Early Desadaptation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Disability Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: according to WHO, mental disorders that occur in childhood account for the largest share of child disability among all diseases. Special attention is paid to the problem of autism spectrum disorders, the growth of which in the world over the past 10 years has amounted to 1300%, and the disability rate has increased by 107.1% in 5 years. The purpose of the study : identication of risk factors for the formation of early disability in children with autism spectrum disorders. Patients and methods: the study made up 518 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, divided into 2 groups: disabled children and non-disabled children. Clinical-psychopathological, clinical-catamnestic, psychometric, and statistical methods were used in the work. Results: the inuence of a signicant number of disabling risk factors in children with ASD was revealed, while the strength of their impact varied in a very wide range. For practical application, 3 main groups of disability risk factors are identied (organizational, reproductive health of parents, factors of pregnancy and childbirth) and the strength of their total inuence on the formation of disability is established statistically. Discussion: t he obtained data showed that the power of the total inuence of “organizational” factors on the formation of disability in autism spectrum disorders is 2 times greater than the power of factors “reproductive health of parents” and more than 5 times the power of the impact of pregnancy and childbirth, which corresponded to a high statistical signicance ( p < 0.001). Hereditary factors did not have a signicant impact on the formation of disabling mental disorders. Conclusion: the system of prevention, early diagnostics and comprehensive rehabilitation based on interdisciplinary interaction contributes to improve adaptation and quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorders and their families.