If you’ve seen the Oscar-winning film Rain Man, I’m sure you’ll be impressed by the main character. Indeed, individuals with autism have special talents that have led them to be called “idiot geniuses,” and some people believe that Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein were autistic. It may sound like a good thing to have autism, but what is it? In fact, autism, also known as autistic disorder, affects the ability to socialize and build interpersonal relationships, making it difficult for individuals to take care of themselves. It is often accompanied by behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and self-injury. Children with autism often do not stay in normal kindergartens and require special education. In addition, the incidence of autism in children has surpassed that of childhood cancer, AIDS and diabetes combined, and the condition is no less dangerous than these three diseases. It affects 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys! Autism puts a lot of pressure on families and society. Due to the seriousness of the situation, in December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to designate April 2 of each year as World Autism Awareness Day, starting in 2008. To raise public awareness of autism, the following is some autism-related knowledge: I. What is World Autism Awareness Day? In December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to designate April 2 of each year as World Autism Awareness Day to raise awareness about autism and related research and diagnosis, and about people with autism. “World Autism Awareness Day is a reminder of the importance of mutual respect, understanding and care between people with autism and the general population. As individuals with autism and those directly involved, such as family members, scholars, experts, doctors and nurses, April 2 should also be used as a “cheering station” to continue to work together to overcome the disease. People should strive to make April 2 a day when people with autism can live confidently and happily. What are the signs and symptoms of autistic children? Autism has a variety of manifestations, but the three main symptoms of autism are communication disorders, language disorders and stereotyped behaviors, as well as intellectual, perceptual and emotional characteristics. Generally, from about 1.5 years of age, parents gradually notice that the child is different from other children. 1. Social Communication Disorder Children like to play alone, do not want to or know how to play with children, and cannot participate in cooperative games. Often deaf to most instructions from parents, but will happily carry out certain instructions that interest him, such as going to the street, throwing garbage, eating cookies, etc. Poor eye contact. Usually not afraid of strangers. When needed, the child usually takes the parent’s hand to a certain place, but is unable to point to things with his or her fingers and rarely seeks parental care or comfort. This is the main reason for most children with autism to be seen. Some children have the ability to speak or even speak excessively, but their language lacks a communicative quality, and is characterized by nonsensical language, repetitive stereotyped language, or self-talk, and imitation speech and “parrot language” are common. Narrow interests and repetitive stereotyped behaviors Children with autism may not be interested in the activities and things that most children enjoy, but may show an extraordinary interest in particular objects or activities and, as a result, exhibit one or more repetitive stereotyped behaviors or actions, such as spinning, sniffing, playing with switches, running back and forth, arranging toys and blocks, dancing with their hands, and being particularly attached to a particular object such as a wheel, fan, or other round object. wheels, fans, or other round objects, repeatedly watching television commercials or weather reports, and loving to listen to a particular piece or pieces of music, but not usually interested in cartoons. They tend to have certain special interests and stereotyped behaviors at certain times, and they are not constant. 4. Other About 70% of children with autism are mentally backward, 20% are in the normal range, and about 10% are over-intelligent. Some children with autism can appear to have strong abilities in certain areas, mainly in musical ability and memory, especially in mechanical memory of numbers, routes, license plates, chronology, etc. Most children with autism have sensory abnormalities of one kind or another. Some children have a particular fear or preference for certain sounds; some show a fear of certain visual images or a preference for looking at certain objects in a particular way; many children with autism do not like to be hugged; pain dullness is common; and they prefer to ride in cars or shake for long periods of time or have a particular fear of riding in elevators. Hyperactivity and distractibility are more evident in most children with autism and are often a major concern for parents and physicians, and therefore often misdiagnosed as ADHD in children. In addition, tantrums, aggression, and self-injurious behaviors are common in children with autism and may be related to incorrect parenting practices. These behaviors may be related to incorrect parenting. They may vary from individual to individual and may be mild or severe, and may be typical, atypical, or specific. How to deal with autism? Although there is no medical cure or prevention for autism, early diagnosis and early intervention treatment can be effective in improving the lives of people with autism. The most effective treatment methods are education and training. Several of the most internationally used and effective autism training methods include structured training (TEACCH), applied behavior analysis therapy (ABA), relational developmental intervention (RDI), and floor time (DIR). Each of these approaches is appropriate for children with autism and has its own characteristics, but we emphasize the organic combination of these training approaches, taking the strengths of each and using them together. In the early stage, behavior modification is the main focus, and a structured environment is used in the training, with structured procedures for each training, and good performance in the training is reinforced with behavior analysis therapy, so as to improve the child’s ability and cooperativeness. When a certain level of cooperation is reached, the concepts and methods of Relationship Intervention (RDI) are integrated into daily training and life to enhance the child’s desire to communicate with others. Children over 5 years old can be supplemented with effective psychotropic medications in training to control excitement and hyperactivity symptoms. What is the prognosis of autism? The prognosis of autism depends on the severity of the condition, the child’s intelligence level, the timing of educational and therapeutic interventions, and the degree of intervention. The higher the child’s intelligence level, the younger the intervention, the higher the intensity of training, and the less severe the autism, the better the treatment outcome. Therefore, we advocate early training to seize the best opportunity to improve the child’s ability as much as possible. Most children with autism who are not treated have a poor prognosis, and more than half will develop lifelong intellectual disability. A small percentage of children with autism will improve themselves to varying degrees as they grow older. How can autism be detected early? If your child shows any of the following signs, see a specialist immediately to check for early signs of autism: 1. At six months or older, the child is not laughing or making other warm and happy expressions. At nine months of age or older, the child is not yet able to share sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions with others. 3. At ten months of age, the child is not responsive when hearing his or her name. 4. At one year of age, the child is not yet able to babble. 5.At one year old, the child has not yet made gestures to communicate with the outside world, such as pointing at things, showing things to parents, reaching for things, or waving. 6.At sixteen months of age, the child is still unable to speak. 7.At two years of age, the child does not yet actively say meaningful phrases consisting of two or more words (excluding imitation). 8. At any time, the child appears to be deteriorating in language skills or social interaction skills.