Topic : 12/19 Parents’ Ultimate Test: Dealing with Autism

Quote From: califlori

After reading this shows intro about the child's violent behavior, it  worries  me that many people will view others with autism as potentially violent and even fear them. Violence is unusual for a person with autism. It is not the norm but gets the most attention of course.
Since my son was diagnosed in March of 2000, I've been studying this disorder and hope that the show conveys to viewers that autism does NOT look the same on every person and each person with autism has a range of mild to severe behaviors that can arise.
Many behaviors come and go as the child explores his world around him, tries to assimilate into the environments we've created and tries to desensitize himself to what can be overwhelming environmental triggers due to heightened senses.
We need to have compassion because the population of people with autism has exploded since the 1990's and many many families have made significant progress with children who may have seemed unteachable to many.

This enormous and growing population of people WITH autism (NOT autistics - impolite term to many) will be all of our co-workers, neighbors, spouses, class mates and ultimately our greatest teachers in the next two decades and then beyond. 
Your future grandchildren and even future son-in-law may have autism.
Please honor and respect them and if you know of a relative, friend, school mate, or neighbor with autism, please do not be afraid of getting to know them better. They will develop more acceptable ways of expressing themselves by watching your example and thrive with attention. Just try to ignore the autistic behaviors and treat them like everyone else. It may take practice.
The child featured on the show can be helped a great deal if the parent has help, resources and does research. What has helped my son the most is nutrition and biomedical help such as determining trigger foods, allergens and ridding the body of toxic build ups of yeast, metals, preservatives. Also, five years completed of speech and occupational therapies. And most importantly, treating and interacting with him as we'd treat him if he was any other typical child. He is now age 10 and doing better than ever expected.

If you love somebody whose life has been touched by autism, THEY may not have enough time and energy to go on-line and research from thousands of websites to learn about all of the wonderful and varied approaches to helping their child or loved one with autism to thrive.
YOU can help by learning all you can, reading, printing info and sharing with them.
I hope this helps inform someone and I sincerely will answer any questions posed as I care very much about these kids and this topic. I will be back on-line after the holidays though.
Thank you for reading.

Quote From: fromthesquare

It makes me so angry that it took years for vaccines with mercury preservatives in them to be used up. We trust the drug companies to do no harm.  They, however, would never step up to the plate and recall the offending vaccine that parents were clamoring were making their kids autisitc.  Timerasol is not in new single dose vaccines but they were never recalled or removed from the pediatricians offices.  Most of the supply has now been used up (on our kids.)

 

I am sick and tired of hearing how mercury in vaccines has nothing to do with autism.  My son stopped talking after receiving a cluster of shots including the MMR- So do all the studies you want they don't mean anything to me.  No one asked me when the drug companies did their studies. 

 

When we found lead in toys there was a just and wise response.  Recall the contaminated toys.  Test your children's toys.  Heavy metals of any kind and in any amount are damaging to developing brain cells and neuron connections. 

 

When it was found that the same preservative, Thimerasol, was in contact lens solution there was an outcry and boycott of thimerasol containing solutions and it was removed. 

 

Parents ask your pediatrician if the vaccines your child will be receiving has thimerasol.  If their stock of vaccine still contains this toxin ask them to order preservative free vaccine. 

Quote From: gichi33

I read what Sara was going through with her son and the lack of support...  I too was in her shoes!!  My son was different from birth, I started searching for answers.  But, in the 90's everything was ADHD!!!  They had him on clonodine and aderral.  The Clonodine knock the poor guy out and he lost his hair at the age of 4!!!!  They tried saying it was hiertitary hair loss!!  Then his tantrum kept getting worse...  I had him hospitalized and they came up with bi-polar!  They then put him on Zyprezia with has now been recalled and I think lithium too.  Then child protective services got involved when the school call them after seeing bruising on his back.  The night before, he got violent and needed to be blanket wrapped a technique used by the hospital to restrain him to do no further harm to himself or to anybody else til he calms down.  But, while doing that He struggles so hard, he breaks blood vessels as a blood pressure cuff would that is too tight on an arm.  I knew when he was young, that I was was just holding on to him til the day they came to take him away, but I never thought that I would never be able to see him again!!   I don't know if they have figured out if he has autism or not, but I believe he does.  I also believe that it was wrong to punish both the mother and the child.  What is wrong this system???  Please Dr. Phil, help me get an update on  my son for Christmas!! 

Quote From: alainajoy

I appreciate the time Dr. Phil and his staff took to make an show about autism. Every time there is info about autism in the media, it is a good thing.

 

I would like to see more stories of families like mine. I have a son with severe autism. He is almost 7, nonverbal, not potty trained, very large, aggresive, and is very hard for me to take care of everyday. He is aggressive towards his siblings, who are older than he is, and he outweighs them so it is very easy to hit, push into a corner, smother, etc. I feel so badly when I have to hold him off his sister, who is 9, because he is trying to hurt her, unprovoked. And it breaks my heart to send my other kids out of the room, or tell them to go in their rooms and lock the door to hide from their brother. A family should not be like this. It hurts that my husband and i never get to go out together, someone has to stay home with Jacob. We haven't done vacations or family outings in years. Either my husband or I always has to miss events, both of us can never be there.

 

We are also stuck in middle economy. We make enough to own a small home (1100sf), but not enough to provide Jacob the things he needs. We make too much for medicaid- which would provide therapy, medications, etc. for Jacob- but not enough to pay for these expensive things ourselves. It really is the worst position to be in. If only we made a little less, Jacob could have the benefit of healthcare, several types of therapy, and respite care as well. We are living paycheck to paycheck, with no wiggle room. Jacob goes to public schol and the only therapy that he gets is the small amount they provide during the school day. The family on the show today doesn't seem to realize that they are actually very fortunate in several areas. First- they have a child who speaks and who is potty trained. If Jacob had these to skills, life would be 50% easier. Secondly, they have help. The mother said they have 2 people who come to their home to help with their son. That is a luxury. We can't even get a babysitter. Our son is too large and too difficult for other people to handle. I don't want to discount the family that was spotlighted today. They obviously have it hard. I think it would be  very painful to have your child saying such horrible things to me. But my heart aches to hear my son say anything.

 

Now the good stuff- Jacob has blesssed our lives in some amazing ways. I have an increased amount of patience, acceptance, kindness and compassion. Having a special needs child really does bring out the best in you. When he is happy, he's a ball of fun. He can be very affectionate and loves to hug and kiss me. And we have a very easy way of eliminating the people in our lives who aren't worth it. No one sticks around to be friends with the parents and siblings of special needs kids unless they are superb people. Jacob repels the losers, and really draws in the winners. We have met some great parents of other kids with autism, ome wonderful teachers and therapists, and we are so happy to have certain people in our lives. My older kids are super accepting and kind as well. they have no fear of befriending kids with special needs, and they are also both very bright. I'm blessed to have them.

 

My biggest dream right now is to have something special for my other two kids. They sacrifice so much. They deal with abuse, never have my husband or I to themselves, and have a lot of their possesions ruined by their 'little' brother. At this point, they are evern sharing a room. And an 11 year old boy and a 9 year old girl sharing a small bedroom room is not easy. But it's the only way it can work in this tiny house. It's not the best location, we have been burglarized and have some interesting characters lurk around in the park behind our home. As we look for a new house to replace this one, our needs are very specific: it can't be on a busy road because Jaocb escapes, and does not understand danger. It has to have a kitchen that we can close up- Jacob has some food obsessions. It must be near a school that Jacob  can go to. Currently he rides the bus for 2 hours a day. That is not acceptable to me. The home needs to give my other kids some freedoms- a big backyard to play in, their own rooms- this would be a dream. At this point that is all it is, a dream.

Quote From: happynurse63

 the propaganda and lies continue to be spread about thimerosal being the cause of ASD!!!
You need verified, and peer reviewed studies completed that THIMEROSAL is the DIRECT CAUSE of Autism, the anti-vaccination folks just cannot see past that!
Correlation does not imply causation!
Dr. James R Laidler, a doc who has 2 children on the spectrum, bought the whole anti-vaccination propoganda hook line and sinker.  Put his children on "special diets", and some of the other fad treatments that goes with it.  Read his story, it speaks volumes of his and his  wifes' desire to "cure" his boys!
PS: Thimerosal is no longer in any vaccines (1999 they banned the production of vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal) with the exception of the flu vaccine!