The first son of Lee Sang-in, a couple from "My Precious Child," has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
In the episode of Channel A's "Yojeum Yuga - My Precious Child" that aired on the 14th, the story of "Actor Lee Sang-in and a mother at the brink of despair while raising three sons" was revealed.
On that day, the first son, Geumjok, demonstrated impressive English skills, but his behavior sometimes led to misunderstandings that he was the youngest, catching attention. Then, Geumjok visited the market with his parents and, upon meeting the vendors, suddenly began shouting. Lee Sang-in noted, "He acts differently when meeting strangers," and his wife explained, "It's okay if he knows them, but it seems he's uncomfortable because it's a new experience for him."
However, the suddenly angry Geumjok expressed his complaints with incomprehensible questions. He even struggled to adapt to school life and displayed a somewhat distracted attitude. Moreover, during class, he surprised everyone by touching himself in his pants.
Dr. Oh Eun-young asked, "Have you sought help?" Lee Sang-in's wife revealed they visited three hospitals but ended up only receiving initial consultations and did not follow up. Upon hearing about the suspected autism, Dr. Oh Eun-young questioned why they had not accepted it.
Lee Sang-in explained, "During the initial consultation, they asked him to draw. He usually draws well, but he seems to have been intimidated and couldn't do it. At a glance, the first son appears unresponsive, but he accurately perceives emotions when observed closely. Around the age of three, I sensed a serious issue since he didn't respond to being called. But now, he's doing much better than before."
Lee Sang-in continued, "However, after just one session of art therapy, the doctors seemed unaware of how much the first son has improved. We have also thought about the possibility that we might not have considered autism spectrum symptoms. There are both matching and non-matching traits that we found."
However, Dr. Oh Eun-young, who directly observed the child, stated, "The biggest challenge is the lack of communication. There's no reciprocal conversation. He might respond to simple questions but doesn't engage in interactions that relate to the topic. Therefore, the first son appears to show traits of autism spectrum disorder." The wife, who had been in denial, shed tears as she faced reality.
Dr. Oh Eun-young explained, "Autism spectrum disorder occurs due to errors in the consolidation of neural circuits in the brain. It's nobody's fault. The key is to train social skills in whatever form they take and to apply them in daily life."
She added, "It's not to say there are no difficulties, but we can make progress from now on. Maintaining a sense of security in relationships with a small number of people is also important. The daily structure for children who have interaction difficulties is crucial. They feel secure in a familiar structure with repeated routines."
Regarding the unusual behavior of touching himself at school, she said, "School is full of stimuli. There are many people, and from arrival to dismissal, there's a variety of things to do. Since he has to follow instructions, it can be a bit difficult. So, to calm down, he engages in tactile defense."
In particular, she advised, "To catch up on developmental deficiencies, it's important to seek therapy as soon as possible. I hope you can live in a place that makes it easy to visit therapy centers before you miss the opportunity for treatment."
Near the end of the video, previews showed the aggressive behavior of the second child towards the first, and suddenly imitating the actions of the first child, who has autism spectrum disorder, caught attention. Dr. Oh Eun-young stated about the second child, who repetitively used the same phrases or showed unusual behaviors, "There seems to be an imitation of the first child. I wondered if imitating could lead to autism."
[Photo] Screen capture from 'Yojeum Yuga - My Precious Child' broadcast
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