What is autism?

Autism is considered a condition related to disorders of mental development that affect a child's ability to connect and communicate with people around them and form social relationships. It is also called autistic disorder and appears in children from infancy to three years of age. Autistic children's ability to overcome communication difficulties by the time they reach puberty varies. Some can integrate and engage with their social environment, and their behavioral disturbances are less severe, enabling them to participate in everyday life. For another group, communication and learning difficulties persist even after reaching puberty, creating an obstacle to integration within their environments.

What are the signs of autism in children?

  1. Avoiding eye contact when speaking with people around them or not maintaining it for long.
  2. Not showing facial expressions that correspond to their feelings.
  3. Having difficulty expressing their feelings or understanding the feelings of others.
  4. Having difficulty developing language skills.
  5. Playing with toys in the same way every time while focusing on one particular aspect of the toy.
  6. Preferring to arrange belongings and toys in a particular way and becoming upset by any change, even a slight one.

How should we interact with an autistic child?

  1. Parents should understand autism and its symptoms so that they can embrace and support their child.
  2. Include the child in their social environment and encourage communication and friendship-building.
  3. Maintain regular communication with our autistic child so that we can understand them and their interests.
  4. Connect with families who have an autistic child to benefit from their experience.
  5. Accept our autistic child regardless of how severe their behavioral disturbances may be.
  6. Stay beside our autistic child and reassure them of our presence whenever they feel they are in a difficult situation.

Advice and guidance for parents of autistic children

When a mother is told that her child is autistic, especially if the news is delivered in an upsetting way, she may struggle to accept it. It is therefore important to understand how we can support mothers of autistic children and the best way to tell parents that their child has signs of autism.

The reactions parents display after learning that their child is autistic or has another disability or disorder are natural reactions. They usually begin with shock and denial and end with acceptance and adaptation. In many cases, it is helpful and necessary for parents to move through these stages while receiving support to navigate them and manage the negative feelings involved.

The problem arises when one or both parents do not move beyond a particular stage, such as denial, grief, or despair. This increases the difficulties and may deprive the child of the services and rehabilitation they need. The feelings of the child's family members and close relatives, especially the parents, must be considered when informing them of the diagnosis. This news concerns their child, whom they had imagined growing and developing like any other child.

Unfortunately, many families have told us about traumatic situations in which they were informed of their child's disability or disorder without empathy or understanding. Even after some time had passed, they continued to remember these situations with deep sadness and anger.

The session for informing the parents should be carefully prepared by choosing an appropriate time and place and checking their emotional state. It is important to prepare the parents well, ensure that they have enough information about their child's strengths and weaknesses, introduce the news gently, and then tell them the diagnosis. The parents should then be given space to express and process their feelings, whatever they may be. Their questions should be answered with scientific integrity, and they should receive accurate information about the disorder, its prognosis, and the opportunities available to help them train and rehabilitate their child. They should also be given access to accurate, practical, and useful sources of information. This can greatly lessen the impact of the news. It is also helpful to connect the family with other families who have been through the same experience and successfully overcome the difficulties they encountered, as they can be a valuable source of support and guidance.