The first step towards diagnosing treatment is usually up to the child’s pediatrician, who will then recommend a specialist when he feels that all the symptoms that he has observed could add up to being autism. The treatment that is usually followed for autism tends to differ from specialist to specialist but all are agreed that it should be a total therapy with counseling for both the child as well as the person who will be caring for the child. The treatment is usually arrived at after detailed consultation with the family with all details about the child’s behavior and problems. Very often, more than one specialist is involved – for example, there could be a pediatric neurologist, a pediatric psychiatrist, a trained psychologist specializing in children’s disorders and a speech therapist.
The usual drugs that are prescribed are anti-psychotic drugs, antidepressants, stimulants and sedatives. The dosages and the duration of the treatment would depend on the mildness or severity of the disorder. These medications are usually prescribed after a battery of tests which include urine and blood tests, an ECG and maybe even an MRI as well as IQ tests. The doctors will have to be convinced that the dosages and the drugs that are being given do not harm the child. This is essential when dealing with very young children so all precautions are taken before any drug is given.
The fact is, autism cannot, at the present point of time, be cured so it has to be managed and that is what total therapy tries to do. Trained child psychologists will try and teach them social skills – at least as much as they can so the child can become a bit more comfortable with people. As communication is not a strong point with these children, there will be attempts to make them communicate what they want through sign language or through visuals. These children respond better to the visual medium and to numbers than to words.
Parents or caretakers of the child must be involved at all times with the various lines of treatment and must be a part of the decision process when it comes to treatment. An informed decision is vital as it is small children and children who cannot communicate well that one is dealing with.
While is it good to see these children trying to fit into regular life, it might be better for them to be educated in special schools with well trained staff who understand their needs and are equipped top handle them. Exposing these children to the rough and tumble of regular school life would probably not be a good idea, especially as their communication skills would put them at a disadvantage. Even though the exact reasons for autism still eludes us, managing autism is far more professional today than it was a few decades ago. Leaving the education of an autistic child to these professionally trained people could be the best thing to do for your autistic child.