Emerging in early childhood; Autism, which causes delays, limitations and repetitive movements in social interaction and communication skills, occurs as a result of the interaction of genetic and environmental causes.
April 2 is commemorated as "Autism Awareness Day" all over the world, and April is commemorated as "Autism Awareness Month".
It is not possible to detect autism in the womb
Autism is characterized by retardation in social interaction and communication skills that occurs in early childhood, and limited and repetitive movements and areas of interest. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder. In recent scientific publications, there is information that its prevalence is one in 64 live births.
Autism occurs as a result of the interaction of genetic and environmental causes. This means that in order for a child to show symptoms of autism, he must contain problematic genes in his genetic structure. However, Autism is not caused by a numerical deficiency or excess in a single chromosome, as in Down Syndrome. Autistic symptoms occur as a result of the malfunctioning of many more and more diverse gene regions. Therefore, it is not possible to detect autism in the womb. Autism symptoms sometimes begin to become noticeable very early on as the baby grows. For example; If he should be making eye contact with his mother and smiling when he is 3 months old, but he does not do these, if he does not make any noise even though he is 6-7 months old, if he shows the same reactions to parents and strangers after 7 months, although stranger anxiety should occur, it means that our child's autism symptoms have started from an early age.
The child can develop normally until a certain age
A group of children diagnosed with autism can develop like a completely normal child until a certain age.
According to the mother and father, he made eye contact, smiled, and even started to say single words in time, but generally from the age of 1.5-2, the child started to become withdrawn, forget the words he said, do not make eye contact, and did not react at all to his parents and other children. . Whether the symptoms are dominant from the beginning or appear with regression later, these children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Autistic child, How does he communicate with his environment?
Children diagnosed with autism; They make little eye contact, do not respond to their names when you call them or react inconsistently, and do not show any obvious interest or closeness to other children. Along with these behavioral characteristics, repetitive behaviors can be observed in these children, such as turning around, flapping their wings, and rocking in their seat.
The severity of autism varies from child to child
Autism symptoms are not observed exactly the same in every child. It is a spectrum disorder, meaning that the variety and severity of symptoms may differ from child to child. That's why not every child diagnosed with autism is exactly the same.
Early diagnosis of autism is of great importance!
Autism is a disorder that requires rapid action in diagnosing and directing it to treatment. There is even a possibility that children who are referred for treatment at an early age may escape diagnosis completely.
Therefore, when you see one or more of these symptoms in your child, you should consult a child and adolescent psychiatrist without delay. There is no medication yet used to improve the core symptoms of autism. Therefore, the primary consideration in treatment is special education. In other words, these children need to be supported about their symptoms with one-on-one education. In addition to special education, additional treatment methods such as speech therapy and sensory integration therapy are used. Medications are used for other problems that accompany autism symptoms. These are sleep problems, distraction and impulsivity, restlessness and behavioral problems that we call irritability. When accompanied by these symptoms, it is important to support the child with medication.
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