Understanding Autism: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment

2024-01-09 16:00:00

Fatima Khalil wrote Tuesday, January 9, 2024 06:00 PM

In conjunction with the launch of episodes of the series “A Special Case,” which deals with the life of a person suffering from autism, we explain the signs of autism so that it will be easy for mothers to notice it early.

In this context, Dr. Muhammad Mahmoud Hamouda, a teacher and consultant in psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, said: Autism It is a developmental disorder that occurs during the growth period, and occurs in children as a result of a genetic defect, which could be hereditary or a genetic mutation.

He explained in a special statement to “Youm7” that autism has 3 basic characteristics:

First feature:

The child is late in speaking compared to his peers, as the normal child says single words at the first year, a two-word sentence at the second year, and a 3-word sentence at the third year, adding that the child’s delay in speaking means that the child has one of the characteristics of autism, and this does not mean that he has autism. .

Second feature:

According to Dr. Muhammad Mahmoud Hamouda, it is a defect in social interaction, that is, he is not good at interacting socially in the situation as he should, as he may act very sociable or extremely isolated.

The third characteristic of autism:

According to the consultant psychiatrist, it is repetitive, stereotypical behavior, i.e. performing repetitive actions in a stereotypical manner, arranging things in a stereotypical manner, or turning in a circle in a stereotypical manner, or following the electric washing machine, or eating certain foods only and not eating others, or engaging in stereotypical, repetitive activities, or stereotypical repetitive behaviours.

Hamouda stressed that until now we do not know the genes responsible for autism, adding that it is divided into two things: autism as part of another neurological syndrome and autism without the symptoms of another neurological syndrome, indicating that so far there is no treatment for autism, because it is a genetic problem and there are no genetic treatments yet. .

He explained that cognitive-behavioral therapy, communication sessions, and skill development remain the primary treatment, adding that antipsychotics are the only treatment so far for repetitive behavior, hyperactivity, and excessive violence in autistic children.

He stressed that there are no treatments for autism in the world, warning of what some people are doing to treat autism in unscientific ways, such as: oxygen under pressure, diet, or heavy metals.

He emphasized that if a child has only two of the characteristics of autism, then he is not autistic. For example, if the child has delayed speech and repetitive stereotyped behavior and does not have a problem with communication, he is not autistic.

He added that if a child has stereotypical, repetitive behavior and impaired social interaction, this could be diagnosed as Asperger’s Syndrome, which is one of the syndromes similar to autism, and Elon Musk, a celebrity with it, is one of the celebrities who suffer from it.

1704831827
#discover #signs #autism #child #treat #consultant #explains

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.