Child with RAS: features of psychological development

Under autistic spectrum disorders (RAS) or autism is meant disorders in the development of the central nervous system. RAS can be seen at an early age, because its symptoms are quite specific.

Etiology of autism

Until now, the exact nature of the appearance of the RAS has not been clarified to the end. Some experts believe that genetic predisposition plays a big role in the occurrence. It is proved that the chemical reactions in the brain in autistic patients proceed somewhat differently than in others. Various negative effects in the prenatal period can trigger the development of RAS, but this has not been scientifically proven.

Symptoms of RAS

Some experts believe that the first signs of autism can be seen in a child for up to a year, but there is no common opinion whether they can be considered as symptoms of an autistic disorder. The most notable features of children with RAS are after a year. The following are the signs that you can already see in your baby so that your parents can turn to a specialist in time:

• The child does not react in any way to the appearance of the mother, does not recognize the people familiar to him, does not smile;
• Difficulties in breastfeeding;
• With the baby it is very difficult to establish eye contact: he looks as though "through" people;
• Children with RAS are frightened of any noisy electrical appliances, such as a vacuum cleaner;
• Toddlers often have problems with sleep: they are in a wakeful state, their eyes are open, but they are not sleeping and not being capricious;
• When trying to take these children in their arms, the babies begin to arch their back so that it becomes difficult to squeeze them to the chest.

All these signs can appear in a baby at the age of 3 months, but no doctor will put a diagnosis of "autism" at that age, because the process of forming the regime of the day, cognitive activity is still underway. In the older age, the baby has more characteristic and obvious signs of RAS:

• Monotonous movements;
• Lack of interest in surrounding people, unwillingness to contact others;
• If there is a change in the situation, the child is frightened and very nervous;
• Kids with difficulty learn skills of self-service;
• The child does not play in the role-play;
• Long periods of silence are replaced by a monotonous repetition of one sound or word.

It should be noted that for small autistics such behavior is absolutely normal, they do not feel any discomfort. Often, parents mistakenly take autism for hearing problems, because the reason for going to a specialist is a complaint about a decreased hearing or suspicion of deafness. How is the perception of sounds and autism?

Parents have a suspicion of a decrease in hearing abilities, because the child does not respond when his name, does not respond to loud sounds. In fact, there are no problems with hearing in children, they just live in their own world and do not consider it necessary to react to external stimuli until they begin to cause the baby discomfort.

Manifestation of RAS in preschool age

The development of children with RAS is different from other children. They have violations in the following areas:

• Communications. Children are very uncommunicative, there is no attachment to relatives and friends. Do not play with other children, do not like when others want to take part in his game. They do not react when they are approached with a request or simply called. Games are of a monotonous nature, in which the stereotyped action prevails, preference is given to non-game items (stones, sticks, buttons), and the favorite actions in the game can be sand pouring, water transfusion. Yes, they can take part in games with children, but they hardly understand the rules, emotionally do not react and do not understand the emotions of other kids. Of course, people do not like this behavior, which results in self-doubt. Therefore, such children prefer to be alone.
• Speech sphere. Interaction with society can not but affect the development of the speech of the child. In addition to the fact that small autistics do not pay attention to adults' speech, they have a phrasal speech in the period from 1 to 3 years, but it resembles commenting. Characteristic of echolalia (involuntary repetition of people). A frequent reason for consultation with a speech therapist is the mutism in the child - the refusal to communicate. A characteristic speech feature is that babies do not use the pronoun "I": they speak of themselves in the second and third person.

• Motorics - impairments in movements are not indicative signs of the RAS, because some movements can be perfectly developed, while others will noticeably lag behind the norm. Children can misread the distance to the object, which can be the cause of motor awkwardness. They can walk on tiptoe, because of possible problems with coordination, the guys hardly learn to walk on the stairs. There are difficulties in manipulating small objects, inability to ride a bicycle. But such motor awkwardness and disruption in coordination can be combined with an amazing balance. Because of problems in the muscle tone of the mouth and jaw appears salivation (increased and uncontrolled salivation).
• Necessarily, what experts always pay attention to for diagnosing, these are behavioral disorders. Children can look at one point for a long time or look at the subject, admire the ordinary things and not be interested in toys. They love when everything is in their usual places, very upset when things go wrong, as they are used to. There can be sudden outbreaks of aggression if the kid does not succeed or he feels uncomfortable, because he can not express his emotions differently.
• There is a good development of mechanical memory, but a poor understanding of the content of fairy tales, poems. As for intellectual activity, some autistic kids can have a very high intellect for their age, even be gifted in some area. Usually these children are said to be "indigo". And some may be reduced intellectual activity. In any case, the learning process for them is not targeted, marked by a violation of concentration.

Escorting children with RAS

If, according to the results of the examination, the child is diagnosed with "autism", then he has the opportunity to attend a pre-school institution of a compensatory type or an inclusive group in a kindergarten or a group located at a psychological-pedagogical medico-social center or in short-stay groups. Due to the fact that it is difficult for a child suffering from RAS to make contact with others, he is lost in unfamiliar surroundings, it is necessary that he be tutor with him, who would help him to socialize.

Staying with RAS in kindergarten

The main goal of developing programs for children with RAS in the DOW is to integrate them into society so that they have equal rights with other children. Babies who attended pre-school, then much easier to adapt to new conditions and find contact with others.

When building correctional work with such children, one needs to use a comprehensive approach - it is pedagogical, psychological and medical assistance to small "autauts". For successful implementation of the program, you need to establish emotional contact with the baby. The child creates a comfortable environment of stay, excluding the ways of interaction with the world that are inaccessible to him.

Also, DOW staff organize socially correct ways of interacting with children. The subject-developing environment of the kindergarten should take into account the developmental peculiarities of a small autistic person, his interests and compensate for his violations. It is desirable that the institution had a sensory room, because it allows you to relax the nervous system, affects the sensory organs, the child appears a sense of security and tranquility.

Children with RAS in school

Probably one of the most important and difficult questions that arises before the parents of a special child is his further education. As such, there are no specialized school facilities for children with autism, it will all depend on what the PMPK decides: if the child has intellectual disabilities, they can recommend schooling at the 8th kind. If there are serious speech disorders, then speech schools. But often such children are allowed to study in a regular mass school.

Many parents want their child to study in a mass institution for successful socialization in the future. Now, when the whole society tries to integrate special children into society, special classes are created in ordinary schools, but not all at all. Why is it difficult for a child to adapt to school conditions?

1. Insufficient competence of teachers. Most teachers simply do not know how to behave with these children, because they do not know all the specifics of the RAS. The given problem is solved by means of improvement of professional skill of the staff.
2. Great occupancy in classes. An autistic child who avoids communication in every way is very difficult to learn in such conditions.
3. The daily routine and school rules - children will have to get used to new conditions, which is difficult for such children to do.

As in the kindergarten, the main tasks of educating children with RAS is to maximize its integration into society and to foster an adequate peer-to-peer relationship. The teacher should get acquainted with the special child and his family before the beginning of the school year in order to learn its features and establish contact.

At school it will be necessary not only to implement the curriculum, but also to bring up a certain behavior in the schoolchildren with the RAS: in the class he must have a permanent place and a place where he can rest. The teacher should form in the children's collective an adequate perception of a peer with special needs for development through various conversations in which the theme of individuality would be revealed.

AOP for children with RAS

Of course, the recommendation to attend mass kindergartens and schools does not mean that the characteristics of these children will not be taken into account in the educational and educational processes. For them an individual educational route is compiled, an adapted educational program (AOP) is being written, in which the content of the correctional classes is revealed. In the pedagogical staff, there must be a speech therapist, a defectologist and a psychologist, because the main approach in the correctional work is complex.

Adapted programs for children with RAS include:

• Gradual inclusion of children in the learning process;
• Creation of special conditions;
• Providing psychological and pedagogical support to the family;
• The formation of social and cultural values;
• Protection of the child's physical and mental health;
• Ensuring the variability of educational programs and content of classes;
• Maximum integration of pupils with the RAS into society.

The development of such a program greatly facilitates the process of teaching a child with RAS, because when developing it, the developmental features of such children are taken into account, and an individual training program is created. From autistic pupils one can not demand the same rapid assimilation of material as from others, the psychological situation plays a big role, since it is very important for them to feel comfortable in the new conditions. AOP allows autistic children to acquire the necessary knowledge and integrate into society.

Work with special children

Corrective work with children with RAS implies the joint work of a speech therapist, defectologist, psychologist, educators and teachers, as well as active interaction with parents. Of course, you can not leave these children alone for the whole day in a new place - you need to gradually increase their stay in the institution and shorten the time of the presence of the parents.

It is best, if the teacher starts the lesson or ends it with a certain ritual, it is necessary to exclude all bright objects that can cause a negative reaction of the child. Teachers should wear clothes of calm tones, it is desirable to exclude the use of perfume. The child should have a permanent personal workplace, all things must always be in place. Participants in the educational process must follow a certain schedule. The slightest knockout or change in the environment can cause stress in autistic children.

Such trifles are very important for successful correction of a defect, therefore they create a positive emotional background for the child. In the classes it is very important to create a situation of success, constant encouragement, stimulation, since the assimilation of knowledge in them is closely interrelated with personal interest. The child should be helped in case of difficulties, during the lessons, the use of different visibility is mandatory.

A good impact on children with autism is working together in pairs. This is not done at the initial stage of training, but when the child is already familiar with the new situation. This type of work allows you to more effectively introduce the child into society. The psychologist corrects the negative attitudes of the child, works with the affective side of the defect, helps to adapt the baby and his parents. Speech therapist is engaged in overcoming the mutism, logophobia, creates a motivation for communication and corrects speech deficiencies. The defectologist is engaged in the correction of the emotional-volitional sphere and the development of higher mental functions.

If the child is diagnosed with "autism" - this does not mean that he can not attend an educational institution. With the right approach, individually tailored program, the kid will be able to get all the knowledge, like the rest of the children.

Tips for parents of children with RAS

Parents of children with RAS do not always know what to do, who to contact, and it is difficult for them to realize and accept what their child has autism. For effective work on overcoming RAS, it is necessary that the following children also comply with the following recommendations:

1. Compliance with the regime of the day. It is necessary to say what you will do and accompany all actions with photographs. So the child will already be prepared for action.
2. We need to try to play with the child as much as possible in the joint games.
3. At the very beginning, you need to choose games and classes, based on the interests of the baby, then supplement them with new activities.
4. In the gaming activity you need to include people from the immediate environment of the child.
5. A good solution is to keep a diary, which will record all the successes and difficulties that a child may have. This is done in order to visually demonstrate the development of the child to the specialist.
6. Attend classes with specialists.
7. For any success of the child should be encouraged.
8. The selection of tasks is based on the principle of simple to complex.

Prospects of children with RAS

What's in store for a child with an autistic syndrome? Completely overcome this defect is impossible, you can try to smooth it as much as possible so that it is as visible as possible. No one can give an accurate forecast. It all depends on the severity of the autistic disorder and on how early the correction work began.

The behavior of children with RAS is quite specific, and even with successful integration into society, autistic features will still remain, just not be pronounced. Maybe the child will not be able to fully enter into society, and correctional work can move rather slowly. Exact predictions do not exist, so you need to always maintain a positive attitude, because a child with the RAS is very in need of support.