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Courtesy of the Melville family
When Danny Melville, show with his mom Karen, was diagnosed at the age of 2 as being severely autistic, his parents were told he might not ever talk. Now the 7-year is eager to share his interests with his family and will enter a mainstream classroom next year.
Karen Melville remembers when her son Danny was diagnosed with autism so severe that his doctor feared he might never even talk, much less go to school. “It was like a freight train hit,” said Melville, a 39-year-old mother of two who lives in Brunswick, Ohio.
Five years of intensive therapy have paid off. Danny, now age 7, is OK’d to go to school next year in a mostly mainstream class that will have a total of three “high functioning” kids with autism. “Now when he finds something he thinks is really cool on the computer -- like a humpback whale swimming -- he wants to show me,” Melville said.
Danny may be one of what researchers are now calling “bloomers” – kids who start out as severely affected but who manage to grow beyond most of their symptoms.
About 10 percent of children who are severely affected by autism at age 3 seem to have “bloomed” by age 8, leaving behind many of the condition’s crippling deficits, a new study shows. And while these “bloomers” still retain some of autism’s symptoms, like the tendency to rock back and forth when stressed or to repeat the same behavior over and over, they become what experts dub, “high functioning,” according to the study published today in Pediatrics. That means their social skills and their ability to communicate have vastly improved.
Related story: Divorce after autism diagnosis
A child at the low end of the communication scale might not be able to talk, or even to make any sounds, explained the study’s lead author Christine Fountain, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. Those at the other end of the scale “would have a broad vocabulary, understand the meaning of words and use them in appropriate contexts, understand the meaning of story plot and carry on complex conversations,” she explained.
Similarly, a child with a low score on the social scale would have problems interacting with others and would not be able to make friends or socialize. At the high end of the scale, is a child who “would initiate one-on-one interactions with both peers and others in familiar and unfamiliar settings, initiate and maintain friendships, and not need encouragement to participate in social activities,” Fountain said.
”Bloomers” are edging up towards the upper half of both those scales.
Fountain and her colleagues didn’t expect to see kids jump from the low end to the high end in just a few short years. “It was a surprise to see how much improvement they showed – and how quickly,” Fountain said. “That’s kind of hopeful message.”
Hopeful because the odds of such big improvements might rise if more kids got the right kind of therapy early in life, Fountain said.
The researchers studied the records of 6,975 California children who had been diagnosed with autism. They found that many of the children showed improvements between ages 3 and 8, but some, the bloomers, showed startling progress, moving from the most severely affected to some of the highest functioning.
Kids who are older can continue to make progress, but more slowly, experts say. While many of their symptoms fade, they still retain the autism diagnosis.
Fountain and her colleagues suspect, after scrutinizing the differences between children who bloomed and those who didn’t, that it likely comes down to which kids were able to get early, intensive therapy since the children who improved the most had parents with more education and financial wherewithal. Researchers say that it’s possible there might be something inherently different about the children themselves who are “bloomers,” but they don’t know that for sure.
As they delved into the bloomers backgrounds, the researchers found that these children were more likely than others to have mothers with at least a high school education and to come from a higher socio-economic class. (They didn’t have information on the fathers.) Bloomers also tended not to have any intellectual disabilities.
The findings don’t surprise autism expert Tamar Apelian.
“Most children need about 30 to 40 hours a week of intervention,” said Apelian, a staff psychologist at the autism evaluation clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles. “What’s tricky is being able to navigate the system to get the therapy, especially with the state budget crisis. The parents who do this seem to have more means and they can hire an advocate or a lawyer.”
And that’s where parents’ backgrounds come in to play.
After absorbing Danny’s diagnosis at 25 months, Karen asked his doctor about the future. “I said, ‘OK, what can we do about it?’ The doctor said, ‘How much money do you have?’”
The Melville’s weren’t independently wealthy. They were comfortably middle class – but that certainly doesn’t pay for therapy that can cost upwards of $70,000 per year. So that meant the Melvilles had to be creative to get Danny what he needed.
While Danny waited for his turn to come up on program waiting lists the Melvilles found a student to work with him. In the meantime, Danny’s dad, Michael, went back to school to get certified as a pharmacy tech so he could get a job at a university that came with benefits including a break on Danny’s therapy.
The family scraped together money from a variety of sources and finally managed to get Danny into an intensive program that offered one-on-one help.
“When I think back, I think about how I sat and watched for hours waiting for him to make that first sound,” Karen said. “I think about how grim things looked. I can’t stress enough that people determine what it is their children need and then get on those waiting lists. Keep digging and fighting to find someone to start with. It doesn’t matter if it’s a student while you’re on the waiting list. It’s just so important to get help early."
The Center for Disease Control reports that one in 88 U.S. children has autism. Autism Speaks founders Bob and Suzanne wright join Morning Joe to discuss autism research, having an autistic child in their family, and the costs of caring for a child with autism.
Do you know an autistic child? Has anything helped lessen the symptoms? Tell us on Facebook.
Families of kids with autism earn less
Leave a Comment:
because they are not autistic!!!!!!!!!
Autism has many different levels. Take this from someone that knows. Therapy and early therapy is the only answer. I have a grandson with severe autism. He may never make the kind of progress this child has because we dont have the money or means that family has. He gets OT therapy for an hour every other week and speech for an half hour each week. 30 to 40 hours? Impossible. It is sad, but money talks and always will.
I have a son that has Aspergers, which by the way in case you didn't know is high functioning autism and they are very smart but socially awkward. It is people like you that I have to deal with in our school system. They don't believe he needs to have speech and occupational therapy in school. I also have a therapist in school, who is exactly like you and they took away his 504 plan for accomodations. Everybody who is not as ignorant as you can see that there is a difference between our 2 sons.
i have to agree with jeremy. i think a lot of kids are misdiagnosed. i keep seeing "autism cases on the rise." in reality the headlines should be "diagnoses of autism cases on the rise." ive met a few kids who were diagnosed with autism and honestly they were just spoiled brats who never heard the word "no" from their parents.
Note to everybody: Just because you can define something does not mean you understand it.
Jeremy is incorrect. My grandson has autism. He was officially diagnosed at 3. (But we knew long beforehand.) He is one of the "bloomers." He still manifests several of the traits--hand flapping, speech difficulties, sensory problems; but he has come out well in most other areas. He incredibly bright, sensitive, sensitive to others, expressive, gentle, articulate in his thinking (although his speech still needs some work--but it's coming), and so much more.
His mother can be credited with 95% of his improvements. She has worked tirelessly to get everything from encouraging eye contact to controlling the OCD (I know, what a pun?), to everything else. My grandson will be 11 in a few weeks, and he has come through a lot. By the time he reaches adulthood, he will probably be as "normal" as his peers. Perhaps, even more so.
What most people don't understand about autism is when you have seen the symptoms of one autistic child, you have seen symptoms of just ONE autistic child. Every single autistic person is different. No two have exactly the same problems/issues/diagnosis. I'm very happy that some are starting to bloom. It's a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, some never will, and that's what we really need to keep focused on.
I don't know that we will ever be able to "cure" autism, but I think with enough study, we can find the causes and prevent it. I do know it is scourge that will always be the major trauma of many lives.
And let the ignorant comments begin. Once again, people prove they know little to nothing about ASD and its complexity, but use the little (and I do mean little) amount of information they read or observe to proclaim their expertise. It's like calling cancer acne.
So to save more ignorant people the time of making stupid comments, let me post them all here and they can simply pick a letter: Its not autism, its....
a) bad parents who simply are too stupid or lazy to discipline their lids (love to see you try that one, I am guessing child protective services has to have you arrested within 12 hours)
b) parents who want a check, so they force doctors to diagnose something that is not there (funny, no one seems to actually be able to say where these checks are available, only vaguely say its the government and therefore taxpayers ponying up for these faker kids. Show me the money! Cause its not there)
c) Doctors who want to make money off these kids through drugs and treatments by milking insurance (except most insurance doesn't cover autism treatments and most parents cannot afford the expensive treatments, so kids go untreated until they get to school where they can sometimes get basic skills help)
I am sure I missed some other stupid nonsense, but if its similar, yeah, you are one of those ugly people.
Get a clue dumb@$$.
Jerry, unfortunately your statement is naive. My son was diagnosed with autism at 2.5 yrs old. We started to notice symptoms at 1.5 yrs old. Because of the early indicators we did not have the MMR shot, and put him early treatment. We also went through the enormous challenges of a structured diet removing almost every kind of additive you can imagine, as well as other things. It was extremely challenging. For the next three years he would be somewhat stable until he ate something like cheese, corn, milk, etc. After eating something that we had restricted he would immediately react. He would become violent, hyper, and he would take permanent markers and write on every wall in the house. Not normal writing, but very organized writing with consecutive lines exactly spaced, and exact length. It was brutal. Once we got back on the diet it would take about two weeks to work it out. Then we would have peace again. With continued intervention, he stabilized little by little. At 5 he was able to go to regular school. We had to have specific food at school that coincided with his diet. It was so hard on him, he didn't understand why he couldn't eat normal food like normal kids. We just kept pushing forward. He is now 12, and doing well. He is with his class in school and is on a regular diet now. He still shows some autistic symptoms such as an emotional detachment at times, but overall is doing well. As I look back, I am certain that had he had his MMR shot he would have gone silent on us. I am certain that some children have an immune defect that is triggered by the MMR shot. The diet was critical as well. I am not advocating that autism is caused by the MMR shot, but I am certain that in certain cases, it triggers additional autistic symptoms. It was also very obvious how the diet helped. There is no person on this planet that can tell me personally otherwise. I lived it. So yes, my son is autistic Jerry, but through exerted efforts he is stable. We are extremely fortunate. As I see the commercials about how 1 in 88 children are born with autism, I have to ask myself why I was so lucky to be the one of the parents that has the blessing of working with the 1 of 88 beautiful children with autism.
So, Jeremy, how many kids with autism do YOU have? How many do you know personally?
Yep, that's what I thought. Please sit back and let those people who actually know what they're talking about educate you a little.
Rocksomething's comments are just plain ignorant. If you don't have a child with the ( large spectrum) disorder or have studied autism closely why do you even bother to comment? NO one wants to hear how stupid you are.
Autistic children are not "spoiled brats". There are several physical, unmistakable markers that can be observed that diagnose Autism. This diagnosis is made by a doctor that has had over twelve years of medical training. Rocksomething, if you were to yell at or physically hurt ( i.e. spank) a child with Autism that would just shut down their brains further--(-that is why I referred to rock as blatantly stupid!)
These children need lots of gentle communication, occupational/physical therapy and predictable environments. Punishments for misbehavior must be calm, instant and predictable. A good "punishment" is a tactile time out chair. Whenever a child acst out or becomes aggressive ( which all kids do) one should calmly put the child in the time-out chair with a familiar toy.
I do think that there is a huge difference between Aspergers and Autism and I wish the two weren't combined in a spectrum because it does confuse people. There is also sensitivity disorders which manifest the same as autism and often children COMPLETELY outgrow sensitivity disorders. It is hard for parents of severely Autistic children to hear that the couples child down the street outgrew autism when it was just a sensitivity issue they outgrew. Autism combined with learning disability/differences children--- do not completely outgrow. However, I have witnessed this blooming period first hand and I have seen a huge difference around the age of 8-10 years old. Something happens in the brain and children click in---but I have only seen it in kids whose parents were highly invested in their treatment.
Bless all the parents that work hard every single day raising a child that is wonderful, special and sweet ---its hard hard hard work. Make sure you are getting a break --- you can't be at your best if you feel totally overwhelmed.
I have Aspergers Syndrome, Jerry, am now 32 years old, and people like me are why I received no services of any kind. By the grace of a Higher Power, I am a "Bloomer" and plan to devote my life to helping people like me who cannot speak for themselves by:
1. Having an advanced degree in social work, which allows me to represent and advocate for ALL people on the spectrum. Hopefully allowing me to out speak people such as you.
2. Being active in politics and a solid voter to outvote people like you wherever they appear.
3. Attending conferences and seminars sharing my training and ideas with people in hopes of spreading my words as a light against your ignorance.
Hopefully, given the sheer amount of ignorance in the world, the few lights we can shine in the world will be enough. Here's hoping!
Jeremy ..... What the hell do you mean. "Not Autistic" Have you ever been around an autistic child? Do you even know what to look for in an autistic child? If you had half a brain you could tell the difference between an autistic child and a brat who is misbehaving.
In the first place, a misbehaving brat has a parent who is probably yelling or walking away. An autistic child who is in the middle of a melt down has a parent who may be crying and trying desperately to help the child.
In the second place, two minutes before the melt-down, the autistic child was probably happy and enjoying life. Two minutes before their melt-down, the brat had a sullen look on their face and was thinking about what he could do to demand more attention.
I'm not a doctor and I'm not a educated expert but I have seen both and my heart goes out to the autistic children and their parents. Instead of spouting BS, get off your dead butt and help somebody.
What I can offer is that if you have any questions about your child (regardless of autism or not), if you see something in your 6 month old, your 1 1/2 year old, etc. that doesn't quite add up- ACKNOWLEDGE it and ask questions. It's ok. The absolutely worst thing for you to do is to wait and watch for a year or two and see if they grow out of it. Take your child to their doctor and ask questions. If they say it's not really a problem, see if they have any advice on things you can do to work on the situation, maybe recommend a therapist, etc. that might be able to take a look or provide an hour a week in tutoring.
Don't worry about them being "diagnosed", it actually will help you get the help you need. If you wait and just let the schools deal with it, you've lost a lot of time that you won't get back and your child will have to "close the gap" while everyone else will be moving forward quickly. It can be done, but it's not the best way. Step away from your fear and ego, just remember that you are your child's advocate and work steadily on it.
Last night as I was going to bed, My nephew says "night night, I love you!" That simple sentence, so common for some, brought tears to my eyes. It still does. Eight months ago when he was diagnosed with Autism, I feared that he would never give affection to that extent. Through weekly therapy since infancy, he has blossomed into a smart, sweet, funny, happy, self confident, and loving preschooler. Unless you have been told of the diagnosis, you would never know. He may retain a few traits that to an experienced parent tell a story, but I wouldn't trade his happy self confident nature for all the gold or satelitte channels in the world. Whether you believe in Autism is up to you. I, however, must say a massive thank you to the parents, therapists, teachers, babysitters, and families that give everything they have to help a child be the best they can, for going beyond the expected to allow the child to thrive.
If you had ever spent any length of time with a child who has autism, you would know that your statement is incorrect. My nephew could say some words and then bamm he regressed to no talking whatsoever even though all other kids his age were saying lots of words. He also would not look you in the eye EVER. Not just some times. It was like he did not even know you were there. He often seemed in his own world like you couldn't even reach him. He had other symptoms as well. He wasn't acting bratty at all, it was just like he didn't see the world around him much. You could instantly tell after just a few moments that he was different. My sister fought to get him into a special class and her and her husband worked very very hard. He is 4 now and he talks up a storm and will often look people in the eye without prompting and sometimes will voluntarily interact with children his own age as well as family members etc. It is looking like he will be able to mainstream when he starts kindergarten. Without that early intervention, I am not even sure he would have begun to talk or any of the progress he has made. To say he did not have autism is purely ignorance.
Agree with Jeremy. Luckily we have Flymeover to set all us ignorants straight. This person has all the answers obviously, because when you insult others on a news comments section, you must be an expert.
Oh I agree with everyone - let me explain.
My son will be 4 in a few weeks. He was born with low muscle tone, common in autistic kids. As he grew, he had developmental delays. at 5 months he was put into early intervention for physical therapy while we waited to get him seen by a neurologist. He was also having what looked like seizures. I took him to the infant and toddler program at the local children's hospital so he could be seen by a developmental ped. As he grew he began to shake his head back and forth. He would kick rythmically. By the time he was two he was banging his head on the table, or his crib or the floor. He would hand flap. When he learned to walk he walked on his toes. He loved to watch the wheels on a car spin, the ceiling fan turn, flashing lights, etc. He developed obsessions with dinosaurs and cars and Godzilla movies. He knows the names of all 4 beatles and can tell you who's singing any one of their songs.
Yet here's the kicker. He talks. He makes eye contact. He shows empathy. He is well bonded to his parents and other significant adults in his life. He has friends in school. His neurologist has said that he is "clearly not Autistic" after seeing him in person, yet he has many of the classic signs and said that if she didn't know him and only had this description to work from, that would have been her professional opinion.
What he has is sensory processing disorder. The seizures were caused by a rare childhood migraine varient called benign paroxysmal torticollis. He's getting weekly OT at the moment and has made great progress. We've learned how to do therapy with him at home, all his toys are purchased with "how is this for therapy" in mind. But he's not autistic, even though other people always ask us if he is and many professionals even suggest that he might be. He doesn't have the social delay, if he did he would definately be at least Aspergers. What is so frustrating to me though is because he doesn't have a spectrum diagnosis, he doesn't qualify for a lot of intervention programs even though he could benefit from them as much as an autistic child.
I guess my point is that there are many reasons why a child might display autistic symptoms. Seeing as how we don't even really know what causes autism in the first place, it might be that what we call "Autism" are really symptoms of various underlying disorders that CAN be treated. For example, as I researched my son's migraine disorder, I found that most of the other children had similar delays and sensory problems. MANY of them were flagged as possibly autistic at some point while trying to get a diagnosis. And those parents who opted to try medication used to prevent migraines found that the speech delays, motor delays, behavior problems, etc. were greatly reduced at the same time.
How can we find a cure when we don't have a cause?
I've read a number of articles recently that talk about enhanced or exceptional skills (savant) displayed among many of those diagnosed with autism. This article doesn't address the subject, but I wonder if those who "bloom" retain those skills, or if they lose them as therapy teaches them to socialize.
Jeremy - this is such an uneducated response. If therapies and interventions didn't work, parents wouldn't waste their time or money. Nothing about autism intervention is easy. You really have to see results to keep believing in it. Besides, even though this child "bloomed," he still meets the criteria for autism.
My niece was diagnosed at age 3; we all knew something was up b/c she would not make eye contact with anyone, never smiled, and would not bond with anyone. She barely spoke, but she would sing all of the time; she parroted Disney songs, for the most part. She was put into a special preschool program right away; she started mainstream school a year late. She is now 22 and graduating from a college with a degree in art therapy and has been on the Dean's list for most of her school career. She's warm, loving, intelligent, bonds with people - even has a long-term boyfriend of more than 3 years. The only tell-tale sign I can see is that in a large crowd I notice she doesn't make a lot of initial eye contact.
Zapper45701 has it right...it takes parents who are INVOLVED with the kids to make a difference. Money may be important, but it is secondary to a parent who is willing to take the time and seek out additional resources within the local community and among acquaintances to help. I've worked with some great autistic kids in the school district, and while we can provide some specific types of services, we cannot make up the difference if parents are not willing to take a lead in their child's therapy, no matter how much money gets thrown at the problem. A parent who is consistent, caring, understanding, and takes the time to provide the extra attention that autistic kids need is the best "therapy" out there. That seems to be the point of this article as well.
If you want to get a good picture of autism from the inside, google Temple Grandin. She is awesome. At age 64, she was born before there WERE "programs" in place for autistic kids, and the doctors were still hung up on theories about autism being caused by "cold mothers" (which has since been debunked). Her mother was told that she should institutionalize Temple because it would be impossible to teach her to talk. Her mother didn't listen to the "experts"--she took on the daunting regimen of Temple's therapy herself. Temple is now a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, with a distinguished history of contribution to both the livestock industry and the understanding of autism. There is a great HBO movie out about her, which she says is very accurate--but don't stop with the movie. Google her and watch her own speeches and presentations that are available online! It will give you an eyeful about autism.
I always thought that autism was the brains inability to "activate" after birth. Oh right back to my comment. Jeremy learn to think before you start to speak or do us all a big favor. Don't speak at all. And tewjr I'll answer for jeremy and myself.
Jeremys children with autism-0 Personally known-0
My children with autism-0 Personally know-Around 23 maybe more
Read my response on the third page- you may be pleasantly surprised! No, we do not have children. Jeremy works with people with mental health disorders and I am an OT. The OT posted the comment. I have a very long history working with and around people on the "spectrum" Enjoy the current research.
7summits:
This cheese sensitivity is probably caused by tyramine.
@Jeremy..it's a SPECTRUM of disorders... you apparently don't understand what that is. How can anyone say that anyone is autistic? There is no definitive test yet that can even say what autism actually is let alone whether or not someone has it. The article is simply saying that some children (mostly high functioning ones) who are diagnosed by professionals with an autism spectrum disorder, get therapy and can eventually move into a mainstream, "typical" life.
They do have a definitive behavioral test that is observed by a team of specially trained therapists. The complete diagnostic evaluation took close to six hours. It is gruelling, not only for the child, for the families. We were lucky enough that early intervention specialist was there to support us, and to promote the therapies she knew were best for him, no matter what. The diagnosis is based on a scoring of the evaluation. That is part of the spectrum, the scoring from severe to mild. Beyond that, each child is different and each child is in a different environment. No two children will process the same experiences in the same way.
Its a SPECTRUM so doctors can diagnose more children with Autism and get on the gravy train getting more money from health insurance providers. Same for teachers since "autistic students" have more teachers in the classroom and I know the Teachers Association loves that. The number of children diagnosed has gone up 400% and as you know, that's because of the money that will be made by diagnosing a huge number of children with "autistic predispositons or mild autism or just maybe a quiet child". Make that money and break the health care system even more.
The six hour test was even more grueling for the US health care system. Can you imagine what that cost. These tests need to be paid for by the family, not the health care provider because doctors and families will do any testing availabale as long as someone else is paying for it.
Health insurance will pay thousands per test for CAT scans on smokers' lungs and for PET scans on obese heart patients. Yet you're complaining about the cost of a developmental pediatrician evaluation for children who have done nothing whatsoever to bring on their autism????? STFU!
Jerry if it was that easy to get a child diagnosed with autism an aide I wouldn't still be having to go to the annual IEP mtg armed for battle to get even small accomodations for my son. after asking, begging, pleading and screaming for 5 years for an aide I've given up on that. even though he could have GREATLY benefited from one to help him overcome his executive function disability over the last 5 years since he was diagnosed they didnt want to spend the $$ to give him one. Hell they didnt want to give him an IEP which they have to follow but rather kept giving us a 504 plan that they constantly deviated from negatively affecting his education. And even with a dx from a doctor they fought for 5 years before they finally relented and added the dx to his school record. even as they referred to the dx in his 504 plan for years prior to listing it.
No one labels their child as having autism for the $$... there is none.
Jerry--I do not know why it is that you are being so silly, but it is just silly. Any child with any illness is going to get tested--those tests are paid for by the parents or by the parents' insurance because we do not have nor will we have in the near future "socialized medicine." In fact, if we did, the costs would be lower--and we know this because they are lower in countries with socialized medicine.
This is a little like saying that people should not call their insurers when their house has been hit by hail because "we all pay" when a house has hail damage, and the homeowners should pay for their own houses. The home owners have insurance--and that is what insurance is. Many people buy the same policy--the insurance company gambles that they will not have to pay out: hail, fire, flood, whatever. Sometimes, they do have to pay out. Yes, if there is a bad set of years with a lot of payouts, the company is likely to raise rates. But, guy, that's how insurance works! Anyone with the same company stands to get the same payout--some will get it, because they are unlucky, and some wind up paying for nothing. The did not have a fire or flood or hail damage--and they might have kept their money.
In any case, a "health care provider" is a doctor or a nurse--doctors or nurses do not pay for the care that their patients receive. Either the patient or the patient's insurer pays--and that's it, friend. That is why the young man profiled in this report could not get care until his dad shifted jobs to a hospital that offered this as part of their "perks." An employer can offer it, or an insurer can offer it--if you don't like it, then get a health insurance policy that doesn't offer such things--and you don't pay for it.
As for your claim that children with autism get aides--think again. In the state where I live, a child with high functioning autism gets nothing. That's nothing, nada, nil. In order to qualify as a student with a "learning disability"--that student has to have some condition that impacts that student's ability to perform academically. People with high functioning autism often do not have academic problems--in fact, they often are in "special" programs because they are in honors classes. My daughter has high-functioning autism--and she got nothing for that. She did, however, qualify for honors classes and AP classes--probably because of the autism (it makes children super-focused and also causes them to not be distracted by social issues--they don't have social lives in high school).
Some people feel that what they call "high-functioning autism" these days--which used to be called Asperger's syndrome--should instead be called a "hyper-focus proficiency." That is: it's a good thing, not a bad thing. Not everyone needs to have high-level social skills in the same way that not everyone needs high-level math or musical skills.
Again--figure out a couple of things. We do not have a "health care system" that pays for things. Nothing can cost the "health care system" anything. We pay the "health care system." Some people have insurance, some pay out of pocket, and some are so poor that they have access to Medicaid (something that isn't easy to get, by the way). Each of us pays our own way (unless we qualify for Medicaid--and Medicaid does not offer this sort of care for autistic children). While you might wind up paying for insurance that you wind up not needing--that's your fault for not picking the right policy. Pick your policy, and take your chances--we are all in the same boat.
If schools provide early intervention for some children, it is because they've figured out that early intervention is ultimately less costly than letting the child vegetate. If the child is not treated, that child has pretty well zero chance of ever getting a job, will not pay taxes, and will be a drain on his/her parents and family for his/her whole life. Give the child early intervention between ages 3 and 8, and the child will get a job and pay his/her own way. But, not all states pay.
You don't like the costs of care for children who are autistic. Fine. Move to a state that offers nothing (there are plenty, by the way). Buy a health insurance package that doesn't cover much other than catastrophic care. Other than your capacity to whine that the world isn't structured around you, yourself, and your own best interests--I fail to see what more you are offering to this conversation. So, just move and get a different health insurance package--problem solved.
That comment is just ignorant. The diagnoses of autism does cover a very broad spectrum ( perhaps to broad). That in itself does not mean that these children are not affected by it. I am very closely involved with my own autistic nephew and other "special needs" children and can tell you this is not a phase, an attitude, poor discipline or whatever else your going to blame it on. Every one of these children are unique and special with minds that work unconventionally. I can tell you that with great patience and a lot of hard work understanding can grow and progress will come. The reward in all that work is also something pretty special, I thank the powers that be everyday for this amazing child and for every milestone we achieve. AUTISTIC, DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE LESS IT JUST MEANS YOU ARE DIFFERENT.
Looks like "Jeremy" missed the part about therapy costing 1.5 times the average US income, right? and that's only a drop in the bucket for kids who recover to the point of being termed "high functioning" or even losing the diagnosis. The medical costs for treating gut damage, food and environmental allergies, auditory perception problems, vision perception problems, mitochondrial and metabolic malfunctions costs thousands - mostly not covered by insurance, and if covered it is not without hours and hours dedicated to filing appeals.
The article doesn't even skim the surface of what kids and parents go through to have a kid be a "bloomer". The media is being nothing short of wimpy when article like this are published. It gives a false sense that sitting around and doing nothing will change the outcomes for these kids. It takes hard work, dedication, fighting the medical system to get medical issues diagnosed and addresses, it takes fighting with schools to get the legal entitlements to appropriate education environments, supports and equipment. It takes QUALIFIED therapists for physical, speech and occupational therapy - and they are in woefully short supply nationwide. It takes money that most people DON'T have.
1 in 88 children, now 8 years old, and 1 in 54 boys NEED those services and supports to even have a HOPE at being independant in the future. It REQUIRES one-on-one intervention across the board for medical, therapy & education. Instead of being "whoopie-wow the kids might bloom" the media needs to be accurately reporting the heartache, hard work, frustration and enourmous COST of helping a child become an adult capable of self-support and independant living...and even at that, it takes years, even decades, and maybe not at all to reach a stage where that person can go out into the world as an independant and productive member of the community.
All the "blue lights" on the planet and all the psyche drugs in the world will never accomplish what the actual interventions, therapy, medical attention and one-on-one attention can accomplish...and with 1 in 54 boys on the autism spectrum there are more than current resources can handle. Society better wake up and demand the research depart from blaming parents and start finding how to prevent the occurence of autism from happening. Articles like this one paint a false picture that perhaps doing nothing is enough even for "some' kids. It isn't.
I have three males in my family who have autism. 1 in 54 does not sound too off.
There's a simple nswer for eveytig; unfortunately it's almost always wrong. I've spent many years working with autistic kids; it acn be very satisfying and very frustrating.
Yes, spend any amount of money as long as it comes from the health care providers and not parents. This Spectrum nonsense is about identifying a way to "diagnose children with a medical condition" so that the health care system would pay for it. If parents think it is good and necessary, get a second mortgage on their houses and pay for it. Period. Stop stealing from US taxpayers.
Maybe health insurance could stop paying for all the medical costs resulting from tobacco and obesity (since those are self-inflicted) and then we'd have PLENTY of money to pay for autism treatment...
Jerry, the us taxpayer doesnt pay for my insurance. I do.
However not treating the condition in childhood leaves these children far more disabled and requiring the services of group homes and SSDI and welfare as adults.
Which is less expensive to the taxpayer, a) supports for them as a child hopefully having many become self supporting adults in the future who PAY taxes or b) no supports as a child and the taxpayer pays SSDI and welfare etc for the rest of their adults lives for all children on the spectrum?
I'll give you a clue, option A has many of them paying taxes in the future instead of being paid so it costs less.
Tea party douchebag. The only ones stealing from the US taxpayers are the Romneys, Ginrich's and Santorums of this world.
Jerry--we do not have a "health care system" that pays for things. Taxpayers do not pay for other people's healthcare (unless they are on Medicaid--which is severely restricted and doesn't offer this kind of care). If they did, then the mother of the young man profiled here wouldn't have been asked--"how much money do you have?"
The parents of autistic children pay for their care--unless they are in a state which offers some care through the school system (not many, mostly Massachusetts which has Romneycare--which is basically Obamacare except that the Republicans never challenged its constitutionality because they passed it themselves). Even then, the school system doesn't pay for much--certainly not 40 hours of one-on-one care weekly. Insurance pays or the individual pays--just like they'd pay if someone's house got hit by a tornado, or burned down.
Are you really that uninformed about how the world works? If so, please stop voting. You really need to get a grip on reality before you vote.
Jerry I would really like you to meet me and my autistic son....We could both get out alot of built up frustration....Last I checked our wonderful "health care system" that you talk about doesn't exist because of teabagging A-holes voting like minded individuals ( Racist.misogynist,bigoted against special needs children,irresponsible chicken hawks who start wars then want tax cuts so they don't pay for them ) into congress in 2010...
You are probably receiving a Government check or assistance ie; Medi-care or something like it,as you scream " Keep your government hands off my Medi-care "
We didn't win some kind of awesome lottery like you seem to think when our son was born autistic.....
And it is not our fault as parents that God chose our son to be this way....But guess what he is the glue that holds our family together( 4 other boys and one girl without autism)
Bottom line stop insulting and insinuating about things you know nothing about, you upset alot of good people with your insensitive remarks.....It is people like you who used to make my wife feel indifferent in restaurants and the like ( She knew people who were ignorant would think we had a brat and just weren't being good parents,letting our child act out and not " Spanking" him.....People like you make me glad who I am..,..
"Bottom line stop insulting and insinuating about things you know nothing about, you upset alot of good people with your insensitive remarks."
You should take your own advice.
My daughter had many problems growing up, went from pillar to post trying to get help for her. There were no words to describe her diagnosis. Could write a book about all the years spent seeking help. At one point she had to be made a Ward of the Court in order for her to be placed in a facility. All these years later--she'll be 58 in June--we have finally found a name: Ausburger's (spelling??) Syndrome. Still displays the activities associated with the diagnosis but has lived on her own, with a friend & her family, for the last 20 plus years. A great comfort for me in my old age--79 in May. Could have filled buckets with all the tears our family shed trying to find help for a then-unknown problem.
Asperger's syndrome--it is an annoying thing. Many people with Asperger's syndrome (Steve Jobs was probably one) can make a good living--but they do need to be in the right career fields. If they don't get the right kind of early training--they do wind up pretty well unemployable because the low-level jobs require too many social skills. I hope that your daughter continues to do well.
I have heard that marijuana dulls the receptor sensor's in the brain, by coating them with the residue it makes me wonder if when two people use it and have a child that does the same, who marries, and has children, who might do the same is it possible that in some cases autism could be some how related to this, as the senors used less, from generation to generation, possible evolving to adjust to slower thought process, that people who use drugs may experience, after the brain telling the genes over and over that they do not think fast, and do not or are not able to receive signals as fast as if they were not coated with this residue!
I'm not trying to put down anyone who might do this as an everyday habit, but more like just wondering why this autism has grow rather quickly in such a short time, and what could or could not cause it to happen possible more in some rather than others if , there is a connection or not, I really don't know just asking if something along this line is possible! "well" something is causing kids to be born this way!
My parents never even touched marijuana, yet I have Aspergers. And no, I am not slow thinking or slow.
This is a rediculous speculation dressed up with some psuedo-science words. There are more kids being diagnosed with autism now, not because their parents indulged in marijuana, but because the testing criteria has been established and administered with the full spectrum of behaviors in mind.
Don't buy into the "War on Drugs" attitude. Use your own mind, not Nancy Reagan's
dale--that's the stupidest thing i have ever heard. sorry--you can't blame marijuana for everything!!!!
So, have you submitted your study to a scientific journal yet? Load of crap laced with psuedo-science buzzwords. Autism is what used to be, back in the day, called "being slow". It's a blanket term for a myriad of disorders, ranging in different "spectrums". I believe that the reason we are seeing more and more children diagnosed with autism, is because the definition of what constitutes autism is so large. Many children previously were not diagnosed with autism, because the term was not used before.
This ^
My ex-husband and his ex-wife smoked marijuana and did drugs when she was pregnant with their son. The child who will be 8 in a few days clearly has mental and social problems. They have dermined that the son has austism with behavioral issues. When I had my son, my ex (same guy mentioned) would smoked around him when I was at work. The same thing was happening to him as his half-brother. When my ex finally left, things got better for my son. His speech improved, his behavior was better, and he is doing better now. The same cannot be said of his brother. The damage has been done, and his grandparents are fighting North Carolina to give him the services his needs.
Me and my ex-wife smoked marijuana when she was pregnant (before we found out). And the only thing Katlyn suffers from is an unusually weak immune system that she got from her mother. From what I've seen marijuana isn't as bad as it's made out to be
Concerning comment # 6 nature or evolution has a way of working sometimes and it seems like if something is not needed any more nature will eliminate it over time, and sometimes it seems like it will add some things that may be needed, like if a fish needs to walk , or fly for a short distance, or does not need eyes, or other things to survive, sometimes it could let a species even die off all together, autism is being caused by something, and it would be good to know what is causing this to happen!
Even though vaccinations have received the blame and were "found" not to be the culprit, I think this "finding" was just to defend the pharmaceutical companies that make vaccinations and have no care in the world what is in the vaccinations.
So rigorous testing and analysis cannot possibly trump what you "know" based on supposition, innuendo and ambiguous statistical masturbation to present a vague correlational=causal connection?
Sorry, I'll keep the vaccines, thanks. A hundred years of medical technology demonstrated to work effectively being linked to a diagnosis of a neurological problem that has likely been plaguing humanity since long before society or the medical profession developed anything resembling a sense of empathy towards psychiatric patients through manipulation of facts to an ADHD-equivalent addled audience with Pavlovian conditioning towards sensationalism is far more likely....
I think so too Deborah, my oldest step-daughter (26) has Autism, after asking many questions of my husband and his ex-wife I've come to conclude that she was normal up until she got her first MMR vaccine, she was diagnosed with Autism 15 months later (at age 3) up until then she was walking and talking everything a normal 15 month old does.
I always find it amusing that people like James above rant and rave about those of us who are not vaccinated (my daughter and myself are not) freak out about us giving them *insert disease name here* because we're not vaccinated, yet what they don't seem to understand is that when someone around us is vaccinated we have to stay away from them for at least 48+ hours so they don't give US the *insert disease here* it's been trying to say the least especially since we're military and the military just loves their vaccinations especially right before a deployment.
The only thing is that -big picture wise- Big Pharma doesn't make a whole lot of money on vaccines. THey make much more on drugs. Most pharma companies kind of think of making vaccines as a "giving to the community" type of thing more than a big money maker.
I don't want to get into a vac/anti vac debate here. Too many people are religiously fanatic about it. I can't see how we can do away with vaccines all together as a society, especially given that my great grandmothe lost 4 of her children to childhood diseases back in the 20s and 30s before we had widespread vaccines. I don't want to go back to a time when people had large families with the hope that some of their kids might survive to adulthood. And to not vaccinate because you feel safe in doing so because you expect everyone else to continue vaccinating their kids seems inherently selfish to me. Either vaccinating is bad and we go back to high numbers of kids dying from measles and whooping cough... or the benefits outweight he risks and we continue to vax. Risk-wise - I would rather risk having a live autistic kid than a dead neurotypical one. Just saying.
I can totally see your point Xina, I've never been one to tell a parent who chooses to vaccinate that they're wrong, hey it's your kid you do what you think is best. I also agree that Big Pharma doesn't make a whole lot of money off of vaccines, but they make a whole buttload of money that "Autistic" children will be on their entire lives, my step-daughter takes ten pills a day, pills that make me crazy because her mother (who's a pharmacist) should know better than to A. Mix with the other pills B. Shouldn't be given to people over the age of 12. If I can do a simple google search on these meds shouldn't she already know this?
Vaccines are a $19 BILLION dollar industry. That's PER YEAR. Not a lot of money? No safety studies on giving them in combination. No studies on them using a true placebo as control. NO studies on them given at the current "recommended" levels! Protection of manufacturers from all liability included in the "Patriot Act".
I'm not getting into the whole debate because we have a vaccine injured child in the family (and yes, autism). I'm only stating that vaccine production is an industry that is EXTREMELY profitable, and dismisses the injured as "collateral damage".
JamesBuchanan--please stop being quite so nasty to other people who disagree with you.
It is completely possible that there is some link--not necessarily "causal"--between vaccines and autism. For example, vaccines frequently cause high fevers. High fevers are known to trigger several sorts of auto-immune problems. Many people with autism are auto-immune. Hence, while the vaccine might not have caused autism--one of its side effects could well be related.
Similarly, if it is the high fever--then putting children who have vaccines up against a large number of children who have not had vaccines also doesn't work. Children who live in countries and communities without vaccines also live in countries and communities where they have little access to health care and might well run high fevers more frequently--which would result in triggering the same auto-immune functions.
Further, with the lumping of all "autistic spectrum disorders" under the name "autism"--some things are going to be obscured. Let us say that all respiratory illnesses got lumped under the same name. You might then test for asbestos exposure and find that there is no significant relationship between "respiratory illness" and asbestos--because only a very small number of people with respiratory illnesses have mesothelioma. You might find a correlation between asbestos and those few people--but it wouldn't be statistically signficant.
It is completely possible that some small number of children have a tendency to an auto-immune problem which will result in autism--and that vaccines (or high fevers) trigger it. It is perfectly likely that some confounding variable--some issue which will cause autism in those same children even in the absence of vaccines but in correlating absence of decent health care--makes it hard to find the connection.
I am fond of vaccines myself--but if I ever have a grandchild, it is likely that I will be rather leery of the usual, combined, and harsh vaccines. I will most likely try to talk my daughter into seeking out a doctor who would give the less harsh vaccines and uncombined ones at a slower rate (and keep the child at home as much as possible). If one already knows that the problem runs in one's family, it really does make sense to exercise due caution.
As a single mother of a beautiful daughter, who was diagnosed with ASD (autism-spectrum disorder), it seems as if Jeremy needs to hop back on the 'ignorant wagon', and head back to 'Stupidville'!!! Although my child has autism, I wouldn't have her any other way. She's witty, charming, and will pop up and say what most of her peers are thinking, but are too afraid to say themselves (outloud, anyways):). She's so adorable, and she can get the most depressed person in the room to smile. Yes, she's high-functioning (with Asperger's and PDD-NOS), but I do see the autism everday! I will stop by the school, just to see her swinging on the swingset all by herself, and I cry for her, wondering if she's as lonely as it seems. Yet, I grip back to reality, and even hear the words come from her own mouth that she prefers being alone. I know that her classmates are friendly towards her, and help her in any way they can, yet I can't help it. As I sit here writing this, I cry. As for my Ashley, what I see as aloneness, she sees a comforting world that only she can delve into compared to the immediate world around her. And you know what? I love her so much, and I wouldn't have her any other way:)!!! Jeremy-F U!
Jeremy didn't say your daughter was a bad person, or that you were a bad person, or any of these kids were bad people. He merely stated that his perception of this is that since these kids have apparently been left most of there symptoms behind and could be seen as "cured" of autism, then maybe they weren't really autistic, despite the fact that they displayed behaviors indicating that earlier in life.
Be proud of your daughter, but don't use her as an excuse to attack others.
Christy I understand where you're coming from, my step-daughter could be higher functioning than she is (long story) she too prefers to be alone fore the most part, I've come to think it's because of frustration, these poor kids are pretty much locked inside their own heads, I know for a fact that my step-daughter is brilliant,, BUT because she can't put into words what she means and she has a horrible time trying to get her message across that she becomes so frustrated that it sends her off into a "tangent"
I will say though that over the past few years i've been teaching her sign language, it has made a HUGE difference, unfortunately we only have her 3 months out of the year, her mother doesn't know how to sign and me being the evil 2nd wife *insert eye roll here* refuses to learn how "because I don't know what I'm talking about" even though I was a special education teacher for years, I taught my husband to sign and my daughter has been signing since she learned to talk (it's something I believe every person should learn to do because it's a right and left brained ability)
Because she has the ability to communicate with us we have far fewer "melt downs" when she's with us.
Perhaps she treats you like the evil 2nd wife because you say things like this:
I commend you for all of your hard work with you stepchild, but most of your posts are pretty nasty towards the mother. To say that things would have been different if you had entered the picture sooner is cruel. It's also a self-righteous assumption as no one can predict how autism will run it's course.
no you just assume I am PH, What I say here I've never said to her mother, though maybe it needs to be said at some point, I didn't say it would be different I said it might have been different, two different things. See here's what you don't know, the mother works all day as a pharmacist and should know that the medication she has her daughter on shouldn't be A. mixed with the ones she's already on B. not to be given to children over 12 years of age, my step-daughter is 26. my 14 year old step-son is her "primary" care giver, her new husband basically sleeps all day and when he IS working he doesn't contribute much to the household (per her numerous calls and complaints to us) Her mother doesn't do what's best for the child, she does what's best for herself, (another long story I could get into) possibly the reason she now owes the SSI people 30 grand?
Don't judge me until you've walked in my shoes, I try very hard not to judge her mother, but tell me would it be hard for you not to judge if you knew she was kept medicated to the point she does nothing more than sit in her room and watch whatever happens to be on TV?
I'm not assuming anything - you said it. She may not be the perfect mother, but I find your comment to be cruel and self righteous. All I'm saying is that if you want to facilitate a better relationship with her for the sake of the child, then perhaps those comments aren't helping.
This kind of article gives and takes hope. I wish the stress would be on (1) the likelihood that the diagnosis was made incorrectly and (2) the extreme rarity of "outgrowing" autism and (3) most kids with a true diagnosis of autism will likely remain in the moderate range for the rest of their lives, regardless of treatment. I am glad that the initial "success story" highlights the fact that this child had ot have 5 years of pretty much around the clock intensive treatment. Our society is ill-prepared to offer this kind of treatment option to anyone-when it is offered, the cost is exorbitant and it is hard to find the ABA pros to conduct the therapy!
Misdiagnosis is much more likely with kids who start out on the higher-functioning end of the scale. The more severe the impairment, the more certain the diagnosis. The study looked at kids who were initially rated as being severely impaired, but over time improved. My 3 y.o. underwent 4 different evaluations (developmental pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, school psychologist, and Regional Center psychologist). All of them concurred on the autism diagnosis due to the extent of my child's social and speech impairments coupled with her repetitive motions and unusual interests. However, all 4 were optimistic about her long-term prognosis assuming she continues to receive services. The MSNBC article only alludes to IQ indirectly, but I was told flat-out that the autistic children who most benefit from therapy are those with higher IQ's.
I am very relieved to see this article as this is an issue I've been struggling with.
My child was diagnosed at around age 4-5 and today at 14, he is a very functional if quirky kid. I am quite sure he has done as well as he has due to the extensive therapy he received for many years. He got excellent services as an infant through United Cerebral Palsy (he does not have CP- they just had the program and funding). He also received excellent services through the school district when he aged out of UCP. I also designed a fairly intensive program myself using various sources and tailored what I found to our unique issues. We always focused on maximizing strengths and reducing weakness. His is truly and high functioning autism success story, and I feel in my heart that it would not have been so if not for having an aggressive mother and some awesome support.
Those efforts have really paid off and he is doing so well he can blend in pretty nicely. One would not notice his differences in a casual encounter so much, but they become apparent when more complex interactions are required. He will always be a bit our of step, but able to lead a self supporting live as an adult.
It's a relief to see we are not the only family in which this kind of improvement has occurred and that my instincts are being confirmed.
Wow, Mark:AUTISTIC, DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE LESS IT JUST MEANS YOU ARE DIFFERENT.
I have had to say that to practically every teacher and employer I've ever had. I have Aspergers, and have been treated very badly because of it. I have been treated like someone others expect to misbehave even when my opinion is not in agreement with theirs, then others have seen me as a "dangerous menace" because my mind thinks differently than theirs. I love telling bigots that their attitude is my only real disability. Just in case some bigot wants to get really mean about it, I have had ten years of the martial arts. I can't dodge bullets, but if someone wants to shoot me because of the way in which I am different, and something I never had any control over having or not having, the bitch called Karma knows the address of every bigot on this planet.
You're pathetic. And dangerous.
You speak of bigotry and then go on to declare karma a bitch. That's offensive to Hindus and Buddhists. If you really have studied martial arts, I'd think you would abstan from smearing karma that way.
You know what Karma is right? Are you really that stupid? Nah, you obviously are.
Your comment makes zero sense, Jeff. I bet you have no idea what you are talking about most of the time. See how I made that leap?
Not sure I've met anyone with an ASD that talks and acts this way....I wonder how severe your ASD is or if it's really there. I have two twin cousins with ASD severely and they have made leaps and bounds, but I still feel ASD is over diagnosed to many kids for parents wanting an "answer" as to why their kids aren't in a mold they want them to be.
I have encountered an organization, Surfers For Autism, that offers, in my eyes, the best therapy for Autistic Citizens. surfersforautism.org or ck. them out on facebook?? Surfers For Autism is a non profit 501c.
I have been involved for three of the five years that the group has existed. There was an event in Deerfield Bch. Fl. yesterday. There are kids blooming at these events- I have witnessed it myself.
To all the parents out there with children diagnosed within the spectrum- Surfers For Autism loves all children/people unconditionally. The events are geared at total inclusion, regardless of functioning level.
Jeremy:The surfers of Surfers For Autism can easily prove you wrong!!!!! Go see for yourself?
I believe its the REQUIRED immunizations that caused this outbreak in Autism! Why is it in the last, what, 10-20 years we have this problem? I believe its the MEDICATIONS or IMMUNIZATIONS that's causing Autism!
I review the history and find that back in the 60's when I had my son's, and many other POOR people having babies, the number of incidents is no where near what's happening today.
Granted, many women don't believe in breast feeding, nor making their OWN formula's, purchasing all that crap, not knowing what's REALLY in the store brought stuff. In addition, with much of our products being manufactured OVERSEAS, God only knows what these plants are using since they no longer have to operate under Americas QUALITY CONTROL Act! This is the main reason American Businesses have OUTSOURCED, to avoid Quality Control, in addition to CHEAP LABOR, and use chemicals barred in the USA.
I am too happy that I was raised the way I was, breast fed my son's, cooked from scratch, made some of my own baby, including my milk formula when I could no longer breast feed.
To many Parent's are too dependent on Store Brought Foods for their babies, and this is where, I believe, this illness develops! Mother's need to be MORE AWARE of what they are feeding their babies, and resort back to the "Good Ole Days" that require some time to prepare HEALTHY, SAFE foods & milk for their babies!
I also believe, its another way that the Pharmaceutical Industry uses to increase their Profit Margins! As long as parent's must take their babies back & forth to the Doctor's, acquiring expenses many can't afford, they could care less, all they care about is MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, how they get it, they could care less about the babies they are harming.
and Mothers/Fathers, you better start paying attention to the individuals you ELECT into State & Local Office! These Legislator's are also making it difficult for the Treatments you can get for your Autistic Children; for they are cutting Budgets, left & right, denying you the coverage, the Services, you deserve and need! For they are Siding with the Health-care Industry, DENYING you services, & CUTTING back in our Education System, laying off Teacher's left & right making it IMPOSSIBLE for teacher's to have Autistic Children in their classrooms, or Special Education for them.
If nothing else, this is one important reason we deserve Universal or Single Payer Health Care, heck, many of us whose worked have contributed to FICA/medicare/medicaid before our jobs were OUTSOURCED! And still many worker's are still paying into the program from their "less than" minimal wage jobs!
Yet, science says that not true. I have children born after the ASD diagnosis of one of our kids, they are fully immunized and not autistic. It proves nothing, but my point is that even knowing all the anecdotal science (this was prior to the debunking) we immunized. I am old enough to remember people DIE from Polio, Measles and Rubella. People don't die from ASD.
Most of the childhood vaccinations have been mandatory since the 1940's were was all the autistic children then. A more likely culprit is all the growth hormones in our food supply which weren't widely used until the 1970's.
I personally think that autism is either over diagnosed or improprerly diagnosed much like ADD and ADHD was over the last two decades. I am someone who was clinically diagnosed with ADD, whose brothers all had ADHD. I looked at a lot of those children that were diagnosed and simply saw no actual symptoms other than they were bored children with lots of energy who would of benefited from more exercise and constructive guidance not medication.
Boys who are the most likely to be diagnosed with Autism are naturally slow to develop social and communications skills. I think paranoia is leading to the greater number of cases. The condition is so vaguely defined that it makes it a catch all. I think this will obfuscate the root of the problem and create a greater problem. I do believe that some are genuinely afflicted, but no in the numbers being stated. We need to develop better diagnosis procedures and criteria. Doing so I think would greatly help with the development of better treatments.
So is it the vaccines or the store bought food? Gotta pick one as they are extremely different issues.
I know a lot of kids raised on formula and store bought food and they are not autistic. Maybe chubby or not as healthful, but not autistic. I also know a lot of kids who have had vaccinations who are just fine. I'm sure their parents are thrilled they have not died of a completely preventable disease.
I don't know how to make my "own formula"--is that even possible? and just because i feed my children processed food and store bought formula and baby food doesn't mean i don't love them or aren't concerned about their health. it means my husband and i both work full time and simply don't have the time to grow our own food, nor the money to buy organic (which i think is a load of crap, anyway). my boys are both healthy, happy and vaccinated. if vaccines caused autism, you would see many more cases. as it stands, i feel very sorry for the unvaccinated children today that have to suffer and may die from polio, measles and other diseases that had previously been erradicated from the general population.
you know mommy, I always find it amusing when those who are vaccinated say:
My daughter and I are both not vaccinated, the only time we have to worry is when people who HAVE been recently vaccinated come into contact with us, school was a nightmare for both of us for the simple fact that when YOU get vaccinated WE have to have no contact with you for at least 48 hours. YOU'RE the ones exposing us to those diseases, hasn't that ever crossed your mind? You purposely put it in your body then say you "feel sorry" for those of us who may contract it? Seriously?
You do know that the 'doctor' that did the study 'proving' vaccines caused autism admitted that he faked the results? There is no connection. Sadly, too many people jumped onto that study and are now sure that's the cause of their child's problem.
Thank you, Terelyn.
In understand that people are looking for answers, but vaccines have not been proven to cause Autism or any other malign.
ISG, I don't feel bad for your, sorry. If you decide not to get vaccinated despite decades of proof that vaccinations save lives (not to mention the eradication of polio, rubella, etc. in the U.S.) then that's the risk YOU decide to take. Deal with it.
It drives me crazy that people villianize vaccines when there are people in Africa and other regions who would give anything for such a benefit. The only reason why Americans can be so callous about it is because we've been lucky (and rich) enough as a country to avoid these very common diseases. I guarantee that if Americans had to fear dying from Polio, anti-vaccination folks would be singing a different tune.
The thing about vaccines that most folks don't realize is that the symptoms of autism usually appear around the same times the vaccines are administered to children at certain ages: 18 mos., 36 mos, etc. One can draw a correlation between the timing of the two; however, I think it's simply a timing issue, not a cause and effect one. It is possible that any outside influence, such as vaccines, may have an impact on autism; but I think it is a one-on-one scenario.
Recent studies on the brains of children affected by autism relate back to the development of neurons and their connectors in the brain. This occurs sometime between the second and third trimester of pregnancy. What has caused this disconnect is still the puzzle of the day. This is not to say that other factors do not have input into the autism dilemma, but it does have an impact. The more science studies the problem, the more answers, causes/effects, etc. can be derived. Time will tell.
I personally think it is a combination of two or three factors (or four or five), including genetics and the environment, that are causing the vast increase in numbers. A close examination of our environment and changes in it over the past 50-75 years might be a place to start. For example, fertilizers used to be mostly animal manure. Today, it's a whole cocktail of chemicals and mixtures. Perhaps, the trigger for autism can be found in the overabundance of one of those chemicals. I don't know, but it's this kind of scenario that might be worthwhile exploring.
For those who troll or are in denial, perhaps a day spent with a couple of children with autism might enlighten you to the true trials and tribulations suffered by the parents and the children. Please do not criticize until you've walked a mile in those shoes.
1SGFitzsWife4ID- The reason you are safe from those disease here is the US is because most of us are vaccinated. The likelihood of you coming in contact with a full blown outbreak of polio or mumps in the United States is slim, though rising as more and more people choose not to vaccinate.
Your choice to not vaccinate because you are safely ensconced in a vaccinated "herd" is selfish and irresponsible. It's reaping the benefits of vaccination without accepting any of the risk. It makes most of us angry because we are all doing the responsible thing, not only for our children, but for our society at large.
My grandmother was the youngest child of 8. My mom only met 2 of her mother's siblings. 4 of the 5 that died before my mother was born died from childhood illnesses in the early 20th century. (the 5th died in an accident).
If everyone thought as you did, mothers would have to adjust to the idea that any sniffle might kill. Half of their children may not survive to adulthood. That is a reality that I do not want to see happen ever again. Go to the third world and see what happens in an unvaccinated village when measles comes through. I would rather risk having an autistic child who is alive than a so-called normal child that dies at age 10 from a preventable illness.
Consider this in 1950 there were 4,236 deaths from Diptheria, Pertusis, Tetanus, Measles and Polio; in 2000 there were 18. The population of the United States in 1950 was 150,697,361. in 2000 it was 281,421,906. the number of deaths from these diseases have been reduced by 99.998% in 50 years. That's a modern day miracle. And the reason I chose 1950 as a starting point was because by then the US no longer had the sanitation issues with it's water supply that so many point to as the reason for the outbreak numbers in the 20's and 30's.
Well said Xina. Thank you.
I'm not villainizing vaccines nor do I want you to 'feel sorry for me" I'm just giving you an example of what it's like to not be vaccinated, and dealing with people like you who do in fact villainize us. Explain to me how, if you're vaccinated, you'd have to worry about getting polio from those of us who aren't vaccinated? When it's statistical fact, and I'm sure your doctor told you when you vaccinated your child (oral vaccination) not to let your child go near people who aren't vaccinated or kiss someone that is 70 years old or older because you could give US polio.
Terelyn- I'm not saying EVERY vaccine and I'm well aware of the doctor, but I am saying that the MMR vaccine is suspect, I choose rather to be safe than sorry, as did my mother (and when I was born it was almost unheard of to not vaccinate your children)
Zapper that may all be well and true BUT when a child is doing all the "normal" things at 15 months then get the MMR vaccine and are diagnosed with Autism 15 months later it makes you wonder doesn't it?
See that's where you're wrong, I'm not going to get in a pissing match about it, because we'll all do what we think is right for our children regardless of what anyone says. Like I said above, since you're vaccinated why would you need to worry about people like me who aren't? YET we have to stay away from people like you (right after a vaccination for at least 48 hours) who are? I don't have polio, YOU do, I don't have measles, mumps, or rubella, YOU do. I'm personally not one of those anti-vaccine people, well I guess in a round about way I am, BUT I'm not going to to tell you what you should and shouldn't put in your or your children's bodies, that's for you to decide, it your child.
So, this isn't you playing the victim? I believe this entire passage is about you looking for sympathy. And, I'm sorry, but you get no sympathy from me because you are making the choice to put yourself at risk.
Xina's comment is perfect. It's selfish of you to reap the benefits of a vaccinated society (which you are, whether you admit it or not) while looking down your nose at it.
The MMR theory has been looked at time and time again. There is no scientific evidence to support it.
Autism diagnosis has increased and that has been since the increase of helicopter parents and time out kids and every child gets a trophy just for showing up at a game. I have to wonder if a lot of the increase in diagnosis for autism is just a scapegoat for ill mannered, undisciplined kids who lack social skills due to their parents permissiveness.
Marmee - that's not true. If you are around an autistic kid for 30 minutes you'll see that they are "different". They have a neurological difference in how their brains process information. It's pretty obvious. You can't discipline autism away. There are signs noticable before 6 months of age, long before a child is at an age where discipline is appropriate. And you can have a perfectly well behaved child who is on the spectrum. To blame parenting is just mean spirited.
1SGFitzsWife4ID
No, it doesn't make me wonder. The timelines are fairly stable for the appearance and diagnoses of autism vs. vaccine. As I said, all cases are on a one-on-one basis. One thing may trigger, another may not. It could be any number of factors.
Xina the Awesome is correct in that I would definitely prefer that my child was alive than dead. Autism is a terrible thing, but I wouldn't risk any child's life for lack of immunization. As a matter of fact, I recently updated all of my immunizations so that I would not take the chance of carrying diptheria, pertussis, tetanus, pneumonia, etc. I am a grandmother. If I were to become ill, I could transmit one of these deadly diseases to an infant, who could very easily die from this exposure. I'm not willing to take the chance.
It is nice to start off Monday with some good news, even it is not really concerning a news "event".
Jeremy, I have a diagnosis of Aspergers. I know I have and always had, all the signs and symptoms. My accomplishments are probably greater than you will ever achieve because I have bloomed, and you are too self-satisfied with yourself and ready to put down others who have Aspergers. Yes, there IS such a thing as autism, and NO, it not simply the matter of a kid acting up or being "difficult."
My diagnosis came late in life, and that may be either because my case is mild, or that I have had a chance to assimilate to social situations and social cues, and have not carried the label with me most of my life, causing me to "brand myself." I am 59 years old, and if you still want to describe us as "spoiled brats who just need a spanking," you won't want to meet me. I can make life pretty rough for bigots, and even though I am only five-feet tall, I have already cornered and trapped bigots and told them off. After that, ALL of them have deferred to me, and maybe, a few have apologized. You have NO idea what it feels like to go through life with an invisible disability. Presently, I hold a full-time, very responsible job even though I am eligible for disability. I found out last year from a disability attorney that people with Aspergers get disability very easily because of the way they are treated by employers, and my experience in past workplaces has been pretty rough, but I will not take the vow of poverty that is disability. Even if I did, people will always be trying to "turn me in" as a disability "fraud" because I don't "look" disabled. It would be people like you who would enjoy continuing to make the life of a person with Aspergers a continuing nightmare of rejection and ignorant misunderstanding for a disability we never asked for.
Wow, I am impressed. I wish some of the kids I know who are on the spectrum could meet you. You go girl!
The article was interesting, however, I would be more interested in learning about what these super expensive one-on-one interventions are. In fact, being a grandparent of two wonderful autistic children, and an experienced special education teacher, I have tons of time to do a lot of one on one. A book, some courses, what qualified one to provide these services so successfully? I would really like to hear from the author of the article or and autism specialist who provides these services with such a high success rate. Please respond.
One of the templates I used was "Social Skills Activities for Special Children" by Mannix (which I always like to joke is good for "not special" children as well). It breaks down the actual steps to social skills that most people don't really pay attention to and just learn in the course of daily interaction.
For example, under the topic of 'Paying Attention', it might ask "Why is it important to pay attention?" How can you show that your are paying attention?" "How can you tell if others are paying attention to you?" etc., and the lesson is followed by an "attention" activity to reinforce the lesson. I also used two books, both called "What Would You Do", to teach safety and life lesson/skills.
For my child, safety was an issue. He would wander off, not respond when called, leave school grounds, etc. I used "Social Skills" by Mannix and blended in safety tips from places like "The Laura Recovery Center" and the two "What Would You Do?" books to build a customized to my child safety program and then we would play "The Safety Game." I'd ask my child likely scenarios and guide him into finding the right or best answer. An example would be "We are gong to Sea World today. What would you do if you were separated from your parents and got lost?" Social skills and problem solving skills were two very big issues in my house.
Hilda the greatest thing I ever learned with respect to Autism, is two simple courses, "beginning sign language and advanced sign language" I spent a total of 150.00 plus the cost of books and learned to sign (I too was a special education teacher)
Sign language is a left and right brain ability, I personally think everyone should learn it even if it's only the alphabet, that way if you ever have a stroke it's the one thing your brain will retain and you can still communicate, even if you have to finger spell every word.
I have a 26 year old autistic step-daughter and the three months we have her out of the year (I've spent the last 5 years teaching her to sign) are some of the most fun I have, we have very few meltdowns while she's with us (compared to her mother calling us at least 3 times a week) my step-daughter is brilliant it's her frustration with not being able to get her point across that's the problem and because of her mother's hatred of me (she refuses to learn to sign) to the detriment of the child. It's so stupid too, because ex-wife calls us, we get on video chat with Kelli, Kelli tells me what's going on and I have to relay it to husband who has to relay it to ex-wife.
All I have to say really is good luck, you seem like someone who really cares about "getting through" and that is very admirable!
I agree and what is the excuse for them costing so much! It seems it would be cheaper for the parents or someone to go to school and be the therepist, they couldn't possibly be paying that much for schooling!
I personally think it's the word "special or specialist" in front of our names Melba, I was one of the few that when I was teaching chose to take a SEPHA's "salary" I don't think I'm better than anyone else, and we all come up with what is "best" for each individual child, there is no one size fits all, that's what's wrong with special education today.
I really like the book "Relationship Development Intervention for Young Children" by Steven Gutstein and Rachelle Sheely. It lays out a step-by-step program with activities that a parent or grandparent can do with the autistic child.
I hate how there is supposedly a "cure" or amazing progress if one does this or that. Jenny McCarthy...I'd like to smack her in the head, for example, with her "diet" book/cure. This is my son's case - Nicholas was diagnosed at two years/three months (very early by 1995 standards). He had intensive, in-home ABA therapy for 30+ hours per week for the first year and probably more with the in-school/in-home therapy that he had in year two. I had him on a casein free and gluten free diet for two years (got that, Jenny). He had an MRI, EEG, Landau-Kleffner test, every metabolic test that we could think of, etc. I have a master's degree (in education, btw), and my husband is also educated, an engineer by trade. I did every possible intervention and researched day and night, even partnered with Boston Children's Hospital for research, even genetic research, and my son is now 18, non-verbal, and still severe in all aspects of autism. No cures were found here. I'd love for the experts to explain that, but they can't.
DMarie - We've been, correction... we are going through the same thing here with our son. We have done just about everything we can think of to do for him, aside from IV chelation, which we feel is dangerous and unproven. Our son is 9 years old and was diagnosed with "pdd-nos" at age 22 months old - very early by any standard as well. Doctors inititally told us, "Oh this looks mild. Let's get going on treatment and he'll do very well." So we did just that. Speech, OT, in-home ABA, gfcf diet, a million supplements and RXx overseen by DAN doctors, homeopaths, etc etc. Even an in-home HBOT chamber. But at nine years old, our son is still VERY dependent on us for everything. He can't read, write, speak, spell, count, tie his shoes, etc. Although there are definitely glimmers of intelligence, he is very very limited in what he can do, and in what he is interested in. I'm not sure what else we could have done, or still can do, to help him to move forward. So this article is interesting, but the fact that it says kids who receive early intervention do better... eh, been there, done that. Didn't work. There's something else "out there" that might explain why some kids do seem to get better, and some just cannot.
I must ask, have you tried an Ipad or apple/android device? When the Ipad appeared, my nonverbal nephew came alive. The change was so noticeable, that we used whatever resources we could to continue what I call electronic therapy. After a year of electronic therapy in addition to speech and ot twice a week, he is too independent for my peace of mind. With our help, he is also now aware of and vocallizing any theraputic outlet he needs. I realize he isn't typical, but then we have continually allowed him to become aware of and insist that his personal needs are met.
Cathy- BRILLIANT suggestion! I never even thought of that, it'll be like a "new age" word board, thank you so much! Can't wait to try it!
Several options from talking boards to iPads are available. Funding is also (somewhat) available for these items, depending on which state/area you live in. There are several discussion boards on Facebook that offer support on questions regarding autism, too. (Some are very good, some aren't. Take anything with a grain of salt.) You might discover some other directions and advice regarding materials and availability, too. I've found many of them to be most helpful. Best wishes.
DMarie - I feel for your situation. Having worked with numerous students diagnosed with Autism, seldom have I seen what this article is claiming. I have seen Aspergers children who have become high achievers, but for most students I have worked with in the lower elementary grades, this is not the case. If, like this article claims, there is some one-on-one best practice therapy that really works, then I would like to know so I can help my grandchildren.
The best one on one for my autistic nephew has been just that. One on One. We take the time and energy to provide him with continual one on one care. He has been in therapy with Early intervention since he was born. When he graduated from EI, they had helped to put other stratagies in place to help him CONTINUE to succeed. Everyone involved would put aside any issue. Even while watching tv, we are consistently giving the attention to talk with him, sit with him, whatever. Also, I wold like to say that my android phone has provided immeasurable theraputic opportunities for him.
I wish you luck,. Finances are not the best treatment for anyone. Love and attention are invaluable. For anyone interested, Early Intervention is available to ANY child with a difficult birth, or any other type of delay. Contact your county Help Me Grow office. They provided continual one on one therapy for three years, without them, my loving nephew would not be the person he is right now.
My son was classified as Mentally Retarded, Autism was not as easily diagnosed as it is now, when he was 16 we were sure this was what he had, when we went to the specialist they did tests and one of them was interviewing him while the specialists complained about being thirsty, my son had a drink in front of him and offered it to her. At the end of the session they said he had autistic tendencies, but because he cared enough to offer a drink he could not have autism. What they wanted to diagnose autism someone with no manners. My son didn't care she was thirsty, he had been taught "repeatedly" manners. He flaps his arms, rocks, repeats lines from movies and cartoons. Talks only about movies and cartoons, he has seizures. As a child he had no eye contact which we worked on repeatdly. But he isn't classified as autistic. The spectrum is broad but it all depends on who you go to and how smart they are.
Hilda - my son had the same therapy as two other children in our town. One had Asperger's Syndrome and is non-distinguishable from her peers now. One gained some language and made some other gains, but is still pretty impaired. My son has remained non-verbal and quite severe, and I probably did the most research/interventions out of the three moms for these children. Really, the child who did the best seemed to have the least involved parents. It seems like it is just meant to be for some of these kids; my son's genetic tests have come back negative, and his medical tests have as well. By all MRI/EEG and metabolic tests done, he should be normal. We've had comparative studies done with my other three "highly intelligent" sons (one who was second in his graduating class), one who is one year away from being a U.S. Naval Officer/engineer, and one who is considered gifted in the arts, and there is no known reason why my autistic son should be this way. It is tragic, nothing less, and while I will never give up hope, in all liklihood, Nick will stay the way he is, despite intensive therapy for his entire lifetime, so far. I wish the best for your family members. I think that this is really very sad.
DMarie the only thing I can offer is to learn sign language (it's never too late!) even if you only learn the alphabet and to finger spell I believe it will change things by leaps and bounds it was the first thing I taught my step-daughter 5 years ago (she's now 26) her and I can communicate now like two "normal" people, being able to communicate has made a tremendous difference (she's mostly non-verbal) unless she's repeating something you said or as may above said repeating lines from movies or cartoons.
I've also learned that when I ask her something that has more than one option she'll always repeat back the first thing you said, so I've learned to ask the question at least twice and change the options around to find out what she really wants, for example "do you want carrots, green beans, or corn?" her answer will be carrots, then I'll ask her again in a little while and change the order "do you want corn, carrots, or green beans?" she usually picks carrots again, now I don't know if she does it because it's what she's fixated on at the moment or if it's actually what she wants, but i do know if she says carrots and i don't make carrots she gets upset.
A lot of the things that make kids "bloom" seem to be common sense. I'm not terribly surprised to learn that involved & educated parents who utilize whatever help they can find tend to yield better results for their kids (not to trivialize how hard it is to get these things done). Of course, bloomers not having intellectual disabilities probably helps.
I've been involved with people with disabilities for most of my personal life and all of my professional life. The autism spectrum is
To Gorzynski and Rockmebritney, you both got the lowest score possible on the Compassionate scale and the Valid Knowledge scale. Good for you. Although there is still so much to be researched, learned, and applied, early diagnosis and early intervention is a must. There are some amazing outcomes, some average outcomes, and, sadly, as is the case for DMarie, very little improvement. It is so important for all children diagnosed with ASD, that those who are there for them, parents, teachers, doctors, specialists, et all, NEVER give up, never fall into dispair, and never lose hope.
Precisely: When (now) 1 of 66 (!) newborns is autistic, it is because of non-formal diagnosis, lack of interdisciplinary diagnosis (critical to any legit diagnosis), and "fudging" of the data. Notice that not one leading researcher who is a household name in every home with "authentic" autistic children is ever cited by all the new age babble. Why? Again: the kids studied ARE NOT AUTISTIC.
You take away all the foods that have additives, you take away those ever mounting conditions that affect so many of our children. Since the food industry began adding chemicals to (improve taste, looks), our children have developed symptoms that didn't exist before. The sugar high that is in everything you buy, has created the O.C.D., Hyper, Autistic, child. You clean out the system of this chemical garbage and you take care of the problem. Remember, the Pharmaceutical industry, makes billions of dollars developing cures for problems they have created on purpose.
tonya - when Nick was born I used to grow my own vegetables and buy everything else from a health food store. Nick had absolutely no additives in his food. We did a cleansing of his system with the help of consultants. I used to make my own baby food for my kids and my autistic son was nursed (not bottle fed), so throw your theory elsewhere please. Today, I live on a farm, and am almost 100% self-sufficient with food, and this makes no difference for my son. Where did you gain your expertise as a dietary consultant?
DMarie- tonya isn't 100% incorrect but I will ask you did your son get his MMR vaccination? We eat pretty much the same way you do, though we "treat" ourselves to the once a month bad for you eating out kind of thing, just yesterday we had Papa Murphy's Pizza. My step-daughter from what i've researched was "normal" until she got her first MMR vaccination after that she was diagnosed with Autism 15 months later, because she had stopped talking and wasn't doing any of the things she had previously been doing.
If the MMR shot caused Autism, then why doesn't ALL KIDS have it? Just asking? I have had this shot 3 times now. When I was a toddler, when I went into the Army, and just recently when I started Radiology Technologist program. Wait, then that explains my issues. Anyways...No one knows for sure what causes Autism. It is clearly something going on with the brain and other systems. I feel for the kids and their parents. I was raising my son's half-brother who has Aspergers. It was hard for me to raise him. He was mad at me for taking him away from his great grandmother who let him do what ever he wanted. He tried to hurt my son and even tried to run away (he was only about 3 at the time). I do think there are other issues with him,(his father has something wrong with him as well). I do worry about my son but I don't dwell on it. He is 5 and doing well in school. For of those who has children with Autism, I do pray that soon a cause/cure will be found. In the mean while, love your kids regardless, they are gifts from God
FWIW, I have one NT child who received the combo MMR shot, one NT child who received the individual measles/mumps/rubella shots, and one child who we now recognize was exhibiting signs of ASD long before she received the combo MMR shot (the individual shots had been discontinued by the manufacturer under pressure from the CDC or we would've gotten them for her as well).
Mamabearoo- We also were involved with DAN and Rimland's study that prompted us to put Nick on his casein and gluten-free diet for two years. I think that at some point, we realized that we could not "undo" autism. Nick currently goes to a school for autistic students and has ABA, still, all day. It is hard to watch my son this way after so much work on his part and from all of the teachers who have tried to help him. Unlike so many you'll hear say this, I actually do know what you are going through. Don't get discouraged; it is a long, tough road that we journey with this disorder, but this is the hand we've been dealt. God bless, and don't lose hope. Ignore the supposed experts that talk about the cures; I really believe that the "cured" are Asperger's Syndrome children who would have progressed anyway.
I concur DMarie, my step-daughter will never be "cured" either, I no longer even "hope" but we do what we can to make it easier for them right? We never really "give up" no matter what they say to us. Or at least I refuse to give up, even if Kelli is never "normal" I know that with our love and guidance she will at least be able to (I don't know what the word I'm searching for is) be independent?
I have a bloomer and DMarie, I can honestly say, the therapy certainly was the key to helping her - but I think only because her brain was able to be helped. Not all kids can be reached and diet, therapy, early intervention can only do so much. While she was textbook and severe on most tests and scales, I spent many years immersed in the Austism / Aspergers / PDD- NOS community and there were several differences with my child that perhaps were cues to her blooming. I actually chose to NOT do the 30-40 hours a week of one on one therapy when she was just 4. It seemed too much for her. We stayed in a small (8-2) group setting 3x per week at a special (private) school and had a student work one on one with her once or twice a week for an hour or two (ABA therapy). I will say here we pulled her from the public school system because it was just so glaringly inadequate. Insurance did help with the school cost back then (early 2000's). I was told I was doing her a disservice by not putting her in the more intensive program but I just followed my gut on what my child needed. While there is no doubt there were severe issues (she would still have been diagnosed by the new standards), my daughter progressed at a rapid rate and was tested in mostly "normal" (low - but normal) ranges when I had her tested just before Kindergarten. Her progress was so great that the professor/dr (I had the testing done at a local university after hearing scary stories of 1 doctors opinion being devastating for other parents) tell me that if I hadn't come in with the NOTEBOOKS full of her history with test results and various opinions (this was my 2 percentile child) that she never would have believed how far she had come. There were still signs of social issues, and there still are today, but so much progress was made. Today, as I see my 14 year old daughter head off to 8th grade with confidence, I allow myself some moments of pride and self praise that perhaps I did make the right choices for her. As parents we really beat ourselves up and wonder if we did the right thing. I made the right choices not because she's "bloomed", but because she's happy. I have had to adjust my perspective a bit because her happy is not always what my happy would be. That can be hard. She bloomed not just because I did the "right" intervention, but because the therapies were what she needed to unlock her brain. Not all kids will respond as she did. Some will not respond at all. As far as what works best, it's a puzzle and each child will be different. I do know I asked a therapist to leave my house when my child was only 2 1/2 when she made her cry. To me, that was not positive reinforcement and I would not stand for it. The therapy that worked best for her was clear, positive reinforcement and example. Her speech was very echoic and she would mimic early on. This was our tool to help her learn that words had value to her. By 3, she would repeat sentence like utterances like "let's go play", but it was a one word type blurr of the words ("esgopay") that she had heard other kids say - but she still could not tell me is she wanted milk or juice (she would just repeat "milk or juice" when I would ask). At home, I just began saying absolutely everything I could as an example of appropriate speech. We basically used her echoic speech to guide her to active speech.
This is a tough journey and as the parent of a bloomer, I sometimes feel like an outsider vs. the parents that have children that have not bloomed. I've been told the she must not have really been Autistic, that it was a mis diagnosis. This pisses me off, but I understand it might be easier for a parent to think that vs. thinking that my child "bloomed", and theirs did not. The bottom line is yes, therapy can help greatly and do wonderful things for these children. However, it is not a "cure" and anyone that says there is one way to unlock these children just because it worked for their child is delusional. Every case is different and sadly, some children will not progress as much as others.
I would be pissed off too Lin, is it fact that some children are misdiagnosed? Of course but we as parents KNOW our children better than any one else, Your story is just one of many where I personally believe (for what it's worth) that you knew what was right for your daughter and what was not, if i had the opportunity to be with my step-daughter her entire life I can't help but think things might be different, not because her mother is a bad mother, because she's not, but because I, like you, educated ourselves and did what you thought was best, which in turn was the right thing don't you think?
Did you ever try switching it up? I do this with my step-daughter I ask if she wants milk or juice, the first time and she'll say milk, then I'll ask her again but I'll ask if she wants juice or milk, most of the time she'll say milk, like I said before I don't know if she's saying that because she really wants milk or if she's just fixated on the word milk. But over the years I've noticed that when I switch up the options she usually gives me what she really wants.
Back then I would offer her milk or juice - verbally and physically. It was like the words confused her completely. She would look at me and say "milk or juice?" Very echoic, like I said. Knowing her now, I wonder if she really didn't care if she had milk or juice. She wouldn't even reach up and take one, just repeat the question. That was just one example. At ages 2 and 3, she didn't seem to UNDERSTAND a word I said. I would offer her both, then if she physically took one, I planned to reinforce her choice with the correct word.
I will never forget the day when she was about 3 1/2 and had been at the special therapy school for a couple months. I was changing her sister's diaper and asked her to hand me a clean diaper. She did! It was like winning the lottery! She understood me!
Sadly, parents don't always make the best choices for their child. I have seen several kids that I KNEW would respond better to different approaches stuck in a public school system. I wanted to shake their parents. Take back the flipping Lexus and spend some $ on your child's future!!!! The worst is the school legally can't say "your child would be better off in a private, smaller ratio setting" - this means the school district can't provide for them and can get sued. So the parents hear "yes, we can help" and just go with it. My daughter was in a public school program for 4 months at the age of 3. Once I found the private school, it was night and day difference. It will always boggle my mind when a parent doesn't choose their child's future first.