The term autism is derived from the Greek word “autos,” and that means “self.” This is because people with autism do not establish contact with other people, or do so only with great difficulty, and seem to live withdrawn into themselves, in their own psychological world. But not because they don’t want to, but because, for a reason that is still unknown, they largely lack the ability to make contact with their environment, to understand it and to express their own feelings. In Germany, it is estimated that about 35,000 people live with autism, boys are born with this disorder three to four times as often.
Definition of autism
Autism does not in itself refer to a single, specific disorder. The term autism encompasses a whole range of developmental disorders that affect different areas to widely varying degrees. It ranges from a simple behavioral disorder and above-average intelligence to a severe disability. And although the majority of people with autism are intellectually impaired to a greater or lesser degree, they often have amazing abilities in individual sub-areas. For example, some have incredible memory skills and can memorize entire phone books or street maps in a very short time, or they are amazingly fast at certain math problems. Autistic traits can also be found as a result of or in connection with other illnesses or with mental disabilities. Thus, a broad spectrum of autistic disorders exists. However, the delimitation is not always easy and therefore at times quite controversial even among experts.
Syndromes and forms of autism
There are now about 30 syndromes that are associated with autism or at least a more or less pronounced autistic symptomatology. However, when people commonly speak of autism, they usually mean the severe, classic manifestation of autism, namely so-called early childhood autism, or Kanner syndrome. In addition, a weaker form of autism is still very often mentioned, namely the Asperger syndrome.
Autism: causes and diagnosis
For a long time, parents were blamed when a child was diagnosed with early childhood autism. Educational errors and “refrigerator mothers,” that is, mothers completely devoid of warmth and care for their child, these were supposed to be the causes. Heavy, burdensome accusations for parents, who themselves stood helpless and at a loss in front of their own child. In the meantime, however, this assumption has been clearly refuted scientifically. It is now known that autism is not the result of a single external influence, but has multiple causes. A genetic predisposition plays a decisive role, whereby, according to the opinion of scientists, not a single gene is the cause, but several genes are involved in the development of autism. In addition, various other disorders are suspected. For example, there is evidence of brain dysfunction that may interfere with perception and information processing.
Kanner syndrome (early infantile autism).
Early childhood autism always becomes noticeable before the age of three. The first abnormalities appear soon after birth. The infants often drink poorly and have trouble sleeping. Then it is usually noticeable that they do not make eye contact and do not respond to smiles, for example. They also usually lack their own facial expressions, which express or accompany the child’s feelings. The typical behavior of parroting syllables may also be absent. Speech development is often completely absent, and when a child does begin to speak, the speech melody is usually completely unfamiliar. There seems to be no interest in the people around, the child does not seem to notice them at all. There is also no imitation of behavior, such as waving back when saying goodbye. Often the children resist physical contact, even hugs, by screaming or crying. In the course of development, more and more conspicuous features are added. For example, the children are often conspicuous in that they do not play with their peers or seek contact with them. Most develop so-called stereotypies, which are repetitive movements, such as turning a small wheel or rocking back and forth with the body. Some children tend to hurt themselves, such as by biting or hitting themselves. Special interests are usually completely absent.And they almost always react in complete panic to change, such as when furniture is suddenly moved around the room or a different route is taken when shopping.
Asperger’s as a form of autism
Asperger’s syndrome is much milder in severity than early childhood autism. The children usually learn to speak very well and also usually have average or even above-average intelligence in other respects. This makes it much more difficult to diagnose and the disorder is therefore often not recognized until preschool age. However, the first symptoms are also noticeable before the age of three: The children are usually very clumsy in their movements and the main characteristic is a severe contact disorder, friendships with other children almost never exist. Furthermore, they are conspicuous by their lack of empathy, which makes them clash everywhere and socially largely isolated.
Early diagnosis possible
Today, the diagnosis of early childhood autism can be made very early with the help of special checklists. And that is a good thing, because the earlier the diagnosis is made, the earlier the course can be set for better development of the child. It is known, for example, that the greatest successes in language development are achieved when support is started before the child is two years old. If, on the other hand, you do not start until the child is four or five years old, you will only be able to correct the situation, but you will not be able to fundamentally change the development of the child’s language. However, it is important to think about the possibility of an autistic disorder in the first place. Therefore, parents to whom their child’s behavior seems conspicuous should discuss this with the pediatrician. After all, no one knows a child better than his or her own parents in the early days, not even the pediatrician, who usually sees a child only now and then for a short time. The problem is that there are of course also so-called late developers who simply develop more slowly than other children. In case of doubt, a specialist should therefore be consulted, which in this specific case would be a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Treat autism
Autism is not curable according to the current state of knowledge, neither with medication nor with other procedures. Treatment for a person with autism today consists of providing the best possible support to help them live as independently as possible. The treatment plan will vary from person to person and will be based on the resources and abilities of the individual child. Behavioral therapy methods, for example, have proven effective, with the goal of teaching the affected person social and communicative rules and awakening his or her interest and abilities in interacting with the world around them. Furthermore, individually appropriate school support is necessary in order to create the possibility of vocational employment later in life. Drug treatment may be necessary at times, but is then aimed at concomitant symptoms such as depressive mood, compulsive acts with self-injury, or extreme agitation. Ultimately, the individual patient and his or her specifics will determine the type of treatment and, therefore, the goal that can be achieved.
Outlook
Ideally, it is possible for affected individuals to later live relatively independently and perform a variety of activities. However, the reality is that only about one to two percent of affected individuals lead nearly unremarkable lives in adulthood. Affected parents should always be aware of this. Not in order to resign, but in order not to overstrain themselves and their child with overly high expectations at some point.
