Why does a child wave his hands at something? Why are we so strange or our symptoms of autism

Many mothers who recently gave birth to their first baby not only face various difficulties in caring for their treasure for the first time, but also at different stages its development.

This stage of development also includes the period when, at the age of 3-4 months, the baby begins to master new movements, making quick manipulations with its arms and legs. Experienced mothers who have a second, third, or maybe fourth baby are not puzzled by such problems, unlike inexperienced young mothers.

To begin with, you should pay attention to stages of baby development, his monthly change in physical and emotional development. From birth, a newborn baby exhibits only reflex movements of the arms and legs, and has the skills of sucking, swallowing, and blinking.

By the end of the first month, the baby begins to actively show his attitude towards those around him sharp sounds, movements, he develops a feeling of fear, reflected in sudden movement raised arms.

In the second month of development, the baby learns to distinguish the mood of an adult approaching him and begins to make movements with his arms and legs in a chaotic manner. At the developmental stage of 3 and 4 months, the child exhibits particularly high activity in the movement of limbs.

When to pay attention

Many mothers begin to be especially concerned about such a frisky animation of the baby; at first glance, it may seem that the child is very active and thus shows his character.

Perhaps this can also happen, but more often it happens due to muscle tone. After the birth of a child, every responsible parent, in the first month after the birth of the baby, and every subsequent 3 months, goes through a commission where all experienced specialists who carefully check the condition and health of the child. No less important, and even the main such specialist is neuropathologist. It is this doctor who will easily determine whether the baby’s active agitation is a manifestation of his temperament, or we'll talk about muscle tone.

If, after an examination, the doctor diagnoses hypertonicity or hypotonicity, you should not worry too much, but also relax. A neurologist registers such children and closely monitors them during the first year of life.

Not without exception, all newborn children are born with muscular dystonia. Reduced or increased tone muscles depends on many factors, including how the birth and pregnancy progressed, as well as how many points on the APGAR scale the baby’s condition was assessed immediately after his birth. Children are primarily at risk born by caesarean section, children with low weight and congenital genetic diseases.

For a baby, muscle tone is the key to its further proper physical development, his emotional and mental well-being. It depends on how quickly the treatment begins and the results will be visible. Muscles in the correct tone help the baby first of all sit down, start crawling in time, stand on his feet, and walk independently.

Elevated or decreased tone affects the baby’s posture and the curvature of his legs. Hypertonicity develops into increased excitability, which prevents you from concentrating on something, there is a lack of attentiveness, constant aggression and nervousness are manifested.

Hypotonia, on the contrary, shows how poorly a child develops in physical health, more often he is apathetic, not interested in anything, he is prone to obesity, lags behind in mental development from peers. Besides muscular dystonia can talk about .

Correction of tone

The main thing parents should do is monitor the development and emotional state child. Usually, drug treatment required in exceptional cases, basically all treatment consists of correct and professional baby massage . It is a professional massage therapist who can easily determine where the baby’s problem areas and will take care of his treatment.

You need to entrust the health of your baby to an experienced, and above all, children’s massage therapist, because massage can not only help, but also the right approach and do harm. The manipulations performed with the baby's arms, legs and movements on his delicate skin give direct impulses that enter the cerebral cortex and central nervous system, after which it is activated correct work muscles.

Light strokes on the baby's arms, legs, and back can be done by the baby's mother at home. Such exercise will not only invigorate the child, but also give him a pleasant tactile sensation.

In addition to massage, effective means against muscle tone is swimming. It could be a swimming pool or individual sessions with a children's specialist, or soothing baths with a set of various herbs, such as chamomile, motherwort, and a common herbal mixture.

Movement is the main thing in the life of a little man and its main function. Proper development the baby is the key to his psycho-emotional state. Be healthy.

This is what I wrote on that first evening when I found out about autism and added to it later. (I copy it as is, my son is 25 months old on the day of recording)

ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF (I was depressed due to the loss of my second child, we don’t know exactly when, but by about 18 months, development had stalled and it became more difficult with my son):

ALL VACCINATIONS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED! When I was one and a half years old, I especially remember that my leg hurt for several days, I was capricious, and refused to walk.

The vaccination coincided with the move to new apartment, afraid of the noise of the drill, crying. Almost always in bad mood, rarely smiles.

It’s cold and uninteresting outside, won’t let you put on gloves, refuses to get out of the stroller, bends your legs, climbs back in, is only interested in puddles and the sandbox, playgrounds and ignores children. He often does the same thing, in the same places. Strange reaction to shops, clinics.

Is naughty a lot, has little interest in toys, watches cartoons twice a day

For 1.7 months we have been seeing a speech therapist at the kindergarten and for the first time someone tells us that the child does not respond to speech, they ask us to check his hearing and see a neurologist. We are indignant, we think that everything is fine, it’s just that our age is harmful.

1.8 We are flying to the sea. The hardest plane ride of my entire trip!

During the trip, the son is more active, learns to run, walks with his legs more often, loves to swim in the pool, sometimes reacts strangely to a closed door, only after entering a new room does he want to leave. Sometimes he whines if they try to talk to him and squeeze him, he spends a long time sorting through the sand, and leaves me in unknown directions...

We return to the snow, two weeks of sobbing, refusal to go for walks, does not want to get dressed, comes up to our car and demands to leave. The child is generally more lethargic and capricious, does not want to walk with his legs, plays with the big car while lying down, rolls it back and forth.

WE THINK that cartoons are to blame for everything, we cut them down and start actively studying. We buy great amount toys, my son plays diligently: he loves sorters, collects cups according to size, puts coins in a piggy bank, plays with beans and small objects, puts pieces of plasticine into boxes, loves the talking alphabet.

at 1 and 9 we are already unsure that everything is fine, since we cannot get any response to requests and questions about where the mother and the dog are, etc. Depending on the situation, the child understands everything, sits down to eat, gives his legs and arms when dressing, plays well with new and favorite toys. Outwardly, he looks smart and is no different from his peers, only more capricious in some ways, sleeps, eats and plays better than others.

Our son is 1.9 months old, we are going to kindergarten, we roar a lot, they say it is a difficult adaptation, but to our surprise, our son has been going full-time since the second week, the teachers are not complaining yet, they are trying to potty train him.

While my son is going to kindergarten, we are studying the problem and thinking that we have allalia, we are starting an examination. We go through an ultrasound of the head - it’s normal, an audiologist says there’s hearing loss due to otitis media, we can’t retake it again either (it’s not given during the procedure, the ears are the most sensitive place!), we’re waiting for a new referral. The neurologist is pleased with us - he prescribed Pantogam, but was optimistic that we need to wait until 3 years. Speech therapist - ZRR, did not achieve anything at the appointment, there was no response to requests and cards, they wrote that the examination was difficult, she was clearly worried, she said to definitely check your hearing and think further. We undergo a speech therapy massage with a chiropractor, babbling appears again, but not reversed and not as a repetition, but just like that. New sounds, but almost no syllables! At one time it sounds like a deaf-mute, but thank God it passes!

For three months Maxim has been going to kindergarten full-time, with virtually no absences, he is not potty trained, there is no understanding. The teachers say that their son in the group walks around with balls and irons, sometimes they hint that the child is strange, but overall comfortable, so they don’t complain... (pictured Maxim in kindergarten, 2 years old)

I have panic and depression, the difference with ordinary children my age is HUGE.

OUR ODDITIES AND FEATURES from birth to the time of diagnosis:

Wakes up at 5-6 am, almost every night!

Very a good appetite, CONSTANTLY hungry. Requires snacks and tasty treats. Does not like anything white, chews very poorly, swallows food, the feeling of fullness is reduced.

There are often undigested pieces of food in the stool, instability of the stool over time and consistency from the maternity hospital. There is diathesis and dry skin, crusts behind the ears and on the head;

— slept until he was one and a half years old in a hat, the light was in the way (they pulled a beret over his eyes);

He is capricious a lot, achieves everything by crying or with our hand (in the photo, 1 year 8 months);

Refusal, breakdown, prohibition, expectation cause tears and violent reactions;

- field behavior at home and on the street, walking, wandering, something attracts, but not for long, toys and objects of interest to all children are not captivated;

He watches out the window for a long time (1 year old in the photo, he looked for so long that the reins were adjusted), likes to walk in a stroller, ride in a car;

Watches cartoons for hours (long Disney ones), demands, waits, gets excited;

- could sit alone for a long time at a high chair, in the bathroom, in a crib;

It’s impossible to take the temperature, it’s difficult to put drops in your nose, to clean your ears, it’s difficult for doctors to do checkups...

He breaks out of hugs, cannot fall asleep in his arms, and is difficult to console. He is afraid to ride on his neck, prefers a stroller to his hands.

— no sense of edge, danger, does not maintain a safe distance from the mother, does not look back;

Does not strive for self-care, does not know how to dress and undress;

— does not like when someone does something with his hand, does not allow him to help, pulls him back;

— ignores or avoids interaction with any adult, carefully ignores children;

— does not see animals, does not follow the direction of the finger, does not try to draw our attention to anything;

— on the street and in stores we are not in control, sometimes he is inadequate, he is capricious and begs a lot;

— gross motor skills are poorly developed, cannot jump, runs poorly, is clumsy, does not like to walk with legs, gets tired quickly;

Any round object or display with a ticker is of interest (machines, ATMs, intercoms);

- strange, monotonous games with folding, rearranging, hiding under the carpet, under itself, under us;

- likes to play the same things, in the same places. Often puts toys in the doorway or behind the door;

Prefers one way home,can go around the bench 5-10 times, strictly following his own route. When trying to make changes, hysterics;

- really likes to squeeze into narrow spaces behind the sofa, table, seeks such pressure. Not indifferent to blankets and towels;

Weak reaction to pain, wet, freezes less than other children, a dirty diaper never causes discomfort, is not afraid of tickling, and when injured does not always react to it (fell asleep with a first-degree burn);

- no speech, vocalizes loudly, does not understand calls or commands, weak reaction to loud sounds (reacts, but does not cry);

Does not try to explain himself with facial expressions and gestures, there is no questioning intonation or pointing gesture;

Doesn't imitate everyday activities adults, cannot imitate, is not interested in himself in the mirror;

He flaps his arms like wings, begins to walk on tiptoes, bends overshakes his head to the side, squints his eyes, knocksteeth, sometimes hits himself on the ears;

Often falls to the floor when capricious, hits his head, sometimes slightly hits his head on the floor or wall even when not hysterical;

There is a look into emptiness, detachment, the child is very often bored and indifferent to everything around him, curiosity has disappeared.

I kept such disappointing notes for the first two days, I was preparing to show all this to my friend, and then to my husband, who was on a business trip abroad all these days. For some reason it seemed to me that they wouldn’t believe me that my son had autism, so I carefully remembered everything and wrote down all our oddities and characteristics. I looked through almost all the photos and some videos. I remembered how my son spent hours sorting out pebbles on the street and his wild reactions to shops, closed premises and doctors' offices, as well as other mysterious things. I hardly slept in those days, one day I went to bed at two in the morning, and got up at five in the morning and sat down again on the Internet to read, read... I endlessly read, copied, wrote lists, did not share with anyone, accumulated information about autism and its symptoms and treatment. I watched a lot of videos on YouTube about the signs of autism and it helped me a lot. I saw a lot of our jokes and everything finally fell into place:

My son has autism, with regression at the age of one and a half years, my two-year-old baby has gone into his own world, capricious and uncontrollable.

I will help you son!

Children are vulnerable and impressionable creatures, and therefore it is not surprising that they experience certain situations more emotionally. Where an adult steps aside and forgets, the child will worry for a long time, returning again and again to an incomprehensible or unpleasant experience for him. Since young children are unable to express the full range of their emotions in words, they may begin to express them in physical level. And now the child develops the habit of pinching his ear, blinking frequently, and biting his fingers. Famous doctor Evgeniy Komarovsky talks about how to treat such oddities in a child’s behavior and whether it can be treated with anything. Syndrome obsessive movements in children - this is a problem that many face.

What it is?

Obsessive movement syndrome in children is a complex of psycho-emotional disorders that arise under the influence of emotional shock, strong fear, fear, stress. The syndrome manifests itself as a series of unmotivated movements - either the same type or developing into more complex ones.

Most often, parents complain that their child suddenly began to:

biting nails and skin around nails;
grind teeth;
shake your head from side to side;
swing your whole body without apparent reason;
wave or shake hands;
pinch yourself by the ears, hands, cheeks, chin, nose;
biting your own lips;
blinking and squinting for no reason;
pulling out your own hair or constantly twirling it around your finger.

Manifestations of the syndrome may be different, but we can talk about the disease when a child repeats a series of movements or one movement frequently, especially in situations where he begins to worry or feels awkward.

Factors that can trigger the mechanism of obsessive movement syndrome are numerous:

severe stress;
long stay in a psychologically unfavorable environment;
total mistakes in upbringing - connivance or excessive severity;
attention deficit;
changes in usual life- moving, changing kindergarten, departure of parents and their long absence.

All these manifestations may not cause any inconvenience to the child himself - unless, of course, he injures himself.

It is noteworthy that obsessive movement syndrome is recognized by doctors as a disease; it has its own number in International classification diseases (ICD-10), the disorder is classified as neurotic, caused by stressful situations, as well as somatoform. However, doctors did not and do not have a single standard for diagnosing this disease. In other words, the child will be diagnosed only on the basis of the parents’ complaints and the symptoms they describe.

Standard treatment for neurosis obsessive states also does not exist - it all depends on the specific neurologist, who may recommend taking a sedative and visiting a psychologist, or may prescribe a whole bunch of medications, vitamins - and definitely a rather expensive massage (naturally, from his friend’s masseuse).

If involuntary movements children are caused by a specific reason, then with a high degree of probability the syndrome will pass alone, without any treatment. The child just needs time to get rid of his worries. However, it can also be a sign of more troubling conditions.

What should parents do?

Neurosis of obsessive movements and states, according to Evgeniy Komarovsky, is a manifestation of inappropriate behavior. It necessarily forces parents to seek advice from a doctor, since it is very difficult to independently understand what is happening - temporary psychological disorder or persistent mental illness.

When inappropriate symptoms appear, Evgeniy Komarovsky advises parents to think carefully about what preceded this - whether there were conflicts in the family, in the children's team, whether the baby was sick with something, or whether he was taking any medications. If you did, are there any pills or potions? side effects in the form of disorders of the central nervous system.

Temporary stress syndrome always has an explanation, it always has a reason.

But at mental illness Most often there may not be a reason. If nothing changed, did not hurt, the child did not take any medications, he did not have a fever, he ate and slept well, and the next morning he shakes his head from side to side, winces, blinks and squints, tries to hide, run away, shakes his hands without the break is already an hour old - this is, of course, a reason to contact pediatric neurologist, and then to a child psychiatrist.

The problem, says Komarovsky, is that parents are embarrassed to contact a specialist such as a psychiatrist. This is a big misconception. Negative attitudes regarding doctors who help with behavior problems need to be reconsidered as soon as possible.

A son or daughter can walk in their own nervous manifestations to conditions that may threaten life and health. If there is a risk of self-harm, a child with his movements can cause serious harm to himself, Komarovsky advises to consult a specialist to rule out the presence of psychiatric disorders and receive recommendations on how to get out of this situation.

What can't you do?

You should not focus on obsessive movements, much less try to prohibit your child from making them. He does them unconsciously (or almost unconsciously), and therefore it is in principle impossible to prohibit them, but to aggravate them emotional disturbance prohibitions are easy. It is better to distract the child, ask him to do something, help, go somewhere together.

You cannot raise your voice and shout at a child at the moment when he begins a series of unmotivated movements, says Komarovsky. The parents' reaction should be calm and adequate, so as not to frighten the child even more.

It is best to continue talking to your baby quietly, in a calm voice, in short sentences, do not argue with him, under no circumstances leave him alone. You should also not look your baby directly in the eyes.

It is also impossible to ignore the problem, because the child really needs to talk to him and discuss his problem. In the end, these new “bad” habits also cause bewilderment and fear for him. Sometimes it is confidential communication that helps get rid of a problem.

Treatment

With a high degree of probability, a neurologist, to whom parents come for an appointment with complaints of obsessive movements in a child, will prescribe one or more sedatives, magnesium preparations, as well as vitamin complexes. He will strongly recommend visiting a massage, exercise therapy, swimming pool and salt caving chamber. The treatment will cost the family quite a round sum (even with the most approximate calculations).

Evgeniy Komarovsky advises you to think carefully when planning to start such treatment. If the psychiatrist has not found serious abnormalities, then the diagnosis of “obsessive movement syndrome” should not become a reason to stuff the child with pills and injections. Pharmaceuticals with a high degree of probability will not affect the healing process at all.