Dependency between skills. "Loss" of skill

Some time ago I suddenly discovered that after 2 years of sitting at home with the baby, and at times with both of my children, now that I had the opportunity to go out/stay without them at least occasionally, I had lost some life skills that I apparently needed. will have to be restored))

For example:

• I forgot how to go shopping. For shopping. Abundance of shops with a huge amount clothes and shoes in them terrify me!
• I don't sleep well without my 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 I have to wear tights and heels under my skirt, I immediately fall into suspended animation.
• I have forgotten how to flirt with my husband. And, probably, not only with my husband. It’s just that there’s no one else at all)))
• I have lost the skill of doing makeup every morning. But I developed the skill of leaving the house without it at all. This 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 ahead of me! How are things going with you?

Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease that manifests itself in the form of a progressive decline in intelligence. Alzheimer's disease, the symptoms of which 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 its frequent unidentification, Alzheimer's disease is the fourth most fatal disease. Thus, in the United States alone, indicators indicate more than 100,000 deaths per year, which apparently occurred precisely because of this disease.

Considering that the disease was initially described under the category of people 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 cerebral vascular sclerosis. In reality, the disease we are considering is provoked by the degeneration of neurons (nerve cells), but not by damage relevant to the blood vessels.

The general symptoms of the disease make it possible to highlight its diversity when examining it. 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 selection 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 dementia symptoms leads to the patient's absolute loss of ability to care for himself, which ultimately leads to death. The duration of the actual process of mental disintegration can continue 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 relevant factors:

• age from 60 years;
• overweight;
• the patient has a history of head injuries;
• presence of the disease in close relatives.

Additionally, we note that Alzheimer's disease is more common among women than among men.

Stages of Alzheimer's disease

Various sources highlight from three to several stages of the disease, but we will highlight four, which will also correctly describe it.

Each of the stages listed below is characterized by the presence of its own characteristics, which have a progressive picture of actual disorders of the functional and cognitive scale.

Predementia

Initially appearing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are often confused with accepted manifestations that generally indicate aging, or even with the patient's reaction to stress. It is noteworthy that the earliest manifestations of the cognitive order can be identified in some patients 8 years before the diagnosis of the underlying disease is established. The initial manifestations of symptoms may occur during the performance of 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 remember previously memorized facts. This also applies to the patient’s attempts to assimilate information that is new to him, which, as one can understand, ends 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 the relationship of concepts, cannot be ruled out.

This stage may also be accompanied by apathy, which acts as the most persistent neuropsychological symptom throughout the course of the entire disease. The preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease is also often defined as “mild cognitive impairment,” but there is still controversy regarding its use. this definition to indicate the first degree of this disease or to use it 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 indicate not memory disorders as the main disturbing symptoms, but speech disorders, motor disorders, perceptual disturbances, and dysfunction of executive order functions.

The disease manifests itself differently in relation to each aspect of memory. For example, memories relating to the patient’s own life are least affected by changes (that is, episodic memory), as well as facts learned by him quite a long time ago. The same applies to implicit memory, that is, the so-called “body memory”, in which the patient unconsciously reproduces learned actions (using cutlery, etc.).

Aphasia is characterized by a depletion of vocabulary combined with a decrease in speech fluency, and this, in turn, leads to a complete weakening of the ability to verbally (as well as written) express 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 verbal communication. As for writing, drawing, dressing up and other functions in which the main action is accompanied by the addition of fine motor skills, problems in planning and coordination of movements may already be observed, 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 also cannot do without help (at least in the form of supervision) - this applies, first of all, to manipulations that require cognitive effort.

Moderate dementia

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, resulting in the selection of incorrect words to replace words he has forgotten. In addition, there is a loss of writing/reading skills.

Coordination of movements with their complex sequence gradually becomes impaired; this, in turn, deprives the patient of the ability 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 intensification. As a result, the patient may even lose the ability to recognize people close to him. Before this period, long-term memory, which 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.

Such manifestations of the disease as evening exacerbation and vagrancy become common, the patient becomes more irritable, and emotional lability occurs, manifested in spontaneous aggression and crying.

About 30% of patients experience false identification syndrome, as well as a number of symptoms of delirium. Urinary incontinence often develops. The patient's symptoms already lead to stress among 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 unable to cope without the help of strangers. All language skills can be reduced to the point of using single phrases, 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 address to them, emotions addressed to them. This stage can still be accompanied by manifestations of aggression, but most often the prevailing conditions are apathy in combination with exhaustion. From a certain point, in this state, the ability to carry out even basic actions without outside help is lost. There is also a loss muscle mass, movement is carried out with considerable effort. Over time, the patient does not move further than the bed, and a little later he stops feeding himself.

The onset of death is usually accompanied by third-party factors in the form of a pressure ulcer, but not directly due to Alzheimer's disease. Below we will consider a little more specifically the current 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 discussions about money.
• Having difficulty learning new things and creating and retaining new memories.
• The appearance of problems related to speech. So, a phrase can use words that are similar in sound, but differ in semantic content. Taking this into account, the patient, aware of his position and in order to avoid mistakes due to this, may stop talking.
• The ability to concentrate for a long time is lost, the patient loses the ability to visit already familiar places. There is active and aggressive resistance to new things and changes in general.
• A problem arises in organization and logical thinking. Frequent questioning occurs (repeatedly).
• The patient withdraws into himself, loses interest, becomes irritable and uncharacteristically angry when feeling tired. Decision making occurs with serious difficulties.
• The patient forgets to pay for something or, conversely, pays too much. Often the patient forgets to eat, or, conversely, he may eat constantly.
• Things often get lost, and the patient often puts them in the wrong place.

Alzheimer's disease: mid-stage symptoms

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 sleep patterns.
• The patient confuses personalities (that is, he may perceive his wife as a stranger, his son as a brother, etc.).
• Security-related problems are becoming increasingly relevant. As noted earlier, the patient can wander, wander somewhere, easily get poisoned, fall, etc.
• Problems arise with recognizing people and 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 is unable to follow the logical chain of certain explanations.
• The patient may read constantly, but at the same time be unable to formulate the correct answer to questions posed in writing.
• Possible inappropriate behavior (threats, curses, excessive excitement, etc.).
• Family members may be accused of stealing things, and patients often become sloppy.
• Situations may arise with loss of orientation in time. So, the patient may wake up at night and start getting ready for work.
• Conditions are possible in which the patient thinks that a mirror image is haunting him or that the plot of a movie is being repeated in life.
• Need help going to the toilet or shower.
• The patient wears clothing that is not appropriate 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: severe stage symptoms

• The patient is completely removed from his environment and family, although he simply cannot cope without outside help.
• There is silence or, conversely, “gibberish” in conversations, and it also happens that a person is extremely difficult to understand.
• There is a loss of control over bowel movements.
• The patient is losing weight, his skin is cracking.
• Falls and susceptibility to infections are common.
• A person spends a significant part of his time in bed and in sleep in particular.

In general, after diagnosis, patients live for 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 diseases thyroid gland, etc. In particular, to specifically determine Alzheimer’s disease, the following methods are used:

• CT and NMR (computed tomography combined with nuclear magnetic resonance). By carrying out these procedures, it becomes possible to determine the state of the brain, as well as exclude the above diseases.
• , . Determine the presence/absence hormonal disorders, blood diseases, infections, etc.

Treatment

Currently, treatment for 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 weaken/eliminate current symptoms. These medications include medications to improve thinking and memory, as well as medications aimed at treating anxiety and depression.

Additionally, of course, it should be noted the importance of caring for such patients, because they simply need it.

The appearance of symptoms indicating that a person may have Alzheimer's disease requires contacting a neurologist and psychiatrist.

“Autistic burnout” is a term from the autism community that refers to the sudden loss of skills due to chronic stress

Regression in autism, sometimes called “autistic burnout,” refers to the loss of skills or self-regulatory 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 memory capacity.

— Loss of self-care skills.

- Loss of social skills.

- Decreased ability to tolerate sensory or social overload.

Also referred to as a decrease in the overall ability to cope with life's problems or perform all necessary daily tasks.

In some cases we're talking about about a temporary loss of skills (a period from several weeks to several months), after which the person regains his lost abilities. In other cases, the decline in self-regulation skills and mechanisms continues for years. It can be constant or almost constant, where skills are restored but never reach the same level as before.

Often the period of autistic regression begins during or after puberty or during the transition to adult life(late adolescence or twenty-something years old). Middle 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 significant life changes or a period of increased stress.

How true is it to talk about regression?

The phenomenon of loss of skills or self-regulation mechanisms is a reality. However, is it correct to describe what is happening with the word “regression”? This word is used very often, especially by parents or professionals, to describe the loss of skills or abilities of an autistic child, but is rarely used by autistic people themselves. The word is associated with negative associations that can be harmful to a person.

To complicate things, there are several possible meanings of the word regression. The classic Freudian definition, often used by psychologists, views regression as a defense mechanism in which a person abandons his self-regulatory strategies and reverts to behavior from an earlier stage of development. This suggests a desirable loss of strategies and abilities.

More general definition regression is a transition to a lower or less desirable state as a result of:

— progression of the disease (or)

- return to early mental state(or)

- gradual loss of skills or functions as a result of aging.

The first two options—loss of skills due to illness or reversion to an earlier 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 starts puberty, and the hysterics escalate with renewed vigor. This is described as regression, mistakenly suggesting that he returns to the state of an infant.

The same can be said about a small child who is toilet trained, but suddenly begins to experience "missteps" when he goes to the toilet. primary school. Or about young man, who doesn't talk to anyone at all for weeks after starting college. One can look at these people and assume that they have regressed to " early age"or mental state.

But is this 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 eight years old. A thirteen-year-old with daily tantrums is still a thirteen-year-old in mind and body, even if the tantrums resemble those he had as an infant. Although the loss of current self-regulatory strategies may resemble the strategies (or lack thereof) of early development, chronological age is not affected and they may or may not regain abilities associated with the current developmental stage.

So it would be wrong to imply or explain this as a regression to an early stage.

Flexible adaptation

The best analogy is not regression, but the concept that the demands of life have exceeded human resources.

Imagine a hot summer day in the city. All turn on fans and air conditioners to combat the midday heat, exceeding the city's power supply. To cope with the load, the power company may implement partial blackouts—a deliberate reduction in energy supply for each building—or a series of blackouts where some areas receive power while others do not.

The autistic brain seems to work in a similar way when faced with excessive demands on resources. Some days, weeks or months, when the demands of life are too great, our brain decides to do a partial blackout or series of blackouts. Some self-regulatory skills or abilities are temporarily disabled or less effective.

However, this loss of skill is not the same as permanent regression, nor is it the same as the original lack of that skill or strategy. Most people's abilities, including the ability to cope with daily activities, are fluid throughout their lives. Autistic people's abilities seem to be particularly fluid, appearing suddenly at times and then disappearing just as suddenly at other times.

Many of the difficulties associated with autism are pervasive, meaning that they are with us everywhere and always. Even if they are not obvious all the time, they still exist, and they can reappear when a particular self-regulatory strategy is switched off because the brain needs to reallocate resources to a more important task.

When this happens, a previously “fixed” skill may “break” again. In fact, nothing was fixed or broken. It’s just that our fluid self-regulation strategies need to be adjusted and balanced all the time. If a child or adult rarely experiences tantrums, this does not mean that he will not have more tantrums. If something changes in his life, for example, the hormonal storm of puberty begins, then he will need to develop new self-regulation strategies. Until such strategies are developed, he may again experience tantrums as a result of the mental, emotional or sensory overload associated with the changes.

Being autistic means that this kind of fluid adaptation continues throughout your life. We learn something, develop self-regulation strategies, adapt, and everything is fine. Life changes and we need extra time to adapt again. Find new scheme. 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 do things that used to be easy for us, even under the most predictable conditions. This is not a regression early stage development, but the process of adaptation to new difficulties, and this is what we do throughout our lives.

There is an expression: “It’s like riding a bicycle!”, which means:
- A skill that is never forgotten once you master it.
(Wiktionary)

Why does this expression exist? I think it's because neurotypical people have many skills that work that way. If you learn something once, you will never have to learn it again, right? Or perhaps you just need to brush up on some practical skills, after which the skill will return to you quickly and easily.

This second option has worked for me a few times, but more often than not, full skill recovery is not like riding a bike. I know that I am not the only one who has this experience. I see this happen to my autistic son, and I have heard this happen to other autistic people.

I lost a lot of skills and regained them again. When I say they were lost, I literally mean that I lost them, they were completely gone, and I had to relearn them. This has happened to me a lot this year. My skills were disappearing. Here are some examples of what I had to relearn:

(Image description: Red, stress-distorted cartoon faces on a black background)

I like to talk about stress and how I've learned to manage it. First of all, we need to make sure that we understand the word “stress” in the same way. It seems to me that society, more often than not, presents stress as something exclusively negative. I perceive it differently. I view stress as something that causes a feeling of tension or fatigue, which in turn makes a person feel overwhelmed. Some things that can cause stress are unavoidable, while others we at will, we can avoid it. Sometimes stress is caused by negative things, and sometimes by positive things.

A few examples of what I consider negative stress (but this is by no means a complete list):

— Exposure to ableism from others, which can hinder success in self-advocacy.
- Interaction with bigoted people or people whose views are discriminatory, rude and inconsiderate people.
— Trying to adapt to an environment that, due to our sensory differences, is inaccessible or hostile for my family.
— Physical illnesses, injuries and pain.
A few examples of what I consider positive stress (the list is also incomplete):

- Being with a small circle of friends or family members.
- Gardening.
— Karate classes or competitions.
- Activism.

The difference between these two categories is what I can get from them. Negative stress only exhausts me and takes more than it gives. Positive stress, in some ways, can exhaust me, but the benefits of these activities compensate for the stress itself.

I work differently than others. Sometimes I'm full of energy, I do everything so quickly that others are left behind. I feel like I can snap my finger and it'll be done.

Sometimes I have no strength at all. I can't do anything for days or even weeks. Just looking at the trees. I listen to the birds. I walk a lot. I miss deadlines.

This is good. Both options are natural for me.

I didn't always see it as a good thing.

I clearly didn't feel "good" when I had to work eight hours in the office, Monday through Friday. When I had a boost, everything was great, but I had to quit work as soon as my energy ran low again.

There is a dependency between skills. It is different and determined by the actions included in the skill. Knowing English and German languages, it is much easier to master French.

Once you learn to ride a motorcycle, it is easier to master the controls of an airplane. Having the skill of playing basketball, you can learn to play volleyball faster and easier. It is easier for a person who knows how to do gymnastic exercises on parallel bars and a horizontal bar to learn gymnastic exercises on rings, etc.

This dependence between skills, when mastery of one skill contributes to the mastery of others, is called “transfer.” Transfer occurs when skills are similar in type and the methods of performing individual operations are the same. Transfer is based primarily on a person’s general adaptability to perform those actions that he develops in the process of acquiring a skill. Thus, the transfer of skills is much more significant when studying related general structure languages, for example two European ones, than when studying different types languages, for example, the European language and the language of some African people.

At a vocational school. New topic. Artist G. E. SATEL
Today - students, tomorrow - workers, engineers...

Acquiring one skill does not always lead to acquiring another; There is also a negative impact of old skills on the acquisition of new ones.

A football player, who was once a volleyball player, during a football match at a critical moment in the game involuntarily hits the ball with his fist - and now a free kick against his team. A specialist wrestler in freestyle wrestling switched to classical wrestling and, in the midst of the competition, involuntarily tripped up his opponent; he was, of course, counted defeated.

Studying English language, the student involuntarily uses words French. Here, too, there is a certain dependence between skills, but this is no longer a transfer, but, on the contrary, a “mixing” of skills: another involuntarily “interferes” with the process of performing or forming one skill.

The best way to prevent confusion is to assimilate each skill separately as firmly as possible, and also to assimilate them consciously, sharply and clearly contrasting each other.

"LOSS" OF SKILL

The gymnast, who was especially famous for performing the “sun” (rotating on the bar with outstretched arms with an outstretched body), one day, while practicing on the bar mounted in the yard not far from the fence, fell. Having described an arc in the air, he flew over the fence and “landed” safely in a neighboring garden. Although the very frightened gymnast did not receive any bruises or injuries, he lost his skill and forgot how to do the “sun”. Despite repeated attempts, he could no longer complete the exercise.

One good acrobat forever lost the skill of performing the “somersault” after he saw the death of his friend during an unsuccessful execution of this number.

In both of these cases, the skill was destroyed due to mental trauma - after all, there was no physical trauma. A strong shock, in particular experienced horror, severe fright, is the most common reason loss of skill. A skill is sometimes destroyed so much that it cannot be carried out not only automatically, but also voluntarily. Often the cause of the destruction of a skill (especially a complex one) is overwork, more often - the cessation of exercises or a long break from them.

As a result of long breaks in the exercise, what often happens is not a complete loss of skill, but only a decrease in the degree of automation of the action: those operations that were performed automatically, almost without the participation of consciousness, begin to be performed only with its participation, voluntarily. Such a weakening of a skill can also be the result of mental trauma, for example, experienced shame, severe embarrassment, etc.

A girl who danced deftly and gracefully among her loved ones, at an amateur performance evening, out of embarrassment, loses the ability to move “involuntarily”: she begins to watch her every move and dances awkwardly, clumsily, with difficulty. There are known cases when superbly trained gymnasts “failed” an exercise at competitions because, out of excitement, they switched to consciously performing each movement.

Loss of skill can be combatted. So, immediately after an experience that can cause the destruction of a skill, you need to repeat this action again. For example, a drowning person must force himself, immediately after being rescued, to enter the water and swim.

Overcoming fear immediately after failure to perform a skill usually stops the further destructive effect of the experienced shock on the skill.

In order not to lose a complex skill due to a break in its implementation, you need to practice systematically and not take long breaks.

The development of skills is absolutely necessary for a person, otherwise he will not be able to satisfactorily perform labor operations, acquire new knowledge, be an athlete, etc.

It is impossible to fly an airplane without developing the appropriate skills. You cannot work well on a lathe without mastering the necessary skills. You cannot do carpentry without mastering the skills of working with a saw, axe, plane, etc. Doing any work requires mastering special skills, and the more complex the profession, the more complex skills it requires.

An outstanding athlete is fluent in a number of sports skills and, despite this, systematically practices them. An outstanding pianist is also fluent in playing the piano and also practices systematically, etc.

It must be remembered that the degree of mastery of a skill, as well as its strength, most of all depends on systematic and persistent exercises and the desire for continuous improvement of results.