Autism( Kanner's syndrome) - Causes, symptoms and treatment. MF.

For the first time the term "autism" for the disease was proposed by American scientist Leo Kanner in 1943.He also gave the first detailed description of this disease, therefore the second name of children's autism is Kanner's syndrome.

Autism is a mental illness, the first symptoms of which always appear in childhood up to 2.5 years. However, a reliable diagnosis of childhood autism can only be established at a later age( up to 5 years), when the child has the skills of communication in the team. The main manifestations of autism include isolation, striving for solitude, disturbing emotional contact with others, strangeness in behavior. Often children's autism occurs in boys.

Causes of Autism

The causes of childhood autism are not fully understood. Most scientists come to the conclusion that the underlying cause of this disease is brain damage, which can be due to intrauterine infection( more often, rubella), as well as the occupational hazards of parents, in addition, damage to the fetal brain can occur as a result of Rh-conflict.

Many scientists consider children's autism to be the result of an incorrect operation of individual genes, i.e.recognize the hereditary nature of this disease.

A small group of researchers assigns a crucial role in the development of Kanner's syndrome to external factors, mainly specific relationships in the family( dysfunctional families, upbringing in an orphanage, lack of emotional contact with the mother).Apparently, in the development of autism, a combination of causes is involved in children.

Symptoms of autism

The first thing that usually worries the parents of an autistic child long before calling a specialist is the poverty of emotions. Such babies later start to smile and do it rarely. They are indifferent to the caresses of parents, and sometimes it seems that the child avoids tactile contact with the mother. In the first games of autistic children, there are also features, for example, a kid can look at and fingrap his fingers for hours, without showing interest in a new bright rattle. Often children with autism are diagnosed with developmental delays. Sometimes parents and even doctors have the impression that the child is deaf or hard to see - so he ignores calls for communication.

As the child grows, deviations in the emotional sphere become more noticeable: the child inadequately uses facial expressions and gestures in expressing his emotions, avoids eye-to-eye contact( looks as if through a person), sometimes treats people as inanimate objects. In the child's behavior, both passivity and inadequate activity can prevail.

The speech of a child with autism is often monotonous, there are many repetitive words in it, a child can repeat monotonously adult words for an adult, or make similar sounds of the same type. Specific is the use of the pronoun "You" instead of "I".

Unusual gestures are striking, fanciful manner of walking, sitting, eating. In games, autistic children prefer solitude, games are stereotyped, i.e.the game is dominated by a recurring set of actions. Characteristically use as toys of various household items( clothespins, bicycle wheels), without associating them with everyday life. One of the favorite activities of children with ausmus are various manipulations with water - transfusion, games with a stream of water.

Some children with autism are prone to self-harm - they bite themselves, pull out their hair, bang their heads against the walls. In this case, parents need to urgently show the child to a child psychoneurologist or psychiatrist.

Sometimes with autism there are convulsive seizures, this also serves as a basis for a speedy visit to the doctor, tk.convulsive attacks are harmful to the developing child's brain and require urgent treatment.

Examination of a child with autism

In addition to autism in childhood, manifestations of other mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, neuroses, are also possible. Individual symptoms characteristic of autism can be as in mentally healthy children, and in children with brain lesions as a result of birth and other trauma, severe infections. Only an expert in child psychiatry can correctly evaluate the child's condition, often not alone, but in cooperation with psychologists, educators, neurologists and pediatricians. Therefore, parents should not engage in self-diagnosis, and even more so, self-medication, because there is a serious danger to further upset the work of the child's nervous system by unreasonable use of any drugs.

To confirm the diagnosis of autism and exclusion of other diseases, a physician can prescribe an electroencephalogram, a psychologist's consultation. Sometimes it is important for a psychiatrist to know the general state of the child's body - in this case, he will need to get acquainted with the conclusion of a pediatrician, a neurologist, an ENT doctor, evaluate blood test data, urine.

Treatment of Autism

Most doctors prescribe psychotropic medications very carefully to children with autism, since there is no precise data on the positive effects of psychotropic medications on the symptoms of this disease. The use of psychotropic drugs is justified only in the case of an excited behavior of the child, a tendency to self-harm, sleep disorders. In such cases, small doses of antipsychotics( more often haloperidol, sonapax, rispolept), antidepressants( for example, amitriptyline) are used for the medical treatment of autism.

Medication for autism also includes the administration of drugs that stimulate brain metabolism( cerebrolysin, aminalon, glutamic acid) as well as nootropic drugs( nootropil).

Often improvement in the condition of a child with autism occurs after a course of vitamin therapy. The vitamins of group B, C and PP are used. In the pharmacy you can buy nootropil, multivitamin preparations and without a doctor's prescription, but it is better that the doctor decides on the appointment of a medicine.there are many different nuances. For example, some nootropic drugs can increase excitement, and drugs, which seem to contain the same substance, can affect the child's state in different ways( for example, aminalone and gamma-lon).Parents should strictly follow the dosage prescribed by the doctor and immediately report changes in the child's condition.

There is no medication for autism, any drugs only help relieve some of the symptoms.

Psychotherapy is of great importance in the treatment of autism, and family therapy is preferable, because parents of a child with autism need the support of a specialist no less than a small patient. We need to learn how to effectively communicate with the child, understand each other, and understand the child's interaction with society. Patience and once again patience is necessary when raising an autistic baby.

In the house everything should be in the usual places of the child, because missing out on your sight the little things from the furnishings can upset the baby more than the absence of a mom or dad. And in no case do not raise your voice, with irritation it is better to retire and calm down.

Very important for the child and training with teachers. Intellect does not suffer from autism, but due to specific emotional disorders and a special way of thinking, it is difficult for such children to learn according to a generally accepted program. A pedagogue-psychologist in collaboration with doctors will determine the most optimal way of teaching for the child, develop an individual program that will make full use of the child's abilities.

A psychologist can provide indispensable support to a sick child. With the help of various psychological techniques it is possible to develop skills of social communication, to overcome the difficulties of adaptation in a children's collective. There are psychological techniques developed specifically for patients with autism, for example, holding therapy( the method of forced embrace), which contributes to strengthening the emotional connection between the child and parents.

Now there are a lot of "courses" for children with autism and their parents, they work on completely different methods. Before you start attending such courses, carefully study their program and methods of work, the qualifications and experience of teachers and psychologists. After all, the wrong approach can not be a step forward, but a jerk back, and lead to the loss of the skills already assigned to the child instead of their acquisition. You should choose one experienced psychiatrist who will guide your child, practically, all your life.

The most important thing in raising a child with autism is patience and patience again. It is very difficult to attract the child's attention to autism, and without it all your actions for him are empty air. Call the child by name, if necessary several times, in a calm tone, until he turns his attention to you. In no case do not raise your voice and do not use brute force. Then follows patient repetition and fixing day-to-day skills obtained by the kid( for example, tying laces or zipping), even for a long time after the child has already seemed to have learned them. It is necessary to adhere to the regime of the day, unforeseen events permanently knock out the autists from the usual rut.

In large cities, and on the Internet, there are clubs for parents of autistic children, where you can share your experiences and experiences.

Separately it is necessary to tell about features of a food of the child with an autism. It is proved that children with Kanner's syndrome have a defect in the work of digestive enzymes - these children have a reduced ability to break down some of the proteins contained in milk and flour products. Therefore, it is advisable to limit flour and dairy products in the baby's diet.

Some parents turn for help to traditional medicine, for fear of drugs used in psychiatry. However, traditional medicine does not have effective means for treating children's autism. All that the traditional healers can offer are mild soothing agents of plant origin, the main components of which are valerian, motherwort, and medicinal sweet potato. However, this usually does not have any effect. The harm of such "treatment" is to delay the treatment of specialists, and the later a child receives qualified help - the worse the prognosis of the disease. With the permission of the doctor, you can take calming herbal preparations as an auxiliary method of treatment.

In most autistic children with adequate treatment with age, improvements are noted. But, unfortunately, it can not be ruled out that in the older age a child may develop a more severe mental pathology, for example, schizophrenia. Therefore, it is important for parents to consult a doctor as early as possible and begin treatment and rehabilitation of the child, in addition, even with a significant improvement in the condition, one should not neglect the preventive examinations of a child psychoneurologist or psychiatrist.

Prevention of autism

No effective measures to prevent child autism have been developed. But to reduce the risk of this disease will help a serious attitude of the spouses to the planning of pregnancy. It is necessary to check with specialists to identify and treat infections and chronic diseases. A pregnant woman should be observed regularly at a female consultation doctor and lead a healthy lifestyle, avoid contact with infectious patients.

In any case, the parents of special children do not need to despair. With the support of specialists, you can make your child happy and help him find his place in life.

Doctor psychiatrist Bochkareva OS