Early childhood autism: everything you need to know about it - the causes of development, symptoms and signs, diagnosis and treatment. Tips for parents

Both children and adults can be autistic. This article will focus on childhood autism (children with early childhood autism). Currently, there are several explanations for the phenomenon of the human psyche called autism. Fans of one version or another are ready to provide an almost endless set of convincing, in their opinion, evidence in defense of their assumptions.

Early childhood autism

Some argue that autism is a psychiatric disease, and put it on a par with schizophrenia and for some reason compare it with Down's syndrome. Although there is nothing in common between this syndrome and autism. Others are convinced that autism is not a disease at all, but a special mental and partly physiological condition, thanks to which a person sees the world differently and interacts with the world according to his own special rules. Still others claim that autists are aliens from other worlds who have found themselves on Earth by some marvel.

In fact, at present, only one thing is known for certain. Autism is an innate feature of the human psyche. It is innate, that is, it is impossible to acquire autistic properties in the process of life, with them a person is born. It is impossible to get rid of these properties: these are a kind of instincts given to autists for survival. An autistic child grows into an autistic adult.

The main differences between an autistic person and an ordinary person:

The autistic person avoids contact with the outside world as much as he can. He does not want to communicate with people, and if he does, it is only when absolutely necessary. Any stay in society takes a lot of energy from him. To recover, an autistic person needs to spend a long time alone.
He has his own inner world, in which he mostly dwells and into which he does not admit anyone.
The autistic strives to live according to his own, understandable only to himself, the rules.

Separately, it is necessary to touch upon here such a question as the number of autists in the modern world. Many argue that more and more of them are born every year. According to them, if earlier there were 2-3 babies with autistic deviation for every 10,000 normal children, then in recent years there are up to 200 children with early childhood autism syndrome for the same 10,000 normal children. On the basis of these figures, it was even suggested that a mysterious "autistic epidemic" was spreading in the world.
Serious researchers refute such rumors, and do not see any "autistic epidemic". In their opinion, the percentage of children born with signs of early autism is constantly stable and ranges from 5 to 20 "out" for the same 10,000 normal babies. Serious scientists explain allegations of an incredible number of newborns with autistic symptoms as a tribute to the aforementioned fashion. And, of course, fear: as you know, everything unknown to a person is afraid. Those who are afraid always exaggerate their fears.

The causes of childhood autism

There are many versions, hypotheses and assumptions about what autism is. However, the true reason for what it really is is still unknown to anyone. Currently, none of the assumptions has been fully proven. And since this is so, the versions continue to multiply - from more or less scientifically based, to the most fantastic:

Autism is inherited. Advantages of this version: indeed, sometimes in the same family there are an autistic dad and an autistic child. Cons: with almost the same frequency, a child with autism syndrome can be born into an ordinary family;
Usually an autistic person is the first child in a family. However, recently it has been proven that the second child, and the third, and even the eighth or tenth, can be autistic with almost the same frequency. No "iron" regularity has been found here so far;
The mother who gave birth to an autistic child, during pregnancy, contracted any viral disease: rubella, measles, chickenpox, etc. As a result of the maternal disease, the fetus's brain began to develop abnormally, hence early childhood autism. Advantages of this version: Indeed, most autistic children in the first years of life have overdevelopment of the brain, which is confirmed by scientific research. Cons: Currently, a direct link between maternal illness and excessive brain development in a child has not been proven;
The child becomes autistic because of the "coldness" of the parents. In other words, if parents do not pay due attention to their child and do not communicate emotionally with him, then the baby withdraws into himself - hence the childhood autism. Not so given, this version was held in high esteem, but then it was proved that autism is an innate property, and now this version has been thoroughly forgotten;
It is also hypothesized that children become autistic due to vaccinations. This version also does not stand up to serious criticism for the same reason: they do not become autistic, they are born;
Recently, there are more and more fans of the hypothesis that autism syndrome is a failure in the genetics of a particular person when this person is still in the womb. It is true, which particular gene “failed”, and why it was this, and not some other gene, is still unclear;
There are no fantastical versions of the autism phenomenon (like "an autist is a person of a new race" or "an autist is an alien").

Symptoms and Signs

There are several important things to keep in mind when talking about the symptoms and signs of autism. First, when talking about the symptoms and signs inherent in autistic children, you need to keep in mind that we are talking specifically about their features of psychological development, but not about intellectual abilities. Perceiving autistic children as some kind of fools is a big mistake, not to mention the moral aspects of such perception. Second, one should not assume that the symptoms, which will be discussed here, are inherent in every child without exception with an autistic spectrum of perception. It has been proven that every autistic person (including a child) differs from his own kind to a much greater extent than ordinary people differ from each other.

Therefore, the following list of symptoms and signs will be generalized to some extent. In other words, someone has this or that sign / symptom, someone does not. Here, a lot depends on the psychological structure of the baby himself. And, of course, on what kind of people surround the “autenka” and how they influence him. Although in any case, it should be borne in mind that all the child's behavior is aimed at isolating himself from the outside world and not allowing anyone into his own inner world.

The autistic signs shown depend largely on the age of the child. From the moment of birth to 2 years of age, they are as follows:

The child does not show affection for the mother in any way. He does not smile, does not pull his hands to his mother, does not worry when she is not there;
When communicating, the baby stubbornly does not look into the eyes and at the mother's face. In a figurative expression, he constantly looks "through" or to the side;
He does not react in any way when his mother takes him in her arms, and if he does, then screaming and crying. Very often little autyats refuse the mother's breast. It seems that the baby is better when no one touches or touches him;
A child with early autism does not want to play with other children, he likes to play alone. Moreover, he is usually indifferent to traditional children's toys, preferring some foreign object as a toy: a wheel, a sliver, a piece of rope, etc. In general, fragments of an object interest him much more than the object as a whole;
The child does not point his finger at the object or person that interests him, as most children do;
Communicating with other people, he often treats them as objects, that is, he does not understand the differences between a person and an object. Or - does not consider it necessary to distinguish one from the other;
Usually the child does not respond to his name;
For a long time he may not speak - sometimes up to 5 years old and even 7 years old. And if he does, it is extremely rare and reluctant. Sometimes, having uttered a few quite meaningful phrases, he can again be silent for a long time (why the child does not start talking for a long time);
He does not tolerate any changes, and as he can resists them. Any change in the environment, in clothes, in food can cause fear or aggression in the “autenk”;
He sleeps poorly, can lie for a long time, looking somewhere into space;
Reacts very sharply to some external stimuli: noise, a set of certain sounds, bright light, smells, some words uttered by other people, etc. All this can be very frightening for the “autenka” or cause protest in him, including hysteria;
A separate point should be noted the hypersensitivity of the little autist to touch. Unbearable suffering can be delivered to him by the seemingly ordinary things and actions of other people: a tag or seams on clothes, clothes that are too tight, a collar buttoned up under the throat, a scarf, a cold zipper on a jacket, stroking the head, trying to take a hand or kiss, etc. All this can cause a violent protest and even hysteria in the baby;
These children usually have interruptions in appetite (that is, it is, then it is not). In addition, a small autistic person often refuses some dishes, while he prefers other foods. Any attempt to diversify the menu causes fear and sharp rejection;
The intelligence of an autistic child may develop normally, lag behind or ahead of the natural schedule. What it depends on is unknown. Very often, the intellect develops one-sidedly: in some area, a child can achieve simply phenomenal success, and in other areas - not know even elementary things;
The listed symptoms can be considered the primary signals for parents. If at least a third of these signs in a child are regularly observed, then this is already a reason for parents to think about whether their child is autistic.

From 2 years old to 11 years old, the child usually shows additional autistic signs:

The kid can either not speak at all, or speak extremely rarely, or constantly pronounce the same word or phrase (the so-called echolalia);
Sometimes a child can express himself in long and complex phrases that do not correspond to his age;
An autistic person often has a lack of awareness of his own “I”: he can talk about himself in the third person, or use the word “you”;
Almost never a child starts a conversation first and tends to avoid a conversation started by someone else;
The slightest change in the environment to which the child is accustomed causes panic and inappropriate behavior in him. Moreover, the disappearance of a person means much less to him than the disappearance of a familiar object;
An autistic person often develops fears, the cause of which is impossible to trace. At the same time, reasons for real fears do not seem to exist for him;
In children with autistic disabilities, such features as clumsiness, poor coordination of movements, inability to control their body (or, in other words, a weak sense of the body in space) are especially clearly observed. For these reasons, the “autenk” has problems with fine motor skills, he is not able to learn to ride a bicycle and swim, even the most elementary gymnastic exercises are beyond his control;
The baby spends most of the time performing monotonous actions: swinging like a pendulum, examining an object, shaking his hands, etc. Moreover, this can happen both during the day and at night;
It is with great difficulty that a child acquires basic self-care skills. Often they are beyond his power at all;
Quite often, children with early autism syndrome are unable to master writing and reading;
On the other hand, they can quickly develop uncommon abilities for a particular type of activity: drawing, music, programming, mathematics, writing;
Little autistic people usually immerse themselves in their own world. Attempts to get them out of there always meet with stiff resistance.

[sc name = ”rsa”]

From the age of 11, autistic traits are finally formed:

More and more, the child manifests a craving for solitude. He doesn't look other people in the eye. In other cases, on the contrary, he may look into the eyes too intently, come too close to another person, speak very loudly or, conversely, quietly;
He begins to use a small number of words, which often gives the impression that the “autenk” has an excessively poor vocabulary;
The child develops a kind of "autistic accent", that is, the child begins to speak with the intonation of a robot;
The same applies to gait: it becomes unnatural, uncoordinated, often - like a robot;
Some of the autistic children are overly active, others are extremely withdrawn and withdrawn;
An autistic child is usually unable to establish a friendship or relationship with someone.

In addition to these, most autistic children show other signs of deviation from the generally accepted developmental standard:

Stubborn unwillingness to look the other person in the eye;
Unwillingness to laugh when they try to make him laugh and, conversely, laughter for no reason in the wrong situation;
Using gestures instead of words;
Lack of reaction to words addressed to him;
Inability to play role-playing games and inability to come up with game plots;
Often an autistic child cannot speak. Sometimes - even as an adult;
All autistic people, including children, are characterized by stereotyped behavior. Rituals are very important for them: the same setting, the same food, the same routes. The slightest change will completely disorient the autistic child and will almost certainly cause whims, tantrums and other forms of protest in him;
Extreme concentration on any specific activity or fragment of something. A small autistic person can be engaged in any activity all day without distraction. Attempts to distract him, in most cases, are followed by a reaction in the form of anger;
Does not realize the danger of the situation, for example, puts objects into an outlet, picks up sharp objects in his hands, tries to cross the road on which the car is traveling at high speed.

Video Interview: How to Recognize Childhood Autism: Key Symptoms

How an autistic child sees the world

In order to better understand the autistic child, it is necessary to say separately about how he sees the world around him. It is clear that kids can hardly say anything clearly about this. Autistic adults speak more about their vision of the world. They claim that they see the surrounding reality in a completely different way than most people. Moreover, according to their assurances, this is how they have always seen the world, from birth.

Most of humanity sees the whole world around us. Autistic people see everything in fragments: first - one particle of the surrounding reality, then - the third, fourth, and so on. Having fixed many particles in their minds, people with autistic disabilities put together a whole picture of them. From the point of view of most people, this is difficult. But autistic people cannot see otherwise.

They think about the same. In order for the autistic to form a thought, he first needs to build in his mind a picture of what he is thinking.To build a picture, you must first collect it in fragments. This is in many ways reminiscent of the well-known puzzle game. However, for an autistic person, this is not a game, but the only possible way to perceive the world.

Many researchers of the phenomenon of autism agree that, first of all, it is the autistic perception of the world and thinking that explains the behavior of autists. Does the autistic child not pay attention to the mother? This is because he did not have time to form a visible image of his mother in his brain. Does he not hear the words addressed to him? This is because there was no picture in his mind for these words.

Types and main syndromes of autism

Due to the fact that autism is an extremely complex and poorly studied phenomenon, there is still no clear qualification of its types. Autism is usually subdivided into several subspecies, each of which has its own characteristic features:

1. Kanner's syndrome (named after the scientist who first described this subtype of the disorder). This is the so-called classic autism. Its main features were described above. Autistic people susceptible to this syndrome may not contact the world at all or contact in a limited way (for example, throughout their life they may not speak, not be able to walk, take care of themselves, etc.).

2. Asperger's syndrome (named after the scientist who first classified this subspecies). This syndrome is also called "highly functional autism", and its carriers - "aspi":

Most Aspies have normal intelligence and behavior. They can successfully graduate from school and university, get a profession, start a family;
However, throughout their lives, they, nevertheless, will observe character traits and behavior typical of an autistic: detachment, craving for loneliness, inability to build relationships, specific interests, lack of understanding of the rules and laws of social interaction, extreme straightforwardness, specific interests, etc. hobbies. To this can be added the inability to build a career and exceptional truthfulness;
Among the "Aspies" the greatest number of geniuses. It is from them that outstanding programmers, artists, musicians, athletes, writers are made;
Aspie has non-standard thinking and well-developed logic;
Their characteristic feature is the inability for a long time to focus on any one object or thought;
Autistic people with Asperger Syndrome can be easily distinguished by their appearance. Usually they have beautiful ("doll") faces with frozen facial expressions and a special look, directed not outside, but as if inside themselves. When communicating, they do not look the other person in the eye;
Children with Asperger's Syndrome are strongly attached to the home where they live. They have no such attachment to their parents.

3. Rett syndrome. This is the most difficult type of autism.

This is a serious illness of the nervous system, the causes of its occurrence are associated with abnormalities in the X chromosome. Only girls are ill with it, since with such violations, the male fetus dies in the womb. The frequency of this disease is 1: 10,000 girls. When a child has this particular syndrome, the following signs are noted:

deep withdrawal into oneself, complete isolation from the outside world;
full development of the child up to a year, then a sharp inhibition and the manifestation of signs of mental retardation;
slowdown in head growth after a year;
loss of acquired skills and purposeful limb movements;
frequent senseless hand movements, reminiscent of washing;
Mental retardation;
Decreased muscle tone, up to the complete inability to walk and move your arms;
Loss of speech.

Often, Rett syndrome is diagnosed in parallel with epilepsy or delayed brain development. When such a diagnosis is made, the prognosis is unfavorable, the disease practically cannot be corrected.

4. Atypical autism. This category usually includes those autistic children, whose deviation from the norm for some reason cannot be classified as Kanner's syndrome or Asperger's syndrome.

The intelligence of a child with autism

The intellectual capabilities of children with autistic disorder are largely a mystery. It is generally accepted that about 50% of these children are lagging behind in mental development. Such data are cited by American researchers. Unlike Russia, in this country, as well as in the countries of Western Europe, serious attention is paid to the study of the phenomenon of autism. Therefore, the named figure can be trusted.

At the same time, many researchers refute this figure. What does the term "mental retardation" mean, they ask? If a small autistic person is not able to dress on his own, but at the same time draws brilliant pictures - what can be said in this case about his intellect? If in the firm of computer genius Bill Gates (who, by the way, is himself an autist), more than 20% of its programmers are as autistic as their boss - what kind of lag in intelligence can we talk about? If American researchers argue that more than 10% of autistic people are geniuses in various fields of human activity, while among ordinary people there are a little more than 1% of geniuses - how in this case can we talk about the intellectual squalor of autists?

[sc name = ”ads”]

Typically, the genius of autistic people manifests itself in early childhood. Therefore, it should not be about lagging intellectually, but, apparently, about the peculiarities of their mental development.... They have many such features. One of the most important is the overdevelopment of one part of the brain by suppressing other parts of it, as a result of which autists give the world such an impressive number of geniuses in a particular area of human activity. According to many researchers, this is precisely a physiological feature of intelligence, but not a lag in development.

To treat or not to treat?

Whether childhood autism can be cured is an extremely important and complex question. It all depends on how to regard autism - as a psychiatric disease, or as a unique personality development. There are currently two opinions.

autism is a mental illness and therefore needs to be treated in psychiatric clinics.
autism is precisely a unique human characteristic and, therefore, psychiatrists are not needed here.

The USA and Western Europe are convinced that the clue to autism should be sought in the field of human psychology, and not psychiatry. Foreign countries began to study this phenomenon much earlier than Russia. And, accordingly, they were the first to come to the conclusion that autism is not a disease (especially of a mental nature). Therefore, all the autistic needs is to help him adapt to this world, alien to him.

In Russia, it is still possible to meet in many ways the opinion that it is psychiatrists who should deal with autists (especially in childhood). At the same time, right there, as they say, a parallel course follows the assertion that none of the doctors has any idea how exactly autistic children should be treated. First, it is still unclear what autism is and what causes it. Secondly, doctors themselves admit that they have no intelligible methods of treatment, and even more so - no drugs.

That is why all the "treatment" of even a small, even an adult autistic is that he is placed in a psychiatric clinic. Sometimes for a long time. Sometimes (if he has no loved ones who could take care of him) - forever. Here he is treated in the same way as other mental patients. Due to their extremely subtle mental structure, the majority of autistic people do not withstand such "treatment": now in Russia they are talking about it more and more loudly, demanding to exclude autism from the list of psychiatric diseases.

Diagnosis of Childhood Autism

Even if a child has some kind of autism symptoms, it is difficult to identify them before the baby is one year old. Experienced parents who have more than one child may, of course, notice some deviations in the development of the baby, but it would be a mistake to say that this is autism. This requires a comprehensive and in-depth study. Of course, only specialists can do this.

The main methods that can be used to identify signs of an autistic disorder in a child:

Testing with specific questions;
Ultrasound of the brain: using this procedure, you can identify possible abnormalities in the development of the child's brain;
EEG: this procedure is performed to identify a possible mental impairment in the baby, in particular, epilepsy. This is necessary because seizures are often one of the hallmarks of autism;
Checking with an otolaryngologist: this is necessary in order to determine if the child hears normally or if the delay in his development is caused by hearing loss.

Test with special questionnaires

If a child's autism is suspected, diagnosis is carried out using parent surveys, as well as studying how the baby behaves in his familiar environment. The following tests apply:

Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS)
Autism Diagnostic Inventory (ADI-R)
Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
Autism Behavioral Diagnostic Questionnaire (ABC)
Autism Indicators Assessment Checklist (ATEC)
Young Child Autism Inventory (CHAT)

It must be remembered that the earlier the correct diagnosis is made to the baby, the higher the likelihood of successful treatment and rehabilitation of a little autistic person.

How can you help your autistic child?

This is a much more correct question. Any autistic person (and especially a child with early autism) should not be treated, but should be taught to acquire the necessary physical and psychological skills so that he could survive in a foreign world for him. Now this is clear to any sane person. Of course, such help can also be called treatment. However, this is still far from psychiatry, it is first of all just help.

Currently, in the world (including in Russia), many methods have been developed to help small "outyats". Such methods are designed to:

Help the little autistic person to develop skills and abilities that will be useful in the future for establishing contacts with other people.
To develop his correct speech.
Help him overcome the traits typical of autists: withdrawal from the world, fear, aggression.
Teach him to role play.
Explain how to properly establish contacts with other people.
Teach him to take care of himself.
Explain that this world is not as hostile to it as it seems to the child.

[sc name = ”rsa”]

It is clear that psychologists, psychotherapists, speech therapists, teachers, but by no means psychiatrists, should deal with all this. In many cases, you can help an autistic child on your own, at home. Here are some guidelines for parents:

It is necessary to repeat the same actions with the child as often as possible in order to develop this or that skill in him and consolidate the skills;
Make a clear daily routine for him: this will make it easier for him to understand what exactly you are trying to achieve from him. In this case, you yourself need to follow this routine. If you break the routine, you disorient the child;
It is very strictly necessary to ensure that the environment in the room where the child lives remains unchanged. You should always remember that the slightest change in the situation can cause confusion, aggression, hysteria in a little autistic person;
Give your child as much time as possible. Try to get him to talk - even if he doesn't answer you;
Never scold or punish an autistic child. This can lead to the fact that he withdraws into himself even more. You should always talk to him quietly and kindly;
As often as possible, you need to try to establish physical contact with him: stroking him, picking him up, kissing him. Thus, you let the baby know that you need him and you love him;
If the baby cannot speak or speaks with difficulty, you can communicate with him using special cards with drawn pictures;
It is necessary to ensure that the child does not overwork. In most cases, young autistic people react to overwork either by withdrawal or by screaming and anger;
Since autistic people are not all right with the coordination of movements, it is necessary to regularly exercise with them;
Any initiative of a little autistic should be treated with due attention, in no case rejecting it, but, on the contrary, try to bring it to its logical conclusion - preferably with the help of the child himself;
Recent studies have shown that communication with animals - especially horses and dolphins - is very helpful for an autistic child. Therefore, it is desirable to provide him with such communication.

Behavioral treatment

The most common therapy for childhood autism syndrome is based on the principles of behaviorism (behavioral psychology). One of the subtypes of this 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 their favorite food, for others - music, sounds or the touch of fabric. All the desired responses are then reinforced with this reward. Simply put: I did it the way it should - I got a candy. Thus, contact with the child appears, the necessary skills are consolidated and destructive behavior in the form of hysterics and self-aggression disappears.

Speech therapy

Almost all autistic people have some kind of speech problems that prevent them from communicating with the people around them. Regular classes with speech therapists allow you to establish intonation, correct pronunciation and prepare your child for school.

Acquisition of skills of self-service and being in society

Autistic children lack self-care skills, they do not understand why they need to wash, brush their teeth, dress, and adhere to a daily routine every day. To consolidate the necessary skills in a playful way, the specialist uses cards to demonstrate, on which the procedure for performing the necessary daily actions is detailed.

Drug therapy

Specialists resort to the use of medications only in cases of the appearance of destructive behavioral disorders that prevent the baby from feeling normal in society and fully developing.

It is advisable to use sedatives, psychotropic drugs and antipsychotics only in case of emergency, parents of an autistic child should understand that crying and whims is much better than deep withdrawal into oneself and complete apathy to what is happening around.

It is not necessary to give the child Glycine, Valerian tablets or sleeping pills without a doctor's prescription - by such actions parents can greatly harm the child.

In some cases, medication can be helpful for a child with autism. Here it is extremely important to remember that self-medication is unacceptable and in everything you need to follow the prescriptions of doctors.

Video: childhood autism can be cured

Or maybe it's not autism? ..

Quite often, autism is confused with other diseases. Therefore, having discovered some oddities in the behavior of a baby, one should not think that this is precisely autism. This could be:

Delay of psyche and speech, with autism in no way associated. Delays in psycho-speech development can be successfully eliminated by contacting a doctor;
The child can simply be "fidgety", that is, hyperactive. Children's hyperactivity and lack of attentiveness do not allow children to concentrate on their studies;
From birth, a baby may have difficulty hearing (the so-called hearing loss). It can be congenital or acquired. Because of this, the baby may speak poorly and lag behind in development;
The child may have schizophrenia.With schizophrenia, the baby can talk to himself, be aggressive or, conversely, overly withdrawn, his coordination may be impaired. Many of the symptoms of this disease resemble autism and can be easily confused. Autism cannot be cured, unlike schizophrenia.

Therefore, you should not independently diagnose your baby. It is better to turn to specialists for this.

Tips for parents

Those moms and dads with an autistic child should remember a few simple truths:

Your child is not like other children: he is special.
This does not mean that he is worse than others.
Your child sees the world in a completely different way: first of all, he is afraid of him. Therefore, the main desire of your baby is to hide from the world.
This is his innate desire, so he was born. It is impossible to eradicate this completely, but it is quite possible to reduce and mitigate it.
Your child thinks and will think in the future in a completely different way than you. It has been proven that all autistic people think not in words, but in pictures. That is, in order to form an idea about something, they first need to build an accurate picture in their minds. It's kind of like putting together a puzzle. This takes some time. For the most part, it is for this reason that there is a persistent belief that autistic people lag behind in intellectual development.
Your child will always be autistic. It cannot be cured, it can only be partially corrected.
It is not true that a little autistic person does not need your affection and your kind words. He needs them just like other children. Simply - you need to make more efforts to ensure that your "autenok" believes you and stops perceiving you as part of a hostile world for him.

To help your autistic child, you need to know as much as possible about autism. This is not a problem now. On this topic, you can consult with specialists, read special literature, join the community of parents whose children are autistic. Such communities can be found on the Internet. In them, parents share their experience of communication with their “outyats”. A lot of useful information can be learned from such communication.