Genetic causes of childhood autism

Autism is an abnormal behavioral syndrome caused by disrupted development in early childhood. The condition is quite rare, on average, 3-4 out of 10,000 children. The initial signs of autism appear already in the first 30 months of the child's life, although some pathological features can be seen from the very birth.

The symptoms of autism can be found in young children, but the diagnosis is exhibited ONLY when the child reaches the age of 4-5 years. Autism is in any case a serious condition, although the severity of the painful manifestations can vary in wide variations. The genetic causes of the development of child autism are still unknown. All children with autism have problems in such aspects of daily life as:

Communication

All children with autism acquire language skills belatedly, already at an early age the difficulties in communication become obvious. Half of them do not develop the ability to express their feelings and emotions with the help of the language. An autistic child does not attempt to communicate, for example, through agukanya and childish babbling. Some elements of speech develop in such children, but usually it plays a special protective role for them - the child begins to mumble incoherent phrases or his speech is echolastic in nature, when he repeats endlessly the words spoken by others, not understanding their meaning. Because of speech problems, children with autism may seem gross and unfeeling. They have difficulty in using personal pronouns, for example, they can talk about themselves in the third person and, as a rule, do not know how to keep up the conversation. Finally, such children are not even able to play games that require the presence of creativity and imagination. A serious problem for autistic children is communication with other people; their behavior, in particular, is characterized by the following features:

As a result of these difficulties, an autistic child is not inclined to build any relationship with other people and is very isolated.

Features of behavior

Children suffering from autism try to subordinate themselves and the entire surrounding world to a strict order and are very upset if it is broken. This is due to the fact that they are not able to understand the significance of the events occurring with them and to foresee what they may end up with; The established routine serves as a kind of protective way for them to avoid the surprises that cause them trouble. Autistic children have a very limited range of interests, often they experience some kind of attachment to some thing, but not to a person or other living entity. Their games are monotonous, they develop according to the same scenario. Sometimes such children can endlessly repeat some meaningless actions, for example, circling around or twisting their fingers.

Pathological reactions

Along with the listed characteristics, some children who are autistic. Can exhibit an unusual reaction to smells, visual images and sounds. Individual individuals may not react at all to painful impulses or even to find pleasure in causing pain to themselves. Autism is an incurable disease, and if a child is diagnosed, he needs an individual training program involving a team of specialists. To correct behavior and obsessive disorders, behavioral therapy may be required. Autism occurs in boys 3-4 times more often than in girls. Moreover, the sex differences in the prevalence of this pathology are more pronounced at a higher level of intelligence; in the group of children with low IQ, the ratio of boys and girls suffering from autism is approximately the same. In half of the population of autistic children, the level of intelligence indicates a violation of the ability to learn from moderate difficulties to complete learning. Only 10-20% have sufficient intelligence for normal learning. The development of autism is not related to the socioeconomic status of the family of the sick child.

Special Abilities

In general, autism is more common in children who have learning disabilities. However, some autistic individuals have completely unique abilities, such as uncommon mechanical memory. Approximately 10-30% of patients with autism from time to time there are convulsive seizures. If a child is diagnosed with autism, the rest of the family needs the help of specialists who must teach them to understand the patient and act accordingly with him. It is imperative that the training of an autistic child takes place in suitable conditions for him. There are special schools with an adapted timetable and an emphasis on the acquisition of language and communication skills by children.

Approaches to treatment

Behavioral therapy is designed to develop acceptable social behavior in a child, as well as to suppress actions and habits that impede the learning process, such as self-harm or obsessive-compulsive behavior. In some cases, medicinal treatment is also used, but only in a limited mode: fenfluramine is prescribed to inhibit endlessly repeated actions; for the suppression of increased excitability - haloperidol or pimozide. One of the methods, named after the Japanese scientist Higashi (also known as "everyday life therapy"), involves a combination of music and art with intensive physical activity in order to teach the child a method of imitation in a well-known, clearly structured environment. An important role in treatment is played by speech and language therapy. In relation to children who do not use the language at all, other methods of influence are used to facilitate communication and interaction with the child.

Causes of Autism

Based on the fact that autism is closely related to learning disabilities and epilepsy, scientists tend to look for the cause of this pathology in a biological imbalance. To date, no one has even come close to explaining that it is in the brain of patients with autism that this is not the case. There is a parallel between the development of the disease and elevated blood levels of free or platelet-associated serotonin, but the details of the pathological mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Although in each case it is very difficult to determine any cause, autism is supposed to be associated with a series of perinatal injuries, congenital rubella, phenylketonuria, and infantile convulsions.

Theory of Reason

With regard to the level of thinking, it is assumed that autistic individuals suffer from a deficit of certain functions that are described within the framework of a concept called the "theory of the mind". This means that these people are not able to feel or think about what the other person is thinking about, are not able to predict his intentions.