Autism in recent years has been a real epidemic. According to statistics, in a few decades every thirty child will have less or more pronounced signs of autism. If the disease is severe, then a child from an early age does not have the ability to contact with the outside world. Features of perception make this disease incurable, because in fact the child is not sick, he is just different, different. āNot like everyone elseā - such is the sad sentence of psychiatry. Holding therapy for autism has shown good clinical results and is now actively used throughout the world to treat children with this diagnosis.
Autism Diagnosis Age
Since modern psychiatry considers the disease congenital, the average age of its diagnosis in a child is about two to three years. At an early age, autism can be confused with a delay in psycho-speech development, so psychiatrists often do not make the final diagnosis and wait for a child to reach four years of age. Usually, by this age, all doubts are already dispelled: a complete lack of contact with the outside world, a lack of need for communication, stereotyping, and general underdevelopment of speech - all these symptoms and signs of autism in children leave no doubt for making an accurate diagnosis.
In some cases, the diagnosis is made erroneously, but this is relatively rare and mainly in children under two years of age. Autism is noticeable from birth or from the first months of life - this is a fact that cannot be ignored. and the sooner the parents turn to the psychiatrist and engage in pharmacological and psychological correction of the childās behavior, the better.
Symptoms of Autism in Children
The signs of the disease are as follows:
- the baby never looks in the eyes, there is no empathic connection in the look;
- he does not understand the speech addressed to him;
- he resists trying to make emotional or communicative contact;
- there is no speech as a connection in communication, echolalia can be observed (that is, a banal repetition of short words without awareness of their meaning);
- the baby does not respond to his name;
- may not feel pain - for example, touch hot objects again and again, despite blisters on the fingers from a previous injury;
- mental retardation is often observed;
- in some cases, autists exhibit phenomenal talent in any of the scientific fields - but this is the exception rather than the rule.
Autism Misconceptions
There is a myth among the people that autists are excellent mathematicians, programmers. It's a delusion. Most of these children have a deep form of mental retardation and are unable to think logically. indeed, there are units that are prone to mathematics and the exact sciences - but their number is approaching tenths of a percent of the total number of all children with some degree of autism.
Psychiatry distinguishes between:
- Kannerās autism is the most difficult form in which the child is completely converted into himself, it is a deep disability until the end of his life;
- Aspergerās autism - the child is able to fully socialize, and only minor oddities will distinguish him from neurotypical people;
- atypical atism can be implicit features of the underlying disease;
- classic autism involves a moderate immersion in oneās own world and a moderate emotional response to very bright, strong external stimuli.
Which doctor should be consulted for suspected autism
As a rule, most mothers immediately notice that something is wrong with the child. Because of this, they subconsciously want to abandon their childās health problems. For this reason, many mothers until the last moment postpone a visit to a psychiatrist.
Autism is not treated by a neurologist, therapist, or any other doctor. This is a mental illness and only a psychiatrist can prescribe treatment (both pedagogical and pharmacological). He collects documents to extend disability. It may take years to get rid of the manifestations of the disease (if at all possible in each individual case).
A cash increase on disability will be very useful for a family with a sick child. Most often, in connection with caring for a disabled child, one of the parents is forced to leave the family - in this regard, the state also provides an additional payment. Of course, its size is negligible (5500 rubles) compared with the parent's possible salary at work. But an autistic child is not taken to kindergartens for ordinary children - and it takes a very long time to wait for queuing in a specialized kindergarten - sometimes it takes years.
Methods for helping children with autism
Modern psychiatry has recognized the disease as incurable. Working with autistic children may help them to adapt a little in the world around them, but they will never make them completely normal, neurotypical people. Parents should come to terms with this idea and begin corrective work as soon as possible.
- The method of aba therapy is recognized throughout the world as the most effective way to at least slightly adapt a child to the outside world. In some cases, classes give a truly amazing effect - children are no different from neurotypical ones.
- Autism holding therapy is a controversial method. It consists in the fact that sensory contact with an autist should be established. If necessary, keep it forcibly. In almost all children, this causes panic. Holding therapy for autism in some cases gives a positive trend.
- Magnetotherapy, Tomatis and transcranial micropolarization are physiotherapeutic methods for influencing brain regions. For tens of thousands of children around the world, these methods have helped to better adapt in the world, improve sensory hearing, and better understand addressed speech. Tomatis is especially indicated for autistic children, as it promotes sensory integration and a better understanding of communication.
Is there a "magic pill"
An effective treatment for autism has not yet been invented. People who were born with this perception will remain so for the rest of their lives. The maximum that can be done is to try to help them accept the world at least in part. learn to serve themselves in everyday life and simple phrases that would help them find their home or parents.
There are many alternative methods of treatment - this is a diet for autism, and acupuncture, and taking many dietary supplements. However, none of these agents have produced clinically proven results.
Autism Holding Therapy Method
This is a relatively new means of pedagogical therapy. It consists in the fact that the baby should be put on his lap, try to fix his head so that his eyes are fixed on the teacherās eyes. And try, gradually increasing the exposure time, to learn words and instructions. You should start with one minute, gradually increase the time to an hour or more.
The description of the method is described in more detail in professional textbooks for psychiatrists and educators. Defectologists are also familiar with this correction program and often use some of the "chips" of holding therapy in their work.
Negative impact on the psyche
Alas, this method did not become a panacea. Due to the forced retention of the child, he received many negative responses around the world. Criticism of holding therapy is based on the impossibility of causing even greater stress to the already sick psyche of an autistic child. Many world-famous educators and psychiatrists have come forward with petitions to prohibit such treatment methods and allow autists to be what they were born to stay in their inner world.
However, many parents do not take contraindications to holding therapy seriously. They are ready for anything, if only the child became at least a little involved in the outside world and began to behave "like all children." Often parents do not care which way this goal is achieved. In families with autistic children, work with psychologists is necessary for both mothers and fathers: serious emotional discord due to the illness of the child often leads to divorce and tragedy.
Aba therapy and its results
This is a method of applied behavior correction. It requires many hours of intensive training. there is no guarantee that after this the child will become ālike everyone elseā. It is only possible to partially teach him to recognize colors, letters, numbers, perform simple commands. this often takes several years of daily, painstaking and often painful work. It often happens that a child so resists the invasion of his world that he cries for hours on end without having to sit at a table. Such children can often imitate vomiting, can produce an act of emptying the bladder - this is a kind of expression of protest against attempts to teach them something.
Nevertheless, to date, aba therapy is recognized in the world as one of the most effective ways to teach autists the simplest self-care skills.
Autism-free gluten-free diet - does it make sense?
This is an alternative treatment for autism. Clinical studies have never confirmed the relationship between the presence of gluten in food and the development of autistic traits in a child. At the same time, many mothers fanatically believe in this theory and exclude from the diet of their sick children any products in which there may be at least a gluten crumb. For example, even rice should be bought only special, from a certain manufacturer - after all, āgluten dustā may remain on ordinary rice. As a result, the child actually lives only on meat food, since many mothers also remove lactose from the diet of children.
Such treatments are not encouraged by official medicine. Moreover, mothers who are forcibly trying to put their children on such diets should themselves be examined. It is important to calculate your strength and adequacy so that a situation does not arise when children are poisoned with excess protein and dietary supplements, which are supposedly sent from abroad for the "treatment of autism."