1. What is autism?
Autism is a developmental disorder of the brain characterized by impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and repetitively limited interest behaviors. Autism begins before the age of three and manifests prominently after the age of three, and the vast majority of children require long-term rehabilitation training and special educational support.
Are autism and autism the same thing?
yes. The professional name of autism is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), autism and autism are two translations of the English Autism, "autism" is mainly used by Chinese mainland medical and special education communities; "autism" is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries that use Chinese.
Is autism a psychological disorder?
Autism is not a mental illness, but most children with autism will have psychological problems such as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems; autism is not a withdrawn personality.
4. What kind of disability does autism belong to?
Since 2006, the mainland has classified autism as a mental disability.
What is the prevalence of autism?
Currently, the global average prevalence reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 62/10,000 (0.62%), equivalent to one autistic child per 160 children. From what countries have reported, the actual prevalence of autism may be even higher than this data.
Is there a gender difference in the incidence of autism?
There are significant sex differences in the incidence of autism, with a significantly higher prevalence in boys than in girls, with a general male/female prevalence ratio of 4-6/1.
Why does autism occur?
The cause of autism is still unknown. Epidemiological studies have screened out many risk factors that can lead to autism, but none are direct causes of autism. The more recognized reason is the interaction of genetic variations with the adverse environment, especially de novo mutations, which may be the main cause of autism, but the specific causative factors and mechanisms are unknown. Studies have shown that factors such as elderly parents, infection during pregnancy, poor medication in the first trimester, or exposure to chemicals may increase the risk of autism.
Only children get autism?
No. Studies have found that autism occurs before children are born, and autism symptoms gradually appear in the first few months of life to 3 years of age, and some initially behave no differently from ordinary children, but the function gradually regresses to produce autism symptoms. It is important to note that the core symptoms of autism can last a lifetime. Although science and timely rehabilitation can help children with autism continue to progress and become independent, it does not mean that autism will end in childhood.
Why can't a child be diagnosed with autism at birth?
There are mainly the following reasons:
1 Before the age of 1 year, the range of behaviours that can be exhibited is limited, the basis for a conclusive diagnosis of behavioural type and developmental status is insufficient, and there is no effective instrumental test.
2 A large proportion of children with autism also have problems with intelligence, and many parents ignore autism because of concerns about intellectual disabilities.
3 One of the main problems of autism is the problem of language development, which cannot be fully identified before the age of 3 years.
4 Some children with autism begin to develop in the same way as normal children, and do not show symptoms of autism until the age of 2-3 years.
5 Some parents lack knowledge of their children's physical and mental development, initially ignoring it, then not believing it, and wanting to wait and see for a period of time, which delays the diagnosis.
6 At present, many hospital doctors lack knowledge of autism diagnosis, lack sufficient clinical experience, especially for mild small age autism symptoms are difficult to confirm, so there are many cases of autism as a temporary disease.
10. What are the main manifestations of autism?
1 Lack of communication or communication skills with others in social development, lack of secure attachment relationships with parents, lack of eye contact with people, and little or no active interaction.
2 Language communication disorders in communication, backward language development, or language regression after normal language development, or lack of communicative nature of language; parrots learn tongue language. Constantly repeating what others have said or heard advertising words, etc.
3 Behavioral aspects refuse to change habits and routines in daily life; narrow interests, will be very focused on certain items, or particular interest in specific items; stereotyped, repetitive, or ritual behaviors; other common behaviors include hyperactivity, distraction, self-stimulation behavior, etc.
11. How can parents detect their children's autism tendencies early?
Based on the advice of domestic and foreign experts for parents, seven important early signs were summarized:
1 When the child reaches the age of six months: there is no bright smile or happy expression;
2 By the time they are nine months old: there are no voices, smiles, or facial expressions that interact with those around them;
3 By the time they are twelve months old: lack of response to others calling their names;
4 By the time of twelve months of age: no baby language;
5 By the age of twelve months: there is no interaction with the posture of the people around you, such as: pointing to something, letting others see something, reaching for something, or waving;
6 By the time they are sixteen months old: there is no language;
7 By twenty-four months of age: There are no meaningful two-word phrases (imitating others or repeating what others say does not count).
As parents, what you need to know is that these are just to tell you that your child may have autism, if the child meets these early signs, we should take the child to a professional doctor as soon as possible to make an assessment of the child, and then start the relevant rehabilitation training as soon as possible.
But also note that it is not that there is this sign, the child is autistic, this is just a reference.
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Contributed by: Pediatrics Xie Xiaoping
Edit: Propaganda United Front Work Department
Dr. Xiaoping Xie
Dujiangyan City introduced talents, pediatric academic leaders, chief physicians, and director of the Department of Pediatrics of Dujiangyan People's Hospital. The treatment of children's respiratory diseases, children's asthma, children's allergic diseases, etc. enjoys a high reputation in the province's pediatric academic circles, and has achieved good treatment results in the long-term standardized management and treatment of children's growth and development, which is well received by the majority of children and parents.
Wen Xin proposed
Dear Patients and Family Members,
For the health of you and your family, during the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, our hospital suspended inpatient visits. If no more than one inpatient needs to accompany the nursing staff, please enter the ward with the escort certificate and ID card to accompany the nursing, and the inpatient and the accompanying staff need to undergo nucleic acid testing. Thank you for your strong support and cooperation in the prevention and control of the epidemic in our hospital!