– Aaaah. A piece of polar bread disappears into the mouth of Rayan (4.5), before he darts away from the breakfast table. – Rayan would rather run around the living room, says mom, Kimia Jafari, before she picks him back up and gives him two good kisses on the forehead. Rayan has strong dietary preferences. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news A mixture of laughter and sounds of joy bubble out of the dark-haired boy’s mouth. Rayan, who has childhood autism, apparently developed like other children in his first year of life. – When he was one and a half years old, he could say simple words such as “mummy”, “hello” and “milk”, but suddenly the language disappeared, says Kimia Jafari. – He started screaming a lot, and a friend pointed out that she couldn’t make eye contact with him. Rayan thrives in the crook of Mom’s arm. Out among people he can become insecure. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news The mother has a background from Iran and Afghanistan. She had never heard of autism and struggled to accept the concerns. – I thought they were wrong, that they just had to get to know him. Eventually I realized I needed help. He started hurting himself and often got very angry without me understanding why. Autism Autism is a developmental disorder that lasts a lifetime. People with autism struggle with social interaction and communication, often have repetitive and rigid behavior and limited areas of interest. There are large individual differences in people with autism. That is why the term “autism spectrum” is used today when diagnosing. The terms “asperger’s syndrome” and “childhood autism” are still used by clinicians and colloquially, but are no longer a formal diagnosis. “Child autism” is used when the symptom picture is extensive. Development before the age of three deviates from the norm. “Asperger’s syndrome” differs from childhood autism in that linguistic and cognitive development is not delayed. Research has shown that genes play an important role in the development of autism. There is currently limited knowledge about environmental factors as the cause. Advanced age of the parents, certain medications and infections that affect the fetus during pregnancy can be important. Sources: Helsenorge, Autismeforeningen, Statped The Autismegåten The proportion of children under the age of six who are diagnosed with autism has quadrupled in recent years. Children of immigrants from all parts of the world are overrepresented in the statistics, studies show. The difference is greatest among the smallest. According to research from FHI, the probability of receiving an autism diagnosis among children of immigrants (1-5 years) is on average four times as high as for others. Among children of two Norwegian-born parents in the sample, 0.25 per cent had an autism diagnosis. Among children of two parents who have immigrated, around one percent had an autism diagnosis. A study from NTNU on children of kindergarten age in Sør-Trøndelag has shown a sevenfold probability of such a diagnosis among children of immigrant mothers. Scientists are scratching their heads over the development. – There is probably no simple cause, but many factors that play together, says Alexandra Havdahl, researcher and center manager at FHI. Researcher at FHI, Alexandra Havdahl, participates in an international research collaboration on autism. Now they are working to find out why more and more children are being diagnosed with autism. Photo: Helge Tvedten / news They will now look for possible explanations for the increase. – Examples of what we will investigate are differences in the use of diagnoses, that more people go to nursery school and are caught there, that we have children at an older age and that more premature children survive. Children with autism can disappear into a “bubble” when they are doing something they enjoy. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news A public study from 2020 indicates that there are differences between countries. Among children with parents from Eritrea, 2.8 per cent of the young children (107 children) had an autism diagnosis. The proportion is 12 times higher than for children of Norwegian-born parents of the same age. But the figures are, according to FHI, very uncertain because the groups with children from different national backgrounds are small. – These may be random differences. We have now collected data from several cohorts of children and have a better basis for looking at any variation between countries, says Havdahl. Thinks depression may be the cause In Sandnessjøen, Kimia Jafari has caught up with the statistics and thought a lot about why her son got autism. Kimia Jafari believes the time spent in reception may have affected the baby she had in her womb. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news She shows a picture on her mobile phone. It was taken when she was staying at an asylum center in Lofoten with Rayan’s older sister. In the belly lay a little boy. – It was a difficult time. I feared we were sent back. I was depressed and going through a difficult breakup. I think it may have contributed to his autism. Kimia Jafari shortly before her son was born. Photo: Private She would like more answers. – Doctors and researchers say autism is primarily genetic, but I think the environment has a lot of influence as well. Rayan likes to play dinosaur. Here he scares news’s reporter. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news According to FHI, it is not known for certain whether traumatic experiences are related to autism, but it is one of many theories they will investigate. Want to look for environmental factors At Akershus University Hospital, they are also starting a research project. The aim is to map environmental factors in the children’s first year of life and look for connections with their difficulties. – The increase has been so strong that it is difficult for us to imagine that it is due to changes in the children’s genetics, says neuropsychologist and researcher at Ahus, Einar Aasen Tryti. Neuropsychologist and researcher at AHUS, Einar Aasen Tryti Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news – Are you contributing to stigmatizing immigrants by looking at the environment? – We meet parents who are distraught, and who do not understand why this seems to affect them. Professional communities do not understand this increase either, and our research is part of our responsibility to take families and their experiences seriously. – Real increase Akershus University Hospital (Ahus) also examines children with autism and has noticed the strong increase in diagnoses. Here, too, the greatest growth is among children of parents with an immigrant background. – We also see that increase in the rest of Norway and in other countries, says Tryti. Hanna Friis Steen is section leader at the Children’s and Youth Clinic. She does not think the increase is due to the fact that the threshold for making a diagnosis has become lower. – The young children we meet differ markedly from their peers, often do not have language or eye contact, struggle to play like other children and are easily frustrated in everyday situations, says Steen. – They would have been caught 15 years ago as well, she emphasizes. Recently, professionals at OUS and St. Olav’s hospital stated the same in an article in Dag og tid. Section leader for rehabilitation, the Children’s and Youth Clinic at Ahus, Hanna Friis Steen, says they want to help the families earlier than today. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news At Ahus, families now have to wait up to a year and a half for an investigation. The hospital shares the parents’ despair. – Getting started with help early is important in order to give the children the best possible conditions. It is also crucial to strengthen the parents early because they are the children’s most important resource, says Steen. – Lonely In Sandnessjøen, Kimia and Rayan have arrived at the kindergarten. In the kindergarten, Rayan trains with a special education teacher for many hours each week. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news With good help and support, he thrives and uses some language. In the nursery, Rayan likes being active. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Kimia has a good network in Sandnessjøen. She studies and takes shifts at the hospital. At the same time, she has bought a flat and obtained a driving licence. Kimia often takes Rayan down to the sea to throw rocks. She thrives surrounded by the powerful nature on the Helgeland coast. Photo: Ingvild Edvardsen / news She always carries her worries about her son with her. – My brain is working all the time. What’s happening today? Is he ready for kindergarten? Is it snowing? He can react to that. She loves her son, but finds it difficult to be the mother of someone with childhood autism. – I’m wearing a mask and would like to show that I’m fine, but I’m actually carrying a very heavy bag. – Do you feel lonely? – Yes, I feel very lonely. It’s heavy. The most important thing is to look after Rajan and support him, but who will support me? Kimia wonders if her own experiences may have influenced her son. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news
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Children of immigrants get autism more often – Researchers are looking for an explanation – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
