ESCAPE FROM YOURSELF INTO SOCIETY

Autism... An exotic word that was known to us only from Hollywood films a dozen years ago has now acquired notoriety. We are increasingly faced with this diagnosis in daily life, but the paradox is that the majority of the population knows little about this illness. Hence, often the lack of understanding from others. Meanwhile, the diagnosis of "autism" is not a sentence for a child yet. With proper therapy and rehabilitation activities, a child with such a diagnosis can lead a more or less full life in the most optimistic scenario.

Autism, as the name implies, is full or partial "withdrawal into oneself" and is caused by impaired development of the brain, which affects communication and relations with the surrounding world and its perception. Outwardly, an autistic child does not look sick or disabled, so the improper behaviour that may be manifested in him when the child is in society or unfamiliar surroundings may be perceived by the uninitiated as a lack of good manners. This, of course, is an additional stress factor for the child himself and his parents. Meanwhile, autistic children can and should not only receive appropriate treatment, but also be properly integrated into social life.

Inclusion

According to neurologist Zeynab Samadova, the head of the clinic, which specializes in all types of mental health disorders, autistic children cannot be restricted neither in society, nor in access to education. And the inclusive type of education (an educational process that ensures the involvement of normal and autistic children in society) is the only possible form of education providing autistic children with the opportunity for integration into society. But the issue of inclusive education is turning from a narrow issue into a social one. After all, the level of the population's awareness of autism is very low. Therefore, parents often try to hide their children from society for fear of inadequate response.

The lack of social awareness can doom children with special needs to forced isolation. "Our child is autistic," says one of the respondents. "And we often come up against a lack of understanding from others. An autistic child often has unpredictable reactions, especially when he finds himself in an unfamiliar environment or society. He can scream sharply, and we encounter bewilderment and condemning views. You are not going to explain to everyone that the child is special. Many are ready to attribute it to a lack of good manners."

According to Zeynab Samadova, autism has always existed in society. It is just that earlier, according to the international classification of diseases, autistic children were given another diagnosis - child schizophrenia. There are four main symptoms of schizophrenia, the doctor said, and one of them is autism. Children under 16 years were registered with the psychoneurologic dispensary, and after 16 - with an "adult" institution. Now the psychoneurologic dispensary has been abolished, and doctors are working in district clinics. "For these children, it is very convenient," says the neurologist. "There is no need to go to a centralized institution at the other end of the city, which is inevitably difficult, because children with disabilities might endure the way there with difficulty."

As for therapy, according to Zeynab Samadova, the Autism Centre at the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Centre for Psychological Health at the Ministry of Health are engaged in the problem of autism in our country. "These centres are doing a great job, but it is very hard work, and its results are not immediately visible. Treatment of autism is a very difficult and long process," she said.

Therapy combines both medical treatment and work with a psychologist, pathologist and speech therapist. "It is very difficult to explain the difficulties of work to the uninitiated, because special children often cannot at first even to sit in the classroom, not to mention simply to listen or to follow instructions," the doctor said.

The legal side of the issue

Aytan Eynalova, head of the Birga va Saglam public association, is closely dealing with the rehabilitation of autistic children. But apart from material, psychological and other difficulties, there are also serious official ones. It turns out that people in our country are not diagnosed with "autism" as such. Given that autism is a spectrum and has different symptoms, most doctors often make a "rough" diagnosis: "behaviour problems", "speech disorders", "mental retardation", etc. Autism is recognized as a symptom here and is not officially considered an illness or disability. In addition, many parents avoid having their children diagnosed with "mental retardation", which may have a negative impact on their future. Meanwhile, it would also help in obtaining benefits from the state. However, it is very small - only 70 manats, but it would be very convenient given that work with psychologists, speech therapists and transport fees are not cheap.

"Autistic children have to be dealt with by teachers for at least 20 - a maximum of 40 hours a week, but many parents cannot afford even a two-hour lesson," the head of the association says. Moreover, the long-term training of specialists to work with special children is very difficult. "We have experts, but very few. At the university there is no appropriate faculty, while there must be specific educational standards," says Aytan Eynalova.

As for the inclusive education itself, Aytan Eynalova said that it is necessary for normal rehabilitation. In her view, "children with signs of autism have to go to kindergarten, because the degrees of autism are different, and if a child can be in society for some time, then he must do it." Many children learn new skills just by imitating and looking at other children. It may be much more valuable than long, but "individual" classes with a specialist.

Officially, however, it is difficult to involve special children in inclusive education because there is no such diagnosis as "autism". But the Ministry of Education recently signed a decision to establish pilot schools with inclusive education.

Such a diverse world

The enlightened part of society, meanwhile, is supportive of the idea of joint education for normal children and children with disabilities. The vast majority of parents surveyed believe that joint education for these children will be useful for all aspects of this process: "An autistic child teaches other children in the classroom compassion and fosters a sense of responsibility in them, knowing that the world is diverse." Most children are not against studying together with a special child.

Rufat Aliyev, an expert in the field of education, shares the theoretical side of the work to implement inclusive education: "In our country, this kind of work is performed, unfortunately, through grants, from project to project, while this serious problem deserves a systematic approach. In a civilized society, all these issues are resolved gradually when mentality in society changes as a result of prevailing preconditions for economic stability. Our own society and the education system are going a revolutionary way by enforcing Western standards without an in-depth understanding of how they work. This is the reason for all problems in our education system." According to the expert, society should foster tolerance in all areas. Of course, with regard to the attitude towards autistic children, no one has repealed the law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides for a humanistic attitude in any case. Our society is not ready yet for major changes, since all therapeutic or psychological activities related to disabled children and children in general are an external approach. The internal one is conditional on the understanding of the soul of the child and sensitivity to his desires and manifestations. And to this end, society should have psychological and pedagogical culture.

As for working with special children, it should start with the fact that society itself, not just the small part of it involved in this, must recognize that these children exist and are a living and vulnerable part of our society. And such children should have access to information and exchange it.

In practice, it is very difficult to achieve a properly functioning comprehensive system of inclusive education. There should definitely be a sensitive professional able for a start to bring together two worlds that are actually infinitely far from each other - normal and special children. The presence of such professionals, especially within the framework of our educational system, is a huge problem.

While factors of autism have still not been fully studied (this includes both genetic and environmental factors), Rufat Aliyev said that the root cause of autism is emotional and psychological and is closely linked to the factor of the mother. The increasing number of children with estranged consciousness is a fact, and the influence of the mother is difficult to overestimate.

Among the global aspects of rehabilitation, the expert notes the need for urban culture: "In rural areas, people are dependent on the land that feeds them, and there is no need to strengthen social ties. In the city, people are more dependent on each other, and only urban culture can shape not only a compassionate attitude towards special children, but also the desire to help them. As is known, insufficiency in some brain functions leads to increased activity in others, so often autistic children are capable and extremely talented. The main role of the educational process should be to identify their skills and train them in the right rhythm and consistency, which will enable them to be not only full members of society, but also happy people in the future," the expert said.