It is a disorder whose symptoms start before the age of 3 and manifests itself with inadequacies or limitations in social and communication fields, repetitive behaviors and limited interests. Although it is generally known as autism, it is actually a spectrum that spreads over a wide spectrum.
ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. The symptoms begin in early childhood. Although it was previously stated to be rare, recent studies show that it is more common today. The increase in the prevalence of the disorder, apart from child psychiatry, also plays a role in the awareness of other branch physicians and families. .
Intensive studies are still continuing on the etiology, that is, why it occurs in ASD. There is no single cause. There are studies that may cause genetic, environmental factors, maternal age and some vitamin deficiencies. In researches on brain development, especially responsible for attention and executive functions He continues in detailed research on the frontal lobe, the amygdala related to social behavior and emotion, and the temporal lobe related to language development. For him, ASD is a pervasive developmental disorder because it does not occur for a single reason.
ASD Diagnosis
ASD Symptoms:
Most of the symptoms are seen between 13-14 months of age. While development is normal in some of them, regression begins in the 1-2 years old range.
IN THE GROUP UP TO 1 YEARS OF AGE:
There is little biting or voice variety,
There is indifference to those who take care of or talk to them,
Unresponsive to the caregiver’s leaving or calling,
Sleep problems, abnormal crying,
symptoms such as resistance to feeding or inability to communicate while breastfeeding can be seen.
SYMPTOMS IN GENERAL:
Restricted eye contact,
Inability to look when you call his name,
Doesn’t look at your face when you talk, does not interact,
Socially No responsive smile,
Not playing with toys purposefully,
Age-level expression and receptive language retardation,
Developing one’s own language,
Monotonous language,
Lack of empathy,
Inadequacies in understanding and interpreting emotions,
Inability to show what is wanted, showing one’s own wishes by the parent’s hand,
Emotion sharing or lack of sharing of favorite objects,
Repetitive behaviors (stereotypes) (such as turning around, twisting hands, dealing with an object for hours),
Restricted interests (such as cars, maps, TV, clips) ,
(9800) 702) May be loosely hypotonic,
Motor development may be retarded,
There may be unresponsiveness to stimuli such as touch,
Sleep and feeding problems may develop,
No imitation skills .
Early diagnosis is very important in ASD. If your child has some of these symptoms, it is definitely appropriate to seek professional support. I recommend that you do not pay attention to the statements of the environment such as ‘he will be younger, he will grow up, his father was like that’. If it is not easy to accept the situation. Early diagnosis and treatment is also very important.
TREATMENT:
First of all, family and caregivers should be well informed about ASD and their role in treatment.
The basic treatment option is special education. It should be noted that they should receive special education from educators who have training on this subject.
Parent education and social-emotional development education are more appropriate for children under 2 years old.
Educational content at an older age should be arranged according to the age and cognitive development of the child.
From time to time, for additional diagnoses, drug treatment may be recommended for Attention Deficit, Anxiety symptoms, Behavioral Problems, Sleep problems.
Children with good mental performance progress faster in treatment. How long the treatment will take is related to the child’s learning capacity, mental development, use of words in the language of expression, and good social and family support. It may take 1-2 years for some children and longer for others.
Children with ASD who have good mental skills during adolescence may experience various problems because they can see the differences in their situations. Medical support may be required during this period. Problems such as intense temper tantrums, sexual behavior problems, and physical harm are more common in children with poor performance during adolescence. may be evident.
Treatment should be arranged with a multidisciplinary approach. The child’s development and problem areas should be reviewed at regular intervals with the doctor who follows up.
I would particularly like to point out that there are no scientific studies showing that treatments such as alternative diet therapies, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, heavy metal removal therapy, neurofeedback are effective in ASD.
