Autism, another way of perceiving the world

"Since Fran was a baby, there was something that did not shut us down.We consulted the pediatrician and he told us that everything was fine.However, when our son was a year old, he opened and closed the doors obsessively and, if we went to birthdays, instead of watching the animation, he would open and close the bathroom faucet.We insisted, but the pediatrician's answer was still the same, "remembers Florencia Ciampi, Fran's mother, who, along with her husband, finally found a health professional who would listen to him, give credence to his words and diagnose your child's behavior was typical of the spectrum disorder of the Autism (TSA).

The story of Ciampi continues: "Our entourage told us that we are crazy, that all children are the same and that we are demanding parents. When Fran was two, her sister was born: her behavior became uncontrollable. A month and a half later, I issued an ultimatum to the pediatrician: we could not continue like this anymore. "

The mother says that the professional referred them to a psychobadyst, who told them that Fran had a gap between his emotional and cognitive maturity. "He did not convince us and referred us to a psychiatrist with the same speech, one day we took him to a baseball player he had been to before, both of them cried and screamed. That day, I said "so far I have arrived" and I contacted an occupational therapist who recommended a mother from the garden, "he added.

It was already 2014, Fran was four years old. "Today, some mothers diagnose their children when they are one or two years old," Ciampi said. Your case, however, is not the exception.

Fran started room 4 with an integrative teacher and treatment with a psychologist, speech therapist and occupational therapist. Today, at the age of eight, he enters third grade in a bilingual school that has adapted his clbad schedule so that, when he is in therapy, nothing is lost that can to hinder his education. This is an exception: there are not many institutions that really integrate all their students.

Since she started primary school, she no longer needs an integration teacher and today she only benefits from psychological therapy and support to work on the registry. his own emotions and feelings. For the first time, he practices activities that he has chosen for fun: football and taekwondo. Her mother has the feeling of harvesting everything she has sown during these years; but he does not forget the loneliness he felt when the pediatrician ignored his concerns.

Ciampi encourages other parents. He emphasizes the importance of "building self-confidence". "Do not keep the doubts, you must be brave, deny it will be of no use, just waste precious time.Although the most learned doctor says that everything is fine, if there is anything something that does not shut us down as parents, we need to continue to investigate Nobody knows our children better than us, "he says.

Diagnostic

ASD is a neurobiological disease with which one is born and lasts a lifetime; although the difficulties and levels of support needed are changing.

It is known that environmental, genetic and biological factors are badociated, but says the psychiatrist and director of the Department of Childhood and Youth of Ineco, Andrea Abadi- "the exact cause is not known".

"There are alterations in the wiring, in the brain function of certain areas and in the genes," he says. However, he emphasizes that the important thing is that, thanks to rehabilitation treatments, progress is important and significantly improves the quality of life of the child and his family.

Celica Ysrraelit, head of the Brincar Foundation's professional training area for a happy autistic, an adult neurologist and mother of three – the eldest with ASD – explains that "diagnosis is a key that opens the door for your son. "" You're never ready to have this news, but once the shock, the diagnosis is what allows to act: the boys begin to do therapies and to improve; and parents to find support from others and rearm themselves, "he says.

Singular, like all

People with ASD are primarily characterized by difficulty communicating and interacting with others. It does not mean that they like "being in another world" – as it was described at one point – but only that they have trouble getting tied up.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 59 people has ASD. "It's the most common cause of childhood disability – it's bigger than cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis," says Ysrraelit.

In many cases, people with autism have a language delay or disorder and have in common the fact that they are literal. They do not understand the double meaning. For this reason, they do not understand jokes, charges, or subtleties; they do not interpret looks or tones of voice; they do not lie either, they have no hidden intent or perversity. "They want to have friends, but they have trouble understanding and managing certain communication codes," whether they are verbal or nonverbal, as Ysrraelit explains.

In addition, they have limited interests – "they are too focused on an aspect or topic that can be very variable," says the professional, as demonstrated by repetitive and stereotypical attitudes, such as floating, swaying or walking on tiptoe (between a very varied fan). These movements are often useful to calm down in a situation of stress or anxiety.

They also exhibit obsessive behaviors badociated with order. On the other hand, they may have sensory difficulties: hyporeactivity (low sensitivity to pain or temperature) or hyperreactive (they are hindered by certain textures, sounds and smells).

There are people with autism with intellectual disabilities and conditions such as epilepsy, depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity disorder. can coexist. "By definition of clbadification entities, Asperger Syndrome is in the ASD since it shares the basic features of autism." However, Aspergers do not have any delay in language acquisition and still have a good intellectual level, "says Abadi.

All the rights

Promoting public policies, empowering families through information and conducting awareness campaigns to learn more about autism are the main goals of TGD-Padres TEA, a self-convening group present throughout the country.

One of the members of the promoter group, Celeste Marisi, a mother of two, one of whom has an ASD, says that since 2007, Argentina has adhered to the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which "has a constitutional status and therefore the hierarchy ". "This is the one that many families usually cite in the protections they must give to social work," he says.

Children with and without ASD have the right to access education, whether public or private. "This should not be a pilgrimage.Some of the excuses are:" There are no vacancies, quotas for disabled children are over, the school is not ready to receive it, the clbadrooms are small and there is no room for the integrated teacher, "she recreates.

"Our children are active members of society, which is why we in our group empower families so they can fight and claim the rights they have earned," Marisi warns. And he emphasizes that the end of the school is not only academic, but also socialization. "We can not talk about social and professional inclusion if we do not talk about educational inclusion," he says.

Coincides with her Abadi, who states that all "should be included, with their characteristics, in society.If a child has difficulty hearing, he will not go to an institution with a Primary and secondary school as well as a garden, will go with headphones or other strategies will be considered.But limitation does not necessarily have to be the condition of the autistic spectrum.We must collaborate so that they integrate ".

Similarly, Marisi states that the law on the integral and interdisciplinary approach of people with ASD (law 27,273), promulgated in December 2014, is regulated without further delay because its text guarantees all that is necessary: ​​the early detection condition , research so that the causes are known, realization of therapies, training of professionals and development of statistics, among others.

About seven in ten people do not have access to treatment.

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