Autism causes the development of the disease. Autism - causes, symptoms and types of disease

Autism is a type of congenital disease, the main manifestations of which are reduced to the child's difficulties in trying to communicate with people around him. Autism, whose symptoms also include the inability to express one's own emotions and the inability to understand them in relation to other people, is accompanied by difficulty in speaking and in some cases a decrease in intellectual abilities.

general description

The actual disorder in this disease occurs due to the impossibility of the coordinated work of various parts of the brain. Most people who are diagnosed with autism will always have problems organizing adequate relationships with other people. Meanwhile, diagnosing autism at an early stage of its manifestation in a patient, as well as subsequent treatment, all this allows an increasing number of people to gradually realize their own potential.

The disease has a tendency to appear in a certain type of family, on the basis of which there is an assumption about the possible inheritance of autism. At the moment, a study is underway on the issue of identifying specific genes responsible for the inheritance of this disease.

There is speculation in society that childhood vaccinations, such as those used in mumps, rubella, and measles, can lead to autism. However, there is no confirmation of this fact, which was verified in the framework of some studies. Moreover, it is extremely important that all the required types of vaccinations are given to the child.

So what is autism? Symptoms of this disease, as we have already noted, appear in children (this is a congenital disease) under the age of three. As a rule, parents begin to notice that the child is somewhat behind in development, which is manifested in his inability to speak and behave in a way that is typical for children of his age. It is also possible that the child still begins to speak at the age of his peers, but over time the acquired skills are gradually lost.

The child lags behind in development, and often does not say anything at all, this may give the impression of his deafness. A hearing test confirms the absence of such a deviation. Also, in autism, the patient uses excessive repetition regarding certain behaviors, games, and interests. For example, these may be repetitions of body swaying or an inexplicable attachment to certain objects. A particular disorder necessitates a change in the usual routine in this case.

It should be noted that there is no “typical” behavior in patients with autism, and therefore the generalization and creation of a single image of the patient for all cases is impossible. People with autism can behave differently, which determines the specific form of this disease in each of the cases. Also, parents of children with autism highlight such a feature as their avoidance of eye contact, as well as their preference for playing alone.

Intellectual development, which is to some extent altered by autism, is for this reason below average in most cases.

Often, in adolescence, children fall into, experiencing it greatly, especially if their intelligence is defined as average or above average. Also, some children during this period experience manifestations in the form of seizures, in particular, epileptic ones.

Autism in adults

In adults, the signs of autism appear depending on how severe the disease is in general. The main symptoms include the following:

• Scarcity of gestures, facial expressions;
• Lack of understanding of the elementary rules accepted in communication. An autistic person may look too intently into the eyes or, conversely, avoid eye contact with the interlocutor. He may come too close or, conversely, move too far away, talk too quietly or, conversely, do it too loudly, etc.
• Lack of awareness by an autist of the peculiarities of his behavior (that he can harm or offend by this, etc.).
• Lack of understanding of the emotions, feelings, intentions of other people.
• The ability to build friendships or romantic relationships is nearly impossible.
• Difficulty in addressing someone (first).
• Poor vocabulary, frequent repetition of the same phrases, words.
• The absence of intonations in speech, the similarity of the features of the speech of an autist with the speech of a robot.
• Calmness and confidence in the familiar and routine environment, excessive experience due to changes in it and in life in general.
• The presence of a serious affection for certain objects, habits, places. Strong fear of change.

The course of autism in a mild form indicates the ability of a person at the age of 20-25 to live separately from their parents, in a certain independence. In particular, such an opportunity opens up in case of sufficient development of the mental abilities of an autistic person and the formed skills of communicating with the environment. Partial independence is noted in every third case.

A more severe course of the disease requires constant supervision of an autistic patient with others, especially if he cannot speak and his intelligence is below average.

Autism Diagnosis

The presence of alarming symptoms requires an appeal to the attending physician, after which, as a rule, a medical commission is assembled. It consists of an attending physician, a psychologist/psychiatrist, a neurologist, and other specialists. In addition, parents, an educator or teacher of the child may be present in the commission - information from their side allows you to more accurately determine the condition of the child based on the presence of various points of observation of the listed persons.

The diagnosis of autism determines the need to determine the important features that distinguish this disease from diseases of the type and genetic diseases accompanied by mental retardation, etc.

Autism treatment

Unfortunately, there are no methods of treating this disease, therefore it is impossible to say anything about the complete recovery of a child or an adult. Meanwhile, there are a number of methods with which people with autism can not only live independently, but also communicate with their surroundings.

It is noteworthy that the earlier parents were able to identify autism in a child, and the earlier, respectively, treatment with existing methods began, the better the subsequent prognosis for him, the higher his chances for a full life in society.

Notably, some parents of autistic children hold the idea that an autistic diet can beneficially affect the underlying symptoms of autism.

The basis for this is the assumption that the intestines of autistic patients are not able to absorb proteins such as gluten and casein. As a result of this, if foods with these proteins are excluded, the child will supposedly be cured of autism. Scientists have refuted this idea, pointing to the normal digestion of autistic patients, on the basis of which a gluten-free diet will not give such children anything, respectively, leading neither to an improvement in the condition, nor to a cure.

It should be borne in mind that often in childhood there is a remission of the disease, due to which autism is removed as a diagnosis and attributed to autism spectrum disorders. Often this happens, again, with the use of intensive care. In general, at the moment it is not possible to indicate exact figures in the definition of recovery; unselected samples of children with a cure for this disorder have indicators in this regard in the range of 3-25%.

If you experience symptoms similar to those of autism, you should contact your pediatrician.

Autism, or Kanner's syndrome, is a mental disorder that occurs against the background of low social adaptation. Children with this disease do not seek to interact with the outside world, they are deeply immersed in themselves. In a mild form, this disorder occurs in about 4 out of 1000 babies, and there are significantly fewer patients with severe signs of the disease. Let us consider in detail what autism is and what are its main features.

For many years, autism was considered a type of childhood schizophrenia, but now this version has been refuted. Kanner's syndrome is classified as a mental disorder characterized by a persistent violation of the child's relationship with society. This condition is due to pathological changes in the cerebral cortex, but science has not been able to establish why they occur.

According to the course of the disease, autism is divided into several types.

He can be:

1. Typical. In this case, the symptoms of the disease are noticeable already at an early age. Such children are indifferent to the surrounding reality and inquisitive, react poorly to external stimuli and do not seek to communicate with relatives or other children.
2. Atypical. Such a disease does not make itself felt immediately, as a rule, its signs appear closer to 3 years. At the same time, diagnosing atypical autism is quite difficult, since the symptoms are implicit.
3. Hidden. There is very little information about patients with this diagnosis, since the clinical symptoms of this type of autism appear weakly and irregularly. Most often, children are simply considered closed and unsociable, attributing all oddities in behavior to character traits.

Signs of autism in children depend on the form and severity of the disease, which makes it difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. It is not uncommon for a disease to be detected only after persistent symptoms develop that are difficult to correct.

Causes of autism in children

Doctors do not have an exact answer to the question of what is the cause of autism and why it occurs. It is believed that pathological changes in the brain, due to which the disease develops, are caused by disorders at the genetic level.

Only possible risk factors have been identified relatively accurately.

The likelihood of having such a baby increases in the following cases:

• one of the parents is over 35 years old;
• pregnancy proceeds against the background of pathology;
• in the process of bearing a child, the woman's body was exposed to negative influences (bad ecology, taking potent drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or drugs abuse);
• in the family of one of the parents, children with Kanner syndrome were already born;
• among relatives there are persons suffering from mental disorders.

There was a theory that autism most often occurs in babies who are firstborn. However, there is another opinion, some scientists argue that with the advent of each new family member, the risk that the next child will suffer from autism increases.

Did you know? Boys are diagnosed with this disease 4 times more often than girls. No explanation for this phenomenon has been found so far.

The first signs and symptoms of the disease in a child

The characteristic manifestations of Kanner's syndrome include the following symptoms:

1. Refusal to communicate with others. The child avoids contacts not only with adults, but also with peers, ignores when they turn to him. It is problematic for such a patient to talk to someone first, and if the need arises, he experiences severe discomfort.
2. Violation of interaction in society. Autistic kids prefer not to look into the eyes of others, they ignore collective games and activities. A child with this disorder is often unable to even point a finger at what he needs. Instead, he uses the hand of his mother or another relative who is nearby.
3. Behavioral monotony and a tendency to certain rituals. A child diagnosed with autism is able to react sharply to any, even a slight deviation from the “comfort zone”. For example, he can get nervous when changing his usual route from the store to the house and throw a real tantrum if the tea is poured into the wrong mug that he is used to using. Such kids prefer monotonous games, they are often fascinated by the ordering of objects, namely grouping them by size or color.
4. Difficulties with verbal contact. Quite often, such children have delays in speech development, and sometimes the baby does not speak at all. But there is also the opposite situation, when a child speaks better than his peers for a certain time, and then stops communicating. Sometimes autistic people speak in unnatural, pretentious phrases, and their speech is distinguished by monotony of intonation.
5. Echolalia. This term refers to the meaningless repetition of words and phrases after the interlocutor. It is typical for children with Kanner's syndrome to answer a question with a question, and you can ask about the same thing many times in a row, the child will monotonously reproduce what he heard.
6. Intellectual disorders. Mental retardation in autistic people is a rather rare phenomenon, and approximately 10% of such patients are characterized by accelerated development. But at the same time, children with this diagnosis often experience problems with concentration and concentration, in addition, they may be interested in only one discipline, for example, drawing or singing, and ignore the rest.
7. The blunting of the instinct of self-preservation. This phenomenon is called auto-aggression, many autistic people deliberately injure themselves, for example, bite their hand until they bleed or strike. In addition, they are almost devoid of a sense of danger, and are able to run out onto the roadway or climb onto the windowsill. And having been injured, the child immediately forgets the negative experience and will be able to repeat these actions more than once.
8. Strange gait. The hallmark of most autistic children is their unusual way of getting around. Some prefer to hop around, while others walk on their toes, waving their arms, move with a side step, or sway while walking. In any case, such a baby is characterized by some angularity and awkwardness.

On a note. All of these signs in one patient are quite rare, as a rule, the presence of 2-3 described symptoms is enough to suspect autism.

At what age is the disease most often diagnosed?

The diagnosis of "autism" can be made to a child as early as 2 years old with pronounced signs of this disease. Most often, the symptoms appear when trying to socialize the baby, for example, send him to kindergarten, when his "otherness" to other children of the same age becomes apparent.

But autism can make itself felt at a later age, while the level of intellectual development in such a child will be much higher. In other words, the disease is diagnosed when obvious symptoms appear.

Main characteristics by age

Depending on the time of appearance of the first signs of the disease, it is divided into the following types:

1. Early childhood autism. This disease manifests itself before the age of 2 years and is characterized by low attachment of the baby to the mother, lack of response to sound stimuli in a normal state of hearing, and inadequate behavior in response to external circumstances. Often such children prefer to play with any one object, while others ignore.
2. Children's autism. This disorder is diagnosed in children from 3 to 11 years old. Patients with a similar disorder by the age of 3-4 do not yet speak or utter only a few phrases, do not show initiative in communication, and have difficulty mastering elementary skills. Any change in the familiar environment causes fear and irritation.
3. Teenage autism. This form of the disease is diagnosed from 11 to 18 years. Adolescents with this problem do not feel the need for communication and for the most part seek loneliness. Due to a lack of understanding of the feelings and moods of other people, they cannot build friendships or romantic relationships, and puberty is much more difficult than for ordinary teenagers.

Attention! These symptoms are not always evidence of autism; to make an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to consult a specialist and conduct a series of studies.

Diagnosis of the disease

In the process of diagnosis, it is first of all important to differentiate autism from other diseases that can cause similar changes in the child's condition.

For these purposes, the following studies are carried out:

• consultation with an otolaryngologist;
• electroencephalography;
• analysis for hormone levels.

And also testing is carried out using various methods that help to draw a conclusion about the intellectual level of the child, his reactions and the severity of the symptoms of the disease.

What tests will help detect autism in a child at home

Diagnosis of autism is sometimes difficult even for experienced doctors, and it is impossible to identify this disease at home. But there are tests with which parents of babies aged 1.5 years can determine how likely their child is to have such a violation.

You will need to answer the following questions:

1. Does the child want to be held, put on his knees, or rocked?
2. Does the child show interest in other children?
3. Does he like to climb somewhere, like climbing stairs?
4. Does the child play with the parents?
5. Is the child able to point a finger at an object that attracts attention?
6. Is the child often busy imitating some kind of activity, for example, driving a car or cooking “food” in a toy dish? Will he do it if asked?
7. Does the child bring items to show to their parents?
8. How often does your child make eye contact with strangers?
9. Can he build a pyramid or a tower out of cubes?

Attention! When most questions are answered in the negative, the chances of a child having autism are very high. In this case, urgent consultation with a specialist is needed.

Treatment of autism in children

It is impossible to cure autism, it remains only to correct the patient's behavior and instill certain skills in him.

As part of the therapy, the following methods are used:

• classes with a speech therapist;
• behavioral therapy;
• sensory integration (movement therapy);
• art therapy (treatment by drawing);
• animal therapy (treatment by contact with animals);
• tomatis (using sounds to influence the cerebral cortex).

In addition, children are prescribed drugs of the following groups:

• neuroleptics;
• nootropics;
• tranquilizers;
• vitamin complexes.

And also the child can be prescribed a diet based on the exclusion of gluten and casein foods. The ban applies to dairy products, products made from wheat, barley or rye. To understand how effective diet therapy is, restrictions will need to be followed for at least 6 months.

Methods for teaching a child to communicate

In the social adaptation of an autistic child, not only specialists, but also parents should participate.

To instill communication skills in your baby, you need to adhere to the following rules:

1. In games, give him the right to leadership and initiative.
2. Let your child decide when the game ends.
3. Involve the child in games with other children, not paying attention to his negative emotions.
4. Regularly create situations when the baby needs to contact people.
5. Always praise and encourage the child for attempts to communicate independently.
6. If the child does not speak, find other ways to "share information", such as through gestures, facial expressions, sounds or images.

Attention! Do not do something instead of the child, if he did not ask. And also do not put pressure on the baby when making decisions. He needs time to weigh everything and think it over.

How to teach everyday skills

Teaching elementary skills to an autistic person can take quite a long time, so parents need to be patient. There is no single method of how to teach a baby to wash his hands, brush his teeth or put things in their place. It can be learning in the form of a game or by example.

The main thing is to observe the following rules:

1. Before starting to master any skill, show the child the appropriate pictures or demonstrate several times how to do it.
2. Perform actions in strict sequence and do not violate it. For example, when washing hands, first pull up the sleeves, then turn on the tap, and only then take the soap.
3. Repeat classes regularly so that the child gets used to doing something.

Autism is a diagnosis that terrifies every parent after talking with a child psychiatrist. The problem of autistic disorders has been studied for a very long time, while remaining one of the most mysterious pathologies of the psyche. Autism is especially pronounced at an early age (early childhood autism - RDA), isolating the child from society and his own family.

What is autism?

Autism is a general developmental disorder with a maximum deficit in the sphere of communication and emotions. In the very name of the disease lies its essence: within oneself. A person with autism never directs his energy, speech, gestures outward. Everything he does has no social meaning. Most often, the diagnosis is made before 3-5 years, receiving the name RDA. Only mild cases of autism are first detected in adolescents and adults.

Causes of Autism

In most cases, children with early childhood autism are physically healthy, they have no visible external defects. Pregnancy in mothers proceeds without features. The structure of the brain of sick babies practically does not differ from the average statistical norm. Many even note the special attractiveness of the face of an autistic child. But in some cases, the connection of the disease with other signs is still present:

• maternal rubella infection during pregnancy
• tuberous sclerosis
• fat metabolism disorders - obese women have a higher risk of having a child with autism
• chromosomal abnormalities

All these conditions adversely affect the brain and can lead to autistic manifestations. There is evidence that genetic predisposition plays a role: the risk of developing the disease in the presence of autism in the family is slightly higher. But the true causes of autism are still not clear.

How does an autistic child perceive the world?

It is believed that an autistic person cannot combine details into a single image. That is, he sees a person as unconnected ears, nose, hands and other parts of the body. A sick child practically does not distinguish inanimate objects from animated ones. In addition, all external influences (sounds, colors, light, touch) cause discomfort. The kid is trying to get away from the world around him.

Autism Symptoms

There are 4 main signs of autism in children, which manifest themselves in varying degrees.

• Violation of social behavior
• Communication breakdown
• stereotypical behavior
• Early signs of autism (before 3-5 years)

Social Interaction Disorders

No or severely impaired eye-to-eye contact

An autistic child does not perceive the image of the interlocutor as a whole, therefore he often looks “through” the person.

Poor facial expressions, often not adequate to the situation

Sick children rarely smile when trying to cheer them up. But often they can laugh for their own reasons, no one around them understands. The face of an autistic person is usually mask-like, with occasional grimaces.

Gestures are used only to indicate needs

Inability to understand the emotions of others

The brain of a healthy person is arranged in such a way that when looking at the interlocutor, one can easily determine his mood (joy, sadness, fear, surprise, anger). An autist does not have such abilities.

Lack of interest in peers

Children with autism do not take part in peer games. They sit side by side and immerse themselves in their own world. Even in a crowd of kids, you can quickly find an autistic child - he is surrounded by an "aura" of extreme loneliness. If an autist pays attention to children, he perceives them as inanimate objects.

Difficulties in imaginative play and knowledge of social roles

A healthy baby quickly learns to roll a car, cradle a doll, treat a plush hare. The autistic child does not understand social roles in play. Moreover, the autistic person does not perceive the toy as an object as a whole. He can find a wheel by the car and spin it for several hours in a row.

No response to communication and expression of emotions by parents

It used to be thought that autistic people were generally incapable of emotional connection with their families. But it is now known that the departure of the mother causes anxiety in sick children. In the presence of family members, the child is more contact, less obsessed with his studies. The difference is only in the reaction to the absence of parents. A healthy baby gets upset, cries, calls his mother if he has left his field of vision for a long time. The autist becomes anxious, but takes no action to get his parents back. And there is no way to accurately determine the feelings that arise in him during separation.

Communication breakdown

Severe speech delay or lack thereof (mutism)

Children with severe autism do not acquire language. They use several words for needs, using them in one form (drink, eat, sleep). If speech does appear, then it is incoherent, not aimed at understanding by other people. Children can repeat the same phrase for hours, often devoid of semantic load. Autistic people talk about themselves in the second and third person (Kolya is thirsty.)

Abnormal speech patterns (repetitions, echolalia)

When answering a question, a sick child repeats the whole phrase or part of it.

Adult asks: Are you thirsty?
Child replies: Are you thirsty?

• Too loud or soft speech, wrong intonation
• No reaction to own name
• The “Age of Questions” Is Not Coming or Lagging

Autistic children, unlike ordinary children, do not pester their parents with hundreds of questions about the world around them. If this period does come, then the questions are very monotonous and have no practical significance.

stereotypical behavior

Obsession with a particular activity with the inability to switch

A child can spend hours building towers or sorting cubes by color. Pulling him out of this state can be very difficult.

Performing daily rituals

Autistic people feel comfortable only in the environment they are used to. If you change the daily routine, the route of the walk or the arrangement of things in the room, you can achieve withdrawal into yourself or an aggressive reaction of a sick baby.

Multiple repetitions of movements devoid of semantic load

Autistic children are characterized by episodes of self-stimulation. These are stereotypical repetitive movements that the baby uses in a frightening or unfamiliar environment.

• clapping
• snapping fingers
• head shaking
• other monotonous movements

Characteristic obsessions, fears. In frightening situations, attacks of aggression and self-aggression are possible.

Early manifestations of autism in children

Most often, the disease makes itself felt quite early. Already by the age of one, you can notice the lack of a smile, a reaction to the name and unusual behavior of the baby. It is believed that already in the first three months of life, children with autism are less mobile, have poor facial expressions and inadequate reactions to external stimuli.

Reminder for parents

If you see a strong tantrum in someone else's child, it may be a child with autism or another mental disorder, so you should behave as tactfully as possible.

IQ in autism

Most children with autism have mild to moderate mental retardation. This is due to brain defects and learning difficulties. If the disease is combined with epilepsy and chromosomal abnormalities, then the level of intelligence corresponds to profound mental retardation. With mild forms of the disease and the dynamic development of speech, intelligence can be normal or even above average.

The main feature of autism is selective intelligence. That is, children can be strong in mathematics, music, drawing, but at the same time lag far behind their peers in other parameters. The phenomenon of an autistic person being extremely gifted in any area is called savantism. Savants can play a tune after hearing it just once. Or draw a picture seen once, accurate to halftones. Or keep columns of numbers in your head, performing the most complex computational operations without additional funds.

Asperger's Syndrome

There is a special kind of autistic disorder called Asperger's syndrome. It is thought to be a mild form of classic autism that appears later in life.

• Asperger's syndrome appears after 7-10 years
• IQ is normal or above average
• speech skills within the normal range
• may have problems with intonation and volume of speech
• obsession with one lesson or study of one phenomenon (a person with Asperger's syndrome can spend hours telling interlocutors a story that is of no interest to anyone, not paying attention to their reaction)
• impaired coordination of movements: awkward walking, strange postures
• self-centeredness, inability to negotiate and seek compromises

Most of those suffering from Asperger's syndrome successfully study at schools, institutes, find jobs, create families with the right upbringing and support.

Rett syndrome

A severe disease of the nervous system associated with a violation in the X chromosome occurs only in girls. With similar violations, male fetuses are not viable and die in utero. The frequency of the disease is approximately 1:10,000 girls. In addition to deep autism, which completely isolates the child from the outside world, this syndrome is characterized by the following features:

• relatively normal development in the first 6-18 months of life
• head growth retardation after 6-18 months
• loss of skills and purposeful hand movements
• stereotypical hand movements like washing or shaking hands
• poor coordination and low motor activity
• loss of speech skills

In contrast to classical autism, Rett syndrome is often characterized by underdevelopment of the brain and epileptic activity, the prognosis for this disease is unfavorable. Correction of autism and movement disorders is difficult.

Autism Diagnosis

The first symptoms of autism seen by parents. It is the relatives who are the first to pay attention to the strange behavior of the child. This happens especially early if the family already has small children and there is someone to compare with. The sooner parents begin to sound the alarm and resort to the help of specialists, the more chances an autistic person has to socialize and lead a normal life.

Testing with special questionnaires. In childhood autism, diagnosis is carried out by interviewing parents and studying the behavior of the child in his usual environment.

• Autism Diagnostic Inventory (ADI-R)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS)
• Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
• Autism Behavioral Questionnaire (ABC)
• Autism Evaluation Checklist (ATEC)
• Autism in Young Children Questionnaire (CHAT)

Instrumental Methods:

• Ultrasound of the brain (to exclude brain damage that causes characteristic symptoms)
• EEG - to detect epileptic seizures (autism is sometimes accompanied by epilepsy)
• Hearing test by an audiologist - to rule out speech delay due to

Parents and others may not correctly perceive the behavior of a child with autism (see the table-memo explaining the child's behavior).

Autism treatment

The answer to the main question: is autism treated? -Not. There is no cure for this disease. There is no such pill, after drinking which an autistic child will get out of his "shell" and socialize. The only way to adjust an autistic person to life in society is through persistent daily activities and the creation of a supportive environment. This is a great work of parents and teachers, which almost always bears fruit.

Principles for raising an autistic child:

• Understand that autism is a way of being. A child with this condition sees, hears, thinks and feels differently from most people.
• Create a favorable environment for the life, development and education of the child. A frightening environment and an unstable daily routine inhibit the skills of an autistic person and force them to go deeper into themselves.
• Connect a psychologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist and other specialists, if necessary, to work with the child.

Stages of treatment for autism

• Developing the skills necessary for learning - if the child does not establish contact - it is necessary to establish it. If there is no speech, it is necessary to develop at least its rudiments.
• Elimination of non-constructive forms of behavior:
  aggression and self-aggression
  self-care and obsession
  fears and obsessions
• Learning to imitate and observe
• Teaching social roles and games (feed the doll, roll the car, play doctor)
• Emotional contact training

Behavioral Therapy for Autism

The most common therapy for childhood autism syndrome is based on the principles of behaviorism (behavioral psychology). One of the subtypes of such treatment is ABA therapy.

It is based on the observation of the behavior and reactions of the child. After studying all the features of a particular baby, incentives are selected. For some, this is a favorite food, for someone - music, sounds or the touch of fabric. Then all the desired responses are reinforced by such encouragement. Simply put: did the right thing - got a candy. Thus, contact with the child appears, the necessary skills are fixed and destructive behavior in the form of tantrums and self-aggression disappears.

speech therapy classes

Almost all autistic people have some form of speech problem that prevents them from communicating with those around them. Regular classes with speech therapists allow you to adjust intonation, correct pronunciation and prepare your child for school.

Develop social and self-care skills

The main problem of autistic children is the lack of motivation for everyday activities and games. It is difficult to captivate them, it is difficult to accustom them to the daily routine, maintaining hygiene. To consolidate useful skills, special cards are used. The sequence of actions is written or drawn on them in detail. For example, getting out of bed, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, and so on.

Medical therapy

Treatment of autism with drugs is used only in crisis situations, when destructive behavior prevents the baby from developing. But we must not forget that tantrums, crying, stereotyped actions are still a way to communicate with the world. It is much worse if a calm kid with autism sits in a room all day and tears paper without making contact. Therefore, the use of all sedatives and psychotropic drugs should be strictly according to indications.

There is an opinion that it contributes to the rapid recovery of an autist (see). But so far there is no reliable scientific data on such miraculous healings.

Unfortunately, quack methods of stem cell treatment, micropolarization and the use of nootropics (etc.) remain popular. These methods are not only useless, but can also be hazardous to health. And given the special vulnerability of autistic children, the harm of such a “treatment” can be enormous.

Conditions that mimic autism

ADHD

Often mistaken for autistic manifestations attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is believed that every third child has certain signs of this syndrome. The main symptoms of attention deficit: restlessness, difficulty in learning the school curriculum. Children cannot concentrate on one lesson for a long time, they behave too mobilely. There are also echoes of ADHD in adults who find it difficult to make mature decisions, remember dates and events. Such a syndrome should be identified as early as possible and treatment should begin: psychostimulants and sedatives, in conjunction with classes with a psychologist, will help to correct behavior.

Hearing loss - hearing impairment of varying degrees

Hearing-impaired children have a speech delay of varying degrees: from mutism to the incorrect pronunciation of certain sounds. They respond poorly to the name, do not comply with requests and seem naughty. All this is very similar to autistic traits, so parents in the first place rush to a psychiatrist. A competent specialist will refer the child to an examination of auditory function. After correction with hearing aids, the development of the child returns to normal.

Schizophrenia

For a long time, autism was considered one of the manifestations of childhood schizophrenia. Currently, it is known that these are two completely different diseases, not related to each other.

Schizophrenia, unlike autism, begins later in life. Before 5-7 years, it practically does not occur. Symptoms develop gradually. Parents note oddities in the child's behavior: fears, obsessions, withdrawal into oneself, talking with oneself. Later, delusions and hallucinations join. During the course of the disease, small remissions are observed with subsequent deterioration. The treatment of schizophrenia is medication, it is prescribed by a psychiatrist.

Autism in a child is not a sentence. Nobody knows why this disease occurs. Few people can explain what an autistic child feels when in contact with the outside world. But one thing is certain: with proper care, early autism correction, activities and support from parents and teachers, children can lead a normal life, study, work and be happy.

Autism - what is it? Causes of Autism, Symptoms and Early Signs

The syndrome develops in the first years of a child's life, when there is an absence or inadequate reaction to auditory or visual stimuli, strange fears, and repetitive behavior. If similar symptoms are observed in a teenager, this diagnosis is doubtful.

The level of intellectual development in this disease can be very different: from deep mental retardation to giftedness in certain areas of knowledge and art; in some cases, children with autism do not have speech, there are deviations in the development of motor skills, attention, perception, emotional and other areas of the psyche. More than 80% of children with autism are disabled.

What it is?

Autism is a psychiatric disorder resulting from a variety of brain disorders and characterized by a wide-ranging, marked communication deficit, as well as limited social interaction, minor interests, and repetitive activities.

These signs of autism usually appear at the age of three. If similar conditions occur, but with less pronounced signs and symptoms, then they are classified as autism spectrum disorders.

Causes of Autism

Most often, children with RDA are physically absolutely healthy, they do not show any visible external defects. In mothers, pregnancy proceeds without features. In sick babies, the structure of the brain practically does not differ from the norm. Many even notice the special attractiveness of the facial part of an autistic baby.

However, in some cases, other signs of the disease still appear:

• infection of the mother with rubella during pregnancy;
• chromosomal abnormalities;
• tuberous sclerosis;
• fat metabolism disorders - obese women have a high risk of giving birth to a child with congenital autism.

All of the above conditions negatively affect the child's brain and can lead to the development of autism. According to research, genetic predisposition plays a role: if there is an autistic person in the family, the risk of developing the disease increases. However, reliable reasons have not yet been named.

How does an autistic child perceive the world?

It is believed that an autistic person cannot combine details into a single image. That is, he sees a person as unconnected ears, nose, hands and other parts of the body. A sick child practically does not distinguish inanimate objects from animated ones. In addition, all external influences (sounds, colors, light, touch) cause discomfort. The kid is trying to get away from the world around him.

Symptoms of autism in a child

In some children, symptoms of autism can be detected as early as infancy. Most often, autism manifests itself by the age of three. Signs of autism may vary depending on the child's developmental level and age (see photo).

Behavioral characteristics used to describe autism syndrome:

The development of non-verbal and verbal communication is impaired. Characteristic:

1. Speech is normal, but the child cannot talk to others;
2. Speech is abnormal in content and form, that is, the child repeats phrases heard somewhere that do not apply to this situation;
3. Lack of facial expressions and gestures. Speech may also be absent;
4. The child never smiles at the interlocutor, does not look into his eyes;
5. Speech is abnormal phonetically (problems with intonation, rhythm, monotony of speech).

The development of the imagination is impaired, which leads to a limited range of interests. Characteristic:

1. Preference is given to solitude, games with oneself;
2. Lack of imagination and interest in imaginary events;
3. Craving for a certain object and experiencing an obsessive desire to constantly hold it in his hands;
4. Unnatural, nervous, aloof behavior;
5. An autistic child shows tantrums when the environment changes;
6. Feels the requirement to repeat exactly the same actions;
7. Focuses on one thing.

Impaired development of social skills. Characteristic:

1. Ignoring the feelings and existence of other people (even parents);
2. They do not share their problems with their loved ones, because they do not see the need for this;
3. Children do not want to communicate and be friends with peers;
4. They never imitate either facial expressions or gestures of other people or repeat these actions unconsciously, without connecting them in any way with the situation.

People with autism are characterized by uneven development, which gives them the opportunity to be talented in some narrow area (music, mathematics). Autism is characterized by a violation of the development of social, mental, speech skills.

Autism in a child older than 11 years

Simple communication skills are mastered, but the child prefers to spend time in a deserted room. There are other signs as well:

• interest is directed to only one area, a toy, a cartoon, a transfer;
• attention deficit;
• aimless complex movements;
• compliance with their own, often ridiculous from the outside, rules;
• incomprehensible fears also take place;
• hyperactivity;
• the need for a uniform arrangement of furniture and things in the house - if it is moved, the child may have a tantrum or a panic attack;
• the child must follow a certain sequence when dressing, waking up, going to bed;
• self-directed aggression.

Teaching children with autism is difficult, but this does not mean that all autistic people have a low IQ - it is difficult for them to quickly change their occupation and scatter their attention equally on several subjects. Parenting requires great effort on the part of parents: after all, if a baby has learned to go to the potty or change clothes at home, this does not mean that he can do it at a party or in kindergarten.

Symptoms of the disease between the ages of 2 and 11 years

Children with autism at this age still experience symptoms relevant to the previous period. The child does not respond to his own name, does not look into the eyes, likes to be alone, there is no interest in other children. In addition, other characteristic symptoms of the disease are noted:

1. Perhaps, again, the repetition of the same type of actions (peculiar rituals), when a change in the familiar environment, he develops severe anxiety.
2. The child knows only a few words, may not speak at all.
3. It is possible that the child constantly repeats the same word, he does not support the conversation.
4. For the most part, children with autism with great effort acquire skills that are new to them, at school age they do not have the ability to read or write.

Some children develop an interest in a certain type of activity, such as math, music, drawing, etc.

Signs of early childhood autism before age 2

In most cases, the manifestations of the disease are observed in children during the first year of their life. There may be characteristic differences in the behavior of a sick child from the behavior of peers. The following symptoms are also noted:

1. The child rarely smiles;
2. No attachment to mother. So, the child does not cry, like other children, when she goes somewhere, he does not smile at her and does not reach for her arms;
3. A child with autism does not look at the face of the parents, into their eyes;
4. Perhaps an inadequate response of the child to stimuli, for others insignificant (light, muffled sounds, etc.), in addition, he may experience fear because of them.
5. The child's aggressiveness towards other children is noted, he does not seek to communicate with them and to general games;
6. A sick child prefers only one toy (or a separate part of it) in the game, there is no interest in other toys;
7. There is a delay in the development of speech. So, by 12 months the child does not babble, does not use the simplest words by the age of 16 months, by the age of 24 months does not reproduce simple phrases.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that such symptoms are by no means exclusive indicators of the relevance of autism, although they require some concern. Therefore, the child's avoidance of society, his silence, self-absorption - all these manifestations must be discussed with the pediatrician.

IQ in autism

Most children with autism have mild to moderate mental retardation. This is due to brain defects and learning difficulties. If the disease is combined with microcephaly, epilepsy and chromosomal abnormalities, then the level of intelligence corresponds to profound mental retardation. With mild forms of the disease and the dynamic development of speech, intelligence can be normal or even above average.

The main feature of autism is selective intelligence. That is, children can be strong in mathematics, music, drawing, but at the same time lag far behind their peers in other parameters. The phenomenon of an autistic person being extremely gifted in any area is called savantism. Savants can play a tune after hearing it just once. Or draw a picture seen once, accurate to halftones. Or keep columns of numbers in your head, performing the most complex computational operations without additional funds.

Severity

There are several degrees of severity, according to which it is even more clear what autism is:

Autism Diagnosis

External clinical signs of autism in a child of the first year of life are practically absent, and only experienced parents with more than 1 baby in the family manage to notice any developmental abnormalities with which they go to the doctor.

If there are already cases of autism in the family or in the family, then it is extremely important to carefully monitor the child and seek medical help in time if necessary. The sooner a child is diagnosed, the easier it will be for him to adapt to the world around him and society.

The main methods for diagnosing autism in children are:

• examination of the child by an otolaryngologist and a hearing test - this is necessary to exclude speech development delay due to hearing loss;
• EEG - carried out in order to detect epilepsy, since sometimes autism can be manifested by epileptic seizures;
• Ultrasound of the brain - allows you to identify or exclude damage and anomalies in the structure of the brain that can provoke symptoms of the disease;
• conducting tests with special questionnaires.

Parents themselves must correctly assess the changes in the behavior of a child who may have autism.

Autism treatment

The answer to the main question: is autism treated? -Not. There is no cure for this disease. There is no such pill, after drinking which an autistic child will get out of his "shell" and socialize. The only way to adjust an autistic person to life in society is through persistent daily activities and the creation of a supportive environment. This is a great work of parents and teachers, which almost always bears fruit.

Principles for raising an autistic child:

1. Create a favorable environment for the life, development and education of the child. A frightening environment and an unstable daily routine inhibit the skills of an autistic person and force them to go deeper into themselves.
2. Understand that autism is a way of being. A child with this condition sees, hears, thinks and feels differently from most people.
3. Connect a psychologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist and other specialists, if necessary, to work with the child.

At the present stage, only a corrective program compiled by a competent specialist can help sick children - a sequence of actions that are carried out not in order to cure autism (it is not treated), but in order to maximize the child's adaptation to environmental conditions.

To fulfill this program, the help of parents is very important, because for the baby the whole world is incomprehensible and hostile.

Correction is carried out in special rehabilitation centers (for example, Our Sunny World or Childhood). The corrective program depends on the form and severity of the disease. It includes:

• drug treatment;
• gluten-free diet;
• hippotherapy;
• behavioral therapy;
• music therapy;
• game therapy;
• dolphin therapy;
• massage.

Classes for different types of therapy can be carried out in different centers. So, hippotherapy is usually carried out in a specially equipped arena, music treatment - in special rooms. Therapeutic exercise and massage are usually carried out in the same clinic.

What to do?

Yes, autism is a lifelong developmental disorder. But thanks to timely diagnosis and early corrective assistance, much can be achieved: adapt the child to life in society; teach him to deal with his own fears; control emotions.

1. The most important thing is not to disguise the diagnosis behind supposedly "more euphonious" and "socially acceptable". Do not run away from the problem and do not fix all the attention on the negative aspects of the diagnosis, such as: disability, misunderstanding of others, conflicts in the family, and so on. The hypertrophied idea of ​​a child as a genius is just as harmful as the depressed state of his failure.
2. It is necessary without hesitation to abandon tormenting illusions and pre-planned plans for life. Accept the child for who he really is. To act on the basis of the interests of the child, creating an atmosphere of love and goodwill around him, organizing his world until he learns to do it on his own.

Remember that without your support, a child with autism will not survive.

Teaching an autistic child

An autistic child, as a rule, cannot study in a regular school. More often, homeschooling is done by parents or a visiting specialist. Special schools have been opened in large cities. Training in them is carried out according to special methods.

The most common training programs:

• “Time on the floor”: the technique offers treatment and communication skills training to be carried out in a playful way (a parent or teacher plays with a child on the floor for several hours).
• "Applied Behavioral Analysis": step-by-step training under the guidance of a psychologist from simple skills to the formation of colloquial speech.
• The method of the program "More than words" teaches parents to understand the non-verbal way of communicating with the child using gestures, facial expressions, his gaze, etc. The psychologist (or parents) helps the child develop new methods for communicating with other people that are more understandable to them.
• Card exchange learning technique: used for severe autism and a child who is unable to speak. In the learning process, the child is helped to remember the meaning of various cards and use them for communication. This gives the child the opportunity to take the initiative and facilitates communication.
• "Social stories" are original fairy tales written by teachers or parents. They should describe situations that cause fears and anxiety of the child, and the thoughts and emotions of the heroes of the stories suggest the desired behavior of the child in such a situation.
• The TEACCH program: the methodology recommends an individual approach to each child, taking into account his characteristics, the purpose of education. This technique can be combined with other learning technologies.

A strict daily routine, constant and not always successful classes with a child with autism, leave an imprint on the life of the whole family. Such conditions require unusual patience and tolerance from family members. But only love and patience will help to achieve even the slightest progress.

Autism prognosis

The number of British studies that talk about qualitative changes and are devoted to long-term forecasting is small. Some autistic adults gain minor improvements in communication skills, but for more, these skills only get worse.

Forecasts for the development of autists are as follows: 10% of adult patients have several friends, require some support; 19% have a relative degree of independence, but remain at home and need daily supervision, as well as significant support; 46% need the care of an autistic disorder specialist; and 12% of patients require highly organized hospital care.

Swedish data from 2005 in a group of 78 autistic adults showed even worse results. Of the total, only 4% lived an independent life. Since the 1990s, and also since the early 2000s, the number of reported cases of autism has increased significantly. Since 2011-2012, an autism spectrum disorder has been observed in one in 50 schoolchildren in the United States, as well as in one in 38th schoolchildren in South Korea.

The term "autism" (autismus) was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, but this pathology of mental development has not yet been fully studied. Autism in children is accompanied by a number of signs and symptoms that lead to a break with the surrounding reality. A child with this disorder withdraws into himself and painfully perceives any interference in his inner space. Not all experts classify autism as a mental disorder. Some regard it as a special psycho-emotional state. In Russia, autism is considered a disease, so further it will be considered from the point of view of the disease.

The origin of this disease is unknown, as well as the single causes of autism in children have not been clarified at the moment. This pathology does not have a clear mechanism of manifestation at the molecular and cellular level. Illness occurs because different parts of the brain don't work together. The following are a number of factors that can cause the disease:

• Heredity. The risk of having an autistic child is higher in those families where there is already a child with this disease. With each subsequent pregnancy, the risk of giving birth to a sick person increases by 2 times;
• Infections. If the mother has had rubella, chickenpox or smallpox during pregnancy;
• Other congenital pathologies. Autism is often accompanied by congenital diseases such as cerebral palsy or tuberous sclerosis;
• Violation of maternal fat metabolism. In simple terms, maternal obesity may be the cause of autism;
• Chromosomal abnormalities;
• Ecology, intoxication of the body with medicines, chemicals during pregnancy.

The development of autism can also be influenced by the environment and a number of social factors, but more often it is one or more of the above reasons.

Some vaccines are often named among the causes of autism, but at the moment the effect of vaccinations on the development of pathology has not been proven.

Manifestations of autism

Most often, autism can be diagnosed by the age of three. Some signs of deviation can be considered even before the year. If there is a predisposition, a specialist can determine the presence of a pathology at 3 months. In boys, this pathology is found more often than in girls. Later, the signs of the manifestation of autism for different age categories will be considered in more detail.

Individual for each case. An autist does not distinguish between animate and inanimate objects, he is not able to perceive a separate person as one whole. A person for him is a set of incoherent elements (eyes, ears, nose, hands and other parts of the body).

Such a baby has impaired perception of signals, which is developed in healthy people: he reacts weakly to strong signals, on the contrary, very violently to weak ones. For example, if you call him in a loud voice, he will not pay attention, and if you call him quietly and even in a whisper, it can excite him.

The most common symptoms of autism in children are described below.

Disruption of interaction with the outside world. It appears as follows:

• Lack of interest in peers. Usually children like other children, they try to make contact with them, they are happy when they meet them on the street. This interest is completely absent in autistic children who keep apart and withdraw into themselves;
• Lack of empathy for parents. An autistic child tries to avoid all physical contact. For example, if you ask such a child to pass a toy, he will throw it on the floor, because putting it in his hands means making physical contact. In infancy, such protection may be manifested in the fact that the newborn reacts violently when the mother takes him in her arms. And yet, it has been proven that autistic people suffer in the absence of parents. It's just that if a healthy child cries, screams, calls for mom, then an autistic person does not express his concern in any way;
• Lack of interest in games with pronounced social roles, inability to exercise imagination. During games, children always choose some kind of social role: they play in the store, to school, at an earlier age they roll a car or a doll in a stroller. An autistic person is not interested in all these games;
• Lack of eye contact. When you try to talk to a person, there is a feeling that he looks as if through the interlocutor;

• Poor facial expressions and limited gesticulation. Autistic children rarely smile and use gestures only to express their needs. One of the first signs of knowledge of the world is a constantly extended index finger, with which he points to things, phenomena and objects of interest to him. So the child shares with adults the experience of cognition, involving others in it. The autistic uses gestures only to satisfy some primary features. For example, eat or drink;
• The child does not copy the behavior of adults. This is another way of knowing the world and shaping personality. Children listen to adults' conversations, imitate them (girls put on their mother's high-heeled shoes, boys ask to be put behind the wheel of a car to be like dad). An autist does not try to copy anyone.

Violation or deficiency of speech. About half of children with autism do not develop speech. Immersion in one's own world interferes with the development of this ability. Typical manifestations of unusual speech behavior:

• Speech development is significantly delayed or completely absent. A preschooler memorizes only phrases for daily use, verbs in the infinitive form (sleep, drink, walk). Often the speech of the child has no meaning and is not aimed at contact with others. Children may talk about themselves in the third person. Instead of saying: "I'm going for a walk", he says: "He's going for a walk" or "Andrey is going for a walk";
• Echolalia, that is, uncontrolled repetition of words. The kid, without noticing it, repeats the same phrase or word many times over a long period of time. Often, autistics answer a given question by repeating the same question;
• An autist does not seek help, does not ask questions.

The repetition of monotonous actions, which is more often called stereotyped behavior. Earlier it was said that a child can repeat the same words. The same can apply to some actions or gestures. For example, an autistic kid can open and close a door for several hours, or spin around his axis, shrug his shoulders.

Autistic people should always have a clear daily routine, an exact route for going to kindergarten or school. In the room it is not recommended to rearrange, shift toys from one place to another. Any attempt to change anything in the daily rituals will be taken painfully.

Manifestations of autism by age group

If the disease is not accompanied by any additional diagnosis, the outwardly autistic child may not differ in any way from other children.

Children from 0 to 2 years old. The following symptoms will help recognize autism in children under 2 years of age:

• He does not smile, does not gesticulate, does not babble, often fixes his gaze in one place. If he tries to make a grimace, he will not react to it in any way;
• Plays quietly for a long time;
• In especially severe forms of the disease, the above symptoms may be accompanied by convulsions and epileptic seizures.

Children from 2 to 7 years old. During this period, the diagnosis of "early childhood autism" is most often made. In addition to the signs described above, the following symptoms of childhood autism can be added:

• In order to avoid any contact, the child tries to learn to serve himself on his own, does not ask for help in everyday affairs;
• There does not come a period when the baby asks the question “why?”. This is due to a speech disorder;
• They may be hyperactive. It is difficult for them to sit still and concentrate on one thing;
• They differ in a special gait: they walk on tiptoe, or swaying to the right and left. Often, children have impaired coordination of movements, and it is difficult for them to learn how to walk up the stairs, or hit a soccer ball;

• Autistic is shy. And often completely unexpected things scare him;
• Picky about food. Autistic people like a certain set of foods. These tastes are formed in early childhood and last a lifetime;
• Digestive problems. They are associated with brain disorders. The brain does not receive signals from the digestive system, which leads to problems;
• Sleep problems. The baby does not distinguish between day and night, the level of his activity does not depend on the time of day. Therefore, it is difficult to put him to sleep. He often wakes up at night, on average he sleeps 7 hours or less per night. With increased fearfulness and hyperactivity, he may suffer from nightmares and insomnia.

School age children and older

• Selectivity in subjects. Autistic people fail in all subjects. But they can show phenomenal abilities in any one of them. For example, multiply multi-digit numbers in your mind, or, after reading a literary work once, immediately retell it;

• Non-verbal expression of feelings. Such children are silent, so they often express their feelings through drawing, music or poetry. Poems written by autistic people often don't make sense to others;
• Difficulties with puberty. If a person does not receive proper therapy in childhood, then during puberty he can become depressed and even show aggression. He feels that he is not like everyone else, and at this age he may begin to suffer.

Types of autism

Depending on the set of symptoms and the degree of adaptation in society, there are 3 degrees of autism:

• Hidden, which throughout life a person may not know. In such cases, excessive isolation is attributed to character traits;
• Atypical, when some of the symptoms appear. This type of autism is determined after 3 years;

As a type of atypical form, Asperger's cider is distinguished, which often can only be diagnosed by the age of 10 years. Children suffering from this syndrome may have correct speech behavior and a well-developed intellect. However, there may be problems with coordination of movements, increased egocentricity, increased concentration of attention in one lesson. With the right therapy, such children can integrate well into society, graduate from universities and start a family.

The typical form can be mild or severe.

Under the conditions of early diagnosis and timely implementation of corrective procedures, children with mild autism integrate into society, often attend regular schools and even make friends.

In a severe form, it is very difficult to establish contact and, accordingly, it is difficult to integrate a person into society. A preschooler with severe autism may harm himself (biting, pinching, banging his head on the floor). This feature is a manifestation of self-defense.

One of the most severe forms of autism is Rett syndrome. They only affect girls (boys die in the womb). The syndrome is often accompanied by third-party diagnoses. The baby can develop normally until the age of 1.5 years, and then stop. His head stops growing, speech skills and coordination of movements disappear. Such a baby is extremely difficult to correct.

Autism Diagnosis

The problem with defining autism is that the unwillingness to contact, make eye contact and craving for loneliness, parents tend to attribute to character traits or spoiledness and turn to specialists when time has already been lost.

In the United States, a survey to determine the signs of autism is conducted for all parents of children aged 1.5 years. They are offered to answer 15 simple questions that give a certain characteristic: does the baby like to play, does he like being picked up, does he reach out for contact with other children, does he look people in the eye. If the answer is “no” to most of these questions, further examination is prescribed.

Diagnosis of autism is a set of measures aimed at identifying the type of disease, as well as excluding other diagnoses that are often confused with autism (and, hearing loss or schizophrenia).

The first kind of diagnosis is carried out by the parents. If they notice that the oddities in the behavior of the baby occur systematically, they turn to a specialist (or a group of specialists) who carry out the diagnosis. It will be useful to prepare for a meeting with specialists and show them photos and videos that record the behavior of the child.

The doctor will be able to confirm or refute the diagnosis, first of all, observing the baby from the side in his usual environment. To assess behavior, he has several scales and questionnaires. One of the verification steps involves interviews with parents.

They also check for epilepsy and for the presence of brain damage.

Nowadays, autism is diagnosed much more often, which is associated with the development of a more accurate mechanism for identifying its signs.

Autism Correction

Autism is an incurable disease. Moreover, there are no medicines to help the sick. Medications are prescribed only to suppress aggression, regulate problems with sleep and the gastrointestinal tract. In some cases, a gluten-free diet is prescribed, but its effectiveness has not yet been proven. Phytotherapy is used to solve sleep problems. Drug treatment is carried out under the strict supervision of medical personnel.

To help a person with autism integrate into society, the following methods will help:

• Communication training. This applies to both verbal and non-verbal communication. The child learns to respond to his name, to ask for help when he needs something. Non-verbal communication includes both teaching parents to understand their child through his behavior, and communicating with him using, for example, exchanging cards. This type of communication is typical for children with a severe form of the disease;
• Classes with a speech therapist for the correction or formation of speech. In these classes, an autistic person will expand their vocabulary, learn not to repeat words and phrases. The development of speech skills is one of the main ways to adapt and integrate into society;
• Training in integration and self-service skills. Includes a set of activities aimed at creating gaming incentives and maintaining a routine. On the one hand, autistic people try to become independent in order to avoid all contact with an adult, but on the other hand, he may lack other elementary skills. For example, children with autism take a long time to learn how to use the potty and brush their teeth;
• behavioral therapy. This therapy is aimed at analyzing behavior and identifying individual symptoms. Based on this, a number of behavior correction procedures are selected;
• Classes with a psychiatrist or psychologist (or both, depending on the degree of deviation). Here it is important to choose a specialist for a long time. Firstly, an autistic person does not experience a change in their usual way of life; secondly, it is important to follow one correction program;

• Wellness procedures. Physical activity works well for the child. The only condition is that he must study with professionals who know about his problem, or study in special groups. For obvious reasons, team sports are contraindicated for such children. It is best to choose an activity that involves monotonous activities (such as swimming).

The first thing parents need to do with a child diagnosed with autism is to accept him for who he is. The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the easier it will be to manage it. Therefore, when symptoms are detected, it is very important to immediately seek help from specialists. The following recommendations can be highlighted:

For better understanding and establishing contact, it is important for parents to know that at least until puberty, the child does not suffer from his condition. He is comfortable in his world.

• Get a pet, if there are no contraindications. Autistic people love animals. Contact with animals for them is a kind of therapy;
• Build a consistent and logical line of behavior with the baby. Do not raise your voice, explain everything clearly and slowly, adjust your daily routine to the autistic mode.

• Follow all the instructions of the experts. Do not try to add something from yourself, this may worsen the situation;
• Intervene in the baby's space and try to induce stimuli, emotions in it. At the same time, try not to tear him out of his usual environment and periodically give him the opportunity to be alone;
• Do not be afraid if the child is worried or shows anger when trying to socialize him. In this case, the presence of emotions is a positive sign;
• Praise and encourage even with minimal progress. Soon he will understand the benefits of positive feedback and will try to follow the required line of conduct;
• Involve other relatives in the upbringing process, teach them and the preschooler to communicate with each other;
• Don't lock your baby at home. This will only make his condition worse. It is very important to gradually expand the circle of acquaintances, provoke him to communicate, try to motivate him to take a walk, play on the playground, visit relatives and friends;
• Communicate with other parents who have children with a similar illness. Sharing experiences about the successes of children helps to get rid of feelings of despair and loneliness, instill hope;
• At least once a year, set aside time for yourself, leave the child with grandparents and go on vacation.

Answers to frequently asked questions

Will a child with autism get a disability? In Russia, children with autism are given a disability group after passing a special control commission. To pass the commission, you must provide all the documentation with the conclusion of a psychiatrist and psychologist, and undergo a series of laboratory tests. Most often, disability is given to an autistic person for life at the age of

3 years even if the symptoms of childhood autism appear at 2 years or earlier.

Having received a disability, he also receives financial assistance from the state for corrective therapy.

Can autistic people have children? What are the chances that they will be healthy? Autistic people can have children. There are also chances for the appearance of healthy babies. But since the disease is often inherited, its development occurs even during the prenatal period.

If a baby is born in a family where one of the parents is autistic, then the chances that he will be healthy are 50/50. If both parents are sick in the family, then the chances of giving birth to a healthy person are reduced to 25%, and the risk is also likely that the newborn will be a carrier of the gene.

With each subsequent pregnancy in such families, the birth of an unhealthy baby increases. For newborns at risk, diagnostics are carried out to determine hidden autism.

What are the best toys for children with autism? Autistic people don't need a lot of toys. They completely manage with two or three, but favorite items. A large number of different items, they can even scare. The question of what toy to give worries many parents, because an autistic person weakly shows his emotions and it is often difficult to understand what he likes and what not.

This is where child supervision is important. More often, an autistic person gets used to one type of toys (a car, a doll, a train, a teddy bear) and does not let go of them for anything. Based on this, you can give him a similar toy.

You can also follow the age criteria when choosing a gift. For children under 3 years old, games that develop fine motor skills are well suited: cubes, designers, developing rugs. For older kids, a spinner is suitable.

It is not recommended to give such children computer games, as they further provoke a separation from reality.

Alexandra is a constant expert of the PupsFull portal. She writes articles on pregnancy, parenting and training, child care and child health.

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