living with my young son dancing to some other drum is like staring at a starry, starry sky trying to get a handle on the concept of infinity.......
extract from Ooops! Wrong Planet Syndrome
Prior to the 1990s it was estimated that autism affected 5 in 10,000 live births, but recent studies show that it may now affect as many as 1 in 1000. Whether this is due to an increase in actual numbers or an increase in diagnosed cases is uncertain. Some people suggest that the increase is related to changes in diet or the vaccination program in infants but these are highly contentious issues.
Autism is ideally diagnosed at around 3 years of age but is often not spotted until much later. It is 7 times more likely to occur in boys than girls. Some people mistakenly believe that autism is a psychological problem brought on by bad parenting, but this is unfounded and places an unnecessary burden of guilt on the families involved. The widespread prevalence of autism indicates that it is not affected by race, intellect or the social status of the family, although there is some evidence of a possible genetic link.
Symptoms - begin to become apparent from around 24 - 30 months. Symptoms may be mild or strong and the pattern will be different in each individual. The following is an oversimplified list of a very complex set of behaviours:
To be diagnosed as having autism the individual should be shown to exhibit at least six of the above symptoms across three broad areas: social, behavioural and linguistic, as well as showing delays in communication, social interaction and play. The onset of the changes has to occur before the age of 3.
All too often neuroleptic drug treatment is deemed to be the way to treat adults with autism in order to keep the patients docile. This therapy originated when autism was less well understood than it is now, but continues to be the method of choice (probably through ignorance) of many practitioners today. Neuroleptic drugs have many dangerous physical side effects and should only ever be prescribed with extreme caution. The use of such drugs for people with autism can be detrimental in that they further confuse the mind and hinder communication therefore adding to the frustrations of the patient and reducing their quality of life.
Naltrexone is a beta-endorphin inhibitor which has some shown success (although results are inconsistent) as a drug therapy for autism. The theory is that there are high levels of naturally occurring beta-endorphin in the brains of people with autism, resulting in a decreased need for gaining pleasure through social interaction. By blocking the endorphin receptors, naltrexone acts to reduce background levels and therefore enhances the requirement to be sociable. The drug is also effective in reducing the tendency to self-harm.
Vitamin B6, especially in conjunction with magnesium, has long been known to be helpful in about half of all cases. It reduces the frequency, of seizures, sometimes eliminating them altogether and helps control obsessive/compulsive behaviour.
Injections of the hormone secretin are proving to be extremely useful in some autistic children. This research is still new and clinical trials are on-going; little is known about the how it works or whether there are any side effects.
Special education and behaviour modification programs are useful in many cases, but again individuals vary vastly in the severity of their autism and the need for this should be carefully assessed. Some autistics manage to cope with mainstream education, but most are overwhelmed by the social aspects of school.
Computers are proving to be extremely beneficial to people with autism. Individuals can control the level of stimulation to suit themselves and the computer provides an excellent means of communication which they can take advantage of. The computer also provides a resource to play, be creative and learn in an unthreatening and self-directed environment where users are not overloaded with external stimuli.
Relaxation, meditation, visual imagery therapy, and exercise are useful techniques for the autistic individual as well as for the rest of the so-called 'normal' population!
Outlook
While there is no cure for autism, the best that can be done is to diagnose and understand the condition early enough so that the child can grow up in an environment which is safe and suited to their own special requirements. It is sometimes possible to partially manage the symptoms with drug and/or vitamin therapy and through carefully structured education. A great deal of research is being done and hopefully in the future it will be possible for all autistic people to enjoy a good quality of life and to be happy and fulfilled.
For further information: The Autism Research Institute (ARI), is the hub of a worldwide network of parents and professionals concerned with autism. It was founded in 1967 to conduct and foster scientific research designed to improve the methods of diagnosing, treating, and preventing autism. Their web site can be found at: http://www.autism.com/ari/
References include:http://www.unc.edu/~cory/autism-info/CHALU.html http://www.autism-society.org/ http://www.autism.org/ http://www.apana.supanet.com http://www.shifth.mistral.co.uk/autism/ http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/autismopioid/treatments.htm
What is Autism? Autism is a topic which is widely discussed in the book Cage of Butterflies; Autism is a biological disorder of the brain that impairs communication and social skills. Autistics have been described as being in their "own world". Many high functioning autistics describe two worlds; "their world" and the "outside world" Many autistics describe their experience as "thinking in pictures".
Parents or relatives of an autistic person may display autistic-like behavior, for example they might experience some communication and emotional disorders or they might repeat their behavior and have troubles with talking or expressing them selves. The symptoms of autism always depend on the person.
People affected by autism are are sometimes aggressive and might even try to harm themselves, or if the symptoms aren't as severe, the people have learning difficulties or problems with getting along with others. The most common symptom is the serious inability to relate to other people.
For autistic children routine is a very common thing. Unlike other children, they usually do not interact with one another as others do. Constant screaming fits, rocking back and forth, arm flapping, pulling of hair, biting of their own hands and banging their heads against walls can be classified as these routine behaviors. Also urges to play with their own saliva and urine.
The worlds of autistic children can be described as being turned totally upside down. For a typical individual, we take the normal function of our five senses for granted:
An example of the impact a dysfunctional sensory system may have is, for instance
A walk Through the Neighborhood.
Take yourself for an example; the following scenario should sound like a perfectly normal thing that you are quite capable of achieving.
You, a typical individual, would have no problem walking down the street with a friend, having a conversation, hearing the sounds of the neighborhood in the background, smelling flowers, and chewing gum, all at the same time.
Whereas for an autistic individual, who has a dysfunctional sensory system, this typical experience may be totally overwhelming. The individual may be completely oblivious to the sounds of the neighborhood such as an ambulance screaming by, or may be totally overpowered by the smell of the flowers. The sun shining through the trees may be such an intense experience, it may inhibit the individual from being able to concentrate on walking down the side walk.
Some people who have over come autism as children wrote books describing their feelings and emotions. A lot of these people wrote about how some noises hurt or terrified them so they had to withdraw to their own world. Drifting away in their own world is another problem, because whilst they are doing that, autistic children are completely oblivious of what is happening in the real world, this proposes a great danger for the children.
There is no test for diagnosing autism. It is usually diagnosed by the behavior and actions of newborn babies and young children. There is also no proven cure for this disease. The reason for this is, that if one particular treatment is developed it would not work for every patient, because some patients might have more difficulties In speech, where as others might need assistance in hearing, therefore it is an individual disorder.
One excellent treatment that has been invented by an autistic adult is the Hug Box. The Hug Box is a simple soft box, into which a child could crawl if they were feeling insecure. The inventor insisted that when she was a child, she often experienced great feelings of loneliness, and often wanted someone close, so she crept under a pile of blankets and pillows.
There are also a few other methods of curing autistic children. There are usually a few teaching methods, or just a visit to a professional. Behavior Modification is one method where autistic children are taught useful skills or are taught to communicate properly. Sometimes autistic children need to attend school 6 times a week so that they would not forget a particular skill that took them months to learn. Not all autistic adults work at handicapped workshops; some actually get jobs like normal people and attend universities.
Overall, autism is a disorder which affects the brain and has no specific established cure so, hopefully a real cure will be found soon.
The number of children diagnosed with autism has increased consistently over the last twenty years. In fact, in the last six years, a study showed a 250% increase. In April, 2002, the U.S. Congress declared that autism was a national health emergency, and vowed to "exponentially" increase funding for research on preventing and treating autism. Is autism an epidemic that will explode if we don't find the source? And if so, what is that source?
Viewed from an impassionate, statistical stance, it's still frightening. Autism diagnosis in the United States has increased by roughly 23% annually, for the past ten years. State-side, it is estimated that 1 in 110 children under the age of eleven has autism. This isn't restricted to the US, either. The Medical Research Council just recently reported that 1 in 166 children in the UK are autistic. These children have to be cared for by society, and the estimated cost to care for an autistic child for life is around four million dollars. Even ignoring the pain of a family coping with an autistic child, it's a terrifying result.
Mercury poisoning has been shown by the CDC to affect neuro-development in children. Of course, nobody exposes their child to mercury, right? A few years ago, the FDA outlawed the use of Thimerosal in children's vaccines. You see, it was used as a preservative in multi-dose infant vaccines. Thimerosal is a derivative of mercury. In fact, nearly 50% of the weight of many of these vaccines was composed of ethyl mercury. Statistics over the last twelve years show that there is a perceived correlation between the rates in autism and the amount of mercury children are exposed to in vaccinations.
MMR vaccination is among the most common vaccines used in the world. It stands for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. It is a vaccine that is given in multiple stages, over the growth of a child. Researchers at Utah State University analyzed the blood of 125 autistic children and 92 children without autism. They exposed the blood samples to the vaccine, and studied the results. 75 of the children with autism had "unusual" anti-measles reactions. None of the normal children had these reactions. Antibodies found to attack the brain of some autistic children, by damaging the glial cells which make up the myelin sheath of the neurons in the brain, were found in 90% of the 75 unusual reactions.
"Stemming from this evidence, we suggest that an inappropriate antibody response to MMR, specifically the measles component thereof, might be related to pathogenesis of autism." - Journal of Biomedical Science
Autism can start to develop in a seemingly normal child. This is often referred to as regressive autism. One of the more commonly talked about pieces of "evidence" linking autism and vaccination is that autism regression seems to spike at the times of the MMR vaccinations, including the one for five year old children. I have been unable to find any real data to validate or disprove this assertion.
The statistics behind the increase in autism are interesting, if examined closely. The rates of increase vary by extreme amounts, from state to state, as well as over time. It is certain that some of the increase in diagnosis comes from better education and testing. How much of the increase it accounts for is hotly debated. There are also dramatically different autism rates reported in the different states. Very dramatically different. All of this lends a lack of credibility to the statistics about autism.
In 1999, the CDC issued a report on autism, discussing the known causes, how it affects children, and very specifically, a discussion on the possibilities of the connection of autism with MMR and other vaccines. The CDC claims that the only real proof given by proponents of this connection can be traced to one study published in Lancet in 1998, and that the study is suspect. In fact, apparently there was an article within the very same issue questioning the validity of the results. They also cited studies showing that early vaccination does not cause earlier expression of autism. They also claim that statistical coincidences are easily explainable in that parents tend to round measuring the lifespan of their infants in terms of months, and 18 months is a very easy number to approximate to, which could account for the statistical abnormality around that region.
Both the British government and the CDC recommend MMR vaccination with very little apparent reserve. And it is worth noting the millions of lives that have been saved by the vaccinations. In fact, Oolong points out that there has been a definite correlation between measles and autism for a couple of decades now, so it has probably prevented more cases of autism than it has caused, even if the vaccine does trigger it. The debate is really more strongly centered around the question, "if MMR does sometimes cause autism, why haven't we improved or replaced the vaccine yet?" As more parents refuse their children vaccination, the risk of an outbreak of one of these diseases grows.
There are several reports conducted by other researchers which also search for connections between MMR vaccination and autism. Thus far, the bulk of them, particularly the ones cited most frequently by the government organizations, do not suggest a correlation between MMR immunization and an increase in autism. However, the camp promoting the MMR link claims that researchers with data that showed a correlation refused to hand over their data. Is this all misinformation, poorly collected information, or outright lies? And on which side? A parent unsure about whether to vaccinate can find enough "data" to support their decision right now, which ever way they decide they want to go.
All is not hopeless, though. The removal of Thimerosal from children's vaccines is certainly encouraging. Hopefully the increase in government spending on autism will help to prove or disprove these correlations. Until then, it becomes a matter of faith.
Sources http://www.mercola.com/2000/jul/23/vaccination_debate.htm - The vaccination debate goes mainstream http://www.autismautoimmunityproject.org/ - Autism Autoimmunity Project http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.51490 - CDC's discussion of autism and the lack of real links with MMR vaccination http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/~shattuck/AUCD2001.PDF - National Trends in the Identification of Autism Among Children in Public Schools http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n9/abs/jbr00284.html - Time Trends in Autism and in MMR Immunization Coverage in California http://unisci.com/stories/20011/0307013.htm - No Link Found Between MMR Immunization and Autism http://www.marshall.edu/coe/atc/prevalence.html - Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence Estimates http://www.safeminds.org/vactime/vactime.html - US Autism and Vaccination Time Trends http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t000406b.html - Testimony on "The Challenges of Autism - Why the Increased Rates?" by Deborah G. Hirtz, M.D. http://www.autism-society.org/news/epidemic_hearing2.html - Hearing Declares Autism National Health Emergency
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