Treatment for autism

Autism is a mental pathology that manifests itself mainly before the age of 3 and is characterized by violations of social functions, speech and communication, as well as the presence of atypical interests and forms of behavior.

Autism spectrum disorders occur in 1-2 cases per 1,000 people, four times more common in boys than girls, in all racial, socioeconomic and ethnic groups.

Autism spectrum disorders are divided into 5 subgroups

• Autistic disorder (classical form);
• Asperger's syndrome;
• disintegrated disorder in children;
• Rett syndrome;
• Pervasive developmental disorder unspecified (PRR-H)

Causes of autism in children

The main pathogenetic hypothesis explains autism as a violation of the architecture of functional neural connections, which causes social, communicative, cognitive and sensorimotor disorders. Studies of a large sample of patients with autism using the MRI method revealed a high frequency of brain abnormalities, including a violation of gray-white demarcation, anomalies of the temporal lobe and corpus callosum, polymycrogyria.

Principles of Autism Treatment

Carried out therapy should be complex, since the use of only pharmacological agents does not always allow you to achieve a quick lasting positive effect. To date, the most highly effective therapy in the treatment of autism has proved to be biophysical transcranial neuromodulation, which allows you to actively regulate the polarization of synaptic membranes, normalizing the excitability of nervous tissue, therapeutically changing the activity of neural ensembles in different parts and zones of the central nervous system, while simultaneously activating the processes of self-regulation and recovery. At the same time, the earlier neurorehabilitation work begins, the more positive the prognosis can be given in the future to overcome the symptoms of the disease. It is important to note that in the treatment of autism - drugs, speech therapy, psychological correction do not bring such impressive results.

Autism symptoms

External signs of autism in a child can occur when he is still very young. The first signs may appear at the age of 1 year. Weak eye contact and excessive fixation on oneself are obvious signs of autism. The course of autism is characterized by a clear stage

• Detachment from the outside world, inability to establish contacts with people and is very attached to the mother (parents).
• Delayed mental and speech development, speech disorders, in speech, the child does not use personal pronouns.
• Violation of social adaptation, avoids contact with strangers, avoids visual and tactile contacts, prefers lateral vision, prefers inanimate objects for games.
• Impaired motor skills and commitment to stereotypical activities.
• Weak learning ability, sluggish interest in what is happening around, does not copy the behavior of others.
• Unpredictably reacts to events, fear of bright external stimuli.
• Proneness to hysterics, aggression, self-aggression.

Diagnosis of autism

A reliable diagnosis of autism can be made at age 2. Parents attach little importance to the fact that their child barely pronounces a few words, while peers build long sentences. Pediatricians also pay little attention to signs of autism in children. Silence and isolation are blamed on the characteristics of the character, feeding the false illusion that over time the child will overtake peers.

If you do not provide professional medical care to the child–Autistic, he can not count on independent social adaptation. Failures in social adaptation will only increase the distance between autistic and peers, if communication and interaction in teams at all remains possible.

That is why parents should be more attentive to their child and at the first suspicion seek advice from a neurologist.

There is no need to create panic in an empty place. Only one sign can not indicate a disease. Finally, the study of the brain will help to dispel doubts.

In our clinic, a methodology for diagnosing autism using EEG with evoked potentials is presented. The method provides objective data not available to other studies. Already in the first months of life, it is possible to identify possible pathologies and predict treatment.

Causes and mechanisms of autism in children

Childhood autism of internal origin. It occurs without an external apparent cause. Diagnosis of autism is difficult and is carried out on the identified behavioral abnormalities. For all types of autism in children and adults, the following are common:

• The activity of the frontal lobes of the brain responsible for intelligence, consciousness, initiative decreases. This, in turn, entails the manifestation of the following signs of autism in children: decreased cognitive activity, interest in the environment, detachment. Such children are afraid of change, of a new environment. They don't accept new games, etc.
• The frontal lobes do not give impulses to the other centers of the brain (speech, motor, visual, etc.). As a result, actions become stereotypical and unconscious. Actions are not aimed at anything, can be repeated many times: tapping a hammer on the table, running in a circle, etc. This is due to the fact that the frontal lobes do not direct attention to the knowledge of the surrounding world.
• Since there is no control of the frontal lobes, all other areas of the brain are further delayed in development and develop unevenly. Simultaneously, complex and simple skills can manifest themselves: phrases and babble in speech, primitive games and complex skills.
• Speech zones, like all other areas, do not develop, so the child does not understand speech. He does not realize that he is being addressed, does not use his vocabulary, does not use speech to communicate and meet his needs.
• Autoaggression occurs as a protest against the surrounding reality. The child does not understand that it is possible to protest with speech. He lashes out aggression at himself or others. If you have a headache.–He hits himself on her or rubs her or holds his hands. At the same time, he is cranky and crying.
• Emotional development is inhibited, the child can not experience complex emotions - empathy, humor, care. Just simple emotions.–Fear, aggression. All manifestations are associated with the failure of the frontal lobes of the brain and the coordinated work of various areas of the brain. In some cases of autism, children have a pronounced neurological pathology. Therefore, attention is directed to the treatment of identified neurotic pathology. Such pathologies include: hydrocephalus, manifestations of Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, etc. Regardless of the cause that led to asynchronous development of the brain, it is necessary to stimulate the activity of the frontal lobes and speech centers.