Parents with Autistic Children please?!?

Question

I have a question for parents with children on the autism spectrum. How many of you used those baby bouncers? The kind where you put your baby in it so they can bounce? I am wondering if there is a relation between baby bouncers and autism. My daughter had one and she is autistic, my son didn't have one and he is not? I never thought about it until recently but wouldn't that be a similar affect like people who shake their babies? Or am I just grasping at straws here?

I have looked at lots of pictures of babies that are autistic lately and I have noticed a lot of these baby bouncers in the pictures. My daughter loved to bounce so much but now that I know she is autistic I can't help but wonder about it possibly being caused by neck and brain damage due to baby-bouncers.

Answer 1

Hey, it's worth asking the question.  That's how scientific breakthroughs are made.  I can tell you only about my personal experience though.  I have 3 children, 2 are biological (boys).  My oldest son loved his bouncer and bounced so hard I thought he'd hurt himself.  He's now 27, not autistic, near-genius, and the youngest professor at his California State University when he was hired 2 years ago.

My middle son, who is now 16, is autistic with a high IQ.  He never would go on a bouncer as a baby or even a swing on a playground as a child. There was something about the movement of the swing that really bothered him--it would make him scream.

My adopted daughter didn't care for a bouncer and didn't want to use one.  She's healthy & normal.

That's just my experience.  Good question, though.

Answer 2

It sounds like a good theory. My son LOVED to bounce as well however he is not autistic. Interesting.

Answer 3

OMG - my son had one and he has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome - an Autism Spectrum Disorder - my daughter didnt have one and she is fine - I wonder now too about the connection

Answer 4

That's a big statement made off very little evidence. My daughter had one, and is not autistic. I wouldn't think there would be any relation.

Edit: How do you explain all the cases of Autism before they invented they baby bouncy chair. .

Answer 5

no honey, i'm sorry but baby bouncers have NOTHING to do with autism. i have 5 nephews who used bouncers and 1 who didn't. and the nephew that didn't use one is the one with autism.

besides, autism is a disorder that affects social skills and it is not caused by shaking a baby.

Answer 6

The shaking or bouncing of the bouncer would have to be very violent in order to cause damage.

Autism is a mystery. I personally believe certain things can trigger it if the child is carrying the autism gene.  No one in my immediate family has autism but I have to admit that I am worried that some immunizations trigger it.  I have heard the stories about this.

Both of my kids were in bouncers, along with my nephew and several cousins. None of them have autism...or brain/nerve damage.

Answer 7

Nope. I have seven kids, four on the spectrum (well, five if you want to include adhd)

We never had a johnny jump-up, although the last three had an exersaucer that did bounce, but one of those kids is typical.

It's genetic in our family, although there were circumstances that made it a lot worse in our oldest two children.