Don’t leave special children alone!

Allah Ta’ala made man the owner of understanding and wisdom and empowered him, then appointed him as his vicegerent and sent him to the earth. Man has also been given five special senses by nature, which are called five senses.

These senses are called basra (sense of sight), saama (sense of hearing), taste (sense of taste), shama (sense of smell) and lamsa (sense of touch). Man uses the abilities given by nature and with the mutual cooperation and harmony of these abilities, the journey of life progresses successfully.

Man learns gradually after birth how to use his abilities. Unfortunately, in some children the coordination of abilities is less pronounced. These children do not understand their environment and people properly and suffer from a disorder called autism.

Autism is a neuropsychiatric disorder, which is related to mental retardation and development. The disease is present at birth and its effects begin to appear before the age of two years. Autistic children’s speech, social relationships and behavior are affected. These children appear in front of the world in a slightly different way and seem isolated and lonely. The following symptoms and complaints are found in these children.

*Difficulties in socializing with normal children and isolationism

* Difficulty in explaining one’s meaning or saying one’s words

* Do not look into the opponent’s eyes during the conversation

Repeating certain words or phrases

Do not answer when called by name

* Unusual aggressiveness in mood

Crying or laughing without reason

Not understanding fear and danger

Constantly playing with the same object or toy

Spinning the wheels of a toy car or any other object repeatedly

Having an abnormal attachment to some specific items

Not tolerating any change in your environment

Ignoring the pain and suffering of others

* Not responding to love with love and avoiding hugging or hugging

Unexpected and intense reactions to seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching any object.

Shaking hands and body unnecessarily

Autism is diagnosed based on symptoms and complaints. Autism cannot be proven by any laboratory test or x-ray. Autism was once called autistic disorder. Experts have found that symptoms similar to autism are found in many disorders.

It was decided on this basis that all these diseases will be treated under the same diagnosis and title. The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual” containing the definition and classification of psychiatric disorders was published in 2013, in which a new diagnosis, Autism Spectrum Disorder, was introduced.

Under this diagnosis, several diseases were grouped together and three levels were set according to the severity of the disease, they were declared as level one, level two and level three. The question is very interesting that why the word spectrum is used? The spectrum is actually the combination of the seven colors found in the rainbow.

The spectrum shows these colors separately. Autism spectrum disorder has become a reference for all people who suffer from autism, but their experiences vary from one to another.

The importance of autism was realized by the United Nations many years ago. On December 18, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution, in which it was decided that April 2 will be celebrated as World Autism Day every year. Autism Day has been celebrated all over the world for the last fifteen years.

The purpose of celebrating this day is to provide proper awareness to the public about autism and to ensure quality and timely care of the patients.

The World Health Organization, a subsidiary of the United Nations, published a report last year, according to which one percent of children in the world are suffering from autism. The statistics of CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) are more shocking. According to this organization, one in every 44 children suffers from autism spectrum disorder.

This disorder is found all over the world and people of all castes, colors, races and regions suffer from autism, however, boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls. These statistics are according to the CDC report released in March 2022.

The number of autism patients is increasing rapidly day by day. Currently in the United States, there are more children with autism spectrum disorder than there are children with cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.

Due to this disease, the economic pressure also increases a lot. According to a conservative estimate, the presence of an autistic patient costs the family $60,000 annually. With early diagnosis and timely treatment, economic pressure can be reduced by two-thirds. It is difficult to say anything with certainty about the total number of autism patients in Pakistan. According to an estimate, 3 to 5 lakh children in Pakistan are affected by autism.

“Why does autism occur?” Nothing can be said with certainty about this. Experts have mentioned some possible reasons, which are as follows:

This disease is hereditary and is transmitted in families

* If there is an autism patient among brothers and sisters, then the possibility of this disease increases

Birth of two or more children at the same time

Birth of premature baby

Loss of weight of the child at the time of birth, any complication during pregnancy

The mother is suffering from malnutrition

Parents should be older at the time of pregnancy

In the early days of development, there is a defect in the brain

Side effects of some medicines

* Any attack of virus and effects of environmental pollution

Some people suggest that autism can be caused by bad parenting. The fact is that parental behavior has nothing to do with this disease. Parental behavior before pregnancy, during pregnancy or after the birth of the child does not play any role in the development of this disease.

After birth, every child goes through different stages of growth and development. These stages are related to the age of the child. If there is proper awareness of these stages, autism can be diagnosed in time. These steps are very interesting and we are briefly mentioning them in the following lines. Keep in mind that we are talking about mental development and not physical development:

At the age of eight to nine months, the child has a fear of strangers, which is called Stranger Anxiety. This series continues till the age of two years. Children with autism usually do not have this type of anxiety. They don’t care if there are strangers or not.

At the age of nine months, the baby reacts happily when called by name. In autism, this reaction is missing.

At the age of nine months, if the child does not show facial expressions of happiness, sadness, surprise and anger, then there may be a fear of autism.

At the age of 12 months, the child starts playing with other children with great enthusiasm.

* At the age of 12 months, the child uses physical gestures a lot. For example, saying goodbye by shaking hands.

At the age of 18 months, the child expresses his likes, affections and interests.

* If another person is hurt, even a 24-month-old baby feels a little. In the form of autism, the child shows carelessness and disobedience.

* If after reaching the age of 36 months or three years, the child does not show any affection towards other children, then it will be a matter of concern.

At the age of 48 months or four years, children present themselves as important figures or heroes by acting. For example, acting as Superman or Spider-Man.

At the age of five, children often perform singing or dancing in front of others.

Children with autism spectrum disorder have many communication problems. These children usually develop the ability to speak quite late. It would be beneficial for us to know the developmental stages that a normal child goes through in learning to speak.

A child from one year to fifteen months learns to speak those words, which are formed by combining two sounds. For example, mama, baba and pani etc. At the age of 18 months, children have a vocabulary of 20 to 30 words. They understand the difference between yes and no. At the age of two years, children’s vocabulary reaches 50 to 100.

They are able to express their desire in two words. For example, give water, go outside, bring bread, etc. At the age of three, children are able to speak a sentence consisting of three or four words. A child of four or five years of age can express himself correctly and his words are understood by strangers as well as family members.

We must not forget that there are many possible causes of speech delay and that many normally healthy children are late in learning to speak. A definitive diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of one or two such symptoms. We should also remember the rest of the colors of the spectrum.

Patients with autism spectrum disorder sometimes have other physical and mental disorders. For example, sensitivities or allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive and eating disorders, sleep disorders, cognitive problems, depression and anxiety. Autism patients are ten percent more likely to have epileptic seizures than the general population.

Ten percent of autism patients have some genetic or neurological disorder. Autism spectrum disorder patients have an average lifespan of 54 years, while others their age reach 70 years. Autism patients live 16 years less than the general population.

A specialist doctor or psychologist must be consulted for a definitive diagnosis of autism. Keeping optimism aside, we have to accept the harsh reality that there is no medicine that can eradicate this disease from the root. This disease covers the whole life in one form or another.

Despite this harsh reality, the situation is not hopeless and there is plenty of light at the other end of the tunnel. The severity of this disease is not the same in all people. A large number of people suffering from the disease can be provided with proper education and training and can lead a fulfilling and productive life. Autism spectrum disorder treatment is multifaceted and the following forms are possible.

Standard treatment of physical and mental diseases with autism should be done.

Problems caused by autism should be treated.

Depending on the need of the patient, different types of psychological treatment or psychotherapy should be arranged.

Speech therapy or speech therapy should be provided.

Occupational therapy and training should be started.

All possible services should be provided keeping in mind the educational needs of the patient.

Regular efforts should be made to educate and encourage the patient’s family members.

Autism patients deserve our special attention and love. They are slightly different from other children but very innocent and are lost in themselves, rather it should be said that they keep wandering in the desert of their own self.

These children talk to themselves instead of talking to others. It’s not that autistic people can’t communicate properly throughout their lives. Research shows that the majority of patients learn to use vocabulary over time, and 50% of patients become fluent. Autistic children are not cruel inside.

They want to help others, but cannot express their true feelings. The same is the case with social interactions. These people want to build relationships, but are not familiar with this skill.

There was a general perception about autism patients that these patients suffer from mental retardation. This perception is not correct. Autism patients can be unusually intelligent. They can be of average intelligence and their intelligence can be of average level.

Of course, some patients also suffer from mental retardation. Autism patients can be highly creative and can reach the heights of science and art. Great scientists like Newton and Einstein, great filmmakers, directors and actors like Andy Warhol, world famous people like Bill Gates were probably suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Children with autism spectrum disorder are waiting for our love and compassion. We have to go ahead and hold the hands of these children and bring them out of the torment of loneliness. Our love can make them useful members of society.

don’t cry baby

in your yard

The dead sun has gone to Nehla

Chandrama has gone for burial

don’t cry baby

Ammi, Abba, Baji, Bhai

Moon and Sun

If you cry, then all this

And will make you cry

So maybe he will smile

All in one day disguised

Will come back to play with you

(Dr. Iftikhar Barni is a Psychiatrist in Islamabad and Central General Secretary of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA).)