Home » Autism, the story of Francis. A diagnosis before 12 months can avoid disability

Autism, the story of Francis. A diagnosis before 12 months can avoid disability

by admin

ELON Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and founder of SpaceX, has brought back to the fore autism spectrum disorders openly declaring during the monologue on Saturday Night Live that he is suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. And then Stefano Belisari of ‘Elio and the tense stories’ recently made an appeal declaring that autism is a topic that does not interest anyone unless you have a person who suffers from it in the family. Of children with autism in Italy there are many, often undiagnosed and therefore not treated early and specifically, with the risk of developing a disability social and very often also cognitive. The parents of one of these children told their story. Tenacious people who did everything for their son Francesco, until one day someone realized that there could be a possibility of recovery. To reconstruct this case is Costanza Colombi, clinical psychologist at the Stella Maris Foundation in Pisa, adjunct professor at the University of Michigan and founder of the ‘Autism at a distance’ project, born during the first lockdown with the aim of helping families with autistic children who could no longer count on ‘medical assistance.

Longform

When autism is an adult affair

by Maria Teresa Bradascio and Fiammetta Cupellaro


Signs of absence

Francesco’s mother began to worry about her development at about 4 months. The little boy never smiled, neither at her nor at his father. “When he woke up in the bed he did not cry to call his mother, rather he entertained himself quietly moving his hands in front of his face and staring at them intensely”, says psychologist Colombi. Francesco couldn’t bear to be picked up, especially with his face turned towards his parent. He got so annoyed that they had to put him back in the crib. He couldn’t stand the caresses. “When the mother put her hand in the cradle to give him the pacifier, Francesco pushed it away with annoyance. He never made eye contact, nor did he respond to the smiles of his mother who at a certain point was convinced that he was deaf because he did not orient himself to sound but was hypnotized by the cell phone even when it was off “.

See also  Between denatality and the effects of lockdowns, a conference on pediatric age

Autism, Elon Musk: “I have Asperger’s syndrome. This is how my brain works”

by Maria Teresa Bradascio



8 months, but as if they were 4

When Francesco was 5 months old, in full lockdown, a doctor his mother had contacted sent a video of him to Dr. Colombi: “I offered to start a parental-mediated therapy online. It was also necessary to do the organic tests, but it was not possible until the age of 8 months, given the strict lockdown that was in place. The pediatrician did not understand exactly what was happening, but he always accepted the mother’s concerns and tried to find answers “. At 8 months, the evaluation carried out at the Burlo Garofolo Hospital in Trieste revealed a developmental age of about 4 months, the prevalent use of only one part of the body, very accentuated and prolonged hand movements in front of the eyes. Moreover, when the parents went away, Francesco did not look for them, as if they no longer existed.

Autism. Males and females: two different syndromes

by Maria Teresa Bradascio



Francesco puts the turbo

From Michigan, meanwhile, the online sessions continued with the parents to try not to lose those precious months for the development of the child: “At 10 months, on the occasion of my return to Italy – says Colombi – the family decided to move to Pisa . In addition to parental-mediated therapy, we started a teamwork that involved me, a neuropsychiatrist, a neuropsychomotorist and a psychologist who went to the nursery once a week to help the support teacher and the teachers ”. At 14 months Francesco was re-evaluated: development is perfectly in line and the signs of immaturity and atypia have disappeared. At both 14 and 16 months the Ados (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), the diagnostic tool that is used, was negative. “Now at 19 months Francesco seems to be developing harmoniously, with some even more advanced areas such as language comprehension”, enthuses Colombi.

See also  Study says Covid infection can accelerate dementia progression: here's how to take care of the brain

Autism, the risk indicators can be identified already in the first 12 months


When the diagnosis arrives

It is estimated that in Italy the incidence of cases of autism is 1 in every 87 children. Currently, the diagnosis arrives on average around 3-4 years: “Disorders of the autism spectrum are on the rise and we know that today the diagnosis arrives late because often even before the first year of life, parents are worried about some particularities of the behavior of your child, but nevertheless you get to understand what it is after a couple of years, ”he explains Flavia Lecciso, associate of developmental and educational psychology of the University of Salento. The delay also depends on the fact that even today there is no genetic or blood test that can diagnose autism. The diagnosis is made, therefore, only through observation of the behavior. Arriving earlier can make a difference from many points of view: “It speeds up the time for the child to be included in specific intervention programs, reduces family stress and improves prognosis”, continues Lecciso.

Autism: the story of Agnes, Aspy girl

at Federico Mereta



The studio in Lecce

Francesco is only one of the children who, thanks to early diagnosis, were able to avoid one disability more or less serious. “I work with children from the first months of life, the youngest is 5 months old, with important signs of immaturity confirmed by pediatricians, neurologists and other professionals. After a few months, they seem to reach an absolutely typical development, ”says Colombi. Based on these first success stories, a study approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Lecce is about to start. “In the coming weeks – explains the psychologist – we will train pediatricians in the use of a validated diagnostic tool, that is the Social and Communication Study (Sacs) thanks to the guidance of Australian colleagues Josie Barbaro and Cheryl Dissanayake”.

The identification by the pediatricians and the timely treatment will start from September. The innovation lies in the timeliness and precocity with which action is taken. “Many today still believe that autism is immutable, but what we are seeing in Italy and Sally Rogers in the United States is that if we intervene before 12 months, many children could reach typical development without disabilities”. In Australia, where this method of early detection has already been tested, it has been possible to cut the cost of teaching support by 40%.

Take advantage of available resources

The idea – which will probably also be tested in Pisa and Lugano – is to do identify children with signs of autism starting from 6 months through pediatricians who administer a very sensitive validated tool in the course of health assessments. Immediately after identification, neuropsychiatrists and psychologists carry out the diagnostic evaluation and in the event of a risk or diagnosis we start immediately with direct intervention, mediated by the parents and the school. “One of the positive aspects of this program – continues Colombi – is that it offers high quality interventions, at no cost for families, using the resources already in place, namely pediatricians and public schools”. The psychologist, however, is keen to clarify: “We must be cautious because for the moment we have few cases and probably the method is not suitable for everyone, but I think it can be indicated for many children who otherwise would have brought a disability with them”.

Autism, families increasingly alone in the pandemic

by Maria Teresa Bradascio



The role of the pediatrician

The experts of the Institute of Orthophonology (IdO) also strongly believe in the role of pediatricians: “Pediatricians must learn to identify the predictors of a possible disorder of the autism spectrum: the presence of the ability to understand the intentions of others, the ability to be within an emotional contagion, as a predictor of empathy, and the structuring of the symbolic game “, explains Magda Di Renzo, developmental psychotherapist and head of the IdO Therapies service. Precisely on the issue of risk signals and the role of the pediatrician is being published in the magazine Italian Journal of Paediatrics a scientific article of the IdO written together with Sip pediatricians: “In this work – continues Di Renzo – it is explained that we obtain far superior results where the intervention has been able to begin within two years of age. For example, if before, when children started therapy at 3 – 3 and a half years, we obtained results in 4 years of therapy, today starting earlier, we get them in 2 years “.

.

You may also like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Privacy & Cookies Policy