Children of the stars
Xiao Bao (pseudonym) is a 2-year-old and 8-month-old boy, tiger head, the movement is still flexible, but more active, 1 and a half years old began to find that he does not look at the face, no response to the call of the family, after being teased rarely laugh, never according to the requirements of the object, will not wave goodbye, will say few words, will unconsciously send "mother" "bye" and other sounds. The mother felt that Xiaobao was different from children of the same age, so she took him to the hospital for treatment, and the doctor told her mother that Xiaobao was suffering from autism.
Autism, also known as autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in infancy and early childhood, before the age of 3 years. It is characterized by social interaction disorders, communication disorders and limitations, stereotypes, and repetitive behaviors. It includes childhood autism, Asperge's syndrome, atypical autism, etc., collectively referred to as autism spectrum disorder. There are two forms of onset, one is from the infancy of the disease, gradually showing a series of autism symptoms; the other form is to go through 1 to 2 years of normal developmental stages, followed by a regression in communication and communication skills, and a series of autism symptoms appear. Causes of autism may be related to exposure to drugs, infections, heavy metals, environmental toxins, and genetic factors.
Just as there are no two identical leaves in the world, the manifestations of autism are also thousands of people.
They have a strange world: they keep turning on and off lights, constantly asking the same questions, from 1 to 1000, and nothing disturbs them, but it seems that everything is bothering them. They have been very sensitive to sound since childhood, and their hearing makes the sounds around them as terrible as thunder; when they stare at the blackboard, the words on the blackboard will slowly twist and deform. When they grow up, they have to learn to face the world alone, but when they communicate with people, they face more problems. They don't know how they can bother people, they're not sure how to talk to people, and maybe someone will point it out to them, but more often than not, even if they are pointed out, they don't feel where the problem is, they ask questions repeatedly, and they have the attachment to the problem to break the sand pot to ask the end.
Symptoms of autism are complex
However, it is mainly manifested by the following 3 core symptoms:
01
Social interaction disorders:
(1) Infancy: avoid eye contact, lack of interest and response to the call and teasing of others, do not expect to be picked up or when picked up, the body is stiff, unwilling to be close to people, lack of social smiles, do not observe and imitate the simple movements of others.
(2) Early childhood: often ignored, not attached to the main caregiver, not afraid of strangers, lack of interest in communication with children of the same age, will not attract the attention of others through eyes and sounds, will not share happiness with others, and will not play imaginative and role-playing games.
(3) School age: lack of interest and skills in active interaction with others, often entertaining themselves, going it alone, going their own way, not understanding and difficult to learn and follow the general social rules.
(4) Adulthood: do not understand the social situation, difficult to understand humor and metaphors, etc., it is difficult to establish friendships, love and marriage relationships.
02
Communication disorders:
(1) Verbal communication disorders:
1) Speech development is delayed or absent: children often speak late, and speech progress is also slow after speaking. Some children remain speechless for life.
2) Impaired speech comprehension ability: inability to understand humor, idioms, metaphors, etc.
3) Abnormal speech form and content: there are often immediate imitation words, that is, repeating words or advertising slogans heard in the past; stereotypical repetition of words, that is, repeated repetition of some words, telling a thing or asking a question. It may use special language to communicate with others, answer questions that are not asked, and make it difficult to distinguish between personal pronouns.
4) Intonation, speed, rhythm, accent and other abnormalities: the tone is often relatively flat, lack of depression and frustration, can not use the change of intonation, tone to assist communication, often exist in the speed and rhythm of the problem.
5) Impaired speech use ability: less active speech, will not take the initiative to propose topics, maintain topics, repeatedly tell the same thing or entangled in the same topic.
(2) Nonverbal communication disorder: most people do not use nods, shake heads, gestures and movements to express ideas, and their expressions often lack changes when interacting with people.
03
On the behavior of narrowness and stereotyped repetition:
(1) Narrow range of interests: obsessed with watching TV commercials, weather forecasts, rotating objects, arranging items or listening to a certain piece of music, a kind of monotonous repetitive sound, etc. Some children can focus on text, numbers, dates, timetable calculations, maps, drawings, instrument playing, etc., and can show unique abilities.
(2) Stereotypical and repetitive behavior: Children often insist on doing things in the same way, rejecting the laws of daily life or changes in the environment. Playing with toys in the same way over and over again, drawing a picture or writing a few words repeatedly, insisting on taking a fixed route, insisting on putting items in a fixed position, refusing to change other clothes or eating only a few kinds of food, etc.
(3) Special attachment to inanimate objects: Strong attachment to some inanimate objects may be generated, such as bottles, boxes, ropes, leather, plush toys, etc., and can be carried at any time.
(4) Stereotyped repetitive weird behavior: Children often have stereotyped repetitive and strange actions, such as repeated jumping, clapping, putting your hands in front of your eyes to flutter and stare, walking with your toes, etc. Repeatedly smell objects or touch smooth surfaces, etc.
In 2013, the National Health Commission issued the Technical Guidelines for Children's Psychological Development, which clearly lists the early warning signs of autism in children of different ages (see Table 1 for details). The possibility of autism should be taken into account when infants and young children present with the following signs of illness or warning signs.
Table 1: Early warning signs for autism screening
Important Tips
When children have early manifestations and aura characteristics, parents should not be anxious and collapsed, thinking that autism is a rare and untreatable serious mental disorder; do not wait wrongly, thinking that the child grows natural, and the natural parenting ability of human beings cannot reverse the development trajectory of autism; do not blindly believe in the so-called "magic therapy". Follow the advice of professionals and use scientific methods to intervene in training children. Many children through good intervention, symptoms have improved, can enter ordinary schools like ordinary children, and even some children can enter college, self-support, and serve the society.
◆ Source: Qingdao Mental Health Center, Laixi People's Hospital subscription number
◆ Editor: Wang Jing Review: Han Yanhao