AUTISTIC CHILDREN

“Autism is a disorder of neutral development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize”

Autism appears before children are 3 years old. Why this illness occurs is anybody’s guess. Genetic factors seem to be important.
Parents usually notice autism signs in the first two years of their child’s life. The signs ordinarily develop gradually, but some autistic children first develop normally and then regress.

Possible causes of autism are…

-Children’s diet

-Changes on the digestive tube

-Intoxication with mercury

-Body’s incapacity to use properly vitamins and minerals

-Sensitivity to vaccines

Autism has become more common nowadays, but some doctors think that the increase of autism cases is caused by the new definition that this illness includes now. So, autism encompasses a bigger number of children.
There are more boys affected by autism than girls. Family’s situation, education or life style don’t affect the risk of having autism.

Symptoms of Autism:

The great majority of parents begin to realize that something goes wrong when the child is 18 months. But usually they ask for help when the child is already 2 years old. Some autistic children seem to have no problems before they’re between 1-2 years old. And then, they lose language or social skills which they had acquired before. This fact is known as “regressive type of autism”.
Autistic children have serious difficulties in:

-Games (as school games)

-Social interactions

-Verbal and no verbal communication

Autistic people can…

-Be extremely sensitive as for their hearing, sight, sense of touch, sense of smell or taste. They can refuse to eat something with a smell which isn’t kind for them and they get distressed if someone force them to do it.

-Live unusual distress when their routines are changed

-Carry out repeated corporal gestures

-Show unusual affection to some objects

Symptoms can be moderate or severe.

Moreover, they have communication problems. Some of these problems are…

-They are unable to start or keep a conversation

-They communicate with gestures instead of words

-They talk very slowly or even they don’t talk

-They don’t look the objects which the others are looking

-They don’t refer correctly to themselves (They can say: –You’re hungry! When they meant: -I’m hungry!)

-(On their first 14 months) They don’t point out some objects to get the others attention on them (as all of the other children do).

-They repeat words or memorize landscapes (as advertisements)

About their social interaction:

-They have many difficulties to make friends

-They don’t participate in interactive games

-They’re withdrawn

-They cannot answer to visual contact or laughs

-They can avoid visual contact

-They can treat people as an object

-They prefer to spend their time alone instead of being with other people

Their answers to sensorial information…

-They aren’t startled when there are heavy noises

-They show an increase or a fall in their 5 senses

-Rare noises can seem painful to them and they cover their ears with their hands

-Physical contact is overwhelming for them and they can avoid it

-They rub areas and they put some objects in their mouth

-Their answer to pain seems to increase or fall

Neither their behaviour is very usual…

-They express their feelings with intensive anger attacks

-They only pay attention to a specific topic or a labour (perseverance)

-They have a short period of attention

-They have very restricted interests

-They’re hyperactive or too passive

-They show an aggressive behaviour to other people or even to themselves

-They show their necessity to be alone

-They use repeating corporal gestures

An early intervention improves the final result in most of little autistic children. The most successful treatment is based on child’s specific necessities.

There are some effective therapies…

-Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)

-Medicines

-Physiotherapy

-Language and speech therapy

A.B.A. therapies are carried out in children’s home, by the supervision of a psychologist. These therapies are used to be very expensive.

Doctors usually use medicines to treat behaviour problems or emotional problems which an autistic child can suffer, as…

-Aggression

-Anxiety

-Extreme compulsions that the child cannot stop

-Hyperactivity

-Impulsivity

-Irritation

-Changes on their frame of mind

-Anger or rage fits

-Problems when they have to sleep

-Tantrums

Their diet…

Some autistic children have a free of gluten and casein diet. Gluten is found in food which contains wheat, rye and barley. Casein is found in milk, cheese and other dairy products.

I think that autistic children are really special. They live in another world created by their own and nobody else has any place there. Perhaps they hide their feelings and they never know how to express their thoughts. They’re wonderful people and usually they are the cleverest children because they only are able to understand logic things. Things which have a final solution or a reasonable explication, as maths. But they’re so antisociable because they cannot understand simply things as a hug, a parents’ kiss or a joke.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we all have to take care of them and try to give them an easier life. Because even if they aren’t able to thank to us, we will do what is right.