Original | Pregnancy
Today is World Autism Day 4.2!
Autism may seem distant, but it may happen to you and me.
According to statistics, 1 in every 100 children in the mainland has autism, and every 1 autistic child is born, which will produce 1 autistic family.
Having an autistic baby at home means that the whole family has to carry unimaginable pressure.
There is a hot topic in Zhihu, the topic is: What is it like to give birth to a child you don't want?
One of the high praise answers, that is, a mother shared the experience of raising an autistic baby, the following is the full text of the mother's sharing:
"I, a Ph.D. graduate in 985, a university professor, and my husband is a programmer.
Before the arrival of the child, our husband and wife's life was perfect.
My child is an autistic person, in my previous cognition, autism is taciturn, an unhappy look, but everything is clear in the heart, as long as parents patiently help children open their hearts.
But it wasn't until my child was diagnosed with autism that I realized that the truth was a hundred times crueler than I thought.
By the age of 4, he knew that he had to find a container for urination, play crazy or pee on his body.
There is basically no language, but there are all kinds of noises.
When riding the bus, there will always be a strange grunting sound.
All kinds of stops were of no use to him.
At home, he likes to jump around, and in order not to disturb the neighbor, he will be made to jump in bed, and the bed board will jump twice.
The more you can't do, the more you have to do.
It's easy to take it out, it's hard to bring it back.
When he saw me coming back from work, he would just glance at it and then what to do.
There was no interaction with his parents at all, and he would only look for mom and dad when he couldn't open the box or couldn't find a toy.
In the process of taking care of him, I hardly felt any joy!
Autistic children, like never growing, in the process of raising him, there is no sense of accomplishment, but they have to redouble their efforts.
We didn't do anything wrong, but tragedy just happened, and many people advised us to have another one, so that when I was old, at least there would be someone to take care of this poor child.
But I don't dare to risk what I do if I have another autistic baby, even if the child is healthy, I can't bear to let him inherit my heavy burden.
So, let all the tragedies end here, all the difficulties and sufferings we bear ourselves, and our only hope is to accompany him to grow up well. ”
Even if the process of raising him was difficult and painful, I didn't want him to suffer and be abused! ”
Just a few hundred words of telling, the road to the helplessness of the heart, raising an autistic baby to grow, is ordinary people can not imagine the difficulty!
"My baby didn't speak until he was 3 years old and was diagnosed with autism!"
The number of children with autism has increased year by year, which has also attracted the attention of the whole society.
Some parents feel that their children speak late and are introverted, and they are also worried about whether their children have autism, indeed, talking late is a symptom of autism.
British Internet celebrity speaker John Simon Bercow and his wife Sally were aware that the child spoke late, so that the child's autism was diagnosed in time and received good intervention.
(**John and wife Sally, son Oliver (Image: The Mirror)**)
The British Parliament is the highest legislative body in Britain, but Speaker John waved his sleeve and resigned domineeringly, making him make this decision for two reasons, the first is political issues, and the second is because his eldest son Oliver has autism.
Ever since Oliver was diagnosed with autism, Mr. and Mrs. John have been working together to help Oliver make great progress, how did they find Oliver's abnormality?
It all started when Oliver was 6 months old, and Sally said:
Oliver, who has been around for 6 months, loves to stare at something all the time, but doesn't like to look at people.
Oliver's climbing and walking is also always half a beat slower.
Every time we were worried, he suddenly learned.
At this point, I think Oliver is a little different.
It wasn't until I was 2 and a half years old that Oliver couldn't make a sound like other kids that I was sure there was something wrong with my child.
So Sally took the child to the hospital decisively, and the doctor said: Oliver may be autistic!
A 6-month-old child doesn't look at people, and most people will think that it's a small child.
2 and a half years old children do not open their mouths to speak, or there will be many people who feel that children will naturally speak when they are older.
But John and Sally didn't think it was clear that there might be something really wrong with the child.
Oliver was diagnosed with autism by doctors at the age of 3, and fortunately he had received a lot of intervention and help before that.
In order to help Oliver, Sally made a lot of books with pictures, Oliver can communicate through pictures, if he wants to eat cookies, he will point to the pictures of cookies, at the same time, they also learned a lot of sign language, through sign language to communicate with children.
Finally, Oliver spoke at the age of 3, and this progress made Sally very moved.
Speaking, for the average child, a skill that can be mastered at the age of 1, but for Oliver with autism, he has experienced identification pictures, sign language communication, training schools, etc., until the age of 3.
Even so, Sally still feels lucky that they found the child's abnormality in time, so that Oliver can receive language intervention in the first place!
Because for children with autism, the most important thing is early detection and early intervention!
What is autism? Is a child talking late to be autistic?
Autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder, autistic children are reluctant to communicate with people, indulge in their own world all day, also known as "children of the stars".
Is it autism that the child talks late?
not necessarily!
Now many parents still do not understand autism, think that children talk late is autism, autism is determined to need to be diagnosed from many aspects.
According to the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, diagnostic criteria for autism are: social disorders, communication disorders, and stereotyped behavioral preferences.
In other words, just because the child talks late is not enough to diagnose the child with autism.
If the child can't speak, but can understand, imitate, and communicate, autism can be ruled out.
If the child's language development is late, there are social disorders, behavioral stereotypes, and communication disorders, then you need to consider the possibility of autism!
What causes autism?
Many parents of autistic babies will fall into self-doubt, is there something wrong with the parents that has led to the child's autism? Pregnant mothers summarize 3 common reasons for parents:
Genetic factors. Heredity is the main cause, and since 1980, various studies have shown that autism and genetic factors are very close, with a heritability of up to 80%.
Organic damage to the brain. Such as birth injury, intrauterine asphyxia, infection, poisoning, etc., 15% to 50% of children with seizures, EEG abnormalities, brain CT, magnetic resonance has nonspecific changes.
environmental factors. The lack of abundant and appropriate stimulation in the early life environment, poor environmental factors that the child is exposed to for a long time, can also lead to an increased likelihood of onset.
Parents should be able to distinguish the judgment of autism!
In childhood, autism is more likely to manifest itself in some of the child's developmental delays in certain basic areas, such as learning to speak, play, and interact with others.
Some children with autism have only minor obstacles, while others have many obstacles to overcome.
Children with autism have the following manifestations:
● Delayed speaking, or not speaking. There are language and physical expression disorders. They can hear your voice, but they won't respond.
● Repetitive and stereotypical behavior. For example, repetitive body shaking, being very attached to something or something, becoming very restless and anxious when the routine is changed.
Many children with autism have lower than normal levels of intelligence.
● Physically attack and injure others without provocation.
●Children with autism usually become depressed and anxious.
● Focus on a single project or activity.
●Some children may have symptoms of seizures during adolescence.
Parents need special attention if a child develops the following developmental delays:
● 6 months old: No smile or other happy expression.
● 9 months old: Will not respond to your questions, smiles or other facial expressions.
● 12 months: Lack of response to their own name, no response to verbal instructions, no babbling language, no action gesture language, inability to follow the gaze, not interested in action imitation.
● 16 months: Can't speak, reacts less to language, ignores other people's speech.
● 18 months: Do not point with your fingers or follow the fingers of others with your eyes.
● 24 months: does not imitate simple language and movements, no spontaneous two-word phrases.
●Regression in language function or social skills at any age.
If you find that your child has the above conditions, take your child to a regular hospital in time and hang up a child psychiatric department or a psychiatric department for investigation!
If your child is found to have autism, seek medical intervention as soon as possible.
For autism, as long as it is detected early, diagnosed early, through intervention and training, the vast majority of autistic babies can live their own lives, or even work normally.
Therefore, if the child has symptoms of autism, be sure to do the following three things:
Seek medical attention in a timely manner
Do not believe what others say that the noble words are late, parents should believe in their own judgment and intuition, if you find that the child is different, go to a professional doctor in time to consult, the child's matter, cautious some is always right.
Ask for help
Take the initiative to find groups, organizations, institutions around you, and ask for help in time, whether online or offline, it must be useful to ask for help.
Timely intervention in treatment
Failure to identify autism in time and missing early intervention can make things worse.
Paul was an obsessive-compulsive teenager. He likes to lay the blocks neatly, pull the chairs in a straight line, and put the toothbrush in the same place as the sink.
If these things were not placed this way, Paul would have lost his temper.
Paul sometimes became aggressive. Sometimes, when he's upset or anxious, he'll suddenly explode, throwing out nearby objects or smashing windows. When overwhelmed by noise and confusion, he bites himself or pinches his nails until they bleed.
At school, Paul didn't seem much out of the ordinary, but at home, he was more likely to get out of control.
And all this is only because more than 10 years ago people knew very little about autism, and there were very few treatments.
As Paul grew older, his family's control over him became more and more limited, and he was confined to a room for 24-hour supervision and care.
Finally, children with autism are called "children from the stars," but their world has few stars.
They are like living in their own "shell".
You may not be able to go to school normally, grow up normally like other children, do not want to contact people, and do not laugh and laugh.
They have more or less language and social interaction barriers.
They only have starlight, only love from their families and more companionship!
May these loves, like starlight, shine into their "shells"!
May every little angel be treated with tenderness!
Reference articles and image sources
https://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-topic-overview#1
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av46346223/