'Prodigy' may be a sign of autism

Mothers should not be happy to see their 2-3 year-old child reading or reading books. These " prodigy " signs may be a symptom of autism - the developmental disorder syndrome in children.

Autistic children often live alone. (Photo: news-star) Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha, deputy head of the National Hospital of Pediatric Rehabilitation Department, said the facility had received a number of autism cases with signs of " prodigy ". Recently a 15-year-old patient. In the age of 2-3, I knew how to read the words on newspapers, on the walls, the billboards . and was named by the press as a miraculous phenomenon. Due to being too proud of me, my parents did not pay attention to strange expressions, when I realized, I grew up. Currently, he is in grade 8 but cannot keep up with them, his parents go to school only so he doesn't cry.

On the other hand, if the " prodigy " children were examined early in childhood, the doctor would discover that the children were reading and reading but they did not understand anything. Many of Dr. Ha's patients knew the multiplication table, but could not do the calculation 1+ 1. There were grandchildren who belonged to the whole table of rules of dozens of things, but when the doctor asked if he understood anything, he also repeat a stereotype: "Do you understand anything? ".

Many children with autism know how to read early and have strange interests with letters and numbers. Parents are happy and proud, bringing a lot of books and newspapers to their children, making them bury themselves in these objects and the disease is getting worse.

Therefore, mothers should pay more attention to their children when they show " prodigy ", and if there are signs of autism, they should be taken to the doctor.

What are the symptoms of autism?

Children have almost no eye contact or nonverbal communication such as nodding, shaking their heads, pointing their fingers. When you want to ask for something, the child does not know it but just holds the hand and parents' hand on it.

Don't play with anyone, just alone. Children also do not know how to share joys, concerns with others, such as showing off beautiful clothes, bringing to see the toys they like. Children do not care, show affection to others, look at people like things.

Slow or completely incapable of speaking; said but overturned the sentence structure, or the repetitive repetition language (what adults ask, the child cannot answer and repeat the question itself).

Do not know how to play toys, just pick up and beat and throw. Children often choose to play a few things but do not use the right function, such as with a car, only turn up, turn the wheel.

Many children are constantly concerned with the details of things, can " study " details intoxicatingly passionately, the mother does not know how to think her child has a scholarly attitude.

There is a strange interest in some things, such as milk cans, sticks, pebbles . Autistic children are often fascinated by unusual movements (like looking at a ceiling fan right away, lights); and especially enjoyed advertising on television.

There are unusual hand and foot gestures, molded like turning hands, twisting hands. Do not care about the external environment so children with autism are almost fearless. I can go to the street, traffic is still sitting.

Children with autism do not imitate all other children, do not adapt to change. Playing a toy, if you take away or change positions, you will cry, bang your head, pull your hair .

10% of autistic children are deaf but still hear some sounds. Many children " fake deaf ", parents call it like they do not listen, but very hearing with some music. The sense of smell, taste is also unusual, some children refuse to eat rice, only eat dirt and feces.

The majority of autistic children are very active, running, jumping and being tired. Others are lethargic and inactive.

Dr. Thu Ha said, autism can only be diagnosed after 18 months of age, but before that there were early signs such as crying a lot, being poorly aware, less interested in parents, not knowing strange, eyes. look far away. If in doubt, consult your pediatrician for follow-up.

Can autism be cured?

According to Ms. Ha, the ability of autistic children to recover depends on three factors: The time of intervention (preferably 18-36 months of age, when children are learning to speak, is also the fastest growing brain), later that is the content of intervention and perseverance of parents. If these three factors are ensured, the rate of children returning to normal is 30%; the rest have made significant progress.

According to world standards, autistic children must be rehabilitated by continuous regular intervention programs: 8 hours a day, 22 days a month, lasting for at least 6 months. Each technician is in charge of one child. The Rehabilitation Department of the National Pediatric Hospital is treating the children according to the modern program of the world, but due to the overcrowding of patients, the treatment must be shortened. Each child was intervened for half an hour every day for 2-3 weeks, then took a month off before starting a new course.

Dr. Thu Ha said that the treatment of autistic children in Vietnam is very limited because rehabilitation centers for these people are only available in 2 big cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, the autism rate is 0.2%. Treatment should be intermittent and long-term, so most patients in the provinces do not have access to the city.

The discovery of autistic children is also very difficult because very few doctors are knowledgeable about this syndrome. In many cases, parents find a strange expression of their child like slow speech, hyperactivity . but the doctor says it's okay, he is still normal. When the manifestations were too clear, the disease was discovered.

Many difficulties come from parents. Many people recognize their abnormalities early on but do not want to believe their children have autism. Dr. Thu Ha said that among children with autism diagnosis, only one-third of them were intervened by their parents, the rest were treated with acupuncture, acupressure or Oriental medicine. Some other parents gave their children early treatment but were not persistent enough, seeing progress has stopped, then bringing them back to the hospital in severe condition, having to intervene longer.

Dr. Thu Ha advised parents with autistic children to spend more time playing with their children than normal children. Children need to be brought to public places, where there are many people to learn to speak, learn to communicate, practice their ability to focus attention. Without treatment conditions, giving children to kindergarten also brings many benefits.

Thanh Nhan