LET'S TALK ABOUT AUTISM

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

I hate name-calling based on mental illness. To my deep regret, the popularity of autism has also dragged to the surface a dirty tin can with an "Autist" sticker, inside which grows like mold and thrives on the myth that the autistic is a direct synonym for the mentally retarded, drooling and out of touch with reality. Stigma in its modern form deprives many people of the opportunity to receive help and support from society. We are talking not only about autism and its spectra, but also about other mental / physical disorders and diseases: schizophrenia, depression, bipolar affective disorder, cerebral palsy (gloomy hello to "Temporary difficulties"), disabilities of various forms, and so on. Remember and ponder how many negative expressions associated with various diseases are in everyday speech. This proves that there are still remnants of a culture in which sick people had no place in society and they were trying to get rid of them at least socially.

In autism, ambiguity is added by its very positioning in the classification of mental disorders. Autism was originally called SYMPTOM, a repetitive form of expressing a painful condition. Swiss psychiatrist Eigen Bleuler defined autism as the central symptom of schizophrenia (a term he also coined). To make it clear that "autism" is not equal to "schizophrenia", I will note that in addition to autism, the psychiatrist had three more central symptoms that, together with autism, formed this disease. Autism-symptom is a particularly intense isolation, escapism, escape from social and emotional ties with people around and complete uncriticality to this state on the part of the patient. In other words, he is comfortable being in social solitude, but surrounded by his own ideas, fantasies and activities dedicated to them. Moreover, please note that episodic autism can be characteristic of all people at certain stages. So, non-schizophrenic (social) autism can manifest itself during severe stress, depressive states, it can be associated with adolescence, and also banal with the fact that we live in a world of network correspondence.

There is also the so-called. "schizoid autism", and it's not about schizophrenia at all. A schizoid is a person with a personality disorder. Personality disorder is about how a person interacts with the surrounding culture and about the “set of problems” of this interaction. Schizoids, unlike schizophrenics, are not cut off from reality through illusions, hallucinations, delusions and delusional ideas. This is only a superficial difference, I cite it for general clarity and education of understanding that a schizoid is not a mandatory patient in a psychiatric institution, but a person with a borderline state. Autism in this case is also a symptom.

Further, child psychiatrist Leo Kanner describes some of the patterns of early childhood development in Autistic Disorders of Affective Contact. From this point on, the term "autism" takes on a second meaning. Autism as a syndrome or disorder. Kenner's syndrome, or infantile (children's) autism, has three basic signs-symptoms: social isolation and maladjustment, intense (sometimes narrowly focused) interests, which the child is not just passionate about, but all-absorbed (can be engaged all day without even thinking about physiological needs; with trying to tear it off can go into hysterics), and ritualized, repetitive actions (including echolalia - repeating phrases or their fragments after others, and stimming - behavioral self-stimulation aimed at reducing stress). All these symptoms first appear before the age of three years, and in the future they can both weaken (especially if assistance is provided in adaptation) and intensify. The reasons for the formation of autism have not yet been identified, but there is different evidence of the pattern: disruption of the brain, heredity, complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

Autism spectrum disorders include not only Kenner's syndrome, but also other disorders (such as Asperger's syndrome), which are characterized by different variations in the intensity of autistic symptoms. So, in Asperger's syndrome, social maladjustment can be less pronounced than in Kenner's syndrome, therefore, its timely diagnosis may be difficult, or even not performed at all. Does autism involve mental retardation? Not necessary, although it can be combined with it, as well as with other mental disorders and / or diseases (for example, autism in adulthood can be combined with depression and anxiety disorder). The situation is approximately the same with the general violation of the intellectual sphere. Autistic people may have learning problems, but they are sometimes associated not with developmental lag, but with a bias of cognitive abilities (for example, a child is not able to solve imaginary problems, but he easily handles logical ones). By the way, autistic people do not necessarily have the ability for mathematics and are not always savants.

How did I start there? I do not like name-calling based on disease. I have presented you with a stripped down version of the description and classification of autism spectrum disorder. This topic is much broader and deeper, there are many nuances in it, but I wanted to convey to you, readers, the realization of how recklessly to throw words, the meaning of which is much more multidimensional than you can imagine. Illness of any kind is not a reason for ridicule and / or unreasonable labeling, but a valid reason for help. Blocking in ourselves the understanding that right now in our environment there may be people who need it, avoiding the topic of mental illness, disorders, disorders and just peculiarities, people thereby, willingly or unwillingly, turn away from each other. Sometimes, unfortunately, this leads to disastrous consequences.