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About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

Do you know?

There is such a group of people in this world, who are not deaf, but who are deaf to sound; Not blind, but blind to the surroundings; They are not dumb, but they do not know how to speak, they are called "lonely angels" and likened to "children from the stars".

They have been reluctant to talk to anyone since childhood, toys, just play with one; Go home, you have to go the same way; Whatever it is, it must be placed in a fixed position; Eating only a few specific foods, they even sometimes hurt themselves and hit their own families, they are like stars in the sky, each looking at each other from a distance on their own planet, silently existing, lonely emitting a faint light.

They are autistic people, which is what we often call autism. Today is "World Autism Day", let's walk into this special group together~

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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A class of diseases with autism-like symptoms are collectively called autism spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorder includes autism, typical autism is mainly social dysfunction, language communication disorders, stereotyped behaviors and narrow range of interests.

Not only will there be no desire to communicate with others, but they will also unconsciously repeat what they do.

Some of the core symptoms of autism can seriously affect a child's social functioning and quality of life.

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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According to the relevant survey data at this stage, there are about 67 million autistic people in the world, and about 10 million autism patients in the mainland, of which 3 million are children, and in the survey of gender incidence, the incidence of men is higher than that of women, and the ratio is about 4:1. 

01

Common "warning signs" of autism

Autism usually begins in infancy and early childhood, and in different childhood stages, autism has completely different manifestations, and there are corresponding autistic children's behavioral early warning in the early prevention stage.

Once the baby from 3 months to 3 years old has the following symptoms, parents must take the child to the psychology clinic of the regular hospital for timely examination.

Many people think that it is normal for boys to learn to speak late, but miss the best time for treatment, but in fact, there is not much difference between men and women in language learning.

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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However, the symptoms of autism are only fully manifested when the child's social needs exceed his current limited capacity, and he has significant adverse effects on the child's interpersonal, formative emotional needs, or other aspects.

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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The etiology and pathogenesis of autism are very complex, and previous studies have shown that this type of disease is related to brain neurodevelopment, which is mainly the result of genetic factors, genetic factors and environmental factors. Especially in environments that affect early fetal brain development, the probability of symptoms in autistic children is greatly increased.

02

Common misconceptions about autism

Autism is the most common and representative disease in generalized developmental disorders, and the mainland has a late understanding of autism, and there are many wrong conjectures about such diseases——

False conjecture 1: Autism is introverted, not good at socializing, not sick has no relationship

People who do not understand autism are easy to associate with withdrawn or introverted personality, associate autism with psychological disorders, and think that autistic children are stimulated by some external environment to produce withdrawn personality.

Studies have shown that autism is a developmental disorder of the nervous system, not a purely psychological disorder.

Myth 2: Autism is a terminal illness, and education will not work in autistic children

The vast majority of research and experience show that education remains by far the most effective intervention for autism.

Children with autism not only acquire knowledge and skills through education, but also acquire the ability to live independently and eventually integrate into society. Education is one of the most effective ways to help autistic children integrate and reintegrate into society.

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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Myth 3: Autism is caused by too little care and love from parents

Autism was once thought to be caused by so-called "fridge moms." This theory blames childhood autism on mothers giving too little care and love to their children. In fact, autism is a developmental disorder of the brain, not the result of parenting.

False conjecture 4: Autism is only available to children and adolescents, and when children grow up, they will not be autistic and will recover naturally.

In fact, autism is a chronic disease that seriously affects the social functioning of children. Early detection and early intervention are of great significance to improve the prognosis of children.

03

Treatment of autism

So, if a child is suspected of having autism, where should parents take their child to the doctor? What are the screening methods for autism, and what methods can treat autism? Can autism be completely cured? Below, let's answer them one by one.

Who to see when autism is suspected?

(1) Expert in neuropsychology.

(2) Clinical psychologist.

(3) Pediatric behavioral specialist.

(4) Neurologists.

What tests are needed to see a doctor?

(1) Physical examination: check the child's physical development, whether there are congenital malformations, obstruction of hearing and hearing, and whether there are positive signs in the nervous system.

(2) Psychological assessment: autism behavior scale, children's autism rating scale, developmental assessment and intelligence test scale.

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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What are the treatments for autism?

Through the doctor's systematic evaluation, if the child is diagnosed with autism, what are the effective treatments? This is of primary concern to all of us.

The treatment of children's autism is still based on the principle of educational intervention, supplemented by drug treatment, teaching children to improve social and parent-child activities, and increase outings and sports activities.

(1) Clinical treatment status of autism:

There is no single specific treatment for autism, so multi-pronged comprehensive treatment is gradually becoming widely recognized. Where training education is the preferred method, then supplemented with equally important drug therapy.

The main goals of treating children with autism are to reduce the associated life stressors, improve quality of life and functional independence. Many medications can be used to treat the symptoms of autism, the most common being antidepressants, stimulants, and antipsychotics.

Unfortunately, there are currently no known medications to alleviate the core symptoms of autism, social and communication disorders.

(2) Proven treatment of autism in children:

(1) Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

a. Decompose the target task into multiple small and basic fragments for intensive training;

b. Reduce repetitive and stereotyped behaviors;

c. Increase opportunities to speak, play, and socialize.

(2) Speech-language therapy

Enhance the link between language and actual functionality;

b. Strengthen gestures, intonation and other skills that can assist language expression;

c. Try to induce children to express their needs and interests;

(d) Improve language comprehension and social skills.

(3) Occupational Therapy (OT)

a. Enhance motor skills by completing manual tasks;

b. improve sensory integration;

c. Target cognitive flexibility and motivation for daily activities;

d. Improve environmental adaptability.

(4) Physical Therapy (PT)

a. Focus on developing age-appropriate motor functions;

b. Strength, coordination, balance and movement planning;

(5) Social training

a. Mainly for autistic children who already have perfect motor and speech functions;

b. Increase communication and communication with the surrounding environment;

c. Improve social skills.

About 3 million children suffer from autism! Children have these situations, parents should be vigilant!

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(3) Prognosis and influencing factors:

Previous studies have shown that autism or autism spectrum disorder has a long-term chronic course, although a small number of children have a good prognosis, or even no longer diagnose autism or autism spectrum disorder, but the vast majority of children diagnosed with stable and lifelong disease.

Compared with autism spectrum disorder, autism has a worse prognosis, about 80% of autistic patients have impaired social functioning, and about 50% of autistic patients need lifelong care and maintenance.

These patients have significant communication impairment and are unable to live independently, and 17% of patients develop degenerative changes in ability during puberty, and half of them have difficulty recovering from degeneration.

Previous studies have shown that there are many factors affecting the prognosis of autism or autism spectrum disorder, mainly including diagnosis and intervention time, early verbal communication ability, disease severity, intelligence level and whether there are comorbid diseases.

Among the above prognostic factors, diagnosis and intervention are the only factors that can be controlled by humans, so strengthening the early diagnosis and early intervention of autism or children with autism is of great significance to improve the prognosis of children with autism and autism spectrum disorder.

Author: Sheng Juan, Deputy Chief Physician of Jingzhou Mental Health Center, Member of Family and Youth Branch of China Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Control, Member of Hubei Child Psychiatry Group; Yu Yanyun Jingzhou Mental Health Center; Chen Xiangzhan Jingzhou Mental Health Center

Drawing: Qin Lixuan

Reviewed: Tu Zheming, chief physician of Jingzhou Mental Health Center

Produced by: Chinese Medical Association

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