Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) represent a heterogeneous class of mental disorders, which are defined primarily on the basis of behavioral patterns. ASDs are primarily characterized by delay and deviation in the development of social interaction, communication and cognitive skills, behaviors, interests and repetitive activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).
At Fundació Aspace we begin the path of support and intervention for children with autism and their families from the first stages of life, with the first warning signs from the CDIAP offering care to families in the district of Sants Montjuïc , and from the Psychology and Psychiatry Team of the Outpatient Care Service for the post-CDIAP stage and throughout its life cycle in a supraterritorial way.
A joint path begins, where the therapeutic team and the family delve into the understanding of the functioning of the child who presents difficulties in communication, relationship and interaction. Aspace's mental health professionals, through psychodiagnosis with specific neuropsychological assessments, individual and family care and monitoring, as well as with psychotherapeutic groups for ASD, accompany the person and their family throughout their lives.
The early detection of the warning signs present in the first year of life, and in the early stages, is helping us to a better diagnosis and consequently to an improvement in the evolution of the autism spectrum disorder.
Difficulties in visual and expressive contact, altered babbling or the absence of communicative language, difficulties in feeding and regulating the rhythm of sleep, stereotypies, repetitive movements or games, fixations and unusual interest in sensory aspects of the objects, and motor disturbances, are some of the symptoms that will shape early diagnosis and specific intervention.
Through the systematic collection of data from the patients treated, we have been able to assess how joint work with the main referrers: primary care pediatricians and nursery school professionals, means an earlier detection of ASD signs, and therefore a diagnosis in children much smaller than a few years ago.
The Psychology and Psychiatry team of the Ambulatory Care Service attends to the mental health needs of the group of users with a main diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy or other pathologies of neurological development, Intellectual Disability and Limited Intellectual Capacity . In addition to the nuclear aspects present in most cases, the diagnosis of ASD can often be associated with complementary neurological impairments, such as intellectual disability (ID) or cerebral palsy (CP), varying in their level of involvement .
The presence of comorbid intellectual disability in ASD is associated with a greater general affect and a greater prevalence of mental health and behavioral problems. Deficient cognitive profiles show a tendency to mental rigidity, obsessive thinking or blocking when facing unexpected or novel situations, and those situations that can generally increase their level of stress. This is why anticipation becomes a tool for the prevention of behavioral or emotional alterations, becoming necessary to help the internal regulation of the person so that the environment that surrounds him is structured and he can live it from security.
In clinical practice, we observe how children with ASD are accompanied and cared for by different services, but, over time, attention becomes diluted. From the Aspace Ambulatory Care Service we value the need that in the adult stage it is possible to maintain and continue offering a therapeutic response to help understand what has not developed or evolved in an appropriate way. Being able to offer strategies to improve the quality of life, avoiding deterioration and in some cases reducing behavioral or psychotic manifestations.
We consider a global, multidisciplinary and biopsychosocial approach necessary for the person and their family as well as early assessment and diagnosis to be able to design an adjusted intervention as soon as possible, with the aim of being able to adapt, respond and help to understand the globality of the diagnosis throughout the life cycle. At a therapeutic level, we work to enhance the adaptive capacity, the empowerment of the person and their family to improve their quality of life.
