What is autism in a child and what if you are faced with this? These special children are more and more talked and written every year. Many parents and pediatricians have gained valuable experience. Science is moving forward. Now, if a child has autism, this is not only a family tragedy, but also a task that many parents can cope with. Let's talk about this disorder in more detail.
What is autism in a child?
This disease manifests itself in the difficulties that a small person experiences in communication. To one degree or another, it makes normal development impossible, impairing learning ability and the ability to imitate adults and peers. In some cases, in order to understand what autism is in a child, it is necessary with the help of a neurologist to find out exactly which parts of the brain do not work properly for him. Timely diagnosis helps, if not cure this disease, then find a way for such children to partially realize their potential and reach the maximum possible stage of development.
What is autism in a child and what are its causes?
Currently, experts have not yet come to a single conclusion regarding the nature of this phenomenon. Many consider it hereditary. The question of which genes may be responsible for the onset of autism is still open. Scientists are working on decoding the human genome and trying to find the answer. One version (still not confirmed) relates the incidence of autism with vaccination of children. Autism is more likely to affect men. It is important to remember that it is incurable. Even having taught a child how to cope with his condition, it is still impossible to make him absolutely the same as everyone else. Undoubtedly, a predisposition to autism plays a huge role in its occurrence. But external factors, the significance of which is still not fully understood, affect whether a child will become an autist. Similar triggers are considered to be some infections transferred at an early age, complications during the pregnancy of the mother, and an environmentally unfavorable situation.
Features of children with autism
Signs of this disease appear up to three years. Parents are able to notice that something is wrong with the child, carefully watching him and comparing the details of his behavior with the behavior of other children. The most common impairment concerns speech development. It happens that the child begins to speak and subsequently loses these skills. It is possible that the development of speech will not begin at all. In this case, it is important to examine the child in order to exclude deafness. Another important symptom is rigid (inflexible, repetitive) behavior. Children with autism attach great importance to well-established patterns of action, rituals. Such a child is much stronger than an ordinary one, becomes attached to certain things in his environment (toys, favorite dishes) and cannot get used to the most minor changes for a long time. Autistic intelligence can be very high as well as normal. Some children may be stunted, but in most cases this is fixable. Behavioral therapy is used to treat autism , which is aimed at teaching a child social skills.