Autism- Page 2

[RadiGal2]

Posted: 4/2/08 at 11:53pm

My kid was original diagnosed as Autistic basically from birth it was evident that something was amiss..I was always a bit skeptical of the diagnosis -- he developed late on every front...except for walking which he did *very* early. At 15 he still has some very obvious characteristics but largely has just fine in a mainstream public school since 5th grade. The only extreme measure I took when I moved him from a private school to the public school (because he wanted to go to his big brothers school) was to have him repeat the 5th grade -- and since he is small both physically and socially it has never been an issue....and because he was always quite bright we simply in honors classes to keep him academically challenged and it seems to have worked out for him.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 1:03am

Most of the kids i work with are on some sort of special diet. My main kid is on prilarily organic, gluten free, casein free diet. The gluten free diet has been much speculated about, but for this kid... he acts like a coke head with a case of the giggles if he eats a little wheat. It's a mess. If and when I decide to get pregnant, I will go completely organic through pregnancy and breastfeeding. I don't now if it's realted, but at this point, any little bit helps.

You can get a religious exemption in many states. I don't know what the rules are there, but there is a work around for most of them. I wouldn't recommend that, though. I am just telling you... space them out.

[gogannon]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 1:15am

this autism video will blow your mind. watch and learn.
Our beautiful sons regression and recovery

[RadiGal2]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 1:28am

Food has always been such an enourmous issue with him -- some things he flatly refuses to eat based on textures I think...for example spaghetti or lasagna. It is one of the few issues my ex and I still argue about -- I feel that he should not be forced to eat something because it only stresses him out and then he gets horrible stomach aches (probably as a result of the stress he internalizes). He is incredibly compliant about everything and makes such enormous efforts at home to converse even though it's generally difficult for him, he plays tennis twice and week and at school everything is just harder (for example he won't use the school lavatories) that it just pains me to make him eat what he doesn't like. He has some favorite fruits and veggies and takes vitamins so I am sure he is reasonably well balanced. The other thing is that he is very restless during his sleep and feels incredibly tired in the morning and was suffering form headaches so I started to give him just a small amount of caffeinated soda (he hates coffee/tea/and does not care much for hot chocolate) most mornings and it seems to assuage the headache and calm him down..(which makes sense since he is mildly ADHD as well. Other that than he rarely takes medication I would guess less than 2 years combined over his entire lifetime. I only resort to it for the most extreme pressure situations, for example, standardized testing or beginning a new school- he does not like the way it makes him feel...and since his grades rarely seem affected and behavior in class is exemplary (if a bit quiet) according to his teachers I tend to comply with his wishes -- frankly, he loses his 'spark' when he takes Adderall, but he does sleep better.

As for organic....I ABSOLUTELY agree. I noticed a tremendous difference for all of my kids when I switched to all organics three years back.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:53am

That video was amazing.

[kate2]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 12:26pm

Somebody mentioned that there might be a link between Autism/Asperger's and breast feeding, and I also think there could be a connection there. Of course, it wouldn't be for all cases, but my older brother has Asperger's and he was breast fed as a baby. I was not breastfed and do not have Asperger's. He also had many different food allergies as a kid that and was on a strict diet for both his allergies and the doctor wanted to see if the diet would affect his Asperger's. I was young when all of this was going on, so I could talk to my mom and find out what else the doctors were doing and thinking about his case.

edited to add: How do you feel about "Dr. DAN" This one mother of an autistic child used to smear this cream that reeked of garlic over her autistic son 3 times a day because a doctor told her it would cure his Autism.
Updated On: 4/3/08 at 12:26 PM

[sit&dither]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 12:40pm

@ sesot et al
I took a course about alternative therapies and they mentioned that many doctors in the US actually get a bonus if a certain number of their patients receive their vaccines in the US standardly recommended time frames.

This is partially true. What you're referring to, I think, is what is known as "performance-based pay" or any one of such similarly euphamistic expressions. Some physicians, a minority at this point in time, receive bonuses or incentives from their hospital or practice for adhering to standard of care guidelines. This holds true across specialties. Pediatricians or Family Medicine physicians may be tied to vaccine rates, while Internal Medicine physicians' incentives are often tied to average patient blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose. All such incentives are provided to spure physicians to meet the gold standard recommendations (often as defined by the federal government or the specialty's academy) for every single patient.


We just need to educate parents more about rights and risks. ... I don't understand why doctors object so much to spreading them out more and waiting longer before getting the first vaccine.

It is always the patient's right (or guardian/parent's in this case) to refuse treatment. However, in regards to vaccines, doing so often puts the child at odds with the public school system, the local state's Department of Health, and any number of opportunities later in life (e.g. employment, travel, etc).

Most doctors could care less when a child receives a given immunization, as long as it is given prior to the expected timeframe of exposure to the pathogen. In some clinical practices, spacing immunizations further apart poses no probelm.

However, in the majority of cases, the resulting increased visits needed to vacinate every such child overwhelms the medical support available to a given community. Not to mention, that the payment service (Medicare, private insurance, etc.) will not reimburse the patient for the increased number of visits. The same applies to pursuing separate injections for commonly combined vaccines.

Right or wrong, managed healthcare cares less about your personalized preferences than it does for the public good or the company's profit margin. Without a willing-to-pay patient, the choice to restratify the immunization timetable is out of the doctor's control.

And finally this hypothetical requires a compliant patient. I'm sure we all here would care about the health of our child and ensure that she received all of her immunizations. However, the reality is that not everyone does or has the time/means to do so. With every added clinic visit, compliance falls, and you are left with fewer and fewer immunized children, which increases the national health risk. Again, right or wrong, our government has decided to favor the good of the majority.

Posted: 4/3/08 at 1:53pm

I'm not sure about the link to breasfeeding. All six of the kids in my family were breastfed, and none of us have showed any sign of autism or asbergers yet. I'm not completely discounting it, I'm just noticing.

[sesot]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 10:43pm

I agree that vaccines are important, but as I previously stated, in other countries they are not giving as many as the US and the time frames are spread out over a longer period of time. I got vaccinated as an infant, but I think the number has doubled if not trippled since then and now include a Hepatitis series right after birth. Yes, every family has the right to refuse vaccinations, or ask for them to be spread out over time. However, it is difficult to find doctors who won't criticize you (often to the point of putting a mother in tears) or agree to this. It is a choice, and doctors should not make a parent feel horrible because of this choice.

There are kids in public schools who have not had any vaccines. I am sure the law varies state to state and it will be a lot of paperwork, but a family can get around it.

I agree special diets can help a lot of children with disabilities, not just Autism. However, they don't work for everyone. Everyone would probably be healthier if they went on some of these special diets.

I don't know much about the breastmilk link.

[RadiGal2]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:31pm

I don't buy the breastmilk thing ...due to post partum depression issues and serve anxiety I was forbidden to this particular child the other two were nursed and have no symptoms at all.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:35pm

Have you guys seen this?

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:40pm

I will list a few things I've seen lately. It's so fascinating.
Another.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:43pm

I couldn't watch this without tearing up.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 4/3/08 at 11:50pm

Lastly, an amazing article in "Wired" last month. AMAZING.
The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 9:01pm

http://www.gettingthetruthout.org/

http://thiswayoflife.com/

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/5/08 at 9:04pm

Amazing links, everyone.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 1:43am

I'm not sure what I think about the link between breastfeeding and autism. I guess it would largely depend on the mother's diet, etc. My cousin's son has autism, and at two years old he is still breastfed. That might be just a coincidence, but still, you never know.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 7:15am

A panel discussion about the vaccine debate from Larry King

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 8:26pm

Saw this study and thought it would be of interest.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424120953.htm