To date, autism is a disease for which there is no cure. In young children, it manifests as problems with social interaction, behavior and communication. A British study, published in the medical journal The Lancet , has shown that the interactions of parents with their child from the age of 2 years would reduce the symptoms of autism in the long term.
To reach this conclusion, researchers from the University of Manchester, Newcastle and King's College London studied the behavior of 152 children aged 2 to 4 and their parents for six years. The autistic children were divided into two groups:the first benefiting from stimulation from the age of two by the parents (who had been advised by therapists on how to communicate well), the second serving as a control group and supported in centers. Verdict? In children who benefited from interactions with their parents, the symptoms of autism decreased by an average of 17% (and the results are maintained six years later):less repetitive behaviors and better relationships with others, which seems to indicate that the frustration of not being understood is also less. However, the interactions did not have an impact on the anxiety or language disorders exhibited by these children.
Of course, the idea of interacting with the autistic child from an early age is not a cure since the disorders persist, but it suggests that ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) methods could play a key role. in living with autism.
