Although global awareness of autism spectrum disorder has increased in recent years, late diagnosis still remains a global problem.
The Azerbaijan Psychology Academy (APAK) has prepared an interesting article on the issue, responding to the challenges of the time, and appealed to parents.
We present that article.
Although parents often observe alarming symptoms in the first years of a child's life, they delay seeking professional help for various reasons.
However, modern scientific data shows that early detection and early rehabilitation can significantly impact a child's future development. Our research and experience show that some symptoms of autism can be observed from the first year of life. Not reacting when called by name, limited eye contact, infrequent use of gestures and facial expressions, difficulties in social interaction, or delays in speech development are among the signals that parents should pay attention to. With an assessment conducted by an experienced specialist, an autism diagnosis can be reliably determined in most cases around 2 years of age.
Unfortunately, in practice, parents are often dominated by ideas such as "let him grow a little, he will talk," "boys talk late," "it's still too early." This approach sometimes leads to the loss of months, even years. However, time is of particular importance in the field of development. Since the brain's plasticity is higher in the early period, the effectiveness of properly planned rehabilitation programs is also higher. The goal in the modern approach is not just to make a diagnosis. The main goal is to identify the child's strengths and weaknesses, develop an individual development plan, and maximize their potential.
For this reason, the joint cooperation of a psychiatrist, psychologist, speech therapist, special educator, and family plays an important role in supporting children with autism. Recent studies also show the importance of early intervention programs with parental involvement.
Communication and development support methods applied by family members in daily life increase the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process. For this reason, modern rehabilitation is considered a process aimed not only at the child but also at the family.
The World Health Organization specifically emphasizes the importance of early detection, evidence-based psychosocial interventions, inclusive education, and community support for the development of individuals with autism. Experts believe that one of the biggest factors making a difference in autism is not the name of the diagnosis, but how early and how quality support the child receives.
The Azerbaijan Psychology Academy states in its announcement that the main priority in the field of autism is to educate parents, promote early assessment, and increase the accessibility of scientifically based rehabilitation services. Because timely support can play an important role in the formation of a child's social, academic, and daily life skills. The main factor determining the future of children with autism is not the diagnosis itself, but how early their needs are identified and how systematically these needs are met.
