An in -depth analysis of what “autistic spectrum” means: signals, diagnoses and support strategies for greater awareness and inclusion
Autism, autistic spectrum … they are terms that we now feel pronounced often and that belong to the field of neurosciences, used to describe a disorder that has begun to speak in relatively recent periods. In fact, it is in 1943 that the word “autism” appeared for the first time, the American pediatrician Leo Kanner and the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger (hence the name of the same name). But exactly, What is autism? In this article we will try to understand the characteristicsas the diagnosis does, what are the treatments and support therapies, as well as understanding the possible causes or the predisposing conditions.
What is autism?
What is autism? It is a condition of the recognizable neurosvillect in a subject for the peculiar methods of perceiving and thinking, mainly regarding socio-communicative, behavioral and sensory skills. It manifests itself since from the first years of lifewith symptoms that may include difficulties in social communication, repetitive behaviors and absorbent and sometimes restricted interests; These characteristics are often different by entity and way in which they manifest themselves and can vary significantly over time. This is why over the years there has been a more accurate one definition of autismthat is, that of “autistic spectrum”.
The word “spectrum” underlines the heterogeneity of this disorder: all people with autism share certain characteristics or difficulties, but the way and intensity vary enormously from subject to subject, as well as the characteristics of the disorder can vary significantly in the arc of life, to the point that the most frequent clinical signs of Autism in children They can completely change in adults.
Causes of autism or predisposing conditions?
When we talk about autism, we must always keep in mind that there are no educational elements or practices that can cause their onset. It is important to underline this aspect because in the past the attention has often been paid on causal associations later widely examined and excluded, such as the possible relationship between autism and vaccinations, or between the disorder and certain parental behaviors, that is, a detached educational style It is not very affectionate.
Furthermore, when it comes to autistic spectrum, it must be specified that we do not refer to a disease, but rather to peculiar characteristics of operation of an individual, other than the typical ones but not necessarily unfavorable. As we will deepen later, we can therefore consider this condition as the result of the complex interaction between robust genetic and neurobiological predisposing factors – that is, everything related to the formation, development, organization and neuronal functioning of the central nervous system – and possible factors environmental.
Characteristics of autism
The main ones characteristics of autism They concern the socio-communicative sphere, the behavioral and sensory sphere.
Sensory perception, or the way of perceiving the world around it, is often different from children with typical development. For example, the child who falls within the autistic spectrum may present one hypersensitivity to sounds, tastes, smells or touch. Specifically towards:
- Strong noises or confusing environments;
- foods of certain textures;
- certain smells or perfumes (watermark, deodorants …);
- clothing of certain fabrics.
On the contrary, the child could manifest active research behaviors of certain sensations or sensory stimulations that are pleasant to him, such as: for example:
- Look for a long time and repeatedly an object that always performs the same movement (the wheels of a toy cars that turn);
- smell objects or people;
- repeatedly listen to some sounds;
- often turn on itself.
Many children or teenagers who fall within the autistic spectrum show more or less unusual interests towards which they pay high attention and dedicate a lot of time.
In addition, autistic children and adults can often present stereotyped, or repetitive behaviors. The stereotypies, or stimulationrepresent a sensory and cognitive self-stimulation mode, through which to reduce tension or boredom levels, increase concentration or manage and regulate their emotions. Some common examples of stimming include:
- swing;
- walk back and forth or in circulation;
- repeat noises or words;
- Shake or beat your hands.
Those just described are behaviors that, of course, can be found to a certain extent to all people, but that autistic children and adults propose precisely in a repetitive way.
To these are added some Symptoms of autism in childrenthat is, signs that parents can already grasp during early childhood:
- Difficulty in social interactionwhich can present themselves differently based on age and context;
- inconstant response when your name is pronounced;
- fix the eyes of the people around with reduced interest or less frequency;
- reduced sharing of discoveries or pleasant games (only with people significant for them);
The lower tendency to imitation of others, or the ability to communicate one’s needs through the expressions of the face, gestures or body movements are other possible Autism signals.
Even a language that is too forbidden for age, the difficulty in respecting the conversation shifts with a tendency to the prolixity of the speeches, an interaction that involves the interlocutor in a less active way and the difficulty in putting himself in the role of a “typical” person are among the characteristics of autism. How to orient themselves then?
In general, we can say that atypicality in communication or social skills expected for the age of the child must always direct parents and pediatricians towards one neuropsychiatric evaluation. The specialist and the multidisciplinary team that will take charge of the family, thanks to the comparison with the parental figures of reference, will better interpret the behavioral atypies detected and place the correct diagnosis.
Diagnosis of autism
How to diagnose autism? The diagnosis of autism is based on the direct observation of the behavior of the subject, both spontaneous and in response to external stimuli, and is supported by the stories reported by the main care figures (in the case of children) or by the individuals themselves (in the case of teenagers and adults). The data collected by the multidisciplinary team, with proven experience in this area, will allow to put a clinical diagnosis through the diagnostic criteria coded by international classification systems (ICD and DSM). The clinical diagnosis of autism can be supported by neuropsychological tests and instrumental investigations useful for verifying the presence of other conditions of the neurosvilula.
It is good to remember that To date, there are no diagnostic genetic tests nor laboratory exams that can confirm the diagnosis of autism or not. There are instrumental, and non -instrumental investigations, which allow to exclude the presence of concomitant medical pathologies.
An early diagnosis is important to be able to build a path of awareness with the family, and will allow the child, teenager or adult autistic to understand better himself, his ability and their way of interacting with the world.
On the contrary, the lack of diagnosis often has a negative impact on the health of the subject. The failure to take charge of timely, in fact, involves an increased risk of psychiatric complications, especially in school/teenage age. Finally, outlining the neuropsychological profile, i.e. identifying the weaknesses but also an individual’s strengths, can lead to a targeted intervention on the difficulties experienced by autistic children or young people and the strengthening of basic skills.
Autism: therapies and support interventions
Before deepening what are the possible Autism therapies And the support interventions, it is necessary to ask, for each specific case, what are the real difficulties that prevent that specific subject from best expressing their potential, achieving levels of autonomy and the possibility of participating in social and community life. The diagnostic criteria, in fact, suggest that they carefully examine every individual case in themselves, together with the interested party and the reference family, in order to identify the necessary support level, or how much the child/boy/adult autism in question needs to need be helped or assisted during daily activities, also taking into account its life context.
Each autistic person, although shares with the others some similar characteristics, has different needs, dictated both by its innate characteristics and the skills acquired, and by the possible presence of other conditions or neurosviluppo disorders. For example, some autistic subjects develop advanced language skills (a large vocabulary, excellent reading skills) but at the same time they can have difficulty in the use of language in its social and relational function. Or again, some have excellent skills in the eye-man coordination, with particular skills in drawing, but manifest difficulties in global coordination and in the complex movements that concern the whole body. This dysomogeneity It helps us to avoid the error of considering autism as a kind of “diagnostic label” capable of completely defining every person who falls within the spectrum, and even more helps us not to think that all the people who present the same diagnosis are the same.
In light of what has been exposed so far, we can say that autism represents one of the many neurodiversity that characterize mankind. The aim of the therapeutic intervention will therefore not be the “normalization” of the neuropsychological profile, but rather the acquisition by the individual of effective strategies to manage and face problematic situations. Another important field of intervention is the design of spaces, rhythms, services and urban services more accessible and livable for any autistic person or, better, for any person, whether typical or neurodicing, in order to allow each one to express themselves in the best way of one’s own possibilities.
