About autism treatment

In today's society, many young parents spend less and less time with their children as the pace of life accelerates and the pressure continues to increase. Some parents may even leave their children completely to be taken care of by their grandparents, so they are unable to promptly discover the problems their children encounter during their growth. There are many children with autism nowadays. They often show problems such as language and social interaction disorders, stereotyped behaviors, and intellectual disabilities. Today I will share with you how to treat autism. Let children have a complete childhood.

1. Training intervention methods

Although there are many intervention methods for autism, most of them lack evidence-based medicine. There is no optimal treatment plan yet, and the best treatment method should be individualized. Among them, education and training are the most effective and main treatment methods. The goal is to promote the patient's language development, improve social interaction skills, and master basic life skills and learning skills.

Because autistic patients are generally unable to adapt to life in ordinary kindergartens before school age, they receive education and training at home, in special education schools, and in medical institutions. After school age, the patient's language and social skills will improve. Some patients can go to ordinary primary schools to receive education with children of the same age, while some patients may still remain in special education schools.

The training intervention methods currently recommended and used by mainstream medicine internationally provide direction for the standardized treatment of autism. These mainstream methods mainly include

(1) Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy (ABA) advocates the use of behaviorist principles and behavior shaping principles, with positive reinforcement as the main method to promote the development of various abilities of children with autism. The training emphasizes high intensity, individualization and systematization.

(2) Therapeutic Education for Children with Autism and Related Handics (TEACCH) training This course designs individualized training content based on the abilities and behaviors of children with autism, and provides targeted education for children with deficiencies in language, communication, sensory perception, and movement. The core of the course is to enhance children with autism’s understanding and obedience to the environment, education, and training content.

(3) Interpersonal relationship training methods include Floor Time Therapy developed by Greenspan and Interpersonal Development Intervention (RDI) therapy developed by Gutstein.

The above-mentioned treatment methods have been implemented in some autism rehabilitation institutions in China and have achieved good treatment results, but further research and demonstration are needed.

2. Medication

Currently, drug treatment cannot change the course of autism, and there is a lack of specific drugs to treat core symptoms. However, drugs can improve some of the patient's emotional and behavioral symptoms, such as emotional instability, attention deficit and hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, aggressive behavior, self-harm and suicidal behavior, tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and psychotic symptoms, which are beneficial to maintaining the safety of the patient himself or others and smoothly implementing educational training and psychotherapy. Commonly used drugs are as follows:

(1) Central nervous system stimulant drugs are suitable for patients with combined attention deficit and hyperactivity symptoms. The commonly used drug is methylphenidate.

(2) Antipsychotic drugs should be used in small doses and for a short period of time. During use, attention should be paid to drug side effects, especially extrapyramidal side effects.

① Risperidone is effective for emotional symptoms such as impulsivity, aggression, agitation, emotional instability, irritability, and psychotic symptoms associated with autism.

② Haloperidol is effective for behavioral symptoms such as impulsivity, hyperactivity, stereotypy, and emotional symptoms such as mood swings and irritability, as well as psychotic symptoms. It is also reported to improve social interaction and language development disorders.

③ Atypical antipsychotics such as aripiprazole, quetiapine, and olanzapine are also effective in controlling patients' impulses, aggression, and psychotic symptoms.

(3) Antidepressants can alleviate repetitive stereotyped behaviors and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, improve emotional problems, and enhance social interaction skills. They also have a certain effect on movement disorders that occur after the use of dopamine receptor blockers, such as withdrawal, tardive dyskinesia, and tics.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are effective for behavioral and emotional problems in people with autism. For example, sertraline can be tried in patients over 6 years old.