Child with autism

 Have you ever met an autistic child? Perhaps the answer will be yes or no. If you do not know, read this article to be able to recognize the signs of autistic children, and to be able to understand children with autism. Children are always preschoolers who always need to be cherished and understood. So how do recognize children with autism?

What is autism?

The term “Autism Spectrum Disorder” is used to describe mild to severe forms of autism. The global incidence is 1/150, and the male/female ratio is 3:1.

Autism is the name of a syndrome when children have defects in communication, interaction with people, and difficulty in controlling language, behavior, and emotions, leading to reduced ability to integrate into society. A child with mild autism is a child with only mild symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. For the most part, for such mild autistic children, parents can be subjective and not detect it. This situation gradually causes children to isolate themselves from others, lock themselves in their own world, and cause much harm to children. Although scientists have not yet found the exact cause of autism in children, there are some assumptions that children with autism may be due to:

Unbalanced development of the brain is caused by some genes, and brain damage.

During pregnancy, mothers are regularly exposed to many toxic substances such as tobacco, alcohol, beer, drugs, etc., increasing the risk of autistic children after birth.

Unfavorable environmental factors that increase the risk of autism such as toxic chemicals, environmental pollution, family neglect of education and care... Jesus and lion canvas

How to detect children with "Autism Spectrum Disorder" early

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by behavioral deficits in areas:

• Social interaction
• Stereotypical, repetitive behavior
• Opposition behavior
• Communication language disorder
• Slow movement
• Likes to play alone
• Strange behavior
• Eating disorder
• Intellectual disability

When detecting that children have abnormal behavior such as children rarely smiling, showing little emotional feelings towards their parents who prefer to play alone, with interaction with people around, their interests are narrowed, and their behavior is limited. stereotyping… especially accompanied by severe language regress in children (children too late to speak for their age or children with complete loss of language skills) are considered early warning signs suggesting for Parents and teachers found that the teacher identified a very likely child with autism, especially children aged 18-24 months.

Some warning signs of autism in children before 24 months:

No babbling at 12 months old

There are no gestures to show concern around 12 months old: pointing fingers, waving when meeting relatives, shaking hands, making eye contact, smiling, and responding to acquaintances...

• Can't say even a single word by 16 months old
• Doesn't say 2-word sentences by herself at 24 months old
• Loss of language and communication skills at any age.

The above are the most common and typical signs to identify autistic children. However, parents should not only rely on the above signs to conclude that their child has autism. When detecting a child with the above signs, take the child to a doctor as soon as possible so that the child can receive timely treatment and limit future mental sequelae.