Highly functional autism: signs in children, correction, diagnosis, difference from other forms

Many people associate the word "autism" with something scary. Few people know that this is a rather broad concept. Autism manifests itself in severe and mild forms. In children and adults. This article focuses on highly functional autism.

High functioning autism is one of the autism spectrum disorders. This is a mild form of autism. Hence the name. These people have IQs above 70. In appearance, they are not much different from ordinary people. Their cognitive abilities are rated as high.

High functioning autism is not considered an official medical term or diagnosis. It is not included in the ICD-10 and DSM-5 lists. Not all experts believe that it is necessary to distinguish between high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome.

The image of autistic geniuses is often used in cinematography. For example, Sheldon Cooper, Dr. House, Sherlock Holmes (BBC TV series). They also like to attribute the image to some famous people (among them Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Virginia Woolf) and associate it with genius. Unfortunately, in reality, everything is not so rosy.

Autistic geniuses:

Difference from other forms of the autism spectrum

High functioning autism is more difficult to diagnose. The child grows and develops in much the same way as his peers. At an early age, there may be delayed speech development. When interacting with other people, a child may have difficulties.

Such people are quite independent in their daily activities. Usually, behavior problems make themselves felt in unusual situations. Disability is out of the question here.

Reasons for specific genius

Little is known at this time about the causes of autism. It occurs as a result of impaired development of the brain. It cannot be acquired in a lifetime. They cannot be infected. It does not occur after vaccination. It is definitely not caused by upbringing or emotional trauma.

Complex clinical picture

Symptoms that manifest in highly functional autism can be divided into several blocks.

Childhood problems

The child may have a slight delay in speech development. And hyperactivity. A child may perform well in lower grades, but problems can arise in middle and senior grades.

Disturbed sensations

There is often a high sensitivity to strong odors, bright light, specific tastes, touch, noise, being in a crowd, etc. Not necessarily all at once. For example, a person may simply not tolerate a particular fabric.

Difficulties with society

Social interaction is not very easy for such a person. Difficulty maintaining eye contact. Lack of understanding how, what and to whom to say. For example, speech may be too low or too loud. Or something personal is told to an unfamiliar person.

Also a characteristic symptom is a passion for one specific topic. Not everyone will want or be able to maintain a long conversation, for example, about trains.

Poor perception of spoken language. A person may simply not remember the instructions that were just given to him. Perform only a part or completely fall into a stupor.

Routine addiction

The less something unexpected and unusual, the better. For example, a person watches a TV show every Thursday night, and every Friday night he spends reading. But if something goes wrong, then it can cause a whole hysterics.

Psychological problems

Unfortunately, among other things, psychological disorders are quite common among highly functional autists. For example, depression, anxiety, OCD. It is not yet known why this is happening. Either this is a consequence of autism, or - difficulties in adapting in society.

Typical patient image

Let's try to describe two typical cases - a child and an adult.

Girl, 9 years old

When she sits at her desk, she begins to sway from side to side. I was hooked on one topic. He tries to find out as much as possible about it. She can talk about it for hours, while she actively waves her hands. When talking, he prefers to look around. Can't keep eye contact. Prefers atypical entertainment. For example, do not ride a bike with other children, but disassemble and assemble toys, while counting every detail.

Young guy, he's 25

Somehow it didn't work out with friends. At school he was considered strange. With age, he learned to behave "like everyone else." But this takes away strength. He is well versed in the life of the Slavs of the 9-10th century. Prefers monotonous work.

For two years she has been working in a bank with documents. He prefers to wear a blue tie on Monday and purple on Wednesday. Suffering from OCD. Before leaving the house, I must make sure several times that the gas is turned off, the water does not flow, the door is definitely closed.

Diagnostics

Diagnosing high-functioning autism is challenging because such a child has no obvious developmental problems. Such people are good at adapting. They imitate normalcy.

In addition, at the moment there is no standard for diagnostics. Often, the specialist simply conducts a test for social communication ability.

Usually autism can be detected in a child under 3 years of age. But high-functioning autism often manifests itself already at school age. It happens that the child is very active. Then he is mistakenly diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

If a child is not given the correct diagnosis on time, then with age he may well learn to “be normal” himself. But then he can already get to a psychiatrist, for example, with depression, where he will already have deviations. A person can think for years that something is wrong with him.

Challenges in life and some of the benefits

Advantages of geniuses against their will:

• good long-term memory;
• passion for one topic - allows you to become an excellent narrowly focused specialist;
• attention to detail;
• the predominance of logical thinking;
• independence (compared to the rest of the autism spectrum).

Problems:

• poor short-term memory;
• may be accompanied by depression, anxiety, low self-esteem;
• lack of understanding of communication etiquette;
• it is difficult to get along with people;
• addiction to routine;
• excessive emotionality.

How can you help a child and teenager?

Autism is not cured. You can only work with individual symptoms.

Symptom correction includes:

• work on social skills;
• treatment of concomitant diseases;
• exercise therapy if coordination problems are observed;
• a speech therapist is needed if there are problems with the development of speech;
• work on routine activities if they are too intrusive.

Tips for Autists:

1. Make a schedule and follow it. Feel free to tell your family and friends that you don't like surprises. Ask for advance notice of any plans.
2. Try to minimize all annoying factors..
3. Try to avoid people who don't want to understand you. and accept all your specialties.
4. Sleep well. Lack of sleep can make your condition worse.
5. If you have any problems see a psychiatrist / psychotherapist.

Unfortunately, it is not known what exactly causes autism. Therefore, if you suspect that your child has high functioning autism, then:

1. Try to work out as much as possible all the "features" of the character with specialists. This is a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, neurologist, neuropathologist, speech therapist.
2. Don't forget about yourself. If you are very upset by this news, then contact a psychologist / psychotherapist.
3. Don't blame each other.
4. Don't take it out on the child.
5. Don't "mourn".
6. Do not treat your child as if they were sick. But don't expect "normalcy" from him either.