Actually, we were preparing this article for the magazine „My World”. The latest issue was released recently and was distributed for free. This topic is very important, but, sadly, this article couldn’t be published. So we decided that Children’s Day is a perfect time to remind you or tell for the first time about those children, who need special protection, care and love. Therefore, today we publish the article on how looks and behaves a child with autism. We do it only for parents, so they can recognize the symptoms of autism as early as possible and begin rehabilitation. So, how the portrait of an autistic child looks like?

• A child with autism or autism spectrum is usually a boy. The fact is that out of 5 autistic children, four of them would be little boys. So moms of future football players should be really careful about how their children grow. Autism does not affect the general state of health and is not life-threatening. Usually, it is diagnosed at the age of 3-5 years. To „earn” autism is impossible since it is not a disease, but a feature of development of the nervous system, with which children are born and it remains for whole life.

• Sometimes it seems that the child does not want to play and talk with other children and is closed in his own world, where he feels nice and peaceful. In fact, children with autism are very open. They want to communicate with their parents and peers, but often they simply do not know how to do it. Picking up the right method, you can teach him to express his wishes and feelings.

• A child with autism – is a special, wonderful child who is very stable in his interests and preferences, as children with autism are very attached to a particular object or action. He can spend hours watching the shadows or putting things in a row. Maybe he will not be interested in new toys, but with a great interest he will look at pencils or colorful cards and play with them in his own way all evening.

• This child often does not know how to express his wishes and feelings. When he starts to cry or grizzle – do not think that he spoiled or do not know how to behave. Imagine that suddenly you find yourself in a country where no one speaks your language. Children with autism often do not understand our language, but if you are patience enough and you can teach him – he would be happy to communicate with you.

• Generally, an autistic kid has practically no sense of danger, he simply does not realize that a car might be dangerous for him. However, he may be also afraid of the light, loud sounds or a vacuum cleaner. Usually, it happens because of the extreme sound sensitivity, so typical for almost all children with autism.

• A child may often do not respond when you call him, but it does not mean that he cannot hear you. He’s just into playing with beads or cubes, which only at first glance does not make sense. Give him more time to finish the game.

• A boy or girl with autistic spectrum may be never able to speak or will start to speak very late. Moreover, they tend to speak incorrectly (for ex. to speak in the third person). For children who do not speak, there are alternative ways of expressing their feelings, emotions, desires and needs. The speech delay is not a direct symptom of autism, it may be also a consequence of another disease.

According to the WHO, each year 13% more children are being born with autism. In total, around the globe there are about 67 million people living with this diagnosis. It is a pity that WHO does not provide statistics, on how these people live. The life of autistic person should be monitored by someone from relatives or loved ones. Someone, who loves this a little bit different than the others person.

Autism cannot be cured, but it can be understood. People with this diagnosis can have an independent life and can communicate with others. An early diagnosis is the key to the successful rehabilitation. Children with autism are the same as other boys and girls. It’s just difficult for them to express their emotions, to find friends, it is difficult to live in our world because of different perception.

We would like to thank Maria Koenig, the founder of the NGO «Înţelegem Autismul» (www.autism.md) for the help in writing articles.

Photo: Gulnara Vyshku