Posted on 09/24/2006 10:45:49 PM PDT by Coleus
Maybe the numbers are going up because the definition of autism has expanded to include just about any kind of behavior:
Each is affected differently. Some will actually talk too much -- about a single, obsessed-over topic, like dinosaurs. They may not understand the nuances of language or the appropriate distance for a conversation. They may eat nothing but white-colored foods and sleep erratically.
Is is television?
Amen. This is something that all of us parents of "less than perfect" children need to hear from time to time.
I mean, is technology fueling this or triggering this? I don't know if I should trust what these people are saying. They are saying it is part genetic and part environmental. Maybe it is genetic in the sense that the brain is genetically able to be short-circuited when the environment becomes hostile to its development. I don't know. I see the explosive ADHD and wonder why. My musing should not be taken as an accusation against any parent. I just don't know. But it's scary to see that this is happening and no one telling why.
I've known quite a few kids with Autism and their wonderful parents.
Quite the vocation to raise these differently brain mapped lads.
Much respect to those who perservere with this disability for both the one afflicted and the careproviders.
Those who unlock the key usually find a brilliant mind in some venue.
Sad thing is that public education and liberal fund chasers rarely benefit the those in need of support and intervention.
It boils down to parents who provide outstanding care and intervention to their kids.
JMO and exp.
By age 9 he began "whooping", "flapping" and hiding from the vacuum. He had gradually become more and more active over the years (climbing the walls) but it wasn't until he turned nine that I finally figured out he was trying to escape from stimulation. The poor kid was climbing the walls. I took him to a neurologist.
The neurologist saw what I saw and agreed that it did look like autism, but he wanted to run other tests before we went down that road. After tons of blood-work, gluten was discovered to be the root of the problem. Wheat, oats, rye and barley. We changed his diet and had a new kid in less than a month. The change was dramatic. (I'd tried other doctors over the years, but they all said "ADD" and I just couldn't accept that. My "gut" told me that something else was going on. Some days I'm very happy to be a stubborn woman!)
That same year he was diagnosed with T1 diabetes and his progress slowed a little bit. But after all that, he's only a year behind in school and tested (just this month!) college-level reading. He's calm, average in maturity, intelligent and loves to have his feet rubbed for the first time in his life. I have a snuggly kid!
Only God knows what would've happened if I hadn't gotten him to the right doctor at the right time, but I doubt he'd be floating over a cute girl's phone number.
I absolutely love Sowell but I have enough experience with this to know that if several of the autism markers are there, the child is somewhere on the wide autism spectrum. He's right that if it's ONLY late talking and spinning, that doesn't make for a full diagnosis.
Social interaction is subtle and very fine-tuned. Because it is, when a child definitely does not understand or take part in normal social interaction, that's a huge red flag. And that is present in the severely to mildly affected child with autism. It only takes one sitting with a well child to get this. A shy child will withdraw, but that is not part of the autism repertoire so even a withdrawn child doesn't look autistic.
For me it's become like that Senator's definition of porn. Ah knows it when ah sees it.
My first child has Asperger's, the condition on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. His social interactions were not normal, even some of his better ones. Even when he engaged in conversation it would be only on his terms and he didn't know when to stop. The tantrums he threw daily from age 3 to age 8 were beyond anything I thought I'd have to endure as a parent. Only if you have a child like this could you understand what I mean.
My third child was a late talker, like Sowell's child. Everyone out there screening late-to-speak tots is screening in part to rule out autism. But before any formal tests were done, it was obvious to all his doctors that he was not on the spectrum. He would hug the doctors. He would listen to them and respond with eye contact and a smile. He would mind his mother and sit where she told him. Not only was he "neurotypical" (or normal), but he was obviously an extrovert as well. And that has proven correct. He's 3.5 now, and I can count on one hand the short tantrums he's had in his life, usually when tired or sick.
But when someone tells me their child does body movements over and over in an attempt to self-soothe, gets unbelievably upset when something he thought would happen doesn't (running too late, no time to pick up a smoothie, say), talks forever about one specific subject (Pokemon, dishwasher brands, elevators), and prefers playing alone to being with others, I start thinking "spectrum." And if I meet him and he's a cutie but has that "one bubble off plumb" social interacting, I know he's got autism in one way or another.
Back in the day when Phil Donahue has his tv show, he used to do shows about food allergies and how they affected kids. So many parents talked about the same behaviors you just posted before diagnosing the specific allergy. I know gluten was a big one as my mother in law also had gluten allergies her entire life.
I really wonder about this sudden rise in "autism". Seems every 15-20 everyone jumps on the bandwagon when the good doctors come up with a new "label" for kids.
My son Matthew will turn five in October. He was diagnosed at 2 and 1/2. My father told me that he thought he might have autism. As a father, I shrugged it off and bought into the "he's just a late talker" and because he had a sister come along less than a year later - which some say causes kids to regress.
Anyway, once he was diagnosed we received help from the State of Illinois through their early development program. I will say it was the very first time I ever saw a government program actually do good. Very little beauracracy and a whole lot of hands on help. We had Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, and a variety of other therapists came to OUR home and work with Matthew for months. Fortunately for us, my wife was a stay at home mom and I work from home so we were able to spend an enormous amount of time with him, but hands down Matthew made his greatest progress while working with these people.
the only downside was that they were only able to offer their help until he turned 3. I wish the program would have lasted until he turned 5. Matthew recently said "daddy" for the first time and needless to say, I was in tears. He is enrolled in public schools now and this is his first year so we will see how he does, but the people from this program gave us hope and taught us how to work with him. I pray for those who have similar children or who work for these children - they are a gift from God.
I know gluten was a big one as my mother in law also had gluten allergies her entire life.
Last spring I worked in a special needs preschool. They now have a whole class set aside for children with autism. Those children are classically autistic. The more subtle ones (or the ones whose parents fear an autism only classroom) ended up in my class.
I was under the impression that autistic kids throughout the school district were bussed to this school in order to fill the class. I quickly found that is not so and several other schools in my district are opening autistic only classes.
What a great post! Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to describe your experience in such detail.
People tend to find what they expect to find. It's just so easy for us to take every clue or sign and make it fit what we are seeking. It's not a conscious thing, and certainly not a devious thing, it's just human nature.
I remember a study done by opponents of the death penalty. They went into a prison and did their work with inmates who were on death row. Guess what, they found that people on death row don't think the death penalty is a good idea. Duh.
Your experience is very valuable to parents who are struggling with kids that don't fit the norm. My heart really goes out to them. My wife has been the director of a preschool program for 30 years. Every year there's at least one, usually several, children whose parents are at the end of their rope. Her advice to them is that medication for ADD or ADHD should be a LAST resort.
Again, thank you for sharing!
I feel for you. Children are surely a gift from God, and all loving parents want the best for them. I wish you, your son, and your family continued blessings from God.
One possible explanation...
bump for later reading...
Great post and thread. Thanks to all contributors.
Like every other disease out there, it is a combination of factors. Some types of early-age TV could be a contributor along with other electronic gadgetry. Then I would suspect hereditary factors and the parents predisposition inculcated through the environment. Diet may play a role, perhaps specific foods. Environment might also figure in too. In short any one thing is not going to cause it nor will the absence of any one or two things prevent it.
Will you please be sure to post the rest of the series. My brother has triplets, 2 girls and a boy. One of the girls has autism. She was diagnosed before she turned two, and has had therapists coming to the house to work with her one on one and now she has started school. It was my dad who insisted that there was something wrong. Everyone else said she was shy and overwhelmed by the other two. She turned 3 this past May and she still has not spoken although her eye contact has improved. It is absolutely heart wrenching. The girls are identical, when you see pictures of them you can see a difference, one has a spark in her expression and the other really looks like she is in a shell.
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.