Recently, I went to an institution specializing in treating autism to have a physical examination for the children, and was deeply touched by the children and parents there.
Many children were diagnosed with "Autism Spectrum Disorder" too late and missed the ideal intervention phase. All parents should learn some knowledge in this area so that they can know whether their children are "normal".
Part.1 What is autism?
Autism has been renamed "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" and is a developmental disorder. The cause of the disease is unknown and may be the result of the interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Patients' behavior, communication methods, interactions and learning are different from other children. The degree of developmental disorders in patients with
ASD also differs greatly. Some can take care of themselves completely, while others rely entirely on others to live. ASD has symptoms before the age of three and will last for life, but some symptoms will improve with age.
Part.2 Symptoms of "Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Social ability and interaction disorders and stereotyped repetitive movements are the two major manifestations of ASD. This includes language and communication disorders. Some children seem to be able to speak but are always repeating other people's words and cannot answer questions or answer related questions. There is also some meaningless repetitions, such as repeatedly scrolling the pencil or watching rolling ladder rolling up and down.
Part.3 Diagnosis of "Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Doctors can make a diagnosis based on the child's symptoms. The American Academy of Pediatrics requires all children to undergo autism screening questionnaire at 8 months and 24 months , and those with positive screening should go to a professional doctor for further diagnosis. The earlier the treatment, the better the prognosis. screening questionnaire generally uses M-CHAT at 18 months and 24 months.
Part.4 Treatment of "Autism Spectrum Disorder"
The goal is to help these children have as much life and communication skills as possible. Treatment requires cooperation and communication from multiple teams. The team should include child development experts, pediatricians, neurologists, ophthalmologists, physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists, psychological counselors, , etc. There are many treatment methods for
treatment methods, and ABA treatment/training methods may be the most widely used. Treatment is a long-term and very energy-consuming process that tests parents' patience the most and is also a huge financial expenditure. The incidence of "autism spectrum disorder" is getting higher and higher around the world. On the one hand, the incidence is indeed increasing, and on the other hand, the diagnosis is becoming more and more standardized. Patients who were not considered to be the disease were also included in the diagnosis.
There are no special preventive measures because the cause is unknown. However, one child in the family has the disease, and the other child has a relatively high chance of suffering from the disease. The incidence rate of older parents is also higher than that of other groups.
The key is to diagnose early and intervene early in , and the prognosis will also be better. All children should do autism screening questionnaire at 18 and 24 months!
