rising cases of autism

[Brocksmom]

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6947652/

Here's a link to an article about the rising cases of Autism. The same thing has been going on w/ adhd in the past couple years too. As the article says it is unsure if it's due to more awarness or environmental,or childhood immunizations, among other things. Could that be the case, or is it just how the brain is "wired" or both?

[catatonic]

Or to the increasingly unwholesome nature of the foods that we buy. They're loaded with corn syrup and msg and an entire chemical soup of non-food ingredients. The majority of the corn and soy and canola used in the U.S. is genetically modified, which has profound health implications for all of us. Our drinking water is far from pure, and in the face of continually weakening environmental regulation in order to avoid harming industry profits, is only becoming worse. Combine that with a vulnerable brain that's less able to withstand the onslaught of toxic nutrition, and climbing rates of these mysterious neurological impairments aren't a surprise. Okay, guess I'll get off my soapbox now!

[Brocksmom]

now...... tell us how you really feel ;D ;D ;D

[catseye]

Could divorce rates have anything to do with the rise in autism diagnosis?

I may be way off base, but in my sd's situation, I think it has ALOT to do with the divorce...

[AnneM]

catseye said:

Could divorce rates have anything to do with the rise in autism diagnosis?

I may be way off base, but in my sd's situation, I think it has ALOT to do with the divorce...

Cats .. this is an interesting viewpoint ... and I hasten to add I know VERY little about autism ... but my 'immediate reaction' was that surely autism is THERE within a person and has nothing to do with events happening in their lives ... ??

BUT then I thought hey maybe if autism is an "already present" (but latent condition) this could perhaps be brought on by the trauma of a divorce...? And in fact COULD this be the same scenario (in part) with when the MMR jabs have been accused of autism in the respect that they were "bringing out" an already present condition? OR??

I really want to learn more and I am finding this thread very interesting ... and as you can see I am swimming in confusion (and a lot of ignorance!) right now !! ...

[loveforeric]

I think most of you know that 3 of my 4 children have Autism. So I live in the world of tyring to get them to let me communicate with them. All 3 do have speech, which I will tell you can be very useless if the child is a Visual learner like my 3. It can be more frustrating for them to know they can speak but don't know how to use the speech.

We are always in research mode except in th efact that Autism is Neurological and environmental factors can make the behaviors and the anxieties much more pronounced. I know that when my ds6 is making a growling sound or monotone noise over and over again he has been affected by something in the environment whether the school gave him the wrong food. Or like When my ds10 can become so overwhelmed by the sound of the lights in his Spec. ed class that he has to be able to sit under the table or the bed for about 15 minutes to calm himself. Oh man, I am sorry, I am just a big blabber mouth. Don't have anyone to talk to about Autism like I do with you all.

One more thing though, My ds10 was first dx'd with ADHD when he was 7. Then when we took him to a Nuero Psych. She Dx'd him as having Autism with ADHD Sx.

Have a peaceful day,
Christina

[Kaiti]

Christina, do the neurologists point ot any thing specific? Like for instance genetic, as adhd is linked?

And can I ask, are the 3 of them alike in a lot of ways, or are they classified in different realms?

What I do like is that on All My Children, Lily, Jack's daughter is breaking stereo types cast about autism

[tridlette]

I have autistic children in my scout troops, and the spectrum is so broad between the kids. Christina lives the challenge every single day, and so I bow to here knowledge on that, but I have to agree, the stimuli play such a role in every thing in every single day.

John sits quietly with his headphones and "tunes out" all the world when we take him into a new setting. Lucas likes the comfort of familiarity too. We went bowling this weekend, and he had a blast bowling, as long as the bumpers were up... he bowled a great game, and never hit the bumpers... but the comfort of having them in place allowed him the freedom to try. Trevor wouldn't bowl, because (?) he wasn't comfortable trying something new. And Justin, well, we had him at a picnic in the backyard the other night... he decided he wanted to try something new... he spent hours on the next door neighbor's swing set... up and down, up and down, up and down!

Each of the boys comes from the same town, but very different family settings. John lives with both bio parents and bio brother, all of whom are smart and socially awkward. Lucas is only child in a single parent household, never has met dad, mom is a button pusher. Trevor lives with bio mom and bio brother, and step dad. SD and brother are friendly and outgoing, nothing bothers them, Mom struggles to feel comfy in any setting that is new to her, but not the kind of lady anyone would consider in the autistic spectrum. Then Justin is one of 4 kids living with bio family. Sister and both brothers are mild LD's, one in reading help, one in speech... but otherwise just a typical family.

So... let's see. I can't blame the environment when there are millions of "normal" kids in the Phila. region, and I can't explain heredity in all 4 boys,

I go for the underlying situation which is triggered by something emotional or traumatic (like vaccines or family separation)

It is way to complex a syndrome to have only one cause! But I still believe that what we do here, share ideas and thoughts, is such a huge step toward identifying the root causes, and trying to find a solution (not a cure... because in some ways, I almost envy the autistic people, having a special way of coping with everyday stresses!)

God bless the families living and loving their autistic kids!

[finnmom]

i think it´s mostly the raising awareness of these thing´s and the fact that doc´s do tend to make more dx´s now a day´s than before, I think that´s expecially true with adhd-dx´s...seem´s like they are everywhere.

As far as MMR-vaccination´s, the same conversation goes on in here too. I just resently saw a study from Netherland´s where they compared group of vaccinated and non-vaccinated kid´s and both group´s had equall amount of autism-case´s

I think I agree Trid, there is no simple explanation to all this, but the living situation´s, developing sience and all that cause´s the "raising amount of autism"....

[catseye]

I know that when my ds6 is making a growling sound or monotone noise over and over again

WOW!! You explained the noise that my sd makes to a T!! Or rather used to make, it has now graduated to more of a humm... For my sd it was always when she was concentrating, and she started it before she was 2 years old...

Sorry just a bit of a shock to find someone who KNOWS what I mean when i say she growls.... Happy shock too!! I hate feeling so, I guess different is the best word....

cat

[Kaiti]

Trid, that makes sense, pertaining to the trauma.

The boy at the program usually walks around in circles if there is something going on that he wasn't expecting. Whether it is a change or something didn't happen that he thought was going to happen, etc.


Is it best to let the child calm himself/herself down, or should a basic intervention or distraction from the situation be better? Most of the time the little boy isn't hurting anything or anyone, so is it best to let him be?

[tridlette]

kaiti said:

Is it best to let the child calm himself/herself down, or should a basic intervention or distraction from the situation be better? Most of the time the little boy isn't hurting anything or anyone, so is it best to let him be?

I think that is the million dollar question! I wish I knew!

sometimes, I think it is best to let them be, and some times a distraction is better... but it has to be geared toward the exact child and the exact circumstance, don't you think?

of course if there is danger to any child, redirection is necessary. But I think allowing the child time to work through the situation is less traumatic to them than trying to over stimulate with a different approach.

Again, I think Christina has or cat has to answer to this one... my answers are just based on what I see with my scouts.

[Kaiti]

???That's what I was pretty much thinking too, everything depends on the situation, the child, etc.....

I haven't really seen any violent patterns since he was about 5, so we are OK, so far...but he is in 3rd grade now, and the kids are getting alot more physical when they play, so I know that I have to keep a close eye on him and Mikey........remember the best friends/worst enemies thing.

They are both little bulls and don't back down sometimes

[loveforeric]

I have to say that after reading some of th eposts I am not alone in having questions.

The 10yr. old is more hyper and behavioral and really has no social cue awareness at all. He has been classified as being Classic High Functioning. The 6yr. old is definately a classic Autie. Although he and his brother do like to growl, well Erics has turned into humming. The older one can build you almost anything and doesn't like to be touched, just like his sister. She however, is considered classic high function within her own world. What I mean is she is the most difficult to communicate with.

The genetic part is now being seen between two specific genes that affect neurodevelopment. Honestly I can't remember their names.

Kaiti; The boy was probably helping his mind and body cope with his sensory overload or abrupt change in environment or stimuli can cause the same reaction. If he is hurting no one then I would let him calm himself, they come out of it when they feel comfortable again. I sooo... Know that, My girl jumps off things when she is overloaded and Eric has to be alone to build and Zac has to play a video game or use the computer. If those things aren't possible then the rocking back and forth and the circles begin- this can go on for hours. My Autie have great resilience in their safety things. Oops!!!!!

Rambled again, Sorry all,
Have a peaceful day,
Christina

[Kaiti]

Thanks Christina, and ramble away, the more you ramble the more we all learn since are a voice of knowledge when it comes to the autistic realm.

He was doing very well with his homework today, at the program, I had to kinda chuckle though. He helped another boy answer all of the questions for their homework. So I didn't think anything of it.

He also has dysgraphsia ::)All of the answers that he gave to the other boy, he never wrote down :-/So numbnut me tried to get him to answer the ones he knew were correct. He had a slight problem reading them

Nope, gotta get the others done first......He is such a sweet heart, so I had the other boy make certain to thank him dfor his help, even the other boy didn't realize he hadn't written them down.

Like I said Christina, ramble away