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"Using scores on the survey, called the First Year Inventory, the researchers identified 31 percent of children who were ultimately diagnosed with autism at age 3, the researchers said."
And thus utterly ruin high functioning autistic children by inculcating feelings of inferiority and insipid values of 'normality is righteousness' early whilst doing nothing for those with actual problems that need fixing.
It's hard to imagine how much worse
things can get for parents worried that their child might be the next victim in
the autism epidemic
In 2007, at their national convention, the American Academy of Pediatrics
urged their doctors to look for signs of autism at 18 and 24 month check-ups. .
The rate of autism in 2007 was one in 166 children.
Now, five years later, the rate is one in every 88 kids, one in every 54
boys. Here we're told that parents need to answer survey questions at one year
of age.
How long will we sit back and do nothing about autism but look for the
signs? Health officials and mainstream doctors STILL can't tell the cause,
cure, or universally accepted treatment, for autism. There's nothing that a new
mother can do to ensure that her healthy baby doesn't also end up on the autism
spectrum. How bad do the numbers have to get?
Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism
" Here we're told that parents need to answer survey questions at one year of age."
That's a good idea: Early intervention is obviously facilitated by noticing the early signs of ASD. The earlier researchers look for such early signs, the earlier they find them: children who later regress into autism during their second year of life already have abnormal brain growth trajectories by six months of age (the earliest time point in the study); as a group, children who are at risk for ASD (because they have a sibling with ASD) are neurologically different from other children by six months of age (the earliest time point in the study); children who later developed ASD were neurologically different from other children by one month of age (the earliest time point in the study); a small study of brain tissue from individuals with ASD suggests that brain overgrowth seen in infancy and early childhood can only be explained by aberrant prenatal development; dysmorphic features common in ASD are considered markers of events in the first weeks of embyonic development, etc.
There are, in fact, things that parents can do to reduce the risk that their baby will grow to develop ASD, particularly regarding events during pregnancy. For example, recent work indicates that infection during pregnancy increases the child's risk of developing ASD (a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that this prenatal effect is associated with abnormal neurodevelopment, autism-like behavioral abnormalities, abnormal immune responses, and inflammation in mice.) Developing a febrile illness such as the flu while pregnant increases the risk of ASD, as do inadequate doses of prenatal vitamins around the time of conception, maternal obesity, maternal diabetes, etc. There's more, of course, although reducing the probability of ASD-related de novo mutations by choosing a younger father for your child may not be an option in established couples . . . .
There isn't any one cause.
Victims?
I do agree we can't ignore it
I cant and wont speak for anyone else on this one. While my family WAS NOT part of this study, we did end up taking a large survey about our first born child and with the help of our Ped. we DID catch our sons Autism at a very early age and were able to get him into programs that are working for him.
We also now hear from other who do not catch their childs "signs" until later in life and have that much harder of a time both in dealing with the realization that they have a ASD child, but getting the services needed to help. Anne brings a good point...there is no centralized program/universally accepted program/therapy/treatment. I will totally agree with that...but is there a universal way to raise a child? Are all children the same? Not arguing her point at all, just pointing out that some variation is going to be needed.
As for cause/cure etc..until "high born" people, (i.e. high visible people such as politico's, actors, religous groups ect...) start coming out in more numbers, and raise a stink about it, and stand behind the issue with donations for research, studies..etc...its saddly not going to be a high priority to WHO and other health organizations.
Anne Dachel to answer your last question "how bad to the numbers have to get?" well IMHO (and ONLY IMO) 1 out of 10 or 20 and then maybe it will get some "light"
my son was diagnosed at age 2 with Autism - I did everything I could to get him treatment and got second - heck even third opinions - I cried and stayed up night doing so my research I thought I was going to lose my mind.. he still attends ABA behavior therapy 6yrs later ( he is 8 now) and I feel proud to tell parents that it works... but let the therapist know what your issues are ( because they change) and address the issues your child is having - that is what we pay for.. $38,000 a yr - luckily my insurance pays most. I luv my son to death but I will never forget the stares in stores - the inability to even get in a car - because he wouldnt stay in car seat... the running away dangerously - I was told by one dr - essentially I had a spoiled child and all I needed to do was beat his butt... i knew there was something wrong and i continued to verify my gut... I was right - but I got help early and it has changed his life and mine.
I think early identification is dangerous and unnecessary. We really need to start treating all children more carefully. The treatments that actually help Autistic children would be useful to all children. Why should Autistic children be singled out for abuse or special treatment when they tend to vary in needs and IQ even more then the general population?
My autistic child was identified as having a developmental delay at 24 months and the treatment was speech therapy (which isn't going to harm a child who turns out to be merely a natural late talker) and a preschool with a very high teacher:student ratio that incorporated ABA and Floortime (again nothing that would harm a "late bloomer"). Nothing abusive or that I would have had a problem with my NT children doing at the same age. It would just have been incredibly expensive to provide similar services, and that would've been a waste of taxpayer money.
Marytormey-1, are you just trolling or do you really think that early diagnosis of Autism is dangerous? Diagnosing ANYTHING early and being proactive is ALWAYS a good thing. It is true that Autism occurs on a spectrum and each instance varies in severity, need, and treatment. It is also true that a diagnosis means different things for people on different parts of that spectrum. However, I cannot think of an instance where a mere diagnosis would hurt. It would bring treatment and services if one wants them and, if they don't, they do not have to use those services or subscribe to that lable. As for other, neurotypical, children benefitting from treatments that come with an autsim diagnosis-I think you are missing the point. An NT child is verbal. They have social skills. They show feelings and communicate emotions with their parents, peers, and teachers. Go ahead and practice ABA with a NT child. I bet they respond beautifully and you would quickly stop spending the money (from your own pocket because insurance doesn't cover everything) that is costs to maintain some of the valuable treatments the children with Autsim receive. The NT child, by definition, would not benefit from the medications, therapy, or diets that are used in an attempt to treat Autism because there neurological system does not require the treatment or supplementation to function neurotypically. These kids benefit from early detection and treatment with therapy. Not all benefit from diet or many of the other treatments available because it is such a varying spectrum. However, if the child is on the part of the spectrum that is non-verbal, cannot sustain eye contact, does not show affection to the worse end, I bet the parents of that child would appreciate the opportunity to provide their child a treatment that may help them speak, make eye contact, or show affection. All of those things parents of NT kids take for granted.
You're a bully, nothing else, and I will now deconstruct your vapid attacks.
'Diagnosing ANYTHING early and being proactive is ALWAYS a good thing.'
Not when large amounts of false positives are made and not when the diagnostic is unreliable.
'However, I cannot think of an instance where a mere diagnosis would hurt.'
Then you have never heard of false positives and have not heard of the damage it can do to healthy children.
'It would bring treatment and services if one wants them and, if they don't, they do not have to use those services or subscribe to that lable.'
Except that many times it can lead to situations where people feel they need treatment or a child need treatment when that isn't so because of the utter fear.
'An NT child is verbal. They have social skills. They show feelings and communicate emotions with their parents, peers, and teachers.'
I have social skills, show feelings, communicate emotions with my parents, peers and teachers and I always did. You, sir, are a bigot.
'All of those things parents of NT kids take for granted.'
And most autistic children too, goddamn arguing from the goddamn extreme. What are you? A parent or an autistic who needs to drag down high functioners?
So what are the questions, and what are the answers that signal possible autism?
I agree. It leaves more questions. However, one doctor's office that we visited had a card of symptoms for autism screening. Maybe leaving that info in the office for parents to review, and then screening the child once again at 2 years, then at 3, then at 4 will catch more children with any developmental problems. Definitely it could prepare parents and schools for future learning disabilities.
No harm done.
Amen! to all of you..what is the answer?
It's about as perplexing as ASD! My daughter was 2 when she was diagnosed. I did not follow labels. I did do therepy for years. Spent every penny I had(, not to have her labeled just to receive the monetary funds needed as so many do, and we had insurance!) Would it have helped, sure, but she didn't have time to wait in line. Let alone the confidence and self esteem she would again struggle with in receiving such funding. She knows everything about ASD, but does not walk around labeling herself, it's a shame that is what it takes these days for any kind of support. Instead I cashed in every pension I had for her, sold my cars, did not ask for handouts. Did what any parent would do to raise their child ... with love, patience, and hope.
Today as I am asked how did I do it, I really have no clue, what therepy worked what didn't. I just know I just kept learning, being creative. Never gave up, and quit reading every report I got. It was valuable enough to tell me how I needed to parent. We just did different things! We still had fun, and she was able to have a pretty normal childhood. Infact she doesn't see herself much different from her peers. It is challenging, I still do not know what the answers are, but I don't look either. Having a way to test is critical, however it is not an answer. If I believed everything I got over the years, my daughter should be living in a special home, have an attendant, and still not be able to socialize. I was given handouts, from education to financial planners to determine how I would care for her for the rest of her life. Really? So my question would be how helpful are all these tests? I would have liked to panic,..but if I did, I would have been standing in line like so many, for a check or long wait for services that would someday end, then what?
Today she is 19 and next month moving off to college to become an Engineer! Works, drives, and uses technology to communicate. She has traveled this country, in every scholarship competition available. They knew her challenges, she did not get any special treatment..she was just given a different option in answering each question. in which she used an extra 20 seconds to write and then orally answer, but allowed the exact same time as everyone else. She was brilliant, and so many of them are!
If there was ever a test...please test their ability to SUCCEED!!! start funding their education, INDEPENDENCE!..as these kids are our answer to our ECONOMY! They are more gifted then you see and read.
We need to start investing in these kids...as I believe they are the ones who will bring us out of the economy. Most have an intellectual level far beyond us. They are the ones who will be our inventors, make new products, and build a new infrastructure in this country!
If I looked at a doctors report today , as they counted her out at age 2, and still carries the ASD diagnosis what would she have, a life on SSDI?
My daughter brings me the most beautiful roses every week! She may not show things as we seem to compare to, but I know I am one loved and proud MOM!
We are all in this as a society together. Right now we do not have the answers. What I do believe is that our answers to this potential epidemic..is sitting right in front of our eyes!!! By the time they get it, we will have 1 in 10 kids!! a broke system, and they will be building another silicon Valley 30 years too late!