Autism; It is a pervasive developmental disorder that begins in children before the age of three. In other words, it affects almost all areas of the child’s psychological development. The biggest problem is in the areas of communication and interaction. Families have a lot of trouble with this. It is more common for families to notice that it is a speaking period. The family may become suspicious when the conversation does not begin. In another symptom, it is difficult to establish eye communication, that is, he cannot look eye to eye. Mother-seeking behavior does not happen much; that is, he does not react to his mother not being around. When these symptoms appear, the doctor should see them.
Developmental areas should be examined one by one and treatments should be started to improve these areas. Speech, communication and interaction need to be developed. As these children get older, they find it difficult to communicate with their peers. Social environments should be created and communication and interaction with children of the same age should be ensured.
Like hoarding things, excessive interest in colorful, shiny items. There is an interest in things that turn; like a washing machine. They play a lot with water, cannot play with toys as intended, for example, instead of driving the car, they just spin the wheels. Even if her mother calls out, she may not look. It’s like he doesn’t care if there is a person in the room or not. He doesn’t react to it. The conversation may not start at all. Even if it starts, there will be grammatical and intonation errors. Speech consists of very shallow and short sentences.
It is a disease that disrupts social harmony. Even teaching self-care can be a challenge. Teaching toilet habits is very difficult compared to other children. Personal care, cleaning, putting on and taking off is taught very hard. He learns very difficult things that other children learn very easily.
These children need a special education. It is necessary to develop skills step by step by patiently using the training methods we call special training techniques.
This is a process where parents, doctors and educators should work together. Deficiencies should be identified together and joint action should be taken.
Autistic children can sometimes be very socially maladjusted. They may have aggressive behavior in kindergarten or school. Again, in addition to autism, hyperactivity, which we call hyperactivity, may be the inability to sit in the classroom. In these cases, drug treatments can be used. Depression may develop due to the problems experienced, and this issue should not be overlooked.
Again, it should not be forgotten that autistic children get used to new environments and situations very hard. Sometimes even changing the place of a small item in the house can be very difficult for him and he can overreact. Changing his class and changing his home are always difficult things for him. He hardly gets used to people; He may even react very aggressively to the change of the people he is used to, such as the teacher.
The causes of the disease are very complex. There are various opinions on this matter. There are disorders in the neurochemical system of the brain. Research on this subject is still ongoing.
It is a very difficult situation for families. Along with the autistic child, the family also needs to be educated. It is necessary to treat the parents and keep their motivation very high. Treatment will improve the quality of life of the child and family.
