In fact, about 10% of children with autism are intelligent. That is, children with autism but possessing a certain outstanding talent even though they have not been studied or trained. Does intelligent autism cause harm to the child and needs to be treated? These issues will be clarified in the following article.
What is an intelligent autistic child?
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorders, is a group of complex disorders related to brain development. This condition is more common in children (75% develops before 3 years of age) and causes a lot of impact on learning, communication or even negative impact on those around. Most children with this disorder will have multiple language, behavioral, and emotional deficits.
Often children will be slow to speak, have poor language skills, can only use monotonous words, lack intonation or just know how to imitate what others say. In terms of behavior, children with autism often only like to play with one or a few certain things. Children often have more interest and attention to details than how the toy is used. In addition, children also have difficulties in communication, do not make eye contact, do not look at the other person or cannot understand the nonverbal gestures and behaviors of others. These children will not be able to distinguish between strangers and acquaintances, do not show emotions, do not cling to their parents.
Currently, the rate of children affected by autism is increasing and becoming a burden for both families and society. However, not all children with autism have the same negative effects. According to experts, each case of autism will have its own level and manifestations. Therefore, scientists have also divided autism into 3 different groups:
- Autistic group with intellectual disability (the largest percentage)
- Average autism group
- High-functioning autism group / Asperger’s syndrome, has good thinking and learning ability.
Intelligent autism is the case of children with high functioning autism. This group of children, although suffering from a disorder, still has a normal ability to learn or there are even cases where children possess outstanding talents. However, the intelligent autistic child should not be confused with a very intelligent, very intelligent child. There are some children with autism will have the ability to calculate quickly, some children have a special talent for painting. However, you need to understand that, not having talent will make a child a genius.
Some outstanding abilities of intelligent autistic children
Intelligent autistic children may possess some abilities that are superior to those of other autistic children. Specifically like:
1. Math ability
Some intelligent children with autism may possess outstanding math skills, such as being able to read letters, read numbers, calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from an early age, can memorize rows of numbers or anything. anything to do with numbers. In fact, in special education classes for children with autism, teachers also find that some children have extremely good and fast mental math skills.
2. Artistic talent
Not only possessing a talent for math, many smart children with autism also have a lot of creativity and imagination. Not only that, there are children who just need to listen to a poem, a sentence or the content of a certain song, they can clearly visualize phenomena and things vividly to represent them with each stroke. . These children also have the ability to copy famous paintings that even professionals have to pay a lot of compliments on.
3. Computer skills
Although they are quite young, smart children with autism are able to use computers competently. Children can search for their favorite websites, install applications or save the music and videos they want. Even without adult guidance, young children can still use computers and electronic devices proficiently, performing flexible and sensitive operations.
4. Some other possibilities
- Musical ability
- Artistic Abilities
- Creativity
- High concentration ability
- The ability to decipher written language from a very young age.
- The ability to think intuitively
Why are so many autistic children smart?
Regarding the cause of the intelligence of children with autism, experts also shared that, due to the uneven development of areas in the brain, children can develop dramatically in a certain area. . Also because the brain has many different regions, such as the temporal region, the occipital region, the frontal region, the motor area, the sensory area, the central region, etc.
For example, if children with autism have outstanding development in the logical thinking area, these children will have better math, logic and memory abilities than average. Or if the artistic brain area is strongly developed, the child will have great imagination and creativity. Robyn Young – an autism researcher at Flinders University in Adelaide (Australia) once shared that, in most scientific studies, 1 in 10 children with this type will possess a skill. special ability.
Accordingly, he added, although this outstanding skill is in the fields of music, math, and painting, it will all come from a lightning-fast processor inside the brain. This division will divide time, place, space, and things into equal parts. It is also thanks to the division of time that intelligent autistic children can accurately determine the time to wake up, helping children quickly distinguish out-of-tone sounds in a piece of music.
Does intelligent autistic children have any disadvantages?
As shared above, intelligent children with autism who possess certain special abilities will have strong development in a certain brain area. However, they are weakened in connection between other regions, the connection between the right and left brain hemispheres will become loose, lack of rigor and unity. Therefore, these children are difficult to develop comprehensively. Especially in the language area, children with autism will face many barriers in using language, most of them will be slow to speak, do not know how to express themselves in words, are shy in communication or even in many cases not. talking.
Being able to memorize and re-read what has been seen is sometimes just mechanical memorization, in essence, the child cannot understand it at all. At this time, the child’s brain will work like a robot, the child can say or say everything that has been taught and seen, even if it is only the first contact. In some cases, children can quickly read the home address or phone number of a relative. However, when asking the child about other basic information, the child cannot understand and answer, such as age, name, grade, etc. This proves the abnormal development and lack of character. Synchronization of a brain region in intelligent autistic children.
Do smart children with autism need treatment? Parents should do?
Although intelligent children with autism possess a remarkable talent, in reality they still have the same defects as other autism cases, their development is not uniform and it is necessary to take measures. appropriate intervention. For children with special abilities, it will still last forever, but parents and relatives also need to create conditions so that children can develop their abilities in the best way. Parents need to monitor and care for their children more, for those who have gone to school, it is also necessary to cooperate with the school to better support children.
1. Advice for parents
To be able to develop the talents of children with autism is not easy. Parents need to spend more time with their children, because this is not simply taking care of a normal child, but also combining autism treatment, improving skills with disabilities and foster children’s inherent talents. When spending time with their children, parents will also easily discover the hidden talents of children and have a better orientation to develop it.
In addition, families also need to have knowledge about autism spectrum disorder and autism spectrum disorder to know how to communicate, approach and play with their children. It is best not to let autistic children play alone, and at the same time, it is also necessary to reduce the time for children to have too much exposure to electronic devices such as computers, televisions, phones, game consoles.
The best way is that when children have a talent, they should focus on developing that talent to avoid being forgotten. For example, if a child has a talent for music and painting, parents should also direct their children to follow and have more exposure to the art environment. At the same time, it is also necessary to help children integrate well into normal life, not let them isolate themselves and separate from society.
2. There should be a suitable support method
Since it is a gift, it comes from an innate factor, so if it is nurtured and created with good conditions, the child will develop outstandingly. Although children with autism cannot develop as comprehensively as other children of the same age, the application of supportive methods will help children feel more confident and integrate better. At the same time, help children learn how to balance and control their own lives.
If it is possible to apply good educational methods for intelligent autistic children so that children can actively practice and improve their talents, later on, children will have many opportunities to contribute to society and become successful children. useful person.
In addition, intelligent children with autism also need to be applied appropriate educational and therapeutic methods to improve weak aspects of other social skills, such as language, communication, and communication. continue to limit abnormal behaviors. Ideally, parents should take the initiative for their children to visit specialized facilities to receive specific diagnosis and advice from doctors and experts on methods to support and improve their children’s talents.
Thus, the information in the above article has helped readers better understand the intelligent autism status in many children. Parents need to closely monitor and discuss with experts, doctors, in conjunction with kindergarten teachers, specialized care to be able to follow the treatment instructions properly, thereby helping children develop well. than.
