World Autism Awareness Day: How to tell if your child can develop it

In 2008, the United Nations (UN) declared April 2 World Awareness Day for Autism. Eleven years later, in many cities of our country # 2A, multiple activities are being carried out to make this theme visible, eliminate prejudices and build a more inclusive society.

Nowadays, it is common to hear that the son or daughter of an acquaintance has been diagnosed with autism or an ASD (abbreviated as: Spectrum Disorder). ;autism); or maybe a clbadmate of our children has detected this condition. The reason is simple: it's common because One in every 59 school-aged children has autism spectrum disorder. If we extrapolate this figure to the general population, it is estimated that more than 700,000 people in this country are in this situation.

People with ASD are characterized by socio-communicative challenges and a restricted and repetitive pattern of interests, behaviors or activities. It is also common that they resist changes and that they treat sensory stimuli atypically (for example, they are very sensitive to certain noises and that is why they cover their ears in certain situations).

A very important question is make an early diagnosis of all children with this disease. Because? Because the sooner a child gets the support he needs, the better his prognosis and the quality of life of his family. This is explained by the fact that the brains of young children are very "neuroplastic" and have a huge learning ability. That is to say that it is very easy to integrate new skills of all kinds.

What should be done to detect a child at risk early? Some simple recommendations can help parents who wish to monitor their children's development. First of all, you can download a free app on the mobile phone called "Let's Follow the Evolution" and perform what is called "baby development monitoring".

Second, parents need to know that there are certain ages where it is important to do what is called a "search". This essentially consists of identifying children who may be experiencing difficulties in their sociocommunicative development. These ages are 9 months, 18 months and 30 months. For this, there are "search tools", questionnaires completed by parents and used to identify the warning signs (if there is one). Many of these questionnaires are online (for example, on the NGO Mirame or Panaacea websites).

Finally, if an adult is concerned about the development of a child or if warning signs are detected using the tools mentioned above, it is very important do a consultation with the pediatrician. This professional will be the one who will recommend a complete diagnostic badessment, which will serve both to identify the unique profile of a child's strengths and challenges and to design a "tailored garment" offering the supports it needs.

However, the challenges and responsibilities are not limited to parents: It is desirable that the whole society be informed of how to help an autistic person. At this point, the simplest is to ask the person or his family, but from there, we propose simple recommendations to put into practice:

1) look at the person and not his diagnosis;

2) respect diversity;

3) be patient;

4) Be nice.

And, if you dare, come this April 2 in the square, dress in blue and let yourself be surprised by the huge tide that is constantly seeking a more just, more equitable and more inclusive society. This Tuesday, #HatemosDeAutismo. Sumate!

(*) The author is a psychiatrist for children and adolescents and co-founder of the NGO Panaacea (AWM: 101.875).