Parents have been advised to get immediate medical care for their babies aged six months and older if they notice an abnormal developmental pattern in their children for early intervention.
Ms. Gertrude Etornam Lumor, a Principal Nursing Officer at the Psychiatric Unit of the Tema General Hospital, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that early intervention was often key in helping individuals with autism reach their full potential.
Ms. Lumor said some of the early signs of autism in babies aged six months to one year include the baby reacting in an unexpected way to new faces and rarely smiling in social situations.
Other signs include babies making little or no eye contact, having difficulty following objects with their eyes, not producing a response when hearing their names, and giving out limited babbling.
She said that even though there was no cure for autism, various interventions and treatments could help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
These interventions, she noted, could include behavioural therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy.
The principal nursing officer stated that autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave, adding that although autism could be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a developmental disorder because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.
She indicated that according to the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a guide created by the American Psychiatric Association for diagnosing mental disorders, people with autism often had difficulty communicating and interacting with other people.
She said autistic people had restricted interests, repetitive behaviours, and other symptoms that affected their ability to function in school, work, and other areas of life.
Ms. Lumor indicated that autism covered a wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience, adding that there were five different types of autism, namely Kanner’s syndrome, Asperger’s syndrome, Rett syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), and Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
She said that even though caring for children with special needs was not easy, she encouraged parents of autistic children to focus on the positive, keep pushing boundaries, focus on the present, and unconditionally accept that autism would not define the child.
She added that parents must realise that they are good enough for their autistic child, should build a support village around them, meet their children where they are developmentally challenged, celebrate small victories, take one day at a time, and should not be too hard on themselves.
