Einstein Syndrome: characteristics, symptoms and how it affects children.

Einstein syndrome is a developmental phenomenon in children that can be confused with autism.

We understand Einstein syndrome as a delay in the onset of speech; when it occurs, the child does not meet the developmental milestones that should have been achieved according to his or her age.

This delay in speech or the slower maturation process is not a marker of pathology, since in children with Einstein syndrome we observe high intellectual capacities, especially in analytical and creative thinking. Likewise, they also show good motor skills, a high memory capacity and restricted interests that refer to presenting a great interest in some subjects.

Thus, this syndrome does not appear in any diagnostic manual, and it is necessary to continue researching and studying to learn more about it. But it has been found useful as a differential diagnosis of autism, thus preventing children with slower language development from being misclassified as autistic.

In this article we will see what Einstein syndrome is and what are its defining characteristics and symptoms.

What is Einstein syndrome?

Einstein syndrome is defined as a delay in the appearance of speech. Children who develop it do not speak or speak incompletely when by age they should have this ability more developed..

In general terms, it has been established as a criterion that children should be able to express one-word sentences or expressions by the age of 1 year, a period known as the holophasic period; at 2 years of age, they should be able to combine the first words, from two to more words, in a single sentence. (this is known as telegraphic speech); at 3 years of age there is an increase in vocabulary; and at 4 years of age the child's vocabulary is already similar to that of an adult.

We can see that these are quite specific periods, but not all children meet them in the same way. It has been observed that 15% of the population develops language late.. Among them are children with Einstein syndrome, who, as we have already pointed out, will begin to speak later, but once the ability is acquired, they will not suffer any affectations or alterations that indicate a delay in the onset. Similarly, it is also observed that they are subjects who are advanced in other areas, especially in analytical and creative thinking.

This syndrome was described and named by the American economist Thomas Sowell, with the main function of distinguishing subjects with delayed speech onset from children diagnosed with autism. Currently we know that a symptom of autism can be the delay in the appearance of language, but this symptom is not specific or determinant of this condition; delay can be observed, but the other criteria for a diagnosis of autism will not always be met.

If we look at the name of the syndrome, we see that it honors the well-known and important scientist of the honors the well-known and important scientist of the XX century Albert Einstein.. this fact is due to the fact that Einstein began to speak late, he did not formulate a complete sentence until he was 5 years old, but this later development of this ability did not prevent his intellectual capacities from progressing adequately and he became a genius.

Defining symptoms of Einstein syndrome.

As we have seen, the term "Einstein syndrome was coined by Sowell." Sowell later joined Stephen Camarata in developing an investigation into what characteristics are characteristic of people with this syndrome. The main criterion we know is that the child does not show normal progress in the appearance of speech, but there are other symptoms that can indicate that he or she does indeed have this syndrome. there are other symptoms that may indicate that he or she does indeed have this syndrome..

Some of these characteristics are: outstanding abilities in analytical or musical skills, with a mastery of technologies above their age; great memory capacity; great stubbornness (it is difficult to convince these people to do something they do not want to do); selective interests, especially related to music or creativity; delayed ability to control urination and go to the bathroom; when something interests them they focus their attention completely on it; they show difficulties in verbal communication in the early years, acquiring the proper construction of a sentence no earlier than 4 years of age and show good development of motor skills. In addition, they often have relatives with high analytical or musical skills;

The diagnosis

It is normal for us as parents to keep an eye on how our child is evolving, worrying if we see that he or she is not meeting the milestones set for each age. Our mind starts to imagine the worst situations, thinking that he or she may have a serious problem, an intellectual disability or autism. But there are other known conditions that also cause language delays.

Einstein syndrome does not appear as a disorder in any diagnostic manual, since it has been observed that its defining characteristics are not determinants of this disorder; i.e., there are characteristics of this syndrome that are also present in other disorders, there are characteristics of this syndrome that are also present in subjects without pathology, and not all subjects with this syndrome have superior intellectual abilities.. Thus, it will be necessary to continue research on this pathology because currently the information we have about it is scarce.

But the diagnosis of this condition does help us to differentiate and not to make an early diagnosis of autism spectrum syndrome. If we look at the criteria described in the previous section, we see that some of them coincide or can also be present in autistic disorder, such as the main symptom of speech delay or restricted interests.

It is for this reason that the two authors defined the Einstein syndrome in order to reduce the overdiagnosis or misdiagnosis of autism.. We must keep in mind that placing someone in a category, labeling him/her, entails a series of effects such as the need for treatment or different treatment, for example, at school. Therefore, it is important that before classifying a subject within a category, a disorder, we make sure that he/she really meets the criteria.

But autism is not the only diagnosis similar to this condition. There is a disorder in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, called language disorderThis disorder also presents alterations in expressive and comprehensive language, although it tends to persist and not improve as happens with children with Einstein syndrome.

As we have said, not all children develop in the same way and this does not imply that they have a disorder, nor do all subjects with pathologies have the same characteristics, thus making it difficult to assign a diagnosis at an early age, since the little ones still have to develop and we do not know with certainty how this process will be.

Likewise, it is essential to take into account the warning signs or the most common milestones that children show at each age, but always bearing in mind that these are not determinants or direct causes of a disability or serious mental health problem. If we have doubts about whether our child may have some kind of affectation, the best thing to do is to consult with a professional to rule out possible pathologies and, if any problem is detected, to intervene and treat it as soon as possible. to rule out possible pathologies and in the case of detecting any problem to intervene and treat as soon as possible, since in this way we prevent them from evolving to more serious alterations.

How is Einstein syndrome treated?

Once the diagnosis has been made and all the possible pathologies that can be linked to the symptoms shown by the child have been assessed, the most appropriate treatment adapted to the particular subject is established and scheduled. We try to make the intervention as personalized as possible, since each individual is different, with different difficulties, abilities and environments.

In this way, the most characteristic difficulties of each subject are assessed in order to treat them.. For example, we look at whether the language problem is only expressive (this means that it presents alterations in its mode of expression with a reduced vocabulary extension and without formulating sentences in a complete way), or if it also shows affectations in comprehension.

If comprehension is impaired, it is already understood that expression will also be affected and that, therefore, the impairment will be more serious and will require another type of treatment. These subjects, apart from a difficulty in speech, also have problems to understand what they are told, to understand the information they receive.

In short, we understand Einstein syndrome as a way of categorizing subjects with speech difficulties, but who often end up developing high capacities and important achievements, always bearing in mind that it is not defined as a medical condition and it is not known for sure what influence it receives from the environment and what percentage is due to genes. It should also be remembered that each child has different times of maturation and development, being this fact completely normal, with no need to be alarmed by it.