Some time ago, I suddenly discovered that after 2 years of sitting at home with a baby, and for periods with both of my children, now, when it became possible to go out / stay without them, at least occasionally, I had lost some life skills that I, apparently, will have to restore
For example:
- I have forgotten how to go shopping. For shopping. The abundance of shops with a huge amount of clothes and shoes in them horrifies me!
- I don't sleep well without a baby by my side.
- I almost forgot how to walk in heels
- I forgot how to wear skirts ... Although in the summer I wore a long, multi-tiered floor-length skirt. But if you have to wear tights and heels under a skirt, I immediately fall into suspended animation.
- I have forgotten how to flirt with my husband. And, probably, not only with her husband. It's just that there is no one else at all)))
- I've lost my morning makeup routine. But there was a skill of leaving the house without him at all. It was impossible before!
- I have lost the skill of walking without strollers, sleds, and children in general. If I suddenly find myself alone on the street, then I am always afraid that I have lost everything: the stroller, the sled, the bicycles, the scooter, and of course the children.
In general, I have a period of rehabilitation! And how are things with you?
"Autistic burnout" is a term from the autistic community for the sudden loss of skills due to chronic stress.
Regression in autism, sometimes referred to as "autistic burnout," refers to the loss of self-regulatory skills or mechanisms. Regression refers to the loss of specific skills or abilities:
- Progressive loss of the ability to speak.
- Decreased ability to plan and organize one's actions.
- Reducing the amount of memory.
- Loss of self-care skills.
- Loss of social skills.
Decreased ability to tolerate sensory or social overload.
It is also known as a decrease in the overall ability to cope with life's problems or perform all the necessary daily tasks.
In some cases, we are talking about a temporary loss of skills (a period of several weeks to several months), after which the lost abilities are restored in a person. In other cases, the decline in skills and mechanisms of self-regulation continues for years. It can be permanent or near-permanent, where skills are restored but never reach the same level as before.
Often, the autistic regression period begins during or after puberty or during the transition to adulthood (late teens or early twenties). Average age is also a common age when autistic people experience burnout or regression. However, autistic regression can occur at any age and is often preceded by major life changes or a period of increased stress.
How true is it to talk about regression?
The phenomenon of loss of skills or mechanisms of self-regulation is a reality. However, is it correct to describe what is happening with the word “regression”? This word is very commonly used, especially by parents or professionals, to describe the loss of skills or abilities in an autistic child, but it is rarely used by autistic people themselves. The word is associated with negative associations that can be harmful to a person.
Complicating things is the several possible meanings of the word regression. The classic Freudian definition often used by psychologists sees regression as a defense mechanism when a person abandons their self-regulatory strategies and reverts to earlier developmental behavior. This suggests a desirable loss of strategies and abilities.
A more general definition of regression is a transition to a lower or less desirable state as a result of:
- disease progression (or)
- return to an early mental state (or)
— the gradual loss of skills or functions as a result of aging.
The first two options—loss of skills through illness or a return to an early mental state—are the forms of regression most often attributed to autistic people, especially children. For example, a child often had tantrums in infancy, but in the lower grades of school he clearly coped better. Then he begins puberty, and tantrums escalate with renewed vigor. This is described as a regression, mistakenly suggesting that he returns to the state of an infant.
The same can be said for a small child who is toilet trained, but suddenly "mistakes" began to happen to him when he went to primary school. Or about a young man who doesn't talk to anyone for weeks after entering college. One can look at these people and assume that they have regressed to an "early age" or mental state.
But is it really happening? No, not literally.
It is important to remember that an eight-year-old child who does not use the toilet on time remains an eight-year-old. A thirteen-year-old with daily tantrums remains a thirteen-year-old mind and body, even if the tantrums resemble those he had as an infant. Although the loss of current self-regulatory strategies may resemble early developmental strategies (or lack of them), the chronological age does not change, and they may or may not regain abilities associated with the current stage of development.
So implying or explaining this as a regression to an early stage would be wrong.
Mobile adaptation
The best analogy is not regression, but the notion that the demands of life have exceeded the resources of man.
Imagine a hot summer day in the city. All turn on fans and air conditioners to combat the midday heat, exceeding the power supply in the city. In order to cope with the load, the power company may implement partial blackouts - a deliberate reduction in power supply for each building, or a series of blackouts when some places receive energy and others do not.
The autistic brain seems to work the same way when faced with excessive resource demands. On some days, weeks or months, when the demands of life are too great, our brain decides to do a partial blackout or a series of blackouts. Some self-regulatory skills or abilities are temporarily disabled or work with reduced efficiency.
However, this loss of skill is not the same as permanent regression, nor is it the same as the initial absence of that skill or strategy. The abilities of most people, including the ability to cope with daily activities, are fluid throughout their lives. The abilities of autistic people seem to be particularly fluid - at times they suddenly appear, and at other times they just as suddenly disappear.
Many of the difficulties associated with autism are pervasive, which means that they accompany us everywhere and always. Even if they are not obvious all the time, they still exist, and they may reappear when a particular self-regulatory strategy is turned off because the brain needs to reallocate resources to a more important task.
When this happens, the previously "fixed" skill may "break" again. In fact, nothing was fixed or broken. It's just that our fluid strategies of self-regulation need to be fine-tuned and balanced all the time. If a child or an adult rarely experiences tantrums, then this does not mean that he will not have more tantrums. If something in his life changes, for example, the hormonal storm of puberty begins, then he will need to develop new strategies for self-regulation. And until such strategies emerge, he may again experience tantrums as a result of the mental, emotional, or sensory overload associated with the change.
Being autistic means that this fluid adaptation continues throughout your life. We master something, develop strategies for self-regulation, adapt, and everything is in order. Life is changing and we need extra time to re-adapt. Find a new schema. Understand the new rules. Test our strategies and see what works. Meanwhile, other aspects of our lives may fall apart. We are losing skills. We find it difficult to cope with what used to be easy for us, even in the most predictable conditions. This is not a regression to an early stage of development, but a process of adaptation to new difficulties, and this is what we do throughout our lives.
Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease that manifests itself in the form of a progressive decline in intelligence. Alzheimer's disease, whose symptoms were first identified by Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist, is one of the most common forms of dementia (acquired dementia).
general description
Alzheimer's disease affects people regardless of their socio-economic status, nationality or other factors characteristic of them. The earliest age of this disease was recorded in a 28-year-old patient, but Alzheimer's disease predominantly manifests itself after 40 years.
Despite often not being recognized by itself, Alzheimer's disease is the fourth in a number of deadly diseases. For example, in the United States alone, figures indicate more than 100,000 deaths per year, apparently due to this disease.
Considering that the disease was originally described under the category of persons under 65 years of age in whom it was noted, it was previously defined as presenile. Also, Alzheimer's disease was mistakenly considered as a manifestation of aging or sclerosis of cerebral vessels. In reality, the disease we are considering is provoked by the degeneration of neurons (nerve cells), but by no means by a lesion that is relevant to blood vessels.
The general symptomatology of the disease allows us to highlight its diversity when considering. In particular, Alzheimer's disease is characterized by symptoms in the form of a gradual decrease in attention and memory, in addition, there are disturbances in the processes of thinking in combination with the ability to learn.
Patients experience problems associated with temporal and spatial orientation, the choice of words is accompanied by significant difficulties, which, in turn, affects difficulties in communication, and also contributes to negative personality changes.
The gradual progression of the symptoms of dementia leads to the absolute loss of the patient's ability to serve himself, which ultimately leads to death. The duration of the actual process of the disintegration of the psyche can last for several years, which leads not only to the suffering of the patient himself, but also to the suffering of his family and loved ones.
The risk of this disease increases in the presence of the following actual factors:
- age from 60 years;
- overweight, ;
- the presence in the anamnesis of the patient of head injuries;
- the presence of the disease in the next of kin.
In addition, we note that Alzheimer's disease is more common among women than among men.
Stages of Alzheimer's disease
In various sources, from three to several stages of the disease are distinguished, but we will single out four, which will also correctly describe it.
Each of the stages listed below is characterized by the presence of its own features, which have a progressive picture of actual disorders of the functional and cognitive scale.
Predementia
The initial symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are often confused with accepted manifestations that indicate aging in general, or even with the patient's response to stress. It is noteworthy that the earliest manifestations of a cognitive order can be detected in some patients 8 years before the diagnosis of the underlying disease is established. The initial manifestations of symptoms may occur in the course of performing certain tasks that are everyday for the patient.
The most noticeable symptom in this case is memory disorder, which manifests itself in a person's attempts to recall previously memorized facts. This also applies to the attempts made by the patient to assimilate information that is new to him, which, as you can understand, end in failure.
There are also problems in a number of executive functions, which include planning, concentration, abstract thinking. Problems with semantic memory, that is, with memory associated with the meaning of words and with the relationship of concepts, are not excluded.
This stage can also be accompanied by apathy, which is the most stable neuropsychological symptom during the course of the entire disease. The preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease is also often defined as "mild cognitive impairment", however, there is still controversy regarding the use of this definition to indicate the first degree of this disease or its use as a separate diagnostic unit.
early dementia
Memory in this case progressively decreases along with agnosia, which leads to the fact that the diagnosis of the disease we are considering, sooner or later, is confirmed. A small number of patients during this period do not indicate memory disorders as the main disturbing symptoms, but speech disorders, motor disorders, perception disorders, and impaired functions of the executive order.
The disease manifests itself in different ways in relation to each of the aspects of memory. So, for example, memories relating to the patient's own life (that is, episodic memory), as well as facts that he has memorized for a long time, are the least affected. The same applies to implicit memory, that is, the so-called "memory of the body", in which the patient unconsciously reproduces learned actions (using cutlery, etc.).
Aphasia is characterized by the impoverishment of vocabulary in combination with a decrease in fluency of speech, and this, in turn, leads to a complete weakening of the ability to verbal (as well as written) expression of one's own thoughts.
This stage of the disease is characterized, as a rule, by the patient's ability to adequately operate with standard concepts used in speech communication. As for writing, drawing, dressing and other functions in which the main action is accompanied by the addition of fine motor skills, there may already be problems in planning and coordinating movements, which highlights some awkwardness in the actions performed.
With the gradual progression of the disease, a person can still perform many tasks, doing it independently, however, he can no longer do without help (at least in the form of supervision) - this concerns, first of all, manipulations that require cognitive efforts.
Dementia moderate
The condition gradually worsens, against the background of which the ability to independently implement certain actions gradually decreases. Speech disorders become obvious, because the patient loses access to his own vocabulary, as a result of which the wrong words are selected to replace the words he has forgotten. In addition, there is a loss of writing / reading skills.
Gradually, the coordination of movements with their complex sequence is violated, which, in turn, deprives the patient of the opportunity to adequately perform most of the tasks required in everyday life.
This stage, again, is accompanied by memory problems, which, this time, are subject to significant amplification. As a result, the patient may even lose the ability to recognize people close to him. Until this period, long-term memory that was not previously affected by the disease is already subject to disturbances, and deviations that appear in the patient's behavior become more and more noticeable.
The usual character is acquired by such manifestations of the disease as evening exacerbation and vagrancy, the patient becomes more irritable, emotional lability occurs, manifested in spontaneous aggression and crying.
About 30% of patients are faced with false identification syndrome, as well as a number of symptoms of delirium. Urinary incontinence often develops. The symptomatology of the patient already leads to stress in his relatives, which can be eliminated to some extent by placing the patient in a hospital for appropriate supervision.
severe dementia
This is the last stage of the disease, in which the patient is simply not able to do without the help of outsiders. All language skills can be reduced down to the use of single phrases in it, or even just words. Thus, there is an almost complete loss of speech.
Verbal skills in patients are lost, but this does not determine for them the loss of understanding of the appeal to them, the emotions addressed to them. This stage can still be accompanied by manifestations of aggression, but most often apathy in combination with exhaustion becomes the prevailing state. From a certain point in this state, the possibility of carrying out even elementary actions without outside help is lost. There is also a loss of muscle mass, movement is carried out with considerable effort. Over time, the patient does not move further than the bed, a little later he stops eating himself.
The onset of death is accompanied, as a rule, by third-party factors in the form of a decubitus ulcer, but not through the direct fault of Alzheimer's disease. Below we will consider a little more substantively relevant manifestations of the disease.
Alzheimer's disease: mild stage symptoms
The mild stage of the disease determines the following general symptoms:
- Loss of interest in life, loss of recent memory. Inability to conduct adequate reasoning about money.
- Difficulties in learning new things and creating and maintaining new memories.
- The appearance of problems associated with speech. So, in a phrase, words can be used that are similar in sound, but differ in semantic content. Considering this, the patient, realizing his position and in order to avoid mistakes due to this, may stop talking.
- The possibility of prolonged concentration of attention is lost, the patient loses the ability to visit already familiar places. There is an active and aggressive resistance to new things and change in general.
- There is a problem in organization and in logical thinking. There is a frequent asking of questions (repeated).
- The patient goes "into himself", there is a loss of interest, there is irritability and uncharacteristic anger for him when feeling tired. Decision making is difficult.
- The patient forgets to pay for something or, conversely, pays too much. Often the patient forgets to eat, or, conversely, he can eat all the time.
- Things are often lost, and the patient often folds them in the wrong place.
Alzheimer's disease: symptoms of the middle stage
For the middle stage of the disease, the following manifestations are relevant:
- The changes that occur in behavior and hygiene become more remarkable. The same applies to the characteristics of sleep.
- The patient confuses personalities (that is, he may perceive his wife as a stranger, his son as a brother, etc.).
- Security issues are becoming increasingly important. As noted earlier, the patient can wander, wander anywhere, easily get poisoned, fall, etc.
- There are problems with recognizing people, things. Items belonging to others may be used.
- A person constantly repeats the same stories, movements, words, etc.
- The patient loses the ability to properly organize his own thoughts, he fails to follow the logical chain of certain explanations.
- The patient can constantly read, but at the same time not be able to formulate the correct answer to the questions posed in writing.
- Possible inappropriate behavior (threats, curses, excessive excitement, etc.).
- Accusations of family members of stealing things are possible, often patients become sloppy.
- There may be situations with loss of orientation in time. So, the patient can wake up at night and start getting ready for work.
- There may be conditions in which the patient thinks that the mirror image is haunting him or that the plot of the movie is repeated in life.
- Need help with going to the toilet and shower.
- The patient wears clothing inappropriate for the weather.
- There may also be a discrepancy in sexual behavior in which the other person is perceived as a spouse.
Alzheimer's disease: symptoms of a severe stage
- The patient is completely removed from the environment, the family, although he simply cannot manage without outside help.
- There is silence or, conversely, "gibberish" in conversations, it also happens that it is extremely difficult to understand a person.
- There is a loss of control over the processes of bowel movement.
- The patient loses weight, his skin cracks.
- Frequent falls, susceptibility to infections.
- A significant part of the time a person spends in bed and in a dream in particular.
In general, after the diagnosis is established, patients live about no more than 7 years.
Diagnosis of the disease
Establishing a diagnosis requires, first of all, the exclusion of other diseases accompanied by similar symptoms. These types of diseases include thyroid gland, etc. In particular, the following methods are used to determine specifically Alzheimer's disease:
- CT and NMR (computed tomography in combination with nuclear magnetic resonance). Due to these procedures, it becomes possible to determine the state of the brain, as well as to exclude the above diseases.
- , . Determine the presence / absence of hormonal disorders, blood diseases, infections, etc.
Treatment
To date, the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is impossible due to its incurability. However, there are a number of drugs, the use of which makes it possible to slow down its progressive course, as well as to weaken / eliminate the actual symptoms. These drugs include drugs to improve thinking ability and memory, as well as drugs that target anxiety and depression.
In addition, of course, it should be noted the importance of caring for such patients, because they simply need it.
The appearance of symptoms indicating the possible presence of Alzheimer's disease in a person requires an appeal to a neurologist and a psychiatrist.
A very general term used to refer to any process or action that results in the disappearance of a previously learned behavior. Some use the term as though it were equivalent to fading; others argue that it is possible to eliminate the results of previous learning only if the organism learns a new response that is incompatible with the old one and therefore takes its place in the behavioral repertoire. For these latter theorists, skill loss is closer to counterconditioning.
Watch value Loss of Skills in other dictionaries
A loss- loss
Synonym dictionary
The loss of J.— 1. Action by value. verb: lose (1). 2. unfold What is lost. 3. Action by value. verb: lose (2). 4. The disappearance of someone, something. 5. Loss suffered by someone, something. due........
Dictionary Efremova
A loss- losses, 1. Loss, deprivation of something. Security in case of disability. money. Waste of time. pilot's height. I am waiting for the loss of a loved one. Chekhov.........
Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
Skills Bank— Service
Arts & Business agency, which provides professional business people with the opportunity to support the arts as volunteers in short-term projects.
Economic dictionary
— - written
taking into account the skills of workers and employees with
an indication of the number of persons owning them.
Economic dictionary
Skill Inventory- - a written record of the skills of workers and employees, indicating the number of persons who own them.
Economic dictionary
exchange rate loss- negative
the difference between the rate at which the valuable
paper, and the rate at which it was acquired. Represents the loss resulting from........
Economic dictionary
Unrealized Capital Gain (or Loss)— gain or loss of capital that has not yet been realized through the sale or exchange of relevant financial assets and is not subject to taxation.
Economic dictionary
A loss- -And; and.
1. to lose. P. books. P. relatives. P. view. P. blood. P. working capacity. P. authority. P. power. P. in weight. Empty p. of time. Beat, drink until you lose consciousness (up to ........
Explanatory Dictionary of Kuznetsov
Transfer of Skills (skills Transfer)— The process by which a business organization transfers skills and competencies to non-profit organizations in areas such as financial management, marketing or management........
Economic dictionary
Loss of Advance- FORFEITURE Loss or loss of money deposited as security or confirmation of a contract or as partial payment for a purchase, as a form of punishment (fine) for ........
Economic dictionary
weight loss- See natural loss
Economic dictionary
Loss of Foreclosure of Mortgaged Property- FORECLOSURE a procedure by which a MORTGAGE lender or any person having an interest in the mortgaged property (e.g., the owner of a bond secured by........
Economic dictionary
Market Loss— In ocean, shipping and inland shipping insurance: failure to sell products to intended buyers. Usually considered...
Economic dictionary
Loss of Presentation— an insured event, as a result of which the insured object partially or temporarily becomes unsuitable for use in accordance with its original purpose.
Economic dictionary
A loss; Confiscation- loss of a right or asset due to the inability to fulfill legal obligations or conditions and the transfer of this right as compensation for losses or damages.
Economic dictionary
Termination Or Loss Of Capital — -
profit (loss) received from the sale of capital assets at a more (less) higher price compared to the purchase.
Economic dictionary
Acquisition of Management Skills (capacity Building)— This concept is used in training in the public and private sectors and refers to the development of professional managerial skills of the organization's staff. In the field.........
Economic dictionary
Work Skills Inventory- taking into account the skills of the company's employees, indicating the number of persons who own them.
Law Dictionary
Addictive And Novelty Sexual, Loss Of Appeal- a progressive decrease in the level of excitation upon repeated presentation of the same sexual stimulus. This is referred to as habituation, and it is understood that ........
Sexological Encyclopedia
Loss of Pace- - a very interesting situation that sometimes occurs when playing checkers, when a player who takes an odd number of opponent's checkers loses pace and loses the game, because ........
Philosophical Dictionary
Loss of Efficiency of the Governing Body- at supercritical values of the flight Mach number - due to the development of a zone of supersonic flow (see. Transonic flow) on the profile of the bearing surface when exceeding ........
Encyclopedia of technology
A LOSS- LOSS, -and, f. 1. see lose, -sya. 2. What is lost is lost. Harvest without loss. Take big losses. Irreplaceable p. P. was found.
Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
