Autism is an inborn pathology. With this ailment, the child's ability to establish social contacts is reduced. Patients have difficulty communicating, recognizing and expressing emotions, and understanding speech. Today, experts are actively studying a disease such as autism. Is this pathology treated? This issue is very relevant for relatives of patients. The article talks about methods of dealing with an ailment, its symptoms and diagnosis.
General information
The disease occurs due to insufficiently coordinated activity of various parts of the brain. Patients have difficulty establishing an adequate relationship. Intelligence remains normal in many people with autism. Is pathology completely treated? According to medical research, the answer to this question is no. However, early detection of the disorder and adequate therapy help many patients lead relatively normal and independent lives.
Causes of the disease
To date, specialists have not been able to establish what factors contribute to its development. There are several hypotheses about why the disease appears. For example, some scholars have suggested that autism occurs in children who grow up in certain environmental conditions. For example, a mother who is tough and overwhelming or suffering from depression is not able to create conditions for the normal upbringing of the baby. As a result, the baby has developmental and behavioral disorders.
Another hypothesis is based on a genetic predisposition. It has not been confirmed.
Some experts suggest that the pathology develops as a result of the influence of factors such as infection or intoxication of the mother's body during the period of gestation, severe delivery. There is another hypothesis that has appeared recently. It lies in the fact that the signs of the disease occur in the child after vaccination. Studies have shown that this theory is not true. In addition, refusal of vaccinations negatively affects the health of the baby. Today, many children are diagnosed with autism. Is this disease treated or not? How to recognize him in time? These questions concern parents of patients.
When and how does the disease manifest?
Symptoms usually occur in children at about 3 years of age. But the onset of the disease can vary. Relatives notice signs of developmental retardation in the baby. His speech and manner of behavior are atypical for a given age. Sometimes the child begins to speak on time, but then quickly loses the acquired skill. Then the parents notice in the baby a violation of the ability to communicate, the uniformity of games, behavior, gestures and hobbies.
Pathology, which is discussed in the article, scientists began to research relatively recently - about 70 years ago. Many children who have been diagnosed with schizophrenic disorder or mental retardation have actually had autism. Is this ailment treated? Experts say that the sooner a disease is detected, the more effective the measures to combat it. Many drugs that are used for schizophrenia or oligophrenia are not only useless, but even harmful to patients with autism. Sometimes the condition in question is no less severe than other mental disorders. Its result is disability.
Signs of pathology in childhood
Typical manifestations of the disease, characteristic of all patients, do not exist. For each person, depending on his individual characteristics, certain combinations of symptoms are characteristic. Experts say that autism at an early age can be suspected if there are such signs:
- The kid does not feel affection for loved ones, does not cry if mom or dad leave.
- His intellectual development is delayed.
- The child does not seek communication with peers. May show unreasonable cruelty, outbursts of anger. He likes to play alone, avoids peers.
- The kid has a strong attachment to certain objects. However, he does not notice other things. For example, uses one toy, refusing all others.
- Autistic painfully reacts to bright light and loud sound. It does not tolerate the noise of a vacuum cleaner or kitchen appliances. For a healthy child, such things seem natural. In autism, they cause fright, hysteria.
- The kid does not distinguish animate objects from inanimate things.
- He does not seek to maintain bodily contact, does not ask for his hands, does not like touch.
Having discovered such manifestations in a son or daughter, parents turn to specialists. Is autism in children treated or not? This problem worries many today.
Other symptoms of the disorder
Other symptoms may indicate autism:
- The games and entertainment of the baby are unusual, often they are monotonous.
- The child is not interested in walking, learning about the world. He seems closed, detached.
- The kid does not recognize sign language, facial expressions.
- He avoids direct gaze, does not look into the eyes of others.
- The child’s speech and gestures are strange, their behavior is nervous.
- Baby's voice is monotonous.
Many parents, having noticed such symptoms in their son or daughter, ask whether autism in a child of 3 years is treated. Experts advise that you carefully pay attention to the early signs of the disorder and show the child in time to the doctor. Then there is hope that developmental disorders can be corrected.
Features of speech of patients
It should be noted that many babies with this pathology hardly speak until 3 years old. Patients can make up words. They also like to copy the speech of others. The child speaks about himself in the third person, does not address people by name. When someone tries to speak with an autist, he does not respond. Such babies make an impression of the deaf. Backwardness in the development and acquisition of new skills is a trait characteristic of many children with autism. Is such a disorder treated? Can serious consequences be avoided? These questions worry parents. Doctors say that a special approach to the education and development of the child, special classes with teachers help to correct the manifestations of the disorder.
Interaction Disorders
Autists are timid and timid. They do not know how to play with peers, to be friends. Such children are not able to learn the norms of behavior. They don’t like it when someone bothers them. If another baby approaches autistic and tries to establish communication, he can run away, hide. In addition, the patient is prone to bouts of anger. The patient directs aggression on himself or others. Kids with a similar deviation are afraid of change. If you move furniture, rearrange books, or throw away a broken toy, the autist will react violently to this. Another feature of such patients is undeveloped abstract thinking. They can only repeat what they heard or saw. These babies make strange movements (swing, jump, shake hands, twirl their fingers). Such behavior makes it difficult to stay in society. Social adaptation is a problem that worries parents of patients with autism. Are such violations treated? Will the child be able to live normally in society?
Parents often ask these questions to specialists. Unfortunately, there are no drugs that would allow autists to communicate adequately. However, there are techniques that allow you to correct behavioral disorders and help your child better interact with others.
Manifestations of ailments in a teenager
With age, the patient has new symptoms. For example, many have learning difficulties. They do not read and write well. However, some autistic individuals exhibit deep knowledge and good ability in particular disciplines. It can be mathematics, music, art. By age 12, children still acquire basic communication skills. But they prefer to be alone. In the puberty period, patients may experience anxiety.
Often there is a suppressed emotional state, outbreaks of anger, an increase in sexual desire. Seizures are another common occurrence for teens with autism. Is a similar symptom treated? Attacks can be controlled with drugs. In severe cases, surgery is used. Sometimes seizures go away on their own, without the use of medication.
Adult Autism
Symptoms in adulthood depend on the severity of the pathology. The following are characteristic of patients with this disorder:
- Poverty of gestures and facial expressions.
- Non-observance of norms of behavior in society.
- Causing unconscious harm to others.
- Poor ability to establish friendships, family relationships.
- The inexpressiveness of speech, the repetition of the same phrases.
- Fear of change.
- Attachment to objects, strict adherence to the daily routine.
It is known that with mild autism, patients can adapt relatively normally to environmental conditions and communicate with people. There are individuals who create families, work.
If the pathology is difficult, the patient is not able to service himself.
Identification of the disorder
In order to diagnose the disease, it is necessary to show the child to specialists: pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist. They are able to determine the presence of an ailment. It must be remembered that the signs of pathology are largely similar to the manifestations of other abnormalities - cerebral palsy, schizophrenic disorder, mental retardation. And although the question of whether autism is treated in children completely, doctors do not give a positive answer, there are methods for correcting the disorder.
Therapy
Specific medicines that could eliminate the manifestations of the ailment do not yet exist. Such patients simply require a specific approach.
Specialists recommend training them in special institutions (kindergartens and schools). It is important to help children overcome communication difficulties, control outbreaks of anger, anxiety and other symptoms. If the disease is accompanied by seizures, medications are prescribed.
Is childhood autism treated at least partially? It depends on timely diagnosis. In countries where the disease is detected at an early age, patients can lead a normal life. Such people graduate from schools, engage in mental work.
Is childhood autism treated with other methods?
Pathology is considered one of the types of mental disorders. But not all doctors use antipsychotics as a therapy. Of course, these drugs can reduce the manifestations of the disease. However, their use is associated with side effects. The baby’s health may be impaired.
Some parents believe that childhood autism is treated with a diet that excludes dairy products and gluten. However, doctors argue that such a diet does not help reduce symptoms. Experts recommend paying attention to other aspects. For example, one should praise a son or daughter even for small achievements.
It is important to follow a clear daily routine. The answer to the question of whether early autism is treated completely is negative. But early diagnosis and a special approach to training and education help patients to better adapt in society.