Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Is Your Child Autistic?
The Right Stuff ^ | January 4, 2010 | Denise Clark

Posted on 01/04/2010 7:32:01 AM PST by blackandgoldfan

As many of you know, I'm the mom of two autistic kids. While I've been blessed that they are high-functioning, it has been and continues to be something we struggle with. It can be exhausting.

The last statistics I had read about the prevelance of autism spectrum disorders placed the number at 1 in every 100 kids. That's staggering. Could you imagine the outcry from the gay community if this was AIDS we were talking about? But yet the Washington DC voices remain silent.

(Excerpt) Read more at therightstuffbng.blogspot.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: aspergers; aspergerssyndrome; autism; autismsymptoms; autistic; hope
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-60 last
To: blackandgoldfan

I for one ‘nuked’ the baby bottle and food on plastic plates for older sibling that ‘may’ have affected 19 month old younger bro while he was developing if u follow that article’s theme. That is the closest I have come to an answer as the boys are total opposites...like the movie TWINS with Arnold S. Much older siblings are fine too - but that was before nuking plastics were used as much.


41 posted on 01/04/2010 8:51:16 AM PST by ozlander
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: blackandgoldfan
We have a son, now 20, who was born a little premature. His mother had strep infection and he developed it around his brain. Consequently his frontal lobes were affected and there are holes in this area of his brain.

This area controls all your reasoning ability, so he doesn't think beyond the nose on his face. His doctor says he is high functioning autistic. He can hear a song one time and sit at the piano and play it with the proper notes and chords. He also has perfect pitch. But he doesn't think to close doors after he goes out, gets angry when asked to do chores, etc.

This is a real problem and I feel for all of you who have kids like this. Its definitely a challenge

42 posted on 01/04/2010 8:52:45 AM PST by kingskid
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: blackandgoldfan
We have a son, now 20, who was born a little premature. His mother had strep infection and he developed it around his brain. Consequently his frontal lobes were affected and there are holes in this area of his brain.

This area controls all your reasoning ability, so he doesn't think beyond the nose on his face. His doctor says he is high functioning autistic. He can hear a song one time and sit at the piano and play it with the proper notes and chords. He also has perfect pitch. But he doesn't think to close doors after he goes out, gets angry when asked to do chores, etc.

This is a real problem and I feel for all of you who have kids like this. Its definitely a challenge

43 posted on 01/04/2010 8:52:45 AM PST by kingskid
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: ozlander

To my knowledge, Ritalin (or any other drug), is not prescribed to address Autism. Children with Autism are typically helped with therapy (occupational, speech, etc.) tailored to their distinctive symptoms. If Ritalin or something else is prescribed, it is due to a parallel diagnosis of ADD / ADHD / something else - not Autism.


44 posted on 01/04/2010 8:54:35 AM PST by Graing ("The power of wind, fire... all that kind of thing")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: luckystarmom
•Uneven gross/fine motor skills — Usually the skills swing one way or the other.
Skills extremely good.

•Not responsive to verbal cues
intermittent.

•Little or no eye contact.
Very little.

•Insistance on sameness of routine — Usually a meltdown ensues.
That's a biggie.

•Tantrums for no apparent reason — In the mind of an autistic, the smallest change or thing out of place can result in a full-blown hissy fit.
That's biggie also.

•Speech delays/absence — "Echolalia (parroting lines from movies" or repeating what has been said to them) is also very common.
Took us a while to get used to that.

•A reluctance for social interaction —
She seems to genuinely work hard at overcoming this.

Thanks for posting this - it's always good to know others have a similar struggle and that we are not alone.

45 posted on 01/04/2010 8:57:22 AM PST by Psalm 73 ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here - this is the War Room".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: HospiceNurse; blackandgoldfan

I tried to find a way to contact the author, but couldn’t. I can help, particularly in PA.


Maybe this will help you make contact. Good luck to both of you.


46 posted on 01/04/2010 9:04:31 AM PST by deport (57 DAYS UNTIL THE TEXAS PRIMARY....... MARCH 2, 2010)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: ozlander
And THAT ozlander, is exactly what my neice has, as an arm chair diagnostcian of totally unqualified status sees her situation...she is SO FOCUSED on certain items...with a very acute attention to detail ( ie, don't let her near a cell phone if you want to see it again that day) and yet with a clarity of perception regarding most things that has amazing comments coming out of her four year old mouth. She is also very lengthy in her explanations; she can ramble on for minutes regarding a subject with little attention paid to response.

What does concern me is her lack of empathy...that one gets to me. Otherwise, I love being with her, totally!

47 posted on 01/04/2010 9:08:53 AM PST by Republic (Get the uhbama's, reid's, pelosi's dirty greedy fingers out of our personal medical care!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Psalm 73

Would you be willing to share how old she is?


48 posted on 01/04/2010 9:10:10 AM PST by Republic (Get the uhbama's, reid's, pelosi's dirty greedy fingers out of our personal medical care!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: ozlander
" A lot of geniuses have undiagnosed Aspergers as that generation did not get labels...just were VERY focused on a subject and were seen as genius in their field. "

I believe this.

49 posted on 01/04/2010 9:13:45 AM PST by Republic (Get the uhbama's, reid's, pelosi's dirty greedy fingers out of our personal medical care!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: angcat
Ritalin is a weird drug; I assume with these hyper kids it's used to calm them down....that's why I was surprised a couple of years ago when the doc prescribed a small (5mg) dose for my Mom to actually 'energize' her from her stuporous condition due to Alzheimers.

It didn't help, but I assume it didn't hurt - we eventually took it out of the regimin.

50 posted on 01/04/2010 9:17:48 AM PST by ErnBatavia (It's not the Obama Administration....it's the "Obama Regime".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: HamiltonJay

Good to know. Denial can be a genuine enemy.


51 posted on 01/04/2010 10:49:04 AM PST by Republic (Get the uhbama's, reid's, pelosi's dirty greedy fingers out of our personal medical care!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: Republic
"Would you be willing to share how old she is?"

Sure - she turned 8 last October.
We home-school her, thank God.

52 posted on 01/04/2010 10:54:02 AM PST by Psalm 73 ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here - this is the War Room".)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: Psalm 73

God Bless you! That is just so GOOD to know! I am glad she is being home schooled.


53 posted on 01/04/2010 10:56:58 AM PST by Republic (Get the uhbama's, reid's, pelosi's dirty greedy fingers out of our personal medical care!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: dog breath

I agree with many of your conclusions, but personally I think the high diagnosis rates are due to the incredibly broad criteria and levels that are not classified in this “spectrum”.

Was a time you had to be very severe to even think of being diagnosed with autism or one of the diseases in the spectrum. Now just being a little different socially can be enough to be classified as highly functional.

Some folks are and always have been different, weird, unique, eccentric, whatever term you care to use. Now most outside the norm can fit a diagnosis in the autism spectrum.

There is a huge difference between the severe cases and the mild cases, but yet they all show up as that 1 in 100. In reality I bet the truly severe cases are far far lower than that.. but its not beyond the pale that 1% of the population dances to a different drummer than most of the rest.


54 posted on 01/04/2010 11:05:49 AM PST by HamiltonJay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: kingskid
But he doesn't think to close doors after he goes out, gets angry when asked to do chores, etc.

Well, can you tell me a 20 year old boy who doesn't exhibit those traits? :)

55 posted on 01/04/2010 11:09:34 AM PST by HamiltonJay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: blackandgoldfan

bump


56 posted on 01/04/2010 12:19:02 PM PST by jonno (Having an opinion is not the same as having the answer...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blackandgoldfan

This link is to the 1st video of a series of 11. If you have children or grandchildren then I implore you to watch all.

http://www.youtube.com/user/informationsansprix#p/c/5B173BE99A025F19/0/32D_nIGtSnw


57 posted on 01/04/2010 2:06:33 PM PST by GregNH (Re-Elect "No Body")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blackandgoldfan
Anyone who would use the diagnosis of autism (or any other disability)just to get out of parenting shouldn’t have kids to begin with.

I personally know several parents with headbangers they've never disciplined, and who were only too delighted to find out their kid has...ADHD. Ahhh-ha!... Well that explains everything; it explains why Johnny gets bad grades, bites other kids, throws his crayons, won't listen, etc. ...It's not MY fault.

58 posted on 01/04/2010 2:23:34 PM PST by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Lancey Howard

That’s a sad statement to be able to make. Parenting under normal circumstances is hard, and anyone who is happy about getting a spectrum diagnosis just so they can justify their lax parenting is deplorable, IMO. It paints all parents of spectrum kids with a broad brush when that is not the case.

There always seems to be people looking for a free ride and are willing to cheapen the gravity of the matter to get one. Despicable!


59 posted on 01/04/2010 2:48:11 PM PST by blackandgoldfan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: dog breath

I’ve told my 16-year-old son that if this were the middle ages, he’d likely be considered a genius, and I might be considered something of an imbecile. With our culture’s emphasis on sociability, communication skills, and, bluntly, faking emotions to fit it, he gets a diagnosis. It is partially cultural expectations, but it is also a neurological disorder of the frontal lobe. People with Asperger’s/Autism simply do not have the neurological connections that “most” people have. My son (16) and husband have Asperger’s, and although they are high-functioning, it is good that they know how and when their brain shuts down so they can live more comfortably in a full-color world in which they only see black and white.


60 posted on 02/13/2010 7:06:26 PM PST by federalist1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-60 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson