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 ...
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.
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
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
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.
•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.
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.
What does concern me is her lack of empathy...that one gets to me. Otherwise, I love being with her, totally!
Would you be willing to share how old she is?
I believe this.
It didn't help, but I assume it didn't hurt - we eventually took it out of the regimin.
Good to know. Denial can be a genuine enemy.
Sure - she turned 8 last October.
We home-school her, thank God.
God Bless you! That is just so GOOD to know! I am glad she is being home schooled.
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.
Well, can you tell me a 20 year old boy who doesn't exhibit those traits? :)
bump
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
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.
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!
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.
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