few words. However, this does not happen to all babies. They often repeat various verbal combinations that do not carry much meaning.

After the child utters the first word, he may suddenly become silent and practically not speak for quite a long time.

Children with autism almost never answer questions asked of them. Only with the people closest to them can they utter a few words or answer in the third person a question addressed to them.

Very often such children try to avert their eyes and do not look at the interlocutor. Even if the child answers the question, he will never use the word “I”. Children with autism identify themselves as “he” or “she.” Many children simply call themselves by name.

Some children are characterized by manifestations of stereotypical actions. They may sway violently in their chair. Parents' comments that doing this is wrong or ugly do not evoke any response from the child. This is not due to the desire to demonstrate one’s character, but simply to a violation of the perception of one’s own behavior. The baby 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 the table or floor, the child does it very clumsily.

Often babies cannot clench their hands well. Such a violation of fine motor skills in mandatory requires special classes aimed at improving this skill.

If correction is not carried out in a timely manner, the child may develop writing impairments, as well as the appearance of gestures that are unusual for an ordinary baby.

Autistic children love to play with water taps or switches. They also really enjoy opening and closing doors. Any similar movements evoke excellent emotions in the child. He can perform such actions for as long as he likes until his parents intervene. When performing these movements, the baby absolutely does not notice that he is performing them repeatedly.

Autistic children eat only those foods that they like, play independently and practically do not get to know other children. Many people around them mistakenly consider such kids to be too spoiled. This is a huge misconception!

A child with autism, under the age of three, sees absolutely no differences in his behavior relative to the behavior of others. He simply tries to limit the boundaries of his inner world from any outside interference.

It used to be that children with autism had certain facial features. Often such features were called aristocratic forms. Autistic people were believed to have thinner and longer noses. However, this is not at all true.

To date, the connection between facial structural features and the presence of autism in a child has not been reliably established. Such judgments are just speculation and lack scientific evidence.

From 3 to 6 years

The incidence of autism peaks at this age. Children begin to be sent to kindergarten, where disturbances in social adaptation become noticeable.

Children with autism perceive morning trips to preschool educational institutions without expressed delight. They would rather stay at home than leave their familiar safe home.

A child with autism practically does not meet new friends. At best, he makes one new acquaintance who becomes his best friend.

A sick child will never accept a large number of people into his inner world. Very often, such children try to close themselves off even more, to escape from the traumatic situation.

The child tries to come up with some kind of magical story or fairy tale that explains why he should go to this kindergarten. Then he becomes the main character of this action. However, visiting kindergarten does not give the child any pleasure. He doesn't get along well with his peers and practically doesn't listen to his teachers.

All things in the baby’s personal locker are usually folded strictly in order. This becomes clearly visible from the outside. Such children cannot stand any chaos or scattered things. Any violation of the ordering of the structure can cause them to have an attack of apathy, and in some cases, aggressive behavior.

Trying to force a child to meet new kids in a group can cause him extreme stress.

Children with autism should not be scolded for doing the same type of behavior over a long period of time. You just need to find the “key” to such a child.

Often, kindergarten teachers simply cannot cope with a “special” child. Many features of disrupted behavior are perceived by teaching staff as excessive spoilage and character traits. In these cases, the mandatory work of a medical psychologist is required, who will work daily with the child in a preschool institution.

Over 6 years old

Children with autism in Russia attend regular schools. In our country there are no specialized educational programs for such children. Typically, children with autism do well in school. They have a penchant for various disciplines. Many guys even show the highest level of mastery of the subject.

Such children often focus on one subject. In other disciplines that do not resonate in the child’s inner world, they may have very mediocre performance.

Children with autism have difficulty concentrating and are also characterized by insufficient concentration on several objects at the same time.

Often in such children, if the disease was detected on early stage and there were no strong defects in fine motor skills, genius abilities for music or creativity are revealed.

Kids can play various musical instruments for hours. Some children even compose various works on their own.

Children, as a rule, try to lead a rather secluded lifestyle. They have few friends. They practically do not visit various entertainment events, which can be attended by a huge number of people. Being at home is more comfortable for them.

Very often, children have a commitment to certain foods. In most cases, it occurs in early childhood. Children with autism eat at strictly designated times. own schedule. All meals are accompanied by the performance of a specific ritual.

They often eat only from plates that are familiar to them and try to avoid dishes of new colors. All cutlery is usually laid out by the child on the table in a strictly defined sequence.

Children with autism can graduate from school very successfully, showing excellent knowledge in one discipline.

Only in 30% of cases do children suffering from this disease lag behind. school curriculum and have poor academic performance. As a rule, in such children the diagnosis of autism was made quite late or a good rehabilitation program was not carried out to reduce the unfavorable symptoms of the disease and improve social adaptation.

Problems

Very often, children with autism experience not only behavioral disorders, but also various pathological manifestations of internal organs.

Gastrointestinal disorders

They manifest themselves 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. To normalize adverse manifestations and stool disorders, a gluten-free diet is effectively used. Such a diet, which contains a limited amount of gluten, promotes the smooth functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and reduces negative symptoms indigestion.

You can learn more about the diet for autism by watching the following video.

Sleep disorders

Babies are almost equally active during the day and at night. It is very difficult to put such children to sleep. Even if they fall asleep, they may only sleep for a few hours. Very often babies wake up very early in the morning. During the daytime, they may refuse to sleep. In some cases, when exposed to strong psychologically traumatic situations, insomnia may worsen or nightmares may appear, which further contribute to the disruption of the child’s general well-being.

When is a consultation with a psychiatrist necessary?

You should seek the help of a doctor immediately if parents suspect the first signs of illness in their baby. Only a psychiatrist can accurately establish a diagnosis and recommend the necessary therapeutic treatment.

As a rule, all children diagnosed with autism should be seen periodically by a doctor. Don't be afraid of this doctor! This does not mean that the child has severe mental disorders. Such observation is important primarily for preventing the development of unwanted long-term symptoms of the disease.

In our country, children diagnosed with autism practically do not undergo any specialized rehabilitation programs. European specialists and doctors from the United States use a whole range of different psychotherapeutic techniques that can greatly improve the quality of life of a child suffering from autism.

Medical psychologists and professional instructors work with children from a very early age. physical therapy, defectologists and speech therapists. Throughout his life, such a patient must be 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 the child’s social maladjustment begin to clearly manifest themselves.

There is scientific evidence that suggests that with the development of better 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 pediatrician. To conduct a full examination and establish a diagnosis, it is necessary to organize a full-fledged medical examination, which usually involves at least 5-6 different specialists with skills and knowledge in the treatment of autism in children.

Diagnostics

Diagnosing the disease is quite difficult. In Russia, the diagnosis of “autism” will most often be given upon detection of the following psychological disorders:

social maladjustment of the child in the environment;
pronounced difficulties in 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 occurs in a typical or classic form, then the above symptoms occur in 100% of cases. Such children require mandatory consultation with a psychiatrist, and, if necessary, an extensive consultation with the involvement of specialists in 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.

For autism use:

ICD-X is the main working document for Russian specialists.
Categories DSM-5 or Diagnostic Statistical Manual of mental disorders psychiatric diseases) is used by psychiatrists around the world, including in Europe and the United States.

According to these medical reference books, a child with autism must exhibit at least six of the symptoms listed. To determine them, doctors resort to various questionnaires, using which they assess the baby’s condition in a playful way. Such research is carried out in the most gentle way possible, so as not to traumatize the disturbed child’s psyche.

An interview with parents is also required. This study allows us to clarify the presence and nature of violations in the child’s behavior that cause them concern.

Parents are interviewed by several psychiatrists, as well as a medical psychologist. Such diagnostic methods are mainly used only in Europe and the USA. In Russia, unfortunately, the diagnosis of autism is in an extremely deplorable state.

Children with this disease remain unexamined for a long time.

Over time, their negative manifestations of social maladaptation intensify; apathy and inability to establish contacts with people around them may increase. In our country, working diagnostic criteria have not yet been developed that would easily establish such a diagnosis. In this regard, there are quite a few cases of establishing a correct and timely diagnosis.

Is testing at home possible?

It is almost impossible to conduct a full inspection of the house. During such testing, you can only get 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 techniques to clarify the extent and level of damage.

By testing at home, parents can often get false result. Very often, the information system automatically analyzes the answers without applying differentiated treatment to a specific child.

To make a diagnosis, a multi-stage medical examination is required to determine whether the child has autism.

How to treat?

Currently, no specific treatment for autism has been developed. Unfortunately, there is no special pill or magic vaccine that would reliably protect a baby from possible development diseases. A single cause of the disease has not been established.

Lack of understanding about the original source of the disease does not allow scientists to create a unique medicine that would completely cure children with autism.

Treatment of this mental illness is carried out comprehensively, taking into account the symptoms that arise. Such psychotropic drugs are prescribed only by a psychiatrist. They are issued on special prescription forms and are issued according to strict accounting in pharmacies. Such medications are prescribed 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 possibly conducting additional examinations.
Psychological consultations. A child medical psychologist must work with a child suffering from autism. Using various psychological techniques, the specialist will help the child cope with emerging outbursts of anger and auto-aggression, as well as improve the internal feeling when integrating into a new team.
General restorative health procedures. Playing sports is not at all contraindicated for children with autism. However, they must study 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 sporting achievements. Success is only possible by applying the right pedagogical approach.
Speech therapy classes. A speech therapist must conduct classes with a child under 3 years of age. At such lessons, children learn to speak correctly and refuse to use repeated repetitions of words. Speech therapy classes allow you to improve your child’s vocabulary and add even more words to his vocabulary. Such educational games help children adapt better to new groups and improve their social adaptation.

Drug treatment

Prescription of various medications on an ongoing basis is not required for children with autism. Such drugs are used only to eliminate negative manifestations diseases. In this case, untimely treatment can lead to the development of various adverse consequences and even worsen the baby’s condition.

The following medications are most often prescribed to children with autism.

Psychotropic drugs and neuroleptics

Used to treat attacks of aggressive behavior. They can be prescribed as a course of treatment or once to eliminate a violent outbreak of auto-aggression. Psychiatrists choose various medications that can eliminate the negative symptoms of the disease. For example, the antipsychotic drugs Rispolept and Seroquel can cope with acute attacks of severe aggression and calm the baby.

It is important to note that the prescription 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.

Long-term use of any antipsychotic drugs can cause addiction and various side effects. In order to prevent this, doctors resort to prescribing a course of treatment.

To eliminate panic attacks or improve mood, the doctor may prescribe special medications that affect the level of endorphins. These drugs also have a number of contraindications. They are used only in cases where various psychological methods for correcting behavior were carried out, but they were not successful and did not lead to an improvement in the child’s well-being.

Probiotics for the treatment of dysbiosis

In children with autism, in 90% of cases, doctors register persistent syndrome irritable bowel or dysbacteriosis. In this case, the microflora in gastrointestinal tract. It contains practically no beneficial lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, but microorganisms of pathogenic flora reproduce well. Very often, such children also exhibit increased yeast growth.

To eliminate these unfavorable symptoms, doctors resort to prescribing various medications enriched with lacto- and bifidobacteria. Children are prescribed: “Bifidobacterin”, “Acipol”, “Linex”, “Enterol” and many others. These funds are prescribed after additional research- bacterial culture of stool and testing for dysbacteriosis. The drugs are prescribed as a course of treatment. It is usually designed for 1-3 months of daily use.

In addition to medicines, the diet of a child with dysbacteriosis must include fresh dairy products with a high content of microorganisms beneficial to the intestines.

You can also make them at home. In this case, they are not lost beneficial features product, and you can safely give it to your baby.

The effect of using fermented milk products usually occurs by the end of the first week.

Vitamin therapy

Children with autism have a pronounced and almost constant deficiency of a number of vitamins: B1, B6, B12, PP. To eliminate this condition, the complex must be prescribed biologically active substances. Such vitamin and mineral preparations can eliminate the deficiency of any vitamins, as well as normalize the microelement composition within the body.

Since children with autism are very committed to some type of food, their diet is often very monotonous. This leads to insufficient supply of vitamins and microelements from the outside.

In order to improve this condition, 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 microelements, which are vital for the baby.

Sedatives

Used to eliminate anxiety. Very often, when exposed to a strong traumatic situation, a sick child may experience a severe state of panic. In this case, psychiatrists prescribe psychotropic drugs that can effectively eliminate this manifestation. A course of such medications is not required. Only a single dose is enough.

Children with autism often have trouble sleeping. They have difficulty falling 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 using mild medications that calm the nervous system and promote rapid sleep.

It is safe for children 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 your baby in the form of tea. It is better to drink such a sedative medicine no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime.

The prescription of sedative medications is allowed only for severe sleep disturbances. Typically, such drugs are prescribed for quite a long time. It is not advisable to use these drugs in milder forms of the disease, since they can have a pronounced tranquilizing effect or be addictive. The prescription of medications is made by a psychotherapist after a preliminary examination.

Help from a psychologist

The use of various psychological techniques is important element therapy for children with autism. American experts who conduct classes with sick children every day recommend conducting such classes at least 2-3 times a week.

It is better for the psychologist to also have a medical education. In this case, it can quickly help him or her when the condition worsens and send the child for consultation with a psychiatrist.

The psychologist does not prescribe medications. He treats only with words. Usually, for children with autism, the first meeting with a specialist is very important. It is at this time that you can understand whether such classes will be successful and whether the child will find a common language with the psychologist.

In order to penetrate into the inner world of a child suffering from autism, the psychologist must very delicately make friends with him. Only in this case will the baby make contact.

Often, treatment may not bring a pronounced positive effect in the absence of primary contact between the autistic child and the psychologist.

All classes are conducted in a specially equipped room. Often, to work with children with autism, all lessons are held in only one room. This helps create a calmer and more comfortable atmosphere for the child.

Psychologists try not to move or rearrange toys without reason, as this can bring severe mental discomfort to the baby.

Usually, game forms of conducting classes are chosen. During such games, children are as “open” as possible and can demonstrate real emotions. Each lesson usually lasts no more than an hour.

With longer communication, the baby may become very tired and reluctant to make contact with a specialist.

Working with children who suffer from autism usually continues throughout the child's life. At the same time, only the types and forms of psychological techniques change.

Very often, psychologists become real family members or very close friends. In America, several cases of families turning to psychologists have been recorded. 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 for children under 3-5 years old are often carried out 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 correctly 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.

Classes

To improve the integration into society of a child suffering from autism, additional activities are required to help him with this. Typically, such a complex of various activities is compiled together with a child psychologist or on the recommendation of a psychiatrist.

Usually, before choosing any hobby that will be interesting to the baby, a good analysis of his abilities and a qualitative assessment of the level of health and physical development. Not all children with autism will perform the same tasks with the same interest. Right choice classes greatly improves the prognosis of treatment and has a beneficial effect on the mental and mental development of the baby.

Typically, children with autism are recommended various correctional activities that can improve the child’s social integration in society. Sports are recommended for children. However, not all sports training can be chosen. For autistic children, calm sports are more suitable: learning to swim, playing chess or checkers, golf. It is worth choosing those sports that require concentration on one subject.

Sports that require high speed or a high risk of injury are best left aside. Children with autism should not engage in running, jumping, boxing and various types of strength wrestling.

Team games are also not suitable. It is better to give preference to calmer sports that will help improve the baby’s health and have a positive effect on his nervous system.

Children with autism are very warm towards various animals. In such children, doctors often even note a certain “cult” of animals. An autistic child may have a whole collection of cats or dogs. Direct contact and touching of pets can evoke strong positive emotions in the baby and even improve the prognosis of treatment.

Children with autism benefit from spending time interacting with a variety of animals. Doctors recommend hippotherapy or dolphin therapy sessions. Such contacts with animals will bring great joy to the baby and will have a positive impact on his development.

When a baby touches any living creature, special endorphin molecules begin to be produced in the cerebral cortex, which evoke a sea of positive emotions in him.

If possible, such exercises with animals should be carried out as often as possible. It is better that the child has the opportunity to constantly observe living beings and communicate with them. While communicating with a dog or cat, the baby learns to communicate with environment. This has a positive effect on his ability to make new contacts and improves social adaptation in society.

What toys should I buy?

Parents often rack their brains over what gift to give to their baby, who has been diagnosed with autism by doctors. It seems that every new toy brings virtually no joy to the child. However, this is not quite true. Every child with autism has their own personal preference for 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 children can be delighted with donated animals. The main thing is to determine which specific animal your child likes. Usually this does not pose any difficulty: an autistic child will never let go of the animal toy he likes.

If a plush dog once presented is the child’s favorite, then any other dogs will also cause great delight.

Children diagnosed with autism are not at all prone to hoarding. They only need 2-3 different toys to feel comfortable and happy. A huge number of different gifts can even scare them!

Children under three years old should choose toys that improve fine motor skills of their fingers. Typically, children with autism are quite poor at performing any tasks related to drawing or modeling.

You can try to interest your baby in putting together various puzzles consisting of large and bright parts. Construction sets are perfect, from the elements of which you can build numerous combinations of figures.

For children aged 1.5-2 years, rugs that consist of several large parts are perfect. The upper surface of such products has small elevations or irregularities. This is necessary so that your legs are massaged while walking. This effect has a beneficial effect on the entire musculoskeletal system of the child. You should choose a rug in more neutral colors, avoiding overly bright colors.

For older children and those especially prone to aggression, you can choose a spinner. This fashionable toy normalizes the functioning of the nervous system and even helps fight the effects of stress. Kids often like to spin the spinner, as any repeated action brings them calm and even positive emotions.

IN adolescence It is better not to buy computer games for your child. Most of these toys can cause a spontaneous attack of aggression in a child or, on the contrary, increase an apathetic state.

Very often, children with autism love to play computer games, since it 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 inheriting the disease. There are also theories about the presence of special genes that are responsible for the development of the disease in children in whose families cases of autism have previously been established.

Autistic people can have healthy children. Inheritance of genes occurs at the stage of intrauterine development. If a baby was born into a family where only one of the parents has autism, then he may well turn out to be healthy.

If both parents have autism, the chance of having an affected child is 25%, and the chance of having a child who is a 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 having sick babies may increase. It also increases when exposed to various provoking factors on the unborn child during intrauterine development in the body of a pregnant mother.

To determine hidden autism in newborns, the “heel” method is used. It suggests the presence of this mental illness in the baby. It is usually carried out in autistic parents or in cases where there is a suspicion that the child may develop the disease.

Is the child given a disability?

In Russia, the diagnosis of autism requires the establishment of a disability group. However, it is not shown to all children. In our country, special medical and social criteria, which take into account various factors.

The decision to establish a group is made strictly collectively. This involves specialists from several specialties: psychiatrist, psychologist, rehabilitation specialist.

In order for a child to have a disability group established, it is necessary to provide the medical and social examination authorities with all the necessary information. medical documentation. The child’s child’s record must contain the conclusions of the psychiatrist and child psychologist who observed him. In this case, expert doctors can have a more informative picture about the duration of the disease.

Before undergoing a 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 make it possible to clarify the nature and extent of disorders. Usually in our country an EEG or electroencephalography of the brain is prescribed.

Using this method, it is possible to establish various disorders of the conduction of nerve impulses in the cerebral cortex. The method is quite informative and is quite often used in child psychiatric and neurological practice.

The test results allow doctors to determine the nature and extent of impairments resulting from the disease.

Not all forms of autism can be assigned a disability group. As a rule, it is determined in the presence of persistent disorders of nervous activity, which lead to pronounced maladaptation of the baby.

The level of mental development and intelligence also significantly influence the prognosis of the course of the disease and the establishment of a group.

Often, disability is established after three years. Cases of establishing a group at an earlier age in Russia practically do not occur 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 is usually set for life.

Children with mental disabilities must undergo a whole range of rehabilitation measures. Speech therapists, psychologists, and rehabilitation doctors work with such children. The rehabilitation course is usually designed for a fairly long period, since the treatment of the disease is carried out throughout the life of a person suffering from autism.

Parents who are faced with establishing a disability group for their child often note some difficulties when conducting a medical and social examination. They most often note: a huge amount of pre-prepared medical documentation and long queues for examination. The disability group was not always determined upon initial treatment. Often, only on the second or third attempt did expert doctors make a positive decision about the presence of disabling signs in the child.

Establishing a group is a highly complex and often controversial task. However, for children with autism, this step is often forced, but truly necessary. To conduct full-fledged classes with a child, quite large financial costs are required: training with a psychologist, consultations with a speech therapist, hippotherapy courses, the use of special psychotropic medications. All this without a disability group becomes very difficult and financially burdensome for many families.

For parents raising autistic children, the main thing is to understand that this disease will remain with the child for life. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for autism.

With the right approach, autistic children develop well and, from the outside, do not even differ at all from their peers. Only a few strangers may notice that the baby is a little different from the others. However, they often believe that such a child is simply overly spoiled or has a bad character.

In order to improve your baby’s quality of life and help him with social adaptation, use the following tips:

Try to communicate correctly with your child. Autistic children categorically do not accept raised voices or swearing. It is better to communicate with such children in the same calm tone, without using curse words. If your child does something wrong, try not to react too violently and aggressively, but simply explain to your child how to do this action correctly. You can also show this 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 gets a correct idea of the family organization. In the future, when creating his own life, he will largely be guided by the principles laid down in childhood.
Potty training children with autism can be quite difficult. Child psychologists usually help with this. In a playful way, they create a similar everyday situation and work through the correct sequence of actions with the baby. For independent training at home, remember that you should potty train your child gradually and consistently. Never raise your voice or punish your child if he has done something wrong. In the case of an autistic child, this measure will not lead to a positive result.
You can teach a child with autism to read only with daily lessons. Try to choose educational books without overly bright pictures. A huge number of different colors can alarm and even frighten a child. Choose publications without colorful pictures. Training is best done in a playful way. So the baby will perceive this process as a normal game.
During a severe hysteria, the baby needs to be carefully calmed. It would be better to do this by the family member with whom the child has closer contact. If your child is overly aggressive, try to quickly take him to the nursery. A familiar environment will help your baby calm down more easily. Never raise your voice at a child, trying to shout to him! This won't lead to anything good. Explain to your baby that he has nothing to be afraid of and that you are nearby. Try to switch your attention to another event or object.
Try to establish contact with your autistic child. The child communicates calmly only with the people closest to him. To do this, never ask your baby a million questions. Frequent hugs will also not lead to establishing contact. Try to spend more time with your baby, just watching his games. After some time, the child will perceive you as part of his game and will make contact more easily.
Teach your child to correct regimen day. Typically, autistic children respond well to a clearly organized routine. This gives them a feeling of complete comfort and security. Try to have your child fall asleep and wake up at the same time. Be sure to follow the feeding schedule. Even on weekends, maintain your baby's usual daily routine.
Be sure to undergo regular examination and observation by a child psychotherapist and psychologist. Such consultations are very important for assessing the prognosis of the disease and establishing the dynamics of the child’s condition. Typically, young patients with autism should see a therapist at least twice a year. If your health worsens, more often.
Provide proper nutrition for your baby. Considering the characteristics of the disturbed microflora, all children 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 improve his digestion.
From the very first days of your child’s birth, try to show him care and affection more often. Autistic children react very poorly to various physical manifestations of love and tenderness. However, this does not mean at all that this should not be done. Doctors advise hugging and kissing your child more often. This must be done without causing him mental pressure. If the baby is not in the mood, it is better to postpone hugs for a while.
Give your baby a new friend. Most autistic children love pets. Communication with furry animals brings the baby not only positive emotions and has a beneficial effect on the course of his illness, but also has a real therapeutic effect for tactile sensitivity. A cat or dog will become real friends for your baby and will help him more easily establish contacts not only with animals, but also with new people.
Don't scold your child! A child suffering from autism perceives any raising of his voice very painfully. The reaction can be the most unpredictable. Some kids fall into severe apathy and become more indifferent to everything that happens in everyday life. Other children may experience excessive aggression that may even require medication.
Try to choose an interesting hobby for your child. Very often, children with autism are excellent at drawing or playing musical instruments. Studying in a specialized art school will help your child achieve high professional success. Often such children 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 toys and objects that belong to the child in their place. Strong changes can cause real panic attacks and excessive aggression in a child suffering from autism. Purchase new items carefully, without attracting much attention to it.
Don't limit your child to just being at home! Children with autism should not be confined to four walls all the time. This will only exacerbate your inability to make new friends and connections. Gradually expand the conditions where the baby spends a lot of time. Try to motivate him to go for a walk, visit close relatives. However, this should be done gradually, without psychological pressure. The baby should be very comfortable in new conditions.

Autism is not a death sentence. This is just a disease that requires increased and special attention to a child who is sick with this mental illness.

The right approach to organizing life and establishing personal contact helps such children feel more protected and improves the prognosis of the course and development of the disease.

Moms and dads should remember that a child diagnosed with autism requires your attention and care every day throughout his life. Such children are often called “special” because you need to build a unique approach with them.

Children with autism, with good rehabilitation, integrate quite well into society and are quite successful in later life.

Useful videos

Yana Summ (ex-wife of Konstantin Meladze) in the next video from my own experience talks about what you should pay attention to in order to suspect a child has autism.

You will learn a lot of nuances about autism by watching the programs of Dr. Komarovsky and “Live Healthy.”

When preparing the article, materials from the website “autism-test.rf” were used.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. People talk about autism more and more on TV and on the Internet. Is it true that this is a very complex disease and there is no way to cope with it? Is it worth working with a child who has been diagnosed with this, or is nothing changing anyway?

The topic is very relevant, and even if it does not directly concern you, you need to convey the correct information to people.

Autism - what kind of disease is it?

Autism is a mental illness that is diagnosed in childhood and stays with a person for life. The cause is a violation of the development and functioning of the nervous system.

Scientists and doctors highlight the following: causes of autism:

genetic problems;
traumatic brain injury at birth;
infectious diseases both the mother during pregnancy and the newborn.

Autistic children can be distinguished from their peers. They want to be alone all the time and do not go to play in sandboxes with others (or play hide and seek at school). So they strive for social loneliness(they feel more comfortable this way). There is also a noticeable disturbance in the expression of emotions.

If , then the autistic child is a bright representative of the latter group. He is always in his inner world, does not pay attention to other people and everything that happens around him.

It must be remembered that many children may exhibit signs and symptoms of this disease, but to a greater or lesser extent. Thus, there is an autism spectrum. For example, there are children who can be strong friends with one person and at the same time be completely unable to contact others.

If we talk about autism in adults, then the signs will differ between male and female genders. Men are completely immersed in their hobby. Very often they start collecting things. If they start going to regular work, they occupy the same position for many years.

Signs of the disease in women are also quite remarkable. They follow patterns of behavior that are attributed to members of their gender. Therefore, identifying autistic women is very difficult for an untrained person (you need the opinion of an experienced psychiatrist). They may also often suffer from depressive disorders.

In case of autism in an adult, a sign will also be the frequent repetition of certain actions or words. This is part of a certain personal ritual that a person performs every day, or even several times.

Who is Autism (signs and symptoms)

It is impossible to make such a diagnosis in a child immediately after birth. Because even if there are some deviations, they can be signs of other diseases.

Therefore, parents usually wait until the age when their child becomes more socially active (at least until the age of three). When the child begins to interact with other children in the sandbox, to show his “I” and character, then he is taken to specialists for diagnosis.

Autism in children has signs, which can be divided into 3 main groups:

Who diagnoses a child with autism?

When parents come to a specialist, the doctor asks about how the child developed and behaved so that identify symptoms of autism. As a rule, he is told that from birth the child was not like all his peers:

was capricious in his arms, did not want to sit;
didn't like being hugged;
did not show emotion when his mother smiled at him;
Possible speech delay.

Relatives often try to figure out: these are signs of this disease, or the child was born deaf or blind. Therefore, autism or not, determined by three doctors: pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist. To clarify the status of the analyzer, contact an ENT doctor.

Autism test carried out using questionnaires. They determine the development of a child’s thinking, emotional sphere. But the most important thing is a casual conversation with a small patient, during which the specialist tries to establish eye contact, pays attention to facial expressions and gestures, and behavior patterns.

A specialist diagnoses autism spectrum disorder. For example, it could be Asperger's or Kanner's syndrome. It is also important to distinguish (if there is a teenager in front of the doctor). This may require an MRI of the brain or an electroencephalogram.

Is there any hope for healing?

After making a diagnosis, the doctor first tells parents what autism is.

Parents need to know what they are dealing with, and that the disease cannot be cured completely. But you can work with your child and ease the symptoms. At significant efforts you can achieve excellent results.

Treatment should begin with contact. Parents should, whenever possible, establish a trusting relationship with the autistic person. Also provide conditions in which the child will feel comfortable. To negative factors(quarrels, screams) did not affect the psyche.

You need to develop thinking and attention. Logic games and puzzles are perfect for this. Autistic children love them just like everyone else. When the child is interested in some object, tell him more about it, let him touch it in his hands.

Watching cartoons and reading books are a good way to explain why characters act the way they do, what they do, and what they face. From time to time you need to ask your child such questions so that he can think for himself.

It is important to learn how to cope with outbursts of anger and aggression and with situations in life in general. Also explain how to build friendships with peers.

Specialized schools and associations are a place where people will not be surprised to ask: what’s wrong with the child? There are professionals working there who will provide a variety of techniques and games to help develop autistic children.

Together we can achieve a high level of adaptation to society and the child’s inner peace.

Good luck to you! Before see you soon on the pages of the blog site

What is autism?

In recent years autistic disorders began to be united under the acronym ASD - “autism spectrum disorder”.

Kanner syndrome

Kanner syndrome in the strict sense of the word is characterized by a combination of the following main symptoms:

inability to install full-fledged relationship with people from the beginning of life;
extreme isolation from the outside world, ignoring environmental stimuli until they become painful;
insufficient communicative use of speech;
lack or insufficient eye contact;
fear of changes in the environment (“identity phenomenon”, according to Kanner);
immediate and delayed echolalia (“gramophone or parrot speech”, according to Kanner);
delayed development of the “I”;
stereotypical games with non-play objects;
clinical manifestation symptoms no later than 2-3 years.

When using these criteria it is important:

do not expand their content (for example, distinguish between the inability to establish contact with other people and active avoidance of contact);
build diagnostics at the syndromological level, and not on the basis of formal recording of the presence of certain symptoms;
take into account the presence or absence of procedural dynamics of the identified symptoms;
take into account that the inability to establish contact with other people creates conditions for social deprivation, leading in turn to the emergence of clinical picture symptoms of secondary developmental delays and compensatory formations.

A child usually comes to the attention of specialists no earlier than 2-3 years, when the disorders become quite obvious. But even then, parents often find it difficult to determine violations, resorting to value judgments: “Strange, not like everyone else.” Often the true problem is masked by imaginary or real disorders that are more understandable to parents - for example, delayed speech development or hearing impairment. In retrospect, it is often possible to find out that already in the first year the child reacted poorly to people, did not take a ready pose when picked up, and when picked up was unusually passive. “Like a bag of sand,” parents sometimes say. He was afraid of household noises (vacuum cleaner, coffee grinder, etc.), not getting used to them over time, and showed unusual selectivity in food, refusing food of a certain color or type. For some parents, this kind of violation becomes obvious only in retrospect when compared with the behavior of the second child.

Asperger's syndrome

As with Kanner syndrome, they determine communication disorders, underestimation of reality, a limited and unique, stereotypical range of interests that distinguish such children from their peers. Behavior is determined by impulsiveness, contrasting affects, desires, and ideas; behavior often lacks internal logic.

Some children early discover the ability to develop an unusual, non-standard understanding of themselves and those around them. Logical thinking is preserved or even well developed, but knowledge is difficult to reproduce and is extremely uneven. Active and passive attention are unstable, but individual autistic goals are achieved with great energy.

Unlike other cases of autism, there is no significant delay in speech and cognitive development. In appearance attracts a detached expression on his face, which makes him “beautiful”, his facial expressions are frozen, his gaze is turned into emptiness, his fixation on the faces is fleeting. There are few expressive facial movements, and gesticulation is poor. Sometimes the facial expression is concentrated and self-absorbed, the gaze is directed “inward.” Motor skills are angular, movements are irregular, with a tendency towards stereotypies. The communicative functions of speech are weakened, and it itself is unusually modulated, unique in melody, rhythm and tempo, the voice sounds sometimes quiet, sometimes it hurts the ear, and in general speech is often similar to recitation. There is a tendency towards word creation, which sometimes persists even after puberty, an inability to automate skills and implement them externally, and an attraction to autistic games. Characterized by attachment to home, not to loved ones.

Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome begins to appear between the ages of 8 and 30 months. gradually, without external reasons, against the background of normal (in 80% of cases) or slightly delayed motor development.

Detachment appears, already acquired skills are lost, speech development is suspended for 3-6 months. There is a complete collapse of previously acquired speech reserves and skills. At the same time, violent “washing-type” movements arise in the hands. Later, the ability to hold objects is lost, ataxia, dystonia, muscle atrophy, kyphosis, and scoliosis appear. Chewing is replaced by sucking, breathing becomes disordered. In a third of cases, epileptiform seizures are observed.

By the age of 5-6 years, the tendency towards the progression of disorders softens, the ability to assimilate individual words and primitive play returns, but then the progression of the disease increases again. There is a gross progressive decay of motor skills, sometimes even walking, characteristic of the final stages of severe organic diseases of the central nervous system. In children with Rett syndrome, against the background of a total collapse of all spheres of activity, emotional adequacy and attachments corresponding to the level of their mental development are preserved for the longest time. Subsequently, severe movement disorders, deep static disorders, loss muscle tone, profound dementia.

Unfortunately, modern medicine and pedagogy is not able to help children with Rett syndrome. We are forced to admit that this is the most severe disorder among ASD that cannot be corrected.

Atypical autism

The disorder is similar to Kanner's syndrome, but at least one of the required diagnostic criteria is missing. Atypical autism is characterized by:

quite clear violations social interaction,
restricted, stereotyped, repetitive behavior,
one or another sign of abnormal and/or impaired development appears after the age of 3 years.

More often occurs in children with severe specific developmental disorder of receptive speech or with mental retardation.

Autism is becoming more common among children today. For many parents, this diagnosis is tragic, since not everyone is ready to come to terms with this feature of their child. Raising such an unusual child is quite difficult. But there are many famous personalities in the world who suffer from autistic disorders, however, this has not stopped them from achieving significant heights in certain areas of science or culture.

Famous people with autistic disorders

The spectrum of autistic manifestations is very diverse, therefore it is very difficult to specify the definition of this disease. Therefore, it is impossible to say with complete confidence that any media personality suffers from autism. Although it is obvious that the behavioral characteristics of many famous personalities clearly indicate autistic traits. For example, Einstein or Mozart, Bill Gates or Newton, etc.
These individuals have proven themselves to be brilliant specialists in certain fields of activity. Often such people are called autistic savants, i.e. unrecognized geniuses with autism. The disease has been studied very little, which is why it is quite difficult to accurately diagnose it today. Although many celebrities today show autistic signs in their behavior. Who are the most famous autistic people in the world?

The absurd work "Alice in Wonderland" has always been considered by literary critics to be an eccentric but exciting work. That’s why only an author with a special worldview could write it. Since childhood, the writer suffered from severe autistic disorders, which manifested itself in the inability to communicate, incredible shyness and severe stuttering.
Carroll had several hobbies. He was interested in chess, photography, and had a mathematical talent, which allowed him to become the author of many scientific works.

A musician from America, who has a lot of different awards and has a memorable voice. In 2003, the musician was diagnosed with Asperger's disease. The artist himself claims that it was music lessons that helped him overcome the disorder, although he still could not get rid of it completely. But today the musician lives an active life, often rides a bicycle and continues what he loves, taking part in various musical projects.

The most famous British landscape designer with many awards. As a teenager, Gardner began experimenting with plants in the garden of their family home. He is now a successful landscape designer, although he suffers from Asperger's disease. Alan claims that plants help him be happy. His unusual, spectral and detailed vision helps create unique landscape projects.

An actor from the Canadian province, who himself admitted that if it weren’t for Asperger’s syndrome, he would not have been able to so brilliantly play one of the leading roles in his acting career in the film “Ghostbusters.” Autistic people have a fairly narrow range of hobbies, but they are fully invested in what interests them. When the film was being filmed, Dan was literally obsessed with the work of cops and ghosts, which allowed him to get into the role perfectly.

The Renaissance era is immediately associated with this outstanding artist. Michelangelo was unable to build friendly relations with a single person. Although, according to experts, it was precisely this aloofness and lack of communication that helped the artist create so selflessly, devoting all his time to art.

American TV presenter and actress, public figure, and simply an influential person, one of the richest women with a billion-dollar fortune. She has been involved in charity work for many years, including helping children with autism. Since childhood, she showed remarkable learning abilities. At the age of 9, she was raped by one of her relatives. There is no confirmed evidence regarding Oprah's own autism, but experts note some manifestations of the disorder.

Among the famous autistic people is this actor, whose diagnosis was revealed in old age, when he was over 70. The actor himself admits that he likes to think for a long time about the motives of the characters’ behavior and the actions of the people around him, but he avoids all kinds of parties and cannot boast abundance of friends.

An Australian writer who was diagnosed with autism at age 20. I wrote a book about a girl with autism. As a child, they could not diagnose her illness for a long time, considering her to be hard of hearing. She is now a successful writer and creator of a website for people with autism.

A very famous film director who had difficulty communicating and finding a common language with others. He constantly found fault with minor details. Although it was precisely this unreasonable meticulousness and pickiness that made his creations so outstanding. It's hard to say whether Kubrick would have become so famous if he didn't have Asperger's syndrome.

A well-known comedian, he is distinguished by hyperactivity and clumsiness, which allowed experts to suspect the star of autistic disorder. He often suffered from deep depression, which led him to his gravestone.

Not many people know this man. He was engaged in seismology, did not like the public and social events, where there were always a lot of people. He never carried on a conversation unless someone started talking about earthquakes. Charles was able to talk about this natural phenomenon for hours on end, which is what distinguishes autistic people.

A Hollywood film star who, from her youth, could not communicate normally with others, considering all kinds of interpersonal contacts to be sheer torture. To calm herself down, she often used the method of swinging, like a pendulum. The girl successfully dealt with most of her phobias, which helped her achieve Hollywood fame.

An eccentric artist who painted paintings that showed some similarities, which can be explained by a manifestation of autism. Andy is proof that Asperger's disease has an extremely positive impact on creative activity people of art.

Another well-known autist in the world, although his diagnosis has not been definitively confirmed, which does not prevent experts from claiming that the computer genius has Asperger’s disease. He has a habit of disdaining conflicting points of view and swaying back and forth, which is considered a typical manifestation of autism.

There is an assumption by Pentagon analysts that the Russian president has signs of autistic disorder. The statement is unproven, but American scientists suggest that Putin suffered from neurological developmental abnormalities in early childhood.

Several experts confirmed that the notorious politician had autistic disorder. Thomas could not somehow make friends with any person; he was too shy and could not stand loud noises.

Since childhood, the composer could not be around people, which did not stop him from writing his first work at the age of 5, and already at 15 he was a generally recognized genius in music. The composer had an extraordinary memory, a phenomenal ear for music, exclusivity in terms of improvisation. Although those around him noted his impulsiveness and strange behavior, it was difficult to maintain communication with him or even a banal conversation.

The greatest president of the United States, with an incredibly tough character and an inexplicable love for routine activities. He suffered the most depressive disorders, which made life more difficult, but did not prevent him from taking the most important position and being noted in history as one of the most famous autistics.

Widowed wife of Kurt Cobain, famous rock star. She was diagnosed with Asperger's disease at the age of 9, however, she hid the disease for a long time and did not talk about her peculiarity. But one day the rocker admitted that it was her illness that became the basis of her behavior, worldview and character.

A famous American-Russian scientist who wrote an equally famous work - I, Robot. This book made Asimov famous, although even without this he has more than 500 grandiose author's creations.

A famous poet who also suffers from Asperger's disease, which is not surprising considering how talented such individuals can be. Her poems do not have even the slightest analogues in modern poetry. She wrote in short lines, did not give her poems titles, and used punctuation unusually.

An extraordinary physicist and humanist with a mercantile meticulousness to the smallest details. He was overly neat, modest and reserved. But he always had an incredible sense of purpose, even to the point of fanaticism, coupled with clarity of thinking, which always distinguished him from ordinary individuals. An unusual phenomenon for an autistic person was a thirst for communication, although he openly neglected his appearance and was indifferent to fame and glory.

Known to any schoolchild from a physics course, thanks to the law of gravity, which he discovered when an apple fell on him. Newton did not have much contact even with his immediate environment; he was quiet and withdrawn. But he had the ability to concentrate on his work, which helped him become the author of many discoveries in mathematics and astronomy, physics and mechanics.

When remembering famous autistic people, one cannot help but recall the Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who was diagnosed by doctors with brain damage in infancy. Then the doctors admitted that the diagnosis was wrong, however, they are sure that Susan still has autistic disorder. This is probably why the singer does not always cope with excessive emotionality.

Conclusion

Considering what such famous autistic people have achieved in the world, we can safely say that autism cannot in any way be considered an obstacle to achieving their cherished goal. In some way, it even helps people express themselves in the field of art or science, or social activities. Everything is determined by the strength of the individual himself, which is precisely confirmed by all the celebrities described above.
Autistic people are quite common among outstanding people. Many great minds have had various autistic disorders and yet have been able to achieve success. Therefore, parents raising an autistic child do not need to give up. These individuals have clearly proven that autistic characteristics sometimes contribute to talents; you just need to help the child discover his abilities. Your children are no worse, they are simply special. Who knows, maybe a brilliant mathematician or an outstanding artist is growing up in your family now.

Currently, there are a huge number of diseases that are inherited. But it also happens that it is not the disease itself that is transmitted, but a predisposition to it. It's about about autism.

Autism concept

Autism is special disorder mental disorder, which most likely arises due to disorders in the brain and is expressed in an acute deficit of attention and communication. An autistic child does not adapt well socially and practically does not make contact.

This disease is associated with disorders in genes. In some cases, this condition is associated with one gene or In any case, the child is born with an existing pathology in mental development.

Causes of autism

If we consider the genetic aspects of this disease, they are so complex that sometimes it is not at all clear whether it is caused by the interaction of several genes or is it a mutation in one gene.

Still, genetic scientists identify some provoking factors that can lead to the birth of an autistic child:

Old age of the father.
The country in which the baby was born.
Low birth weight.
Lack of oxygen during childbirth.
Prematurity.
Some parents believe that vaccinations can influence the development of the disease, but this fact has not been proven. Perhaps it is simply a coincidence of the timing of vaccination and the manifestation of the disease.
It is believed that boys are more likely to suffer from this disease.
The influence of substances that cause congenital pathologies, which are often associated with autism.
Aggravating effects can be caused by: solvents, heavy metals, phenols, pesticides.
Infectious diseases suffered during pregnancy can also trigger the development of autism.
Smoking, drinking narcotic drugs, alcohol, both during pregnancy and before it, which leads to damage to reproductive gametes.

Autistic children are born for various reasons. And, as you can see, there are a huge number of them. It is almost impossible to predict the birth of a baby with such a deviation in mental development. Moreover, there is a possibility that the predisposition to this disease may not be realized. But no one knows how to guarantee this with 100% certainty.

Forms of manifestation of autism

Although most children with this diagnosis have much in common, autism can manifest itself in different ways. These children contact the outside world in different ways. Depending on this, the following forms of autism are distinguished:

Most doctors believe that the most severe forms autism are quite rare; most often we are dealing with autistic manifestations. If you work with such children and devote enough time to activities with them, then the development of an autistic child will be as close as possible to that of their peers.

Manifestations of the disease

Signs of the disease appear when changes begin in areas of the brain. When and how this happens is still not clear, but most parents notice signs of autistic children already in early childhood. If you take urgent measures when they appear, then it is quite possible to instill in your child communication and self-help skills.

At present, methods for a complete cure for this disease have not yet been found. Small part children enter adulthood on their own, although some of them even achieve some success.

Even doctors are divided into two categories: some believe that it is necessary to continue the search for adequate and effective treatment, and others are convinced that autism is much broader and more than a simple disease.

Surveys of parents have shown that in such children one can often observe:

These qualities were most often demonstrated by older autistic children. Signs that are still often found in such children are certain forms of repetitive behavior, which doctors divide into several categories:

Stereotypy. It manifests itself in swaying of the body, rotation of the head, and constant swaying of the whole body.
Strong need for monotony. Such children usually begin to protest even when their parents decide to rearrange the furniture in their room.
Compulsive behavior. An example is nesting objects and objects in a certain way.
Auto-aggression. Such manifestations are directed towards oneself and can lead to various injuries.
Ritual behavior. For such children, all actions are like a ritual, constant and everyday.
Restricted behavior. for example, it is directed only at one book or one toy, but does not perceive others.

Another manifestation of autism is avoidance of eye contact, they never look into the eyes of the interlocutor.

Symptoms of Autism

This disorder affects the nervous system, and therefore manifests itself primarily as developmental disorders. They are usually noticeable at an early age. Physiologically, autism may not manifest itself in any way; outwardly, such children look quite normal, have the same physique as their peers, but upon careful study, one can see deviations in mental development and behavior.

The main symptoms include:

Lack of learning ability, although intelligence may be quite normal.
Seizures that most often begin to appear during adolescence.
Inability to concentrate.
Hyperactivity, which may occur when a parent or caregiver tries to assign a specific task.
Anger, especially in cases where an autistic child cannot articulate what he wants, or strangers interfere with his ritual actions and disrupt his usual routine.
In rare cases, Savant syndrome occurs when a child has some phenomenal abilities, for example, excellent memory, musical talent, the ability to draw, and others. There is a very small percentage of such children.

Portrait of an autistic child

If parents carefully monitor their baby, they will immediately notice deviations in his development. They may not be able to explain what worries them, but they will say with great accuracy that their child is different from other children.

Autistic children differ significantly from normal and healthy children. The photos clearly demonstrate this. Already in the revival syndrome, they react weakly to any stimuli, for example, to the sound of a rattle.

Such children begin to recognize even the closest person - their mother - much later than their peers. Even when they recognize her, they never reach out, smile, or react in any way to all her attempts to communicate with them.

Such children can lie for hours and look at a toy or a picture on the wall, or they may suddenly become afraid of their own hands. If you look at how autistic children behave, you will notice their frequent rocking in a stroller or crib, and monotonous hand movements.

As they get older, such children do not look more alive; on the contrary, they differ sharply from their peers in their detachment and indifference to everything that happens around them. Most often, when communicating, they do not make eye contact, and if they do look at a person, they look at clothes or facial features.

They do not know how to play group games and prefer loneliness. May be interested in one toy or activity for a long time.

The characteristics of an autistic child may look like this:

Closed.
Detached.
Unsociable.
Detached.
Indifferent.
Those who do not know how to make contact with others.
Constantly performing stereotypical mechanical movements.
Poor vocabulary. The pronoun “I” is never used in speech. They always talk about themselves in the second or third person.

In the children's group, autistic children are very different from ordinary children, the photos only confirm this.

The world through the eyes of an autist

If children with this disease have the skills to speak and construct sentences, then they say that the world for them is a complete chaos of people and events that is completely incomprehensible to them. This is due not only to mental disorders, but also to perception.

Those stimuli from the outside world that are quite familiar to us are perceived negatively by an autistic child. Because it is difficult for them to perceive the world, navigate in the environment, this causes them increased anxiety.

When should parents be wary?

By nature, all children are different, even completely healthy ones differ in their sociability, pace of development, ability to perceive new information. But there are some points that should alert you:

If you notice at least some of the signs listed above in your child, then you should show him to the doctor. The psychologist will give the right recommendations for communication and activities with the baby. Helps determine how severe the symptoms of autism are.

Treatment of autism

It will not be possible to almost completely get rid of the symptoms of the disease, but if parents and psychologists make every effort, it is quite possible that autistic children will acquire communication and self-help skills. Treatment must be timely and comprehensive.

Its main goal should be:

Reduce tension in the family.
Increase functional independence.
Improve quality of life.

Any therapy is selected individually for each child. Methods that give excellent results with one child may not work at all with another. Improvements are observed after using psychosocial assistance techniques, which suggests that any treatment is better than no treatment.

Available special programs, which help the baby master communication skills, self-help, acquire work skills, and reduce the manifestations of symptoms of the disease. The following methods can be used in treatment:

In addition to such programs, drug treatment is usually used. Anti-anxiety medications are prescribed, such as antidepressants, psychotropics, and others. You should not use such medications without a doctor's prescription.

The child’s diet should also undergo changes; it is necessary to exclude foods that have a stimulating effect on the nervous system. The body must receive a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals.

Cheat sheet for parents of autism

When communicating, parents must take into account the characteristics of autistic children. Here are some brief recommendations that will help you establish contact with your child:

You must love your baby for who he is.
Always consider the child's interests.
Strictly observe the rhythm of life.
Try to develop and observe certain rituals that will be repeated every day.
Visit the group or class where your child is studying more often.
Talk to your baby, even if he doesn't answer you.
Try to create a comfortable environment for games and learning.
Always patiently explain the stages of the activity to your child, preferably supporting this with pictures.
Don't get overtired.

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, then do not despair. The main thing is to love him and accept him for who he is, and also to constantly study and visit a psychologist. Who knows, maybe you have a future genius growing up.