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On World Autism Day, expand your knowledge about this neurological problem!

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Published on April 1, 2021. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Every year on April 2, we celebrate World Autism Day. It is one of the seven health days officially recognised by the United Nations. The focus of the day is to increase awareness among the people about children who have Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with the key focus on Asperger Syndrome and Autism. India has always been a keen supporter of health-related UN initiatives.

In 2021, we will see the fourteenth iteration of World Autism Awareness Day. The theme of this year’s World Autism Awareness Day is “Inclusion in the Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World”.

Let us learn more about this neurological issue.

Identifying Autism

A specially trained and experienced doctor can help families identify if a child has autism. Currently, there are no specific genetic or medical tests that can be used to determine whether someone has autism.

Mostly, the available tests are done to rule out other medical problems, which are easier to determine. Generally, autism-related problems start at birth and early symptoms can become visible within 12 to 18 months. While a number of children seem to start normal development, they may experience either a considerable loss or extremely slow development of their social and verbal skills. This can start by their 18^th or 30 ^th month.

Intervention

Based upon the detection made by qualified health practitioners, the appropriate intervention is charted out to ensure proper development of the necessary skills.

The Picture Exchange Communication System is commonly used for children with verbal challenges. This is based upon the consideration that people who have autism can learn better with pictures. By using specific pictures and symbols, the healthcare provider will try to teach skills of social behaviour and communication with other people.

Another kind of Intervention is known as Applied Behaviour Analysis. This is a very personalised approach and involves one-to-one session between the teacher and child. The sessions start with the teacher helping the child learn the very basic skills, including motor skills, social skills, self-help skills, etc. As the learner starts to get better at these basic skills, they are helped to learn to handle bigger, more complicated situations, including using multiple basic skills in conjunction with each other.

In addition to this, many other methods of intervention are also available and used by the people who specialise in autism management on an as-needed basis.

Living with Autism

Most parents with an autistic child are concerned about their child being able to lead a normal life. The fact is that since this is a spectrum disorder, the ability to lead a ‘normal life’ varies from child to child.

Some children are only mildly autistic. Basic and early intervention leads them to be self-sufficient enough to be able to manage their lives on their own. Some other children might only need support for a few situations while other children might need assisted living support for the most part of their life. Thus, things will always remain relative!

Is there are a “treatment” for Autism?

It is important for people to realise that autism is not a disease. It is a condition where the brain learns and perceives things differently than most people do.

The core challenge is that medical science has yet been unable to identify the cause of autism. This means that as of now, there is no medication or vaccination against autism. As such, there is no treatment for autism either because it is more or less a condition that needs to be managed. The objective is to help the person with autism live a better life by adapting to and learning about the things they experience every day in the world.

Disability Certificate for Autism

As of a notification issued by the ‘Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities’ on April 25, 2016, criteria have been laid down to identify autism-related disability and issue disability certificates. The certificate can be obtained free of cost and typically requires three visits, with each visit requiring appropriate registration.

Autism and Health insurance

With increased awareness related to Autism, insurance companies are bringing about specialised products to cater to the needs of parents with children who have Autism. As of 2018, Autism was not defined under health insurance policies, which led to policy exclusions. The situation has improved considerably since then and specialised products are now available. High-value critical illness insurance policies from many companies now provide autism cover.

Conclusion

This April 2, let us gather to increase awareness about autism that can affect any child!

Disclaimer- The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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