What is autism?
Autism is a neurological developmental disorder. Normal brain function is affected in Autism that is characterized by the weak development of social interaction, behavior, and communication.
Autism varies from mild to severe form. The affected individual has a great intellectual disability. Its cause remains unknown. According to DSM-5-TR autism is a difference in brain that affects how a person communicates and interacts with others. This brain difference also affects various aspects of person’s behavior, interest and activities.
Who is prone to autism / pervasive development disorder?
- Most of the affected children are presented with language problems in 2-3 years.
- Boys are affected more often than girls.
- Family history of autism.
- Children with medical conditions such as Rett’s syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis.
What are the causes of autism?
Autism has no single cause and can be usually multifactorial like:
- The exact aetiology is unknown.
- There may be a genetic factor.
- Environmental, immunologic, and metabolic factors are also one of the factors in disease development.
- Exposures to toxins, chemicals, poisons, and other substances have been hypothesized to cause autism. Exposure to pesticides and phthalates during pregnancy increases the risk of the occurrence of autism spectrum disorders and related disorders.
- It may be a result of sensitivity to the vaccine.
- Families who have one child with autism, the risk of having another autistic child are 3% to 8%. The risk of developing autism increases if the first-degree relative has autism.
- Maternal rubella is associated with autism and other conditions in children.
Must Read: Identify Autism in your Child by Observing These Symptoms!
What are the signs which appear in children due to autism?
This condition presents itself in the form of the following signs and symptoms-
- The autistic child does not respond to his or her name. Lacking Social interaction.
- The child has delayed learning to speak.
- Acts ignorant at times. Appears not to hear you.
- Least bothered by others’ feelings.
- Do not make friends prefer to play alone.
- There is no apparent fear of dangerous situations.
- Become disturbed by the slightest change in their routines.
- Resists cuddling and holding
- May repeat words or phrases and repetitive behaviour.
- Uses abnormal tone or rhythm during the speech.
- Lack of communication.
- Oversensitive to light, sound, and touch and yet oblivious to pain.
- Some children with autism may develop seizures and can be resistant to treatment.
- Aggressive behaviour, or maybe self-injurious.
How to diagnose autism?
- Diagnosis is based on the child’s behaviour.
- Developmental history and physical examination of the child.
- A child will often have genetic testing (looking for chromosome abnormalities) and may have metabolic testing.
- Child’s evaluation –Communication, Language, Motor skills, Speech.
- MRI
- Elevations of whole blood serotonin occur in one-third of patients.
Your child must have all three of the following social areas:
- Social-emotional reciprocity: This refers to an individual’s ability to engage in social interactions between two or more people, which is difficult for autistic children.
- Non-verbal communication: This is the process of conveying thoughts and feelings through visual and non-verbal cues like eye contact and body language. Autistic children may not use these cues or may not be able to understand what others mean by them.
- Developing and maintaining relationships: This involves seeking people to spend time and sharing time together. An autistic child may not be able to develop a friendship.
Must Read: Can Homeopathic Medicines Help In Case Of Autism!
When do children usually show symptoms of autism?
Autism symptoms can appear at different times, but they often appear early in a child’s developmental years-
- Problems with eye contact.
- No response to his or her name.
- Poor skills in pretend play and imitation.
- Problems with nonverbal communication.
What are the behaviours of autism?
- Restricted and repetitive behaviors vary across the autism spectrum. They include Repetitive body movements like rocking, moving up & down(flapping), turning round & around(spinning), and running back and forth. Repetitive motions with objects (e.g. spinning wheels, shaking sticks, flipping levers).
- Intense interest: Having an intense in some topics such as numbers, details or facts.
- Sensory Sensitivity: Being more or less sensitive than others such as light, sound, temperature etc.
- Social communication difficulties: Avoiding eye contacts, not smiling back when smiled.
What can be the management for autism?
The condition of autism can be managed through the following methods-
- Visual aids are often helpful.
- Applied behavior analysis (ABA). This therapy can be effective in some cases. It is specially designed for younger autistic children. Its main focus is to get the child close to normal developmental functioning.
- Medications.
- Occupational therapy.
- Physical therapy.
- Speech-language therapy.
What are the complications of autism?
Autism may lead to complications like-
- Mental retardation.
- Fragile X syndrome.
- Some people with autism develop seizures.
- Metabolic disorders like diabetes.
- Mental health conditions like bipolar disorder, and ADHD.
- Immune disorders like allergies and asthma.
Homeopathic treatment for autism?
Homeopathy treats symptomatically, so the medicines are:
Agraphis nutans: Delayed speech. Mutinism in children unrelated with deafness.
Kali bromatum: Loss of memory. Amnesic aphasia can pronounce any word told, but cannot speak otherwise.
Lycopodium: Dread the presence of new people. Frightened at trifles.
Tuberculinum: Sensitive to noise, every trifle irritates. Fits of violent anger throw anything at anyone.
Carcinosin: It is well indicated if other medicines fail in the case of autism. Fear of being humiliated or punished can be seen but disobedient.
