Autism; It is a neurodevelopmental disease.
It is a disorder characterized by difficulty in verbal and non-verbal communication, stereotyped and repetitive behaviors, problems in social relations, limited areas of interest, and these limitations cannot be explained by mental deficiency or developmental delay. p>
Although a long time has passed since autism was defined by Kanner (1943), its causes have not been fully determined. Children with autism exhibit repetitive behaviors. For example, they may eat the same food and wear the same clothes. They may want the things they are used to to stay the same, show addiction to familiar items, and engage in some behaviors such as shaking themselves. Their areas of interest are very narrow, they may not make eye contact, they may choose to be alone, they may suddenly become angry or afraid, and they may show variable emotional behavior. The diagnosis and acceptance process can be troublesome for some families. It is known that factors such as uncertainty that arises with autism, autism awareness, frequency of occurrence in society, and severity and duration of autism make it difficult for families to adapt and accept the diagnosis. Therefore, it will make it easier to adapt successfully to the existence of a child with autism; It is very important for families to receive psychological support to help reduce problems and make it easier for them to cope with these problems.
Early diagnosis and treatment helps autistic children reach their full potential. Special individual education is very useful for autistic children. The aim is to develop skills that enable the child to fulfill his responsibilities. Autism symptoms and behavioral patterns can be of different degrees and vary in intensity. Additionally, individual symptoms may change over time. Therefore, education should be done in line with individual needs.
Children with autism generally respond well to individual education appropriate to them. The most successful education is the one that adds communicative, social, behavioral and adaptive aspects to the child's life and helps the family. Additionally, speech, physical and occupational therapies can be applied. Speech therapy can help the child improve language and social skills and communicate better. physical therapy k It can help improve deficiencies in coordination and motor skills.
Occupational therapy helps children with autism process information from senses such as hearing, vision, touch and smell in more manageable ways. One of the most important things in autism is the family's approach to the child. There are studies showing that mother-child interaction is directly related to the child's cognitive, language and social development in both normally developing children and children with developmental disabilities. It is known that parental characteristics such as being sensitive, responsive, directive, success-oriented, and warm in interaction are good for children's development.
Parents have more influence than anyone else in monitoring their children's development. The fact that children with autism have limited social skills increases the value of the parent-child relationship in daily interaction. Therefore, the parent needs to develop and maintain a balanced interaction.
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