Patient's question:
Patient is male, 5 years old, previously in good health.Current condition:
1. Unwilling to speak or interact with others.
2. When speaking, he tends to focus on the same topic for a long time, repeating it several times without stopping.
Doctor's answer:
The optimal treatment period for children with autism is between 3 and 6 years old. If the best treatment window is missed, no matter how treatment is administered, their intelligence and behavior will remain at the level of early childhood. However, delayed treatment can lead to lifelong disabilities, even without the ability to take care of themselves. Even if they grow up and have the opportunity to receive the best education, a significant portion of them may still struggle to adapt to society, meaning they cannot live as well as neurotypical individuals. Therefore, experts remind parents that early detection and early intervention are crucial.How can parents detect it early? The main focus is on three core symptoms:
1. Social interaction difficulties. For example, the child may not respond when called, lacks attachment to parents, and shows little interest in peers.
2. Language communication difficulties. Half of the children with autism have delayed language development and may still not speak by the age of two or three. Some children may even have language but fail to communicate normally, avoiding eye contact while speaking. For instance, some children mimic others like parrots—when adults say "Ask Auntie hello," they also say "Ask Auntie hello." Others may repeat language, constantly saying the same sentence.
3. Repetitive behaviors or narrow interests. Children with autism often have narrow interests, such as being obsessed with wheels, round wooden sticks, or similar objects. They may also frequently perform repetitive actions, like biting their fingers or spinning in circles.
4. After the age of one, the child does not speak for no reason, lacks separation anxiety from their mother, shows little response to being teased, and often plays alone in corners with single, meaningless games like spinning wheels.
If parents suspect their child may have autism, they should consult experts immediately while also paying attention to the balanced development of their child's learning abilities. Even children with autism can develop abilities comparable to neurotypical individuals if trained properly. Currently, there is no specific medication for autism, nor is there a method that can completely cure it. If a child is diagnosed with autism, parents need to cooperate:
- Overcome psychological imbalances and properly manage the relationship between the child's education and parental work and daily life.
- Turn love, patience, and perseverance into motivation and actively engage in the child's education, training, and treatment.
- Prepare a development and behavioral or treatment and education observation log for the child, and establish a long-term consultation and cooperative relationship with the doctor.