Autism in children: photos, causes, signs, symptoms, treatment

Autism is a congenital disease that is expressed in the loss of acquired skills, closure in “one’s world” and loss of contact with others. In the modern world, children with the same diagnosis are born more and more often. The prognosis of the disease depends on the parents' awareness: the sooner mom or dad notice unusual symptoms and begin treatment, the more safe the child’s psyche and brain will be. You can read about what autism in a child is, about its main signs and methods of correction in this article.

What is autism?

When a child is diagnosed with autism, many parents perceive this as a kind of verdict, because people with this feature are quite different. What is autism in children? In medical terms, this is a mental illness that leads to a general developmental disability. It is characterized by the loss of social adaptation, disrupted interaction in society and a change in the behavior of a child into a closed and aggressive one if someone tries to upset his existing world.

Autism research has been going on for a long time, but until then, scientists cannot come to a single answer about what autism is and what causes it. Some believe that neurotypical children simply differ from ordinary children in their way of thinking and that this cannot be called a disease or a deviation. L. Kanner called such children “little sages” who live in their own world. To some extent, this expression is true, because among autistic children, gifted individuals are 10 times more likely than ordinary ones. But most doctors tend to argue that children with autism do not adapt well in society, and view this diagnosis as a serious developmental disability.

The term "autism" first appeared in 1911, when the psychiatrist Eigen Bleiler described the symptoms of schizophrenia, the main of which was "withdrawal." "Autos" from Greek is translated as "himself." Despite the fact that autistic children still have contact with the outside world, the term has become fixed, although it has brought a lot of confusion. At the moment, the disease is diagnosed in five children out of ten thousand. For a long time, the reason for the development of autism was considered insufficient love and care in infancy. But over time, studies have shown that the cause is organic brain damage, which is most often congenital.

Why arises

Scientists are more or less clear about the symptoms and signs of autism in children, little is known about the causes of this disease. In 1964, psychologist Bernard Rimland, who had an autistic son, found that this disease appears due to organic changes in the brain. During the intrauterine development of the child, some brain structures for some reason are not formed correctly. In general, a child is born healthy, but over time, the characteristics of the psyche begin to appear: isolation, stereotypical movements, auto-aggression. But why these changes occur at the very initial stage, doctors have not yet established. Some scientists claim that the disease begins to develop in the first weeks of the embryo's life, leading to biochemical, genetic and neural disorders.

Symptoms and causes of autism in children can be associated with other diseases and be their consequence. This opinion is shared by some psychiatrists. If the child has some hereditary metabolic disorders, then this can also cause the development of the disease. For example, if the amount of copper in the body significantly exceeds the amount of zinc. In this case, the process of removing heavy metals from the body and delivering zinc to brain neurons is disrupted. Or a child has an increased intestinal permeability - in this case, the body becomes more vulnerable to various pathogenic organisms. Other causes of autism include the following:

• Mercury poisoning of the body is one of the most common causes of the development of “acquired” autism. Mercury comes to us from many sources: food (seafood), from the environment, and even from dental fillings. Normally, the human body has the ability to excrete small amounts of this metal. But if some process in the body is disturbed or there is too much mercury, then it begins to poison the cells of the child, which can contribute to the development of autism. Vaccines also contain a certain amount of mercury, so the disease in some babies develops after them.
• Predisposition to autoimmune diseases and weak immunity.
• Infectious diseases carried by the mother during pregnancy, smoking or drugs.

Autism in little ones

Signs of autism in children may vary by age. So, for example, up to two years this disease is diagnosed extremely rarely, since they attribute the strange behavior to the developmental features of the child. What are the signs of autism in children 2 years of age and younger? Here is some of them:

1. Weak interest in individuals. The very first image that a baby learns to distinguish is a human face. Normally, already in 2-3 months the child recognizes the mother, smiles at her. Then eye contact is made. If the baby is more interested in toys, does not show an emotional reaction when he sees his mother’s face, does not look in the eye, then he may have autism.
2. Total indifference to strangers. Most babies behave the same when a well-disposed adult appears: they listen to words, make faces, make various sounds, trying to imitate speech. Children with autism do not pay attention to strangers at all. They do not seek to contact or communicate with them.
3. Another sign of autism in young children can be considered an aversion to touch. Usually newborns are very fond of tactile sensations - stroking, patting, warming the body of mom. As they get older, children begin to initiate hugs, climb on their knees, and kiss. Neurotypic babies early become "independent" - do not need tenderness and even resist them.
4. Speech delay is not an obvious sign of autism in children 3 or 2 years old. Nevertheless, this is one of the most basic indicators by which this disease is determined. Such children do not aguate, do not pronounce syllables or complex sounds. They usually do not have a pointing gesture and a “children's” language that babies speak with adults.
5. Lack of emotional intelligence. Young children usually have difficulty expressing their emotions, but enjoy imitating the reactions of adults: smiling, angry, upset. Normally, the child behaves liberally with trusted adults. If the baby seems shy and modest, rarely expresses his emotions, these may be manifestations of autism.
6. The baby has obsessive movements. If a child swirls for several minutes, claps his hands, taps on objects or parts of the body, and such movements are similar to intrusive movements, then this can be an alarming sign.
7. Autoaggression. In autism, children often unknowingly try to harm themselves.
8. The same rituals every day. Neurotypical children often need actions of the same sequence. They give them comfort and a sense of security. If a child, while trying to go to kindergarten, takes another hysteria, and lays out toys with pedantry unusual for children, this can also be a symptom of the disease.

Children's illness from 2 to 12 years

The signs and causes of autism can be more easily recognized at an older age. Every year, children with an autistic spectrum begin to differ more and more from their peers. Most diseases are diagnosed in the period from 4 to 6 years, when strange behavior can no longer be attributed to character or temperament. What signs of autism can be found in children from two to twelve years old? Basically, all manifestations of autism at an earlier age persist, but some other, more obvious features are added to them:

• The child repeats the same word or sound all the time. The repetition of movements or words is generally a distinctive feature of the disease by which it can be easily recognized.
• Any change of scenery causes a burning protest in the child. Moving, traveling, new places - all this meets "with hostility", as it threatens to destroy the familiar comfortable world of a child.
• Hard-to-acquire skills that are given to other children effortlessly can speak of deviations in mental development. But in itself, this symptom can indicate not only autism, but also many other diseases.
• "Mosaic" development is characteristic of many sick children. They show outstanding results in one area, but a complete lack of progress in the simplest things.
• Lack of self-identification. He can answer direct questions directly relating to the child only in the third person. For example, to the mother’s question: “Do you want to play?”, The answer follows: “Vova wants to play!”. This feature indicates a violation of the recognition of the boundaries of the self.
• Violation of coordination of movements and fine motor skills, a kind of "looseness" of movements.
• Hyperactivity - very often children react to increased irritability to external stimuli, a change of scenery, and any other stressful situations. They can hardly sit in one place, are constantly in motion. Children with autism often have difficulty controlling their movements.

It is worthwhile to cancel that if during this period the disease is not diagnosed in time, the child may completely become isolated and not acquire the necessary speech skills, because it becomes more and more difficult to rebuild the child’s usual lifestyle.

Teenage autism

How does autism manifest in a child over 11 years old? In adolescents, autistic personality disorder goes differently. Usually by this time the child is already diagnosed, and he receives appropriate treatment. Adolescents with autism who receive proper care and development can attend regular schools along with other children. As a rule, these guys have selectivity in training. For example, they can really love math or drawing and hate other subjects. One in ten autistic individuals has unusual intellectual abilities. And one percent has savant syndrome, which makes them unusually talented in several areas at once. Some savants have been able to draw drawings at the level of adults since childhood, others know several languages ​​or read thousands of books.

Autistic teens can be socially adaptable, but they still have difficulty communicating with people. They are not able to recognize fraud, sarcasm and other emotions, and therefore are very vulnerable. Being inside their little world, they are protected from the frightening external world, but any change in the usual course of things frightens them and even causes a regression in development. Teenagers with autism do not seek communication, behave separately and do not come in contact with their peers.

Diagnosis of the disease

Signs of autism in children cannot be determined from the photo. But with a personal consultation, a specialist will be able to diagnose and find out if the child has a disease or not. How is a disease diagnosed?

When diagnosing autism, doctors use an integrated approach: a child is examined, an anamnesis is collected, and parents' complaints are heard. The overall picture is easier to diagnose, since autism is a complex disease in which there are no two identical cases, and the cost of error is high. Most often, parents complain that the child does not talk, does not want to communicate with peers and enter into games with them. Next, the specialist asks leading questions about birth injuries, diseases, vaccinations and the overall development of the child. Of particular importance for the diagnosis is the presence of hereditary mental diseases - if they exist, then the likelihood of developing autism increases significantly. In parallel, the doctor observes the child. Very often, even healthy children, when visiting the doctor’s office, begin to cry and behave in a constrained manner, so some of the specialists prefer to meet in an informal atmosphere in which the child will be comfortable.

Tests for the diagnosis of disease

In addition to the above methods, signs of autism in children are easily detected by tests that need to be completed by parents. Here is some of them:

1. A simple test is the easiest form of testing and is used only in conjunction with other examination methods. During it, parents are invited to answer several questions: Does the child like hugs and tactile contact, does he have contact with peers, does he try to imitate sounds when playing and communicating with adults, or does he use a pointing gesture. Then the parents are asked to complete several tasks and record the reaction of the child. For example, point a finger at an item and see if the child turned his eyes to it. Or offer to make tea together for dolls or soft toys. The level of emotional involvement in the game is very important in diagnosing autism.
2. The CARS scale is a scale for diagnosing early autism, which is mainly used for making a diagnosis. It includes fifteen blocks, each of which covers one or another side of a child’s life. Each item has 4 possible answers: normal, slightly abnormal, moderately abnormal and significantly abnormal. For the first option, 1 point is given, for the last - 4 points. There are also several intermediate answers that are made specifically for the doubting parent to choose the “average” indicator. What parameters are affected by the CARS scale? Interaction with society, body ownership, imitation, emotional reactions, the use of toys, reaction to changes, mastery of the basic senses, fears, intelligence and many other aspects should be analyzed by parents to answer the question: “Does my child have autism?” Such a detailed test with many questions allows you to very accurately determine any deviations in the development of the child. Parents need great care and accuracy so that the diagnosis is made correctly.
3. International Classification of Autism. Doctors distinguish several stages in the development of autism: debut, manifestation and course of the disease. In order for the treatment to be selected as accurately as possible, it is important to determine the type of autism. In total, scientists distinguish six variants of the course of the disease.
4. The Nikolskaya classification was proposed by a psychologist back in 1985 and divides autism into four main groups. The first is characterized by the predominance of detachment from the outside world. The second is determined by multiple motor, speech and tactile stereotypes. In the third group, overvalued preferences and ideas prevail, and in the fourth, vulnerability and timidity.

Autism in children under one year of age is usually noticed very rarely, most often the disease manifests itself a little later. After the diagnosis is made, the parents remember that their child behaved unusually from birth, and the picture develops.

The causes of autism in children are still poorly understood. But parents should not hope that the symptoms disappear on their own and the child “outgrows” this disease. The sooner treatment is started, the greater success the child will be able to achieve. How is the development of a child with autism?

Mild and severe autism

The effectiveness of teaching a child with autism, its socialization, largely depends on the severity of the disease. Doctors distinguish several forms of autism, each of which has its own characteristics:

• Kanner’s syndrome, aka early autism, is a congenital disease that developed in utero and affected the entire body of the child. Children with deep autism are learning hard enough, and socializing with them is not easy.
• In the case when autism manifests itself at six years of age or older, the diagnosis is “atypical autism”. It seems that healthy children begin to regress suddenly: they become aggressive, they have unreasonable fears, seizures, attacks of aggression. But often with atypical autism, the child has mild developmental disorders, which many parents attribute to character traits.
• Rett syndrome usually manifests itself suddenly, between 6 and 18 months of a child’s life. The kid, whose development before this was in line with the norm, suddenly begins to quickly degrade. Many children have cramps, and their physical condition is much worse. Children with Rett syndrome often suffer from dementia. Among all types of autism, this is considered the most difficult, and it does not lend itself to adjustment.
• Asperger Syndrome is also called “mild” autism. Its clinical forms are manifested as unwillingness to work in a group, difficulties in socializing and mastering various skills, and disruption in communication with peers. But such children develop according to the norm, and deviations are usually very minor.
• High-functional autism is not a type of autism, but its form in which the child is well adapted to society and can cope with an independent life in the future.
• Violation of the ability of non-verbal learning - looks very similar to Asperger syndrome. It is characterized by stereotypical movements, a literal interpretation of words and phrases, a violation of emotional and social development.
• Multiple developmental disorders in autism are manifested in developmental retardation in almost all areas: emotional, mental, sometimes even physical.

Each child is unique, in all children with autism the signs and symptoms differ, and you need to look for your approach to them and carefully differentiate the type of disease in order to provide maximum assistance.

The algorithm after diagnosis

If everything is more or less clear with symptoms of autism in children, the causes of this disease are so far known only in general terms. And this means that no specific treatment has yet been developed. Unfortunately, there is no pill or vaccine that would protect babies from developing this disease. The treatment of autism in children takes place mainly as a correction of the symptoms of the disease, a kind of "smoothing of acute angles." The task of doctors in the treatment of autism is to maximize the potential of the child and teach him social skills and communication. All treatment methods can be divided into several groups:

• Drug treatment is prescribed to eliminate the symptoms of the disease. Sometimes autism is accompanied by a leaky bowel syndrome, autoaggression, a lack of certain vitamins and minerals, and convulsions. With aggressive behavior, antipsychotics or psychotropic drugs are prescribed, with epileptic activity, anticonvulsants are prescribed, etc.
• The help of a psychologist is difficult to underestimate in the development of children with an autistic spectrum. The psychologist is developing a system of game forms that can influence the behavior and development of the child, gradually bringing them back to normal. It is not necessary to say that the specialist must be highly qualified, possess the necessary knowledge and skills, and be sure to love children. Only such a person can try to find the "key" to a difficult child.
• Correctional exercises are an indispensable method in therapy, which complement the main ones. Rehabilitation techniques are very different from each other, it can be sports, visual arts: what the child is interested in. Since autistic children are often very fond of animals, they can be led to hippotherapy or canis therapy involving horses or dogs.

Unfortunately, with autism there is no question of a complete cure - this is simply impossible. But you can bring the functional activity of the brain to normal. A universal treatment method does not exist - each child gives his own reaction to certain methods. Therefore, the rehabilitation program is developed exclusively individually, taking into account the characteristics of the baby.

Autism Treatment: Rehabilitation Programs

Education for children with autism is mainly through behavioral therapy. She takes as a basis the reward for the right actions and ignoring unwanted acts. At present, the following rehabilitation programs are best known:

• AVA therapy. The technique consists in a step-by-step analysis of each complex action into smaller “steps”. For example, if a child can hardly build a tower of cubes, the specialist first studies each necessary action in turn: raising a hand, grabbing a cube, etc. Each movement is worked out many times, and the child is encouraged for the right actions. Engaging in AVA therapy takes a lot of time and energy, as it requires constant honing of skills. Usually, a specialist is prescribed about 30 hours of therapy per week, and usually several psychologists with this technique are involved. In this regard, this type of correction is available only to a small number of people.
• The program "Development of interpersonal relationships" is based on those emotional stages that a healthy child goes through during its development. The fact is that autistic children often “drop out” of society due to their imperfect communication and empathy skills. RMO helps to partially restore them and bring the child closer to normal functioning in society. Unlike AVA therapy, this method does not use any rewards, since it is believed that natural positive emotions from communicating with others are quite enough.
• Sensory integration has proven itself in the treatment of autistic children. During this technique, children are taught to adequately perceive the flows of information coming in with the help of the senses: vision, touch, smell, hearing. This method works especially well in cases in which the child suffers from harsh sounds, touch or other disturbances.
• The Game Time program does not require hours of work from parents, just a few lessons per week is enough. Unlike AVA therapy, this technique does not use the elements of “training”, but rather seeks to establish contact with the child by imitating and imitating his actions.

The opinion of experts

In the photo, children with autism are no different from healthy ones. Only a look gives them out, turned inward and not directed at anything concrete. But in reality, after a short observation of such a child, a specialist quickly becomes aware of whether the baby has autism or not. To make life easier for parents, doctors have developed several rules that should help adults cope with a difficult diagnosis and find the strength to live on. Here's what psychologists advise:

• Do not look for cures for autism. Unfortunately, they haven’t invented it yet. Some methods advertise as the only true and correct, but this is not so.
• Consider the personality of the child and his type of disease. As we have said, there are no identical children with autism. The role of parents in the educational process is very high, because it is they who observe their child and see what activities bring him joy. Therefore, a creative approach is also important here, because sometimes you need to come up with a whole rehabilitation system “from nothing”, in which the child will become the key element, not the desired result.
• Love your child, not the diagnosis. There are more similarities than differences between your child and healthy children. Children with an autistic spectrum also want to be loved, they like to play and play, they just do it in a slightly different manner. Drop the diagnosis and stop comparing your child with other children - this will make it easier for you to accept a difficult situation.

Autism is a difficult disease, but you can live a long and happy life with it. Moms and dads should remember that such children need special attention and care. Children with autism can achieve much only with the support of their relatives and competent rehabilitation activities.