What kind of disease is autism. Good question. Who is an autist? bizarre children videos

- a violation of mental development, accompanied by a deficit of social interactions, difficulty in mutual contact when communicating with other people, repetitive actions and limitation of interests. The reasons for the development of the disease are not fully understood, most scientists suggest a connection with congenital brain dysfunction. Autism is usually diagnosed before the age of 3 years, the first signs may be noticeable as early as infancy. Full recovery is considered impossible, but sometimes the diagnosis is removed with age. The goal of treatment is social adaptation and development of self-care skills.

General information

Autism is a disease characterized by movement and speech disorders, as well as stereotyping of interests and behavior, accompanied by a violation of the patient's social interactions with others. Data on the prevalence of autism vary significantly, due to different approaches to the diagnosis and classification of the disease. According to various data, 0.1-0.6% of children suffer from autism without taking into account autism spectrum disorders, 1.1-2% of children suffer from autism, taking into account autism spectrum disorders. Autism is four times less common in girls than in boys. In the last 25 years, this diagnosis has become much more common, however, it is not yet clear whether this is due to a change in diagnostic criteria or a real increase in the prevalence of the disease.

In the literature, the term "autism" can be interpreted in two ways - as autism itself (childhood autism, classic autistic disorder, Kanner's syndrome) and as all disorders of the autism spectrum, including Asperger's syndrome, atypical autism, etc. The severity of individual manifestations of autism can vary significantly - from complete inability to social contacts, accompanied by severe mental retardation to some oddities in communicating with people, pedantry of speech and narrowness of interests. The treatment of autism is long, complex, carried out with the participation of specialists in the field of psychiatry, psychologists, psychotherapists, neurologists, defectologists and speech therapists.

Reasons for the development of autism

Currently, the causes of autism have not been finally clarified, however, it has been established that the biological basis of the disease is a violation of the development of certain brain structures. The hereditary nature of autism has been confirmed, although the genes responsible for the development of the disease have yet to be determined. Children with autism have a large number of complications during pregnancy and childbirth (intrauterine viral infections, toxemia, uterine bleeding, premature birth). It is suggested that complications during pregnancy cannot cause autism, but may increase the likelihood of its development in the presence of other predisposing factors.

Heredity. Among close and distant relatives of children with autism, 3-7% of autistic patients are detected, which is many times higher than the prevalence of the disease on average in the population. Both identical twins have a 60-90% chance of developing autism. Relatives of patients often have individual disorders characteristic of autism: a tendency to obsessive behavior, a low need for social contacts, difficulties in understanding speech, and speech disorders (including echolalia). In such families, epilepsy and mental retardation are more often detected, which are not mandatory signs of autism, but are often diagnosed with this disease. All of the above is a confirmation of the hereditary nature of autism.

In the late 90s of the last century, scientists managed to identify a gene predisposing to autism. The presence of this gene does not necessarily lead to autism (according to most geneticists, the disease develops as a result of the interaction of several genes). However, the identification of this gene made it possible to objectively confirm the hereditary nature of autism. This is a serious progress in the field of studying the etiology and pathogenesis of this disease, since shortly before this discovery, some scientists considered the lack of care and attention from parents as possible causes of autism (currently this version is rejected as untrue).

Structural disorders of the brain. Studies have shown that autistic patients often show structural changes in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, median temporal lobe, and cerebellum. The main function of the cerebellum is to ensure successful motor activity, however, this part of the brain also affects speech, attention, thinking, emotions, and learning abilities. In many autistic individuals, some parts of the cerebellum are reduced. It is assumed that this circumstance may be due to the problems of patients with autism when switching attention.

The median temporal lobes, hippocampus, and amygdala, also commonly affected by autism, influence memory, learning, and emotional self-regulation, including the generation of pleasure in meaningful social activities. The researchers note that in animals with damage to these brain lobes, behavioral changes similar to autism are observed (a decrease in the need for social contacts, a deterioration in adaptation when exposed to new conditions, difficulties in recognizing danger). In addition, autistic patients often show delayed maturation of the frontal lobes.

Functional disorders of the brain. Approximately 50% of patients on the EEG revealed changes characteristic of memory impairment, selective and directed attention, verbal thinking and purposeful use of speech. The degree of prevalence and severity of changes varies, while in children with high-functioning autism, EEG disturbances are usually less pronounced compared to patients suffering from low-functioning forms of the disease.

Autism Symptoms

Mandatory signs of childhood autism (a typical autistic disorder, Kanner's syndrome) are a lack of social interactions, problems in building productive mutual contact with others, stereotypical behavior and interests. All of these signs appear before the age of 2-3 years, while individual symptoms indicating possible autism are sometimes detected even in infancy.

Violation of social interactions is the most striking feature that distinguishes autism from other developmental disorders. Children with autism cannot fully interact with other people. They do not feel the state of others, do not recognize non-verbal signals, do not understand the subtext of social contacts. This symptom can be detected already in infants. Such children react weakly to adults, do not look into the eyes, and are more willing to fix their eyes on inanimate objects, rather than on people around them. They do not smile, react badly to their own name, do not reach out towards an adult when trying to pick them up.

Patients begin to speak later, babble less and less often, and later begin to pronounce individual words and use phrase speech. They often confuse pronouns, calling themselves "you", "he" or "she". Subsequently, high-functioning autistics "gain" sufficient vocabulary and are not inferior to healthy children when passing tests for knowledge of words and spelling, but they have difficulty using images, drawing conclusions about what is written or read, etc. In children with low-functioning forms of autism speech is significantly impoverished.

Children with autism are characterized by unusual gestures and difficulty in using gestures in the process of interacting with other people. In infancy, they rarely point at objects with their hands, or when trying to point to an object, they look not at it, but at their hand. As they get older, they are less likely to say words while gesturing (healthy children tend to gesticulate and speak at the same time, such as holding out their hand and saying “give”). Subsequently, it is difficult for them to play complex games, organically combine gestures and speech, move from simpler forms of communication to more complex ones.

Another clear sign of autism is restricted or repetitive behavior. Stereotypes are observed - repetitive torso swaying, head shaking, etc. It is very important for patients with autism that everything always happens in the same way: objects are arranged in the right order, actions are performed in a certain sequence. A child with autism may start screaming and protesting if the mother usually puts on the right sock for him first, and then the left one, and today she did the opposite, if the salt shaker is not in the center of the table, but is shifted to the right, if instead of the usual cup he was given a similar one, but with a different pattern. At the same time, unlike healthy children, he does not show a desire to actively correct the state of affairs that does not suit him (reach out to his right toe, rearrange the salt shaker, ask for another cup), but by means available to him signals the wrongness of what is happening.

The autistic's attention is focused on details, on repetitive scenarios. Children with autism often choose non-play items for play instead of toys, their games are devoid of a plot basis. They do not build castles, do not roll cars around the apartment, but lay out objects in a certain sequence, aimlessly, from the point of view of an outside observer, move them from place to place and back. A child with autism may be extremely attached to a particular toy or non-play item, may watch the same TV show at the same time every day without showing interest in other programs, and experience extremely intensely if this program is somehow That's why I couldn't see it.

Along with other forms of behavior, repetitive behavior includes auto-aggression (hitting, biting, and other self-inflicted injuries). According to statistics, about a third of autistic people during their lives show auto-aggression and the same number - aggression towards others. Aggression, as a rule, is caused by bouts of anger due to a violation of the usual life rituals and stereotypes, or because of the inability to convey one's desires to others.

The opinion about the obligatory genius of autists and the presence of some unusual abilities in them is not confirmed by practice. Separate unusual abilities (for example, the ability to remember details) or talent in one narrow area with deficits in other areas are observed in only 0.5-10% of patients. The level of intelligence in children with high functioning autism may be average or slightly above average. With low-functioning autism, a decrease in intelligence up to mental retardation is often detected. All types of autism often have generalized learning disabilities.

Among other optional, rather common symptoms of autism, it is worth noting seizures (detected in 5-25% of children, more often they first occur at puberty), hyperactivity and attention deficit syndrome, various paradoxical reactions to external stimuli: touch, sounds, changes in lighting . Often there is a need for sensory self-stimulation (repetitive movements). More than half of autistic people have eating disorders (refusal to eat or refuse certain foods, preference for certain foods, etc.) and sleep disorders (difficulty falling asleep, nocturnal and early awakenings).

Autism classification

There are several classifications of autism, however, in clinical practice, the most widely used classification is Nikolskaya, which takes into account the severity of the manifestations of the disease, the main psychopathological syndrome and long-term prognosis. Despite the absence of an etiopathogenetic component and a high degree of generalization, educators and other specialists consider this classification to be one of the most successful, since it makes it possible to draw up differentiated plans and determine treatment goals, taking into account the real possibilities of a child with autism.

First group. The deepest violations Characterized by field behavior, mutism, lack of need for interactions with others, lack of active negativism, autostimulation using simple repetitive movements and inability to self-service. The leading pathopsychological syndrome is detachment. The main goal of treatment is to establish contact, involve the child in interactions with adults and peers, as well as the development of self-care skills.

Second group. Characterized by severe restrictions in the choice of forms of behavior, a pronounced desire for immutability. Any changes can provoke a breakdown, expressed in negativism, aggression or auto-aggression. In a familiar environment, the child is quite open, capable of developing and reproducing everyday skills. Speech is stamped, built on the basis of echolalia. The leading psychopathological syndrome is the rejection of reality. The main goal of treatment is the development of emotional contacts with loved ones and the expansion of opportunities for adaptation to the environment by developing a large number of different behavioral stereotypes.

Third group. More complex behavior is observed when absorbed by one's own stereotypical interests and a weak ability to dialogue. The child strives for success, but, unlike healthy children, is not ready to try, take risks and compromise. Often, detailed encyclopedic knowledge is revealed in an abstract field, combined with fragmentary ideas about the real world. Interest in dangerous asocial impressions is characteristic. The leading psychopathological syndrome is substitution. The main goal of treatment is teaching dialogue, expanding the range of ideas and developing social behavior skills.

Fourth group. Children are capable of real voluntary behavior, but they quickly get tired, suffer from difficulties when trying to concentrate attention, follow instructions, etc. Unlike the children of the previous group, who give the impression of young intellectuals, they may look timid, shy and absent-minded, however, with adequate correction show better results compared to other groups. The leading psychopathological syndrome is vulnerability. The main goal of treatment is to teach spontaneity, improve social skills and develop individual abilities.

Autism Diagnosis

Parents should see a doctor and rule out autism if the child does not respond to their own name, does not smile or make eye contact, does not take instructions from adults, exhibits atypical play behavior (does not know what to do with toys, plays with non-play items), and does not can tell adults about his desires. At the age of 1 year, the child should walk, babble, point at objects and try to grab them, at the age of 1.5 years - pronounce separate words, at the age of 2 years - use two-word phrases. If these skills are missing, you need to be examined by a specialist.

The diagnosis of autism is based on observations of the child's behavior and identification of a characteristic triad that includes lack of social interactions, lack of communication, and stereotyped behavior. To exclude speech development disorders, a consultation with a speech therapist is prescribed, to exclude hearing and vision impairments, an examination by an audiologist and an ophthalmologist. Autism may or may not be combined with mental retardation, while with the same level of intelligence, the prognosis and correction schemes for oligophrenic children and autistic children will differ significantly, therefore, in the diagnostic process, it is important to distinguish between these two disorders, having carefully studied the characteristics of the patient's behavior.

Treatment and prognosis for autism

The main goal of treatment is to increase the level of independence of the patient in the process of self-service, the formation and maintenance of social contacts. Long-term behavioral therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy are used. Corrective work is carried out against the background of taking psychotropic drugs. The training program is chosen taking into account the capabilities of the child. Low-functioning autistics (the first and second groups in Nikolskaya's classification) are taught at home. Children with Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autistics (groups 3 and 4) attend a special or mainstream school.

Autism is currently considered an incurable disease. However, after a competent long-term correction, some children (3-25% of the total number of patients) go into remission, and the diagnosis of autism is eventually removed. An insufficient number of studies does not allow to build reliable long-term predictions regarding the course of autism in adulthood. Experts note that with age, in many patients, the symptoms of the disease become less pronounced. However, there are reports of age-related deterioration in communication and self-care skills. Favorable prognostic signs are an IQ above 50 and speech development before the age of 6, but only 20 percent of children in this group achieve complete or near complete independence.

Autism cannot be cured. In other words, there are no pills for autism. Only early diagnosis and long-term qualified pedagogical support can help a child with autism.

Autism as an independent disorder was first described by L. Kanner in 1942, in 1943 similar disorders in older children were described by G. Asperger, and in 1947 by S. S. Mnukhin.

Autism is a severe disorder of mental development, in which, first of all, the ability to communicate and social interaction suffers. The behavior of children with autism is also characterized by rigid stereotyping (from repeated repetition of elementary movements, such as shaking hands or jumping up, to complex rituals) and often destructiveness (aggression, self-harm, screaming, negativism, etc.).

The level of intellectual development in autism 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. Over 80% of children with autism are disabled...

The exceptional diversity of the range of disorders and their severity makes it possible to reasonably consider the education and upbringing of children with autism as the most difficult section of correctional pedagogy.

Back in 2000, the prevalence of autism was thought to be between 5 and 26 per 10,000 children. In 2005, there was an average of one case of autism per 250-300 newborns: this is more often than isolated deafness and blindness combined, Down's syndrome, diabetes mellitus or childhood cancers. According to the World Autism Organization, in 2008, 1 case of autism occurs in 150 children. In ten years, the number of children with autism has increased 10 times. It is believed that the upward trend will continue in the future.

According to the international classification of diseases ICD-10, autistic disorders proper include:

childhood autism (F84.0) (autistic disorder, infantile autism, infantile psychosis, Kanner's syndrome);
atypical autism (with onset after 3 years) (F84.1);
Rett syndrome (F84.2);
Asperger's syndrome - autistic psychopathy (F84.5);

What is autism?

In recent years, autistic disorders have come to be grouped under the acronym ASD - "autism spectrum disorders".

Kanner syndrome

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

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

When using these criteria, it is important:

do not expand their content (for example, distinguish between an 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 fixation of the presence of certain symptoms;
take into account the presence or absence of procedural dynamics of the detected symptoms;
take into account that the inability to establish contact with other people creates conditions for social deprivation, leading in turn to the appearance in the clinical picture of symptoms of secondary developmental delays and compensatory formations.

A child usually comes to the attention of specialists not earlier than 2-3 years, when the violations become quite obvious. But even then, parents often find it difficult to identify violations, resorting to value judgments: "Strange, not like everyone else." Often, the real problem is masked by imaginary or real disorders that are more understandable to parents - for example, delayed speech development or hearing impairment. Retrospectively, it is often possible to find out that already in the first year the child reacted poorly to people, did not assume a ready position when picked up, and when taken, 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, found extraordinary selectivity in food, refusing food of a certain color or type. For some parents, these kinds of violations become apparent only in hindsight when compared with the behavior of the second child.

Asperger's Syndrome

As in Kanner's syndrome, they are determined by communication disorders, underestimation of reality, a limited and peculiar, stereotypical circle of interests that distinguish such children from their peers. Behavior is determined by impulsivity, contrasting affects, desires, ideas; often behavior lacks internal logic.

Some children early reveal the ability for an unusual, non-standard understanding of themselves and others. Logical thinking is preserved or even well developed, but knowledge is difficult to reproduce and 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, it attracts a detached facial expression, which gives it "prettyness", the facial expressions are frozen, the gaze is turned into emptiness, the fixation on the faces is fleeting. There are few expressive mimic movements, gesticulation is impoverished. Sometimes the facial expression is concentrated and introspective, the gaze is directed "inward". Motor skills are angular, movements are not rhythmic, with a tendency to stereotypes. The communicative functions of speech are weakened, and it itself is unusually modulated, peculiar in melody, rhythm and tempo, the voice sounds either quiet or cuts the ear, and in general, speech is often similar to declamation. There is a tendency to word creation, sometimes persisting even after puberty, an inability to automate skills and their implementation outside, an attraction to autistic games. Attachment to the house, and not to relatives, is characteristic.

Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome begins to manifest itself at the age of 8-30 months. gradually, without external causes, against the background of normal (in 80% of cases) or slightly delayed motor development.

Detachment appears, already acquired skills are lost, speech development stops, within 3-6 months. there is a complete disintegration of previously acquired speech stock and skills. Then there are violent movements of the "washing type" 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 is upset. In a third of cases, epileptiform seizures are observed.

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

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

atypical autism

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

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

It occurs more often in children with a severe specific disorder in the development of receptive speech or with mental retardation.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Autism is being talked about 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 it to deal with a child who has been diagnosed with such a diagnosis, or is there still nothing to change?

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 is this disease

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

Scientists and doctors distinguish the following causes of autism:

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

Autistic children can be distinguished among their peers. They want to be alone all the time and don't go out to play sandbox with others (or play hide-and-seek at school). Thus, they strive for social loneliness (they are more comfortable that way). There is also a noticeable disturbance in the expression of emotions.

If , then an 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.

It must be remembered that many children may show signs and symptoms of this disease, but expressed to a greater or lesser extent. So there is a spectrum of autism. For example, there are children who can be strong friends with one person and yet be completely unable to contact others.

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

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

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

Who is autistic (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 for the age when their child becomes more socially active (at least up to three years). That's when the child begins to interact with other children in the sandbox, to show his "I" and character - then he is already taken for diagnostics to specialists.

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 in order to identify symptoms of autism. As a rule, they tell him that from the very birth the child was not like all his peers:

capricious in his arms, did not want to sit;
did not like being hugged;
showed no emotion when his mother smiled at him;
speech delay is possible.

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

Autism test conducted using questionnaires. They determine the development of the child's thinking, the 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.

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

Is there any hope for a cure

After the diagnosis is made, the doctor tells the parents first of all what autism is.

Parents should know what they are dealing with, and that the disease cannot be completely cured. But you can deal with the child and ease the symptoms. With considerable effort, you can achieve excellent results.

Treatment must begin with contact. Parents should develop a trusting relationship with the autistic person as much as possible. Also provide an environment in which the child will feel comfortable. So that negative factors (quarrels, screams) do not affect the psyche.

It is necessary to develop thinking and attention. Logic games and puzzles are perfect for this. Autistic children also love them, 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 is a good way to explain why the characters act the way they do and what they encounter. From time to time you need to ask such questions to the child so that he himself reflects.

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 about the child? There are professionals who will provide a variety of techniques and games to help develop autistic children.

Through joint efforts it is possible achieve a high level of adaptation to society and the inner peace of the child.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

What is autism?

Autism is a general disorder of personality development with a maximum deficit of emotions and the sphere of communication. The essence of the disease lies in its name, which means "within oneself." A person with autism never shows his gestures, speech and energy outwardly. Most often, the disorder is typical for children aged 3-5 years, then RDA is diagnosed. For adolescents and adults, only mild manifestations of autism are characteristic.

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:

tuberous sclerosis;

infection of the mother with rubella during pregnancy;

chromosomal abnormalities;

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 cause autistic diseases. 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, the exact causes of autism have not yet been identified.

How does an autistic child perceive the world?

It is believed that an autistic person is not able to combine details and parts into a single image. He sees a person as unbound hands, nose, ears and other parts of the body. A child with this mental disorder is practically unable to distinguish living things from inanimate ones. In addition, all external factors (touch, light, colors, sounds) cause him a feeling of discomfort. The child tries to limit himself from the outside world and withdraw into himself.

Autism Symptoms

There are 4 main symptoms of autism in children, which manifest themselves to a certain extent:

stereotypical behavior;

violation of communication;

violations in social behavior;

early signs of autism (before 5 years).

Signs and symptoms of autism video:

stereotypical behavior

Performing daily rituals.

A child with autism feels comfortable only in the environment familiar to him. By changing the route of the walk, the daily routine or the arrangement of things in the room, you can achieve an aggressive reaction of the baby and his withdrawal into himself.

The child's fixation on a particular lesson and the inability to switch to another matter.

The kid can spend hours sorting cubes or building towers. It is very difficult to get him out of this state.

Repeated repetition of movements that are devoid of semantic load.

An autistic child has episodes of self-stimulation. They are represented by stereotypical repetitive movements that the baby uses in an unusual or frightening environment:

head shaking;

snapping fingers;

clapping;

other monotonous movements.

Characterized by fears, obsessions. When a frightening situation arises, attacks of self-aggression and aggression are possible.

Communication breakdown

Absence of speech (mutism) or its pronounced delay.

Children with severe autism do not speak. They use only a few words to describe their needs, and use them in one form (sleep, eat, drink). When speech appears, it is not aimed at perception by other people and is incoherent. The child is able to repeat one phrase for hours. Children suffering from autism talk about themselves in the second or third person (Sveta wants to eat).

Abnormal character of speech (echolalia, repetitions).

When answering a question, the baby repeats part of the phrase or its entirety.

The parent asks: - Do you want to sleep?

The child replies: - Do you want to sleep?

No response to your name.

Incorrect intonation, too quiet or loud speech.

The “age of questions” is delayed or not reached.

Unlike healthy children, autistic children do not disturb their parents by asking them hundreds of questions about the state of the world around them. If such a period comes, their questions are of no practical importance and are monotonous.

Violations of social interaction.

Poor, often inadequate facial expressions.

When trying to cheer up a sick child, he rarely smiles. But he can laugh for his own, incomprehensible to anyone around, reasons.

The autistic person usually has a mask-like face with occasional grimaces.

Eye-to-eye contact is severely disrupted or absent.

An autistic person is not able to perceive the image of the interlocutor as a whole, because of this often looks "through" a person.

Gestures are used only to indicate needs.

Inability to understand the emotions of others.

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

Lack of interest in peers.

Children with autism do not play with their peers. They are placed side by side and immersed in their own world. In a crowd of children, finding an autistic kid is quite simple - he is surrounded by an "aura" of extreme loneliness. If an autistic child pays attention to peers, he perceives them as inanimate objects.

The emergence of difficulties in games with knowledge of social roles and the use of imagination.

A healthy child quickly learns to cradle a doll, roll a car, treat a teddy bear. An autistic child does not distinguish between social roles in the game. Moreover, he is not able to perceive the toy as a holistic object. He can find a car wheel and spin it for hours on end.

Lack of response to communication and expression of emotions by parents.

Previously, it was believed that people with autism were not emotionally connected to their relatives. But now, studies have shown that the mother's departure from the child causes him a feeling of anxiety. In the presence of the family, the child communicates better. And he becomes less obsessed with his studies. The difference lies only in the reaction to the absence of parents. Autistic person shows anxiety, does not take actions aimed at the return of parents. It is impossible to accurately determine the feelings that arise in him during separation. A healthy child is very upset, calls his mother, if she has gone out of sight for a long time, cries.

Early signs of autism in children.

The disease manifests itself in children, usually at a very early age. Already by the age of one, the absence of a reaction to one's name, smiles and unusual behavior of the child becomes noticeable. It is believed that in the first three months of their lives, autistic people are inactive, have inadequate reactions to irritating external factors and poor facial expressions.

bizarre children videos

Reminder for parents

If you notice a strong manifestation of hysteria in someone else's child, then this child may suffer from autism or other mental disorders, so you need to be extremely tactful.

IQ in autism

The vast majority of autistic children have a moderate or mild form of mental retardation. The reasons for this are learning difficulties and defects in the structure of the brain. If the disease is combined with chromosomal abnormalities, epilepsy and microcephaly, the child has a profound mental retardation. With mild forms of mental disorder and the dynamic development of speech, a normal level of intelligence is observed, sometimes even above average.

The main feature of autism is selective intelligence. Thus, children can do well in drawing, music, mathematics, but lag behind their peers in other disciplines. Sometimes there are cases of savantism - a phenomenon when an autistic person is extremely gifted in a certain area. For example, a savant is able to play a melody that he has heard only once, or draw a picture very accurately, or memorize columns of numbers and solve computational operations of high complexity without additional means.

Asperger's Syndrome

There is a special type of autism disorder, which is called Asperger's syndrome. It means a mild form of classic autism, which manifests itself at a later age:

the manifestation of Asperger's syndrome begins after 7-10 years;

the level of intelligence is above average or normal;

the child's speech skills are within the normal range;

may have problems with speech volume or intonation;

obsession with studying one phenomenon or one lesson (an autistic person is able to spend hours telling his interlocutor that no one but himself is interested, regardless of their reaction);

incoordination of movements: strange postures, awkward walking;

self-centeredness, inability to compromise and negotiate.

Most people with Asperger's Syndrome, with support and the right upbringing, succeed in school and university, get jobs and start families.

Rett syndrome

It is a serious disease of the nervous system, which is associated with a violation in the X chromosome and is common only among girls. With a similar violation of the male fetus, it becomes unviable and dies in utero.

The incidence 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:

normal development between 6 and 18 months of age;

deceleration of head growth after six to eighteen months;

loss of purposeful hand movement skills;

low motor activity and poor coordination;

stereotyped hand movements like shaking hands or washing;

loss of speech skills.

In Rett syndrome, in contrast to traditional autism, epileptic activity and underdevelopment of the brain are often detected. In this disease, the prognosis of cure is unfavorable. Correction of movement disorders and autism is difficult.

Autism Diagnosis

At first, the parents of the child notice the signs of autism. It is the relatives who, before everyone else, pay attention to the atypical behavior of the baby. This especially happens early, when there are other small children in the family and there is someone to equate to. The earlier parents begin to worry about this and look for specialists for help, the more chances a child with autism has to lead a normal life and socialize.

Testing a child using special questionnaires

Diagnosis in childhood autism comes down to a survey by parents and the study of the child's behavior in his usual environment.

ADI-R is a questionnaire for the diagnosis of autism.

CHAT is a questionnaire for diagnosing autism in young children.

ADOS is the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale.

ABC - behavioral questionnaire for the diagnosis of autism.

Instrumental Methods:

Hearing test by an audiologist - to rule out the connection of speech delay with hearing loss.

EEG - for diagnosing epileptic seizures (sometimes autism is accompanied by epilepsy).

Ultrasound of the brain - to exclude damage to the brain that can cause characteristic symptoms.

Parents and others may misperceive the behavior of an autistic child.

What does an adult see?		It could be
Forgetfulness. Flying in the clouds. Disorganization.	Taking a break from work, duties. Disobedience. Manipulation. Apathy. Laziness.	Increased anxiety. Stress or reaction to a new situation. An attempt to regulate sensory systems. Misunderstanding other people's expectations.
Repetitive actions. The response to change is frustration. preference for monotony. Resistance to change.	Refusal to cooperate. Stubbornness. Rigidity.	Inability to perceive the situation from the outside. An attempt to maintain predictability and order. Uncertainty in the algorithm for executing instructions.
Interfering behavior. Failure to follow instructions. Impulsiveness.	Desire to be the center of attention. Selfishness. Unwillingness to obey. Provocations.	Delay in processing incoming information. Difficulties in understanding general and abstract concepts.
Smells different things. Touches various objects and rotates them. Doesn't make eye contact. Avoids certain lights or sounds.	Unwillingness to obey. Bad behavior.	Extreme visual, sound, olfactory sensitivity. Sensory problems. Sensory and bodily signals are not normally processed.

Autism treatment

The main question that arises in the collision

with autism – is it treatable? Unfortunately no.

There is no cure for this disease. There is no such drug, after taking which the child leaves his "world" and socializes. The only way to adapt an autistic person to society is to create a favorable environment and persistent daily activities. This is a great work of teachers and parents, always bearing fruit.

Features of raising an autistic child

Create an environment conducive to learning, development and life of the child. An unstable daily routine and a frightening environment inhibit the autistic person's skills and contribute to his even greater "immersion in himself."

Embrace autism as a way of being. A child suffering from this disease thinks, feels, hears and sees differently than most people.

If necessary, involve a speech therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist and other specialists in the upbringing and education of the child.

Stages of treatment for autism

Formation of the skills required for learning - in the case when the child does not make contact with an adult, you need to establish it. In the absence of speech, its minimal rudiments should be developed.

Elimination of inadequate forms of behavior: obsessions of fear, fixation and withdrawal into oneself, self-aggression and aggression.

Learning to observe and imitate.

Teaching games and social roles (playing doctor, driving a car, feeding a doll).

Making emotional contact.

Behavioral Therapy for Autism

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

The basis of such therapy is the observation of the reactions and behavior of the child. Having studied all the features of a particular baby, they select stimulating factors. For some, favorite dishes will become such, for someone - sounds, music or clothes. Further, all desired reactions are reinforced by this encouragement. Roughly speaking: did it as it should - get a candy. According to this principle, contact with the child arises, the necessary skills are fixed and destructive behavior in the form of self-aggression and tantrums disappears.

speech therapy classes

Almost all autistic people have certain speech problems that prevent them from fully communicating with other people. Regular classes together with a speech therapist allow you to establish the correct pronunciation, intonation and prepare the child for education at school.

Developing self-care and social skills

A characteristic problem for autistic children is the lack of motivation for games and daily activities. It is difficult to accustom them to maintaining hygiene, daily routine, it is difficult to captivate. To consolidate useful skills, special cards are used. The sequence of actions is drawn or written on them in detail. For example, he got out of bed, got dressed, washed himself, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, etc.

Medical therapy

The use of medications in the treatment of autism is possible only in crisis cases, if destructive behavior prevents the child from developing. However, one should not forget that stereotyped actions, crying and tantrums are also a way of communicating with the world. The situation is much more complicated when a calm autistic kid does not make contact for days, sits idle in the room, immersed in himself. Therefore, it is possible to give a child sedatives and psychotropic drugs only by prescription.

There is an opinion that a gluten-free diet contributes to the rapid recovery of an autistic person. But to date, there is no reliable scientific data on such miraculous healings yet.

Unfortunately, charlatan methods of treating diseases with stem cells, the use of nootropics (glycine, etc.), and micropolarization are currently at the peak of popularity. The above methods are not only useless, but can also pose a threat to health. And given the special vulnerability of autistic children, the harm from such a “treatment” can be very serious.

What does Dr. Komarovsky say about autism?

Conditions that mimic autism

Hearing loss - hearing impairment of varying degrees.

Hearing-impaired children experience speech delay of varying degrees, ranging from mutism to mispronunciation of certain sounds. They weakly respond to the name, seem naughty, do not fulfill requests. All this resembles the symptoms of autism, so parents, first of all, turn to a psychiatrist. A competent doctor should send the child for a hearing examination. After the selection of the hearing aid, the development of the child is normalized.

ADHD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for autism. It is believed that the signs of this syndrome are observed in every third child. The main symptoms of ADHD: difficulties in mastering school disciplines, restlessness. Children are not able to concentrate their attention on one lesson for a long time and behave excessively mobile.

ADHD responses are also observed in adults who find it difficult to remember events and dates and make mature decisions. This syndrome must be diagnosed as early as possible and treatment should begin: sedatives and psychostimulants in combination with sessions with a psychologist can correct behavior.

Schizophrenia.

Autism has long been considered a manifestation of childhood schizophrenia. However, at the present time, scientific research has proven that the nature of these diseases is different, and they are not related to each other.

Compared with autism, schizophrenia as a deviation begins to develop at a later age. There is a gradual development of the symptoms of the disease. Parents notice various oddities in the behavior of the child: monologues, withdrawal into oneself, obsessions of fears. In the course of the disease, minor remissions are noted with a further deterioration in the condition. Drug treatment of schizophrenia is prescribed by a psychiatrist.

Autism in a child is not a sentence at all.

No one knows the causes of this disease.

Few people can explain the feelings of an autistic person.

child in contact with the outside world.

Only one thing is known for sure: when correcting early autism,

proper care, classes, support for teachers

and parents, children are able to lead a normal life,

study, work and have fun.

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by motor and speech disorders that leads to impaired social interaction. This disease has a strong impact on the early development of the child and on the whole life of a person in the future. There are no medical tests that can diagnose autism. Only by observing the behavior of the child and his communication with others can a diagnosis of autism be made.

Children with autism do not want to make friends. Such children give preference to loneliness, and not to games with peers. Autistic people develop speech slowly, often use gestures instead of words, and do not respond to smiles. Autism is about four times more common among boys. This disease is quite common (5-20 cases per 10,000 children).

The Sulamot Group provides comprehensive assistance in the treatment of the autism spectrum: from the differential diagnosis of developmental problems to the construction of a correction plan.

Symptoms and signs of autism

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 can vary depending on the child's developmental level and age.

Behavioral characteristics used to describe autism syndrome:

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

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

Impaired development of social skills. Characteristic:

Children do not want to communicate and be friends with peers;
Ignoring the feelings and existence of other people (even parents);
They do not share their problems with their loved ones, because they do not see the need for this;
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.

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

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

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.

Causes of Autism

Some researchers believe that various birth pathologies, traumatic brain injuries, and infections can become the cause of autism. Another group of scientists refers autism to childhood schizophrenia. There is also an opinion about congenital dysfunction of the brain.

It is likely that innate emotional fragility plays an important role in the development of autism. In such cases, when exposed to any adverse factors, the child is closed from the outside world.

Autism Diagnosis

Doctors are not immediately able to identify autism in a child. The reason for this is that such symptoms of autism are observed in the normal development of the child. As a result, the diagnosis is often delayed. Autism is characterized by a diverse manifestation, while a child may have only two or three symptoms, which also makes diagnosis difficult. The main symptom of autism is a violation of the perception of reality.

A child with autism does not want to interact with anyone. It seems that he does not even feel pain. Speech develops slowly. There is an underdevelopment of speech. The child is afraid of everything new, performs monotonous and repetitive movements.

If parents find symptoms of autism in their child, they should immediately contact a child psychiatrist. Currently, many child development centers have been created, which will help diagnose and provide effective assistance in treatment.