Pay attention to your child’s signals

“It is not a processing error, it is a different operating system,” explains Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) simply Gabriela del Carmen Cardeña Chab, educator and graduate in Hearing and Language, who was interviewed within the framework of the World Day Autism Awareness Day, which is today.

According to the specialist, who works at the “Jacinto Canek” Multiple Care Center, the signs to identify the presence of this disorder in a child are: he does not maintain eye contact with another person, he does not respond when called by his name and does not show facial expressions such as happiness, sadness, anger or shock.

Likewise, he does not participate in simple interactive games with other children, uses few or no gestures, and has repetitive behaviors such as placing toys or objects in a row. She also repeats a word or phrase many times (echolalia), becomes irritated by minor changes in her routine, reacts in unusual ways to the way things sound, smell, taste or feel.

The person – Gabriela Cardeña continued – may have delays in language, movement and cognitive abilities, and may present epilepsy and unusual eating and sleeping habits, such as not eating certain foods and having short periods of sleep.

“It is not that the child is going to have all these symptoms, it depends on the child, that is why it is called the spectrum because they are not the same,” he highlighted.

Medical attention

If parents identify several of these signs in their child, the first step they should follow is to go to the family doctor, who will refer them to consult with a pediatrician and then a neurologist, with whom a correct diagnosis can be made.

ASD is classified into three degrees of help. “The characteristics that are taken into account to know what degree of help you need are language and intellectual capacity,” he said.

Language, occupational and sensory integration therapies are recommended as treatment.

For the care of diagnosed patients there are different options, for example CRIT, CREA, the Yucatecan Association for the Fight once morest Autism and Other Developmental Disorders, AC (Ayuda), and the Ángel IAP Autism Association.

When parents receive their child’s ASD diagnosis, they may go through a stage of grief because, in many cases, this disorder may be unknown to them, which generates a lot of fear, confusion and anger.

Parents reach acceptance by seeking help, “it is important to go to the psychologist, get involved in groups of parents who have children with ASD and communicate the diagnosis to the family in order to strengthen the support network,” advised the interviewee.— ALESSANDRA CARRILLO AMARO