Wellness

[Imadickens]

I have mentioned working with Autistic children for my last ten years of teaching. I got the placement because I was tenured and the program in which I work was closed. I was always interested in Autism having seen several documentaries on it. As it turned out, my daughter married the younger brother of an adult male who is profoundly autistic. I took Master level courses in teaching kids on spectrum and worked with Autism Speaks. I continue to wonder what causes so many kids to become autistic? I have spoken to many parents of children on the spectrum, at different stages. I am NOT trying to start a controversy, I am seriously interested in hearing from those who have intimate knowledge of Autism, either as a close family member, medical professional, educator, or other. Much has been argued about immunology being involved. I have no real thoughts on the cause although I believe we bombard infants with too many shots at once. I know that has been ruled out as the cause so I was hoping you might have ideas. Those of you who have given birth to, or have a close relative who has, might have certain feelings. I'm hoping for discussion only, no arguments please. The MDs in my immediate family always gave credence to "mother's feelings" when it comes to children's health issues. I am also interested in what age child showed signs and what intervention was started and when. What results did you see? Thank you so much for responding, if you choose to. I will respect all ideas.

[cherry]

My cousins son is autistic. He has done very well for himself . He went to special schools. He has a job in a grocery store and drives a car. He inter acts with people. He is an only child.So he didn't have siblings to learn from.

His mother was a diabetic

I don't know if that could have contributed to his condition.

There a a young man in our neighborhood I am a bit concerned about. He is never in school it seems. He is outdoors playing all the time. He is quite athletic and is almost always alone

We used to worry when we drove past his house because he would shoot out in front of you on a skate board, skates, or a bike. I've never seen him with a parent and he never seems to be dressed warm when the weather is cold. He was out in 31 degree weather in just jeans and a Tshirt.

I feel sorry for him. He is a strapping lad, and doesn't look like he is neglected. He is nicely dressed, always clean looking, and is the right weight for his height One of my friends saw him riding his bike on Christmas Day ,without a coat. I don't know if he sneaks out ,and his parents don't know he has left, or they think it's OK, to go out like that

[lbwshop]

My 36-year-old daughter has Asberger's.  She didn't receive the myriad of immunizations that are recommended now, but those that were required years ago.  There were no problems in her childhood.  She could always play alone very well, but she was an only child.  Her problems seemed to begin late in high school.  While I do NOT believe that any specific immunization causes autism, I do think that children are give too many, too close together.  Why should infants who are never going to be in day care have to have Hepatitis B shots?  There is no harm in individualism.  By the way, I am a retired Obstetric RN, so have some knowledge of the subject.  When I was a child,an original baby-boomer--1946--there were  many kids on the "odd" end of the spectrum, but we just worked around their quirks.  I don't know anyone who ended up as anything but a relatively normal adult--some still fidget, some still don't have great social skills, but all work within the human race.  Not sure if overdiagnosis is a problem now.

[Imadickens]

@cherry Thank you for posting! I wonder how many other mothers of autistic kids are diabetic! As for the neighbor boy, how kind of you to be concerned! You are right, tho, I had students who were so head-strong that the parents had little effect on him as he grew up. If he wanted to ride his bike NOW it meant dressed as he was at that minute as he had no ability to wait for anything and was unable to connect his actions with any consequences (like frost bite).There are some behavior modification programs that have shown promise, but I have only seen them begun on pre-school aged children. How nice your cousin has done so well! Actually, I think we all are a bit autistic in some way. Before I had to retire due to my injury, (I fell at work and severely broke my foot) I attended a conference and we learned about the new method of diagnosing Autism. I think the rise in cases is due to number of previously missed cases. In other words, I'm not sure more children are becoming Autistic just more are being diagnosed, which is why the new guidelines for diagnosis.

[Imadickens]

@lbwshop You make a great point! Yes, I was a boomer and I remember the "odd" kids of whom you spoke. Yes, they all grew to be productive adults. I have wondered if the diagnosis alone caused a child to underachieve! Like the " rise to the lowest bar set for you" idea. In our school days, if one weren't MR they were in regular classes and expected to pass (at least with a D). Those w/ behavior issues saw the principal who dealt w/ him. Interesting thought. Thank you!

[Mz iMac]

A relative has Asperger syndrome.  Diagnosed at the age of 2.

IQ off the charts for math, the sciences & technology all because of an all-absorbing interest in those subjects.  By the age of 3 this relative somehow taught themselve's to read as well as master all levels of adult video games.

Socially this person is normal in the way of eye contact.  Has loads of friends & an active social life. 

From toddler - pre teen while watching tv, this person would space out until you say "earth to xxxxx."  This spacing out preceded flailing of the arms.  With repetitiously home & school "focus" training, this stopped around the age of 11 or 12. 

Graduated from hs at the age of 16 & currently is a 3rd yr student at MIT where his all absorbing interests in the previously mentioned subjects comes in pretty handy.

Parents told the family that children w/Asperger's are called little professors in the medical field.  Can you confirm that?

[chrystaltree]

You are free to believe whatever you want to believe but the theory that there is link between autism and immunizations was debunked years ago.  Very few, if any, professionals ever believed it.  If you really were a specialist in this area, you'd know why so many kids are being diagnosed with it now. 

[Mrsq2022]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

You are free to believe whatever you want to believe but the theory that there is link between autism and immunizations was debunked years ago.  Very few, if any, professionals ever believed it.  If you really were a specialist in this area, you'd know why so many kids are being diagnosed with it now. 

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I too was wondering about this.  The term "profoundly autistic" is one I've never heard used by a practitioner.  Low-functioning or classical autism versus high functioning are how I now hear these farthest ends of the spectrum described.  High functioning used to be aspergers.

Autism has always been here.  In my personal experience, I feel that because so many other disorders can be detected in vitro and often terminated before birth, classical autism is the disorder we "see" more than Down's syndrome and others, so it gets discussed a lot.  

We know that more children are being diagnosed as "high functioning" or what we called aspergers syndrome before.  Those children weren't diagnosed in the past.  I can assure you, they were out there but they might have been "nerds" or quirky, or social outcasts depending on whether they found others they could relate to.  My deceased single uncle was probably on the spectrum but no one was diagnosed in the 1940s and 50s.  He sure fit the criteria.

Is there actually an increase in classical or low-functioning autism or is is just an increase across the spectrum?  An increase in the rate of low-functioning autism would be concerning, but I've never heard this was the case.

[Mona_L]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

You are free to believe whatever you want to believe but the theory that there is link between autism and immunizations was debunked years ago.  Very few, if any, professionals ever believed it.  If you really were a specialist in this area, you'd know why so many kids are being diagnosed with it now. 

  @chrystaltree

Can always count on your quick wit for taking a thread to its lowest level.   An expert in autism understands the education needed for instruction (e.g. mands, positive reinforcement, etc.)   How could the OP know 100% what causes this dreaded syndrome, no one does.

[K9buddy]

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@cherry wrote:

My cousins son is autistic. He has done very well for himself . He went to special schools. He has a job in a grocery store and drives a car. He inter acts with people. He is an only child.So he didn't have siblings to learn from.

His mother was a diabetic

I don't know if that could have contributed to his condition.

There a a young man in our neighborhood I am a bit concerned about. He is never in school it seems. He is outdoors playing all the time. He is quite athletic and is almost always alone

We used to worry when we drove past his house because he would shoot out in front of you on a skate board, skates, or a bike. I've never seen him with a parent and he never seems to be dressed warm when the weather is cold. He was out in 31 degree weather in just jeans and a Tshirt.

I feel sorry for him. He is a strapping lad, and doesn't look like he is neglected. He is nicely dressed, always clean looking, and is the right weight for his height One of my friends saw him riding his bike on Christmas Day ,without a coat. I don't know if he sneaks out ,and his parents don't know he has left, or they think it's OK, to go out like that

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Why wouldn't you call CPS and report this?  On some level it is parental neglect if they don't know where their child is or if he's doing something he shouldn't be doing.