Autism
To date, the following definition of the concept of “autism” is given – a mental disorder in which there are always pronounced qualitative violations of social interaction, manifested in the form of an inadequate assessment of social and emotional signals addressed to the patient.
According to statistics, the frequency with which this disease occurs is 2-4 cases per 10,000 children. Boys get sick 3-4 times more often than girls, but the latter have more pronounced symptoms.
Among the reasons for the development of this type of pathology, it can be indicated as the most likely – a combination of perinatal pathology (the period of intrauterine development and the first days of life) and genetic predisposition.
Clinical manifestations
The appearance of signs of the disorder at the age of 3 years. If the symptoms develop at a later age, then we should talk about atypical autism;
The child is noticeably behind in growth from his peers;
A sick child has a reduced threshold of pain sensitivity, the child does not cry, even after receiving serious damage;
From an early age, the child does not show interest in the sound of a human voice, including the parent’s (which gives rise to parents’ thoughts about the possible deafness of the child);
The child does not ask for his hands and does not wait to be taken on them;
It is noticed that such a child shows increased interest and attention to the ticking of the clock;
The child has no signs of fear of being alone in the room or being there with strangers;
A sick child does not distinguish the face of his parents or relatives from other people around him;
When communicating with peers, such a child does not show any interest in communicating with them, is passive during games with children;
There is no fear of a real danger, of the threat of injury;
The lack of emotional reciprocity is expressed, interaction in communication is reduced;
There are no reactions to other people’s emotions;
Over time, the absence of colloquial speech becomes noticeable, the child indicates his desires by shouting or crying. At a later age – takes one of the parents by the hand and leads them to where they want. Facial expressions and gestures are not used, only emotions;
Speech disorders: often the child remains practically mute for life, only repeating meaningless monotonous sounds. In some cases, speech may be limited to fragments of phrases, monotonous, using unusual or invented words;
Even if there is a fairly fluent speech, it is very difficult for the patient to have a dialogue with someone (talking to someone, but not with someone);
The patient is inclined to establish and adhere to a strictly established order of life (they do not like to change their usual clothes, food, toys). If such changes occur, it causes irritation, anger;
Tendency to repeat, stereotypical movements, rituals;
Toys may not be used for their intended purpose. The child pays more attention to the details of the toy, and does not play it as a whole, plays atypically;
Often the child plays with sand, water, and not with ordinary toys;
When establishing the diagnosis of “autism” – it is necessary to keep in mind other diseases that may have similar symptoms. So, it is necessary to exclude other mental disorders – schizophrenia, mental retardation, to clarify the possibility of speech development disorders. It is absolutely necessary to find out the state of hearing – to exclude deafness.
Treatment of autism is based on three complementary directions: medications (in cases of severe behavioral disorders), psychotherapeutic work (teachers, psychologists, psychotherapists), family therapy, which is extremely important in the patient’s life.
