I keep seeing posts about ASD online, and I don't know why, but this topic is constantly popping up…

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I keep seeing posts about ASD online, and I don't know why, but this topic is constantly popping up in my feed. I think I understand what the diagnosis means, but I still have questions: How much does it affect a child's life? Can it really be considered a diagnosis? What are the different forms? And most importantly, what are the chances if you start working with the child early? For example, if you realize something is off at age three, could the child then be able to communicate with others and develop like a typical child (if that's even possible)? I know I might sound naive, but I don't really believe in the severity of this diagnosis.
Comments
Kristina
It's great that you're not familiar with this... honestly.
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Viktoriya
This can vary a lot.
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Natalya Aleshina
Join the autism community on VKontakte, read what parents are writing, and you'll understand how lucky you are not to have had to deal with this.
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Irina
This is like saying 'I haven't been to the moon, so I doubt its existence'.
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Evgeniya
Kristina My brother's daughter was diagnosed with autism. Since I don't talk to him, I have no idea what's going on. That's how it is. I've only seen her once since her diagnosis, and I'm really worried about her.
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Evgeniya
Natalya Aleshina thank you
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Evgeniya
Irina Yes, as funny as it sounds, it's wild to me. Like going to the zoo and seeing an elephant or a giraffe for the first time in your life. And some people have never even seen a cow in their lives.
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Irina
Irina There are countless things in the world that you've never seen, and you don't even know they exist.
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Nadezda
Well, everyone has different manifestations; all children vary greatly from one another. Some have ODD, others have high intelligence, and so on.
But what does that have to do with believing or not believing? It's nonsense.
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Kondrateva Ekaterina
RAS stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder. That's why the word 'spectrum' is used here—it means there's a huge variety of disorders within one group, ranging from very mild ones that go unnoticed to severe ones.
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Evgeniya
Nadezda Because I haven't faced such diagnoses head-on. Sounds stupid, I know. But I don't know how to explain it in other words.
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Irina
Nadezda Well, you're lucky, what else can I say))
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Lesechka Shihova
Why autism isn't considered an illness: because an illness can be cured, but autism can't.
It's neurodivergent development.
With some correction, a child with autism can be adapted to life to a greater or lesser extent. How much they can adapt depends on their intelligence level, speech ability, and any co-occurring conditions.
And most importantly: even if you know one child with autism, you only know one child with autism, not everything about autism.
They are all as different as neurotypical people are all different.
Believe it or not, it doesn't really matter here.

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Elena
I have a boy in my group; he'll be 6 in December. He's been apart since age 3. He communicates more with adults than with peers, though he does play with them. He can take care of his own hygiene and meals. But every spring and autumn, his condition worsens, and we literally follow him everywhere with our partner. For example, in September, he tried to squeeze his sister's eyes out. Not out of aggression—he was just acting crazy 😐
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Viktoriya
The problem is that nobody needs this communication, and society is simply forcing socialization on them. It's a differently wired brain, with both its downsides and upsides.
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Natalya Aleshina
Natalya Aleshina Well, I'd say half of them don't have adequate corrective work because specialists nowadays generally don't know how to work with kids, and moms don't understand that a child won't start talking just from sensory integration. But there are many parents with severely disabled children from the start, where nothing can really be fixed, no matter how much you work with them.
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Natalya Aleshina
Natalya Aleshina I'm actually one of those who got blocked 🤣. And was hated on. I wrote that I worked on correctional exercises for the first 1.5 years, 4-6 hours a day. Then at least 2 hours. Every day. Besides sessions with specialists. Everyone told me it was impossible))). And also, my child wasn't difficult.
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Viktoriya
Natalya Aleshina I saw warnings there to others that if they didn't stop posting misinformation and traumatizing other moms, they would be blocked! 🤣🤣🤣 Not verbatim, of course, but that was the gist.
I was blocked for no reason at all when I was talking to another mom about apps that help non-verbal children communicate. That mom was also blocked!)))) Because why should they bother the regular, long-time members of the group!
When I wrote about teaching methods, the same group of moms would attack every time, yelling that it was all nonsense and that non-verbal children can't be taught, that it's 100% intellectual disability, even if there's no official ID, it's there anyway. And the fact that such children can learn according to the curriculum and quite successfully is called the "sick fantasies" of moms who can't accept that their child won't be able to finish school or live independently!
In short, there's nothing to do there.
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