Autism...Do you know a child?

Question

Do you know a child with Autism? Do you know a parent of an Autistic child? What are your thoughts? I am a mother of 4, 2 have Autism. I was just wondering what you think about it, or if you have any ?'s about Autism.

Answer 1

I have three children. My oldest has some shadow traites of autism, but is no where near autistic. Most of her traits don't cause interference in daily functioning now, and she's learning how to cope. Her shadow traites are anxiety, obsessive tendancies, sensory issues, likes to spend alot of time alone, gets really really annoyed when disturbed when focused.  

My son was adopted at birth. There's no genetic link to his sisters. He has/had speech/language issues.

My youngest has autism. She was diagnosed at 2-1/2.  It sure appears to be genetic in our case.  We can see the trickle down the family tree.  

For those who have been dealing with autism for a while, you'll find this essay funny.  It's a take off on Welcome to Holland, and is more of a representation of real life.  First time I read it I laughed out loud while nodding knowingly. http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/...

What do I think about autism? HONESTLY?  It sucks and I wish my daughter didn't have it. I wish no one had to deal with it.  I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.  Those first few years after she was diagnosed were so hard. Her issues still affect our whole family at times in a negative way.  My 11 yr old son has a really hard time understanding because my daughter is very bright and clever, but also pretty affected by her symptoms of autism.  I just wish she didn't have to live with the challenges she has.  I would never say "I wouldn't change a thing about her" in regards to her autism.  

Don't get me wrong, my daughter is truely amazing, and I can't imagine her any other way.  Her way with words and sense of humor delight us on a daily basis. Her charm and sweet nature just light up whomever she meets and she manages to get everyone to love her.    I am by far her biggest cheerleader, though she has many.  I also do feel truely blessed, as she's helped me grow and become more understanding, compassionate, and patient.  I've met the most wonderful people because of her autism, and it's lead me to a job where I know I'm making a difference, I feel valued, and challenged.

I know many children with autism in our community, as I started an online yahoo group for parents in our area to connect.

EDITED TO ADD:  BEETLEMILK,  I don't understand all your thumbs down either. The question clearly states "do you have any questions about autism?"  You asked alot of really good questions.  Maybe the thumbs down are  because you state as fact that autism is an autoimmune disorder.  Perhaps it is in some cases, but not all.  It certainly isn't in my daughters case.   Tee hee hee....I thought I saw you walking down the street the other day!  You're a resident of Schmolland!  And, you're welcome.

EDITED TO ADD:  KMS, I find your answer interesting. "I'm tired of all the whining coming from alot of parents"  Obviously you've never spent 24/7 for an extended period of time with your own child who has autism.  You've not experienced the dirty looks and horrible comments from strangers when out with your child. You've obviously not tried to get the help for your child only to have to jump through every hoop known to man, learn all about special education law, all while doing all you can to help your child, raise your other children, work, pay your bills.  It's EXHAUSTING at times.  None of the parents of children with autism that I know spend all their time whining and wasting time, but do focus on helping their child and getting their child the help they need.  Still, once in a while a whine is good for the soul, to let it out, feel validated by others who have walked in your shoes, and get recharged.  I honestly doubt that your aunt and uncle have never ever complained or thought about why it happened, never greived or cried, never felt frustration.  They just smile and move ahead?   Unless of course they're living saints.

Edited to add:  CRIMARCAN...you've never heard of Temple Grandin?   http://www.templegrandin.com/

Answer 2

I used to be a nanny for an autistic child. His brother also has some kind of genetic disorder that has yet to be diagnosed. There may be autism in the younger child also, but they aren't sure. The oldest is almost non-verbal. He actually started talking better when he was around my son because he would try to copy him. The younger one was completely non-verbal and at age 3 could not walk yet.

Answer 3

i work at a day care and I have one child with autism. He is a handful, but he is really smart and has a lot of potential. Even though its a challenge i enjoy working with him every day.

Answer 4

My 2.5 year old is on the cusp of an Autism diagnosis.  At this point it's suspected to be moderate to high functioning, but time will tell.  He can definitely be a handful, and sometimes seems to come from a 'different planet' than other kids, but overall I wouldn't change anything.  It's just another part of his own uniqueness.

Answer 5

I don't know anybody who has autism. But my son has autism. It's scary and heart breaking at first. But you learn to deal with it and know that there really isn't anything you can do to make your child not have it anymore. You have to learn to help your child with their needs but also make them independent.

Answer 6

no i don't know anybody that has autusm. but i did read a book that was written by an author that has autism.  

Answer 7

I actually worked with autistic children for a few years and my aunt still works with them.  My cousins little boy is autistic and my son was diagnosed with PDD/Aspergers and I think my other cousins little boy has it as well but she hasn't taken him for testing yet and my nephew is showing signs as well. One of the families I use to babysit for had 3 kids (2 boys and 1 girl) that are all autistic and they are staying involved with the studies being done to find the gene that causes it and try to find a way to prevent or atleast treat it properly.  

Answer 8

I have worked with Autistic children in the past, which means I also know parents of Autistic children.  Although there is common threads within Autism ie, the need for consistency, I believe every child is different, which is why there is a spectrum, I guess.  I also find them extremely interesting, in the sense that even though they can be living in a world parallel to ours, they tend to notice the little things that go unnoticed to us.  Having two children with Autism and two without must be especially challenging.  How old are they?  You're children with Autism, are they male or female, one of each?  I have noticed that it appears to be more prevalent in males?  I'm only curious as I have yet to met nor read about a female with Autism...

Answer 9

I knew a 5 year old girl who was autistic.  I've also known a few people on the very high functioning end of the spectrum.  What do I think about it?  I don't really think anything in particular about it...  Am I supposed to?

Answer 10

Yes, my friend`s brother has it.

He shakes his hands alot and isn`t quite "with it". He goes to a special school.

But he`s no realy that bad.

It is sad, but he has friends and quite a normal life.

It depends how people see it to how it effects the people involved.

Answer 11

My cousin has Autism.  Honestly, I don't feel sorry for him or his family.  We all love him, we cherish every milestone and celebrate every little miracle.  He is at a major disadvantage (he is severe) but so are people with other "disabilities".  This may sound harsh, but I am tired of the whining coming from alot of parents.  Yes, it sucks, yes it is hard, and yes you want the best for your child....quit wasting time whining and focus that energy on helping your child!  Sorry if I have offended you or anyone else.  It's just that my aunt and uncle have never placed blame, have never complained and have worked non stop to help their son reach every little tiny milestone.  And they have done it with a smile.

Answer 12

My twin son Thomas was diagnosed with severe autism at aged three ..he is 10 now non verbal and still in nappies, i think i know all i need to know about autism and i think you can only learn from from your own child cause each child with autism is different in their own way, Thomas on youtube

http://uk.youtube.com/profile_videos?use...

Autism isn't the end of the world ...just a journey to another one !

We have coped with many things like most parents of children with Autism do ...Lack of understanding and compassion and what is truly hurtful Thomas is a big lad for 10 and often carrys his toy his baby toy everywhere for Mum's to point and say 'Are you a baby?' To which i reply 'YES he is my baby' people need to think before they speak,

Answer 13

I have two newphews and a son that are autistic. I think that it's great that there's more being done now to raise awareness of it.  

Answer 14

I am a mother of 3 sons, 2 have PDD.NOS.  My sister's daughter has the same dx, as well as my brother.  My father is asperger's.  My SIL is severely autistic.  It is an autoimmune disorder in some cases (thanks Kathi), lots of family members have other manifestations of other autoimmune disorders: allergies, eczema, alcoholism, bipolar, colitis, cancer, dyslexia

Questions I have?  

How are your other 2 kids?  Speech delays? ADD/ADHD?  Any autoimmune disorders?

Why do you think so many autistic children are exceptionally good looking boys with recessive features?

If autism is so genetic (which we know chromosomes 15 and 16 are implicated), then why do you think that kids with autism do not present with a syndromey facial features as in darwinism's survival of the fittest?  Many genetic abnormalities present as natural selection's undesireable features in the face to ward off potential mates as in DNA is bad don't breed here, yet those with autism are among the best looking kids around?

Do your autistic kids have macrocephaly?  What do you think accounts for the abnormal growth of the frontal lobe in autism?

How about really long eyelashes (associated with allergies)?

Red or curly hair, or blue, or green eyes?

Do you believe that in a family of multiple autistic children that they become more severely autistic the further they are down the birth order?

What is the deal with sensory issues and autism?

What do you think about the ever growing spectrum including dyslexia, and ADHD?

Why do neurologists push stimulants on autistic kids, knowing it doesn't work for most making them psychotic even though risperdal an antipsychotic is now FDA approved for autism yet isn't the first line of treatment?

What do you think about stoppage?  That is stopping having children, because we already have 2 spectrum kids, our chances of a third is greater than 50 percent according to hard to find sources from kennedy krieger.

What do you think about the crappy public school's in the handling of ASD's?

What do you think about the vaccines being a possible cause?  

If thimerisol is not causal then why was it removed from vaccines?

If thimerisol was causal, why aren't autism rates going down?

If thimerisol was causal, then why do so many parents attribute the MMR to autism, yet the MMR has never contained thimerisol as it is a live vaccine?

How about hypoxia, did either of your kids have hypoxia at birth?  Or a failed triple screen?

What do you think about the autism epidemic now being 1 in 66 boys?  When my oldest was diagnosed after 2000, the stats were 1 in 10,000 chance for both boys and girls.

What do you think about common comorbidities of autism like ADHD, bipolar, and dyslexia?

Please feel free to email me, I am always searching for more info.  

I believe that a part of understanding autism is to look for correlations and to answer why, I do not feel that I am whining, complaining, placing blame or not accepting my children KMS.  Seriously, my answer is worse than KMS?  I don't get it, maybe I never will no matter how hard I try.  They get as many services as we can afford.  To date we have spent 50 grand out of pocket.  I have put 5 years of nothing but energy to help them.  Part of helping them, is educating myself by going to conferences, reading medical journals and books, and networking with the best specialists in the world.

An understanding of meltdowns, sensory integration, and dyspraxia has taken a lot of stress out of our lives, and my kids are higher functioning and not on meds for it.  Ignorance and lacking insight isn't going to help anybody. The more understanding there is, then we are that much closer to preventing it, and curing it (which I do not think will happen in my lifetime).

I think that people don't get autism, case in point look at all the thumbs down given to someone 'on the spectrum' literally for just answering the question.  Obviously people need more awareness, sensitivity training, and understanding on how to recognize and interact with someone who has a social communication disorder.  It seems blatantly obvious that my answer is quite different from the lot, hence, I am quite different and that is evident.  My answer screams asperger's, I have no idea why it is offensive, how to bridge the gap with neurotypicals, and why people 'familiar' with autism don't readily recognize it and are so harsh?  My answers frequently provoke a strong negative reaction, kinda like vomiting, and it completely isn't my intention.  I don't know how to remedy this, yes I have done tons of social skills training.  Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.  It is frustrating, I have a voice, yet nobody wants to hear it.  "Be aware, be kind, and don't judge" I took that from Autism's beautiful face video since everyone loves that answer.  And I personally find THOMAS's video inspiring, I especially like the video of him with the pacifier, it is important to make others aware that just because someone is over the typical age of using it, doesn't mean its wrong.  I am certainly tired of hearing he is too big for that stroller, pacifier, diaper etc and worse the staring and pointing, and judging.

I find this interesting.  It's called 'Welcome to Holland' about the journey of the world of special needs

http://www.journeyofhearts.org/kirstimd/...

KATHI-Tee hee hee I thought I saw you walking down the street the other day?  I don't get that, is that directed to me, its under my name?  I don't get a lot of things, oh well.  Thanx again for being nice to me.  OH, ok, Schmolland, its a busy country with a rapidly growing population, yeah I must have missed you...

Answer 15

My step son is 9 and had it and our life is so hard.

Answer 16

i"m a teacher. so i've met several kids with autism. all boys except one girl.  a friend of mine has a boy with autism. he's 7. he wasn't talking until the age of 4, but now he's made great improvement. he's even started to hug and kiss his teacher and carer. he's in the same class as my own son. my son likes him  a lot, and so does everyone in school. he's a lovely boy.

as for his mum, i'm sorry to say that she's not totally accepted him. she loves him and adores him. she's neglected herself, just to be a perfect mum for him. but she's cries often, she didn't accept that he'll always be different. this has also reflected on his sister, who although is very smart, had difficulties at school. she cried often, and showed signs of stress and depression. the girl was watching her mum crying and complaining, and watching her brother (for example, on stage and not performing like the others) and it was really hard for her. she was carrying a burden which is too heavy for a 10 year old.

one day i was talking to my friend about her son, and i said something like "he's so sweet. he showed me his picture today." and then my son came to talk and play with him and i said " my son loves to play with your son, he's always talking about him at home"...and she replied "well, he doesn't know anything yet. he doesn't understand how my son really is, he wouldn't like him as much if he knew".

i give you just 3 advice.

1. remember you have 4 children. not just the 2 with special needs need your attention, but all of them, in their own special way.

2. try to accept your autistic children the way they are, and be happy for every little progress they show.

3. whatever you do, don't burden your other chidren with your stress and worries. that could destroy a child's life.

this is my insight. i hope i've helped and i wish you good luck