Wellness

[LilacTree]

My brother just told me yesterday.  We suspected he was more than just "slow" in progressing, but we never really talked about anything serious.  (I would have, but my brother did not want to and I knew that).  He is 72 and idolizes his new little grandson (and vice versa).

He's a bright child, but does not talk, and his physical limitations are not improving.  He is a year and a half old now.  He is working with a therapist.

He had all the usual vaccines and inoculations every baby gets . . . and I'm wondering if that very controversial practice applies here.  I have been on the fence on the subject.

Any opinions on this?

[proudlyfromNJ]

Does he live in NJ? They have one of the highest rates of autism in the country.

[Justice4all]

I know that working with autistic children from the earliest age has the best results.  Proper stimulation and therapy has been very successful.

[Q4u]

The science has been firmly behind there being no connection between the preservatives in these vacines and autism.  I understand there may be political and/or monetary reasons behind that assessment.  However, as much as this has been publicised... I lean towards the science.

I am truly sorry this has happened to your dear little grand-nephew.  There is now wonderful and successful programs and teachers that can help him realize his full potential and starting that training really early will also be beneficial.  I wish your family the very, very best outcome....  

[LilacTree]

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@proudlyfromNJ wrote:

Does he live in NJ? They have one of the highest rates of autism in the country.

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@proudlyfromNJ

Yes, Sussex County.  What's the correlation to NJ?

[chrystaltree]

First, drop that innoculations thing.  That was debunked years ago and professionals in the field never believed it anyway.  Familes so often look for the "why" when often there is no "why".  I suppose they want reassurance that nothing they did or failed to do caused the condition.  The good news here is that the child was diagnosed early and is receiving the treatment and therapy and support  that he and his family need.   That should make you happy. 

[2blonde]

@LilacTree  Oh, please don't despair.  There are so many different levels of autism.  A co-worker has an autistic son who is now about 5-1/2 years old, and when you meet him you'd be hard pressed to know there was anything wrong.  He is very functional, but as you would guess, he is not a big talker.  They have worked with him since he was small, so I'm sure that helped him a lot.

I honestly can't figure out why we have so many autistic children these days.  To me it goes along with so many kids being allergic to peanuts. These things were unheard of when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Something sure is going on, but I don't believe it's related to the vaccinations.  I hope someone figures it out soon.  I offer my best wishes for the best outcome in this challenging situation.

[LilacTree]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

First, drop that innoculations thing.  That was debunked years ago and professionals in the field never believed it anyway.  Familes so often look for the "why" when often there is no "why".  I suppose they want reassurance that nothing they did or failed to do caused the condition.  The good news here is that the child was diagnosed early and is receiving the treatment and therapy and support  that he and his family need.   That should make you happy. 

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@chrystaltree

It does.  And he is loved by all of us.  So he's a happy little boy.

[Q4u]

I found two articles, one from 2016 and one from 2014...

http://www.nj.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2016/04/njs_autism_rate_higher_than_ever_-_but_rest_of_the.htm...

http://archive.northjersey.com/news/report-new-jersey-s-autism-rate-is-the-highest-in-the-u-s-1.7526...

[LilacTree]

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@2blonde wrote:

@LilacTree  Oh, please don't despair.  There are so many different levels of autism.  A co-worker has an autistic son who is now about 5-1/2 years old, and when you meet him you'd be hard pressed to know there was anything wrong.  He is very functional, but as you would guess, he is not a big talker.  They have worked with him since he was small, so I'm sure that helped him a lot.

I honestly can't figure out why we have so many autistic children these days.  To me it goes along with so many kids being allergic to peanuts. These things were unheard of when I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Something sure is going on, but I don't believe it's related to the vaccinations.  I hope someone figures it out soon.  I offer my best wishes for the best outcome in this challenging situation.

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@2blonde

It might be Aspergers, which is a higher functioning form of autism.  Knowing my brother, he will spare no cost to get the best possible treatment for our little guy.