Dr. Oh Eun-young from "My precious child" abruptly halted the recording and decided to conduct an urgent on-site diagnosis due to suspicions of autism.
The episode broadcast on Channel A on the 14th revealed the story of "actor Lee Sang-in and a mother on the brink due to raising three sons."
On that day, Lee Sang-in's eldest son, Geumjok, displayed excellent English skills but couldn't focus on anything other than his own interests and showed distracted behavior. He even struggled to adapt in elementary school, often being seen in a corner reading a book or looking at other books during class, showing a disordered appearance.
During class, Geumjok even displayed behavior of putting his hands inside his pants. Lee Sang-in, seeing his son for the first time in school, noted, "At first, I thought he was adapting somewhat because the teachers talked a lot about the parts that had improved. But watching the video, it seems like long lessons in the classroom are difficult for him, and the teachers also seem to be struggling."
Dr. Oh Eun-young explained, "It can be a little difficult to distinguish during a period when language is immature. However, as language begins to develop and words increase, they will try to communicate in some form. But with autism spectrum disorder, it’s difficult to interact comfortably. The very characteristic core symptoms I refer to as R.R.F. include first, the repetition of meaningless behaviors and words; second, following one's own consciousness and procedures; and lastly, there is excessive fixation on specific things."
"Including this, the doctor needs to directly observe the child's overall development and social functions. Therefore, since this is not a medical institution and it's not appropriate for diagnosis, but this field is where I specialize, I will go directly to observe after watching the video," she said, deciding to pause the recording briefly and urgently conduct an on-site diagnosis.
While Dr. Oh Eun-young moved to meet Geumjok, the panelists and the Lee Sang-in couple watched intently through live monitoring in the studio. When Dr. Oh Eun-young met with Geumjok, she attempted to communicate, but he avoided eye contact and began talking to himself. Eventually, Geumjok repeated the same words, revealing difficulties in interaction.
Dr. Oh Eun-young then diagnosed, "The good thing is that he expresses what he wants to say. The most challenging part is that there’s no conversation. There’s no back-and-forth dialogue. If you prompt for a simple answer, he barely responds, but interaction that corresponds to the topic doesn’t occur. So, in the case of Geumjok, he seems to be on the autism spectrum."
The couple, who had previously denied the autism spectrum diagnosis, were left speechless by Dr. Oh Eun-young's assessment. The wife eventually broke down in tears, and Dr. Oh Eun-young reassured them, "The commonly discussed autism spectrum is not because the parents do not love; it’s not an environmental issue, but rather an error in the process of the neural circuits in the brain being consolidated. It’s nobody’s fault."
"The key is to train social skills in any form so that they can be applied in daily life," she continued. "It can’t be said there are no difficulties, but effort can begin now. Maintaining stability in relationships with a small number of people is also important. The structure of daily life is crucial for children with difficulties in interaction. They feel secure in a familiar structure with their repetitive routines."
[Photo] Captured from the broadcast of "My precious child."
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