anyone affected by autism?
Yes, HeadHunter is.
Yes, my family is affected by an autism spectrum disorder.
I don’t like Cheerios on Monday.
[quote]BSchroeder wrote:
I don’t like Cheerios on Monday.[/quote]
Really, neither does she…
hehehe
Seriously, why is the OP asking?
My daughter has it (4 in apr) and I wanted to see how many people are aware.
Hey Old,
I’m sorry to hear that about your daughter but I work with many kids who have autism - I’m a music therapist. Depending on the severity of it, it can really be a tough disease to manage at times.
[quote]oldcrabbybastard wrote:
My daughter has it (4 in apr) and I wanted to see how many people are aware.
[/quote]
Our son is to be tested for Asperger’s Disorder in June. He’ll be 7 in April. My cousin has Asperger’s, also (17 yrs old). One of my son’s classmates has more pronounced autism, though where he falls on the spectrum, I don’t know.
I wish there would be a public service announcement with many different kids shown and then just the words “Autism has many faces.” It’s not just a kid who avoids looking at you, not just a kid who won’t eat cheerios on Monday, not just a kid who can’t tolerate anything but the knee-high socks even in TX summers, even when he’s wearing shorts.
How long did it take for your daughter to be diagnosed?
Have you ever noticed that living with it yourself, you start to see it in other kids? You can tell that something is different about them. I work in a gym child care center and 3 of my supervisors each have a child on the spectum or being tested for an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Then there are the kids that we suspect but the parents haven’t had then diagnosed or maybe don’t even realize it themselves.
I know the radio host Imus in the Morning has done a lot to raise awareness of it. Apparently there is a lot of controversy since until recently it had been thought of as being cause by genetics, however the sharp increase in incidence disputes that - ie you cant have a genetic epidemic. So now a family group is trying to get a bill pushed through congress to force teh Natl Institute of Health to do more research into the environmental factors.
Sorry this doesnt answer your question, and maybe you already knwo this, but I just thoguht I’d offer my $.02 … I’ll also say that once you’re aware of autism, whether you know someone who is directly affected by it or not, it’s amazing how many different instances of it you see/hear reference to
[quote]Footsolider88 wrote:
Hey Old,
I’m sorry to hear that about your daughter but I work with many kids who have autism - I’m a music therapist. Depending on the severity of it, it can really be a tough disease to manage at times. [/quote]
Why would you say you were sorry? It’s still his child regardless of whether or not she has autism. It’s not something that “happened” to her, it’s who she is. I know you were just being polite and you think that was the right thing to say, but really it’s not when you think about it.
I don’t have any direct experience with autism, but many of the children my mother used to sit for had downs and a child my wife currently has in her Day-care has downs. I know that with good physical therapy, speech therapy, and loving and devoted parents a special needs child can live a very positive and fulfilling life.
How severe is the autism affecting your daughter? At 4 she should be in pre-school by now. Is she going to a specific school that specializes in her needs? I know that being in an environment that is positive for their needs they can really excel.
[quote]KBCThird wrote:
I know the radio host Imus in the Morning has done a lot to raise awareness of it. Apparently there is a lot of controversy since until recently it had been thought of as being cause by genetics, however the sharp increase in incidence disputes that - ie you cant have a genetic epidemic. So now a family group is trying to get a bill pushed through congress to force teh Natl Institute of Health to do more research into the environmental factors.
Sorry this doesnt answer your question, and maybe you already knwo this, but I just thoguht I’d offer my $.02 … I’ll also say that once you’re aware of autism, whether you know someone who is directly affected by it or not, it’s amazing how many different instances of it you see/hear reference to[/quote]
That bill past this month. It was held up for a while but made through… much thanks to Imus.
[quote]ThatGirl77 wrote:
oldcrabbybastard wrote:
My daughter has it (4 in apr) and I wanted to see how many people are aware.
Our son is to be tested for Asperger’s Disorder in June. He’ll be 7 in April. My cousin has Asperger’s, also (17 yrs old). One of my son’s classmates has more pronounced autism, though where he falls on the spectrum, I don’t know.
I wish there would be a public service announcement with many different kids shown and then just the words “Autism has many faces.” It’s not just a kid who avoids looking at you, not just a kid who won’t eat cheerios on Monday, not just a kid who can’t tolerate anything but the knee-high socks even in TX summers, even when he’s wearing shorts.
How long did it take for your daughter to be diagnosed?
Have you ever noticed that living with it yourself, you start to see it in other kids? You can tell that something is different about them. I work in a gym child care center and 3 of my supervisors each have a child on the spectum or being tested for an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Then there are the kids that we suspect but the parents haven’t had then diagnosed or maybe don’t even realize it themselves. [/quote]
We knew something was up around 13 mos when she started walking but stopped speaking. She had a vocab of 5-6 words but lost them and never regained them. She is still non verbal. She goes to public school and has a great teacher and is making great progress.
There is book titled “Songs of the Gorilla Nation” by Dawn-Prince Hughes that I think you would enjoy. She was diagnosed Aspys as an adult. It is a teriffic read for anyone interested in the hidden world of ASD’s.
I wonder why all the psuedo intelectual bastards want to have a go at headhunter ,
he might not be from your “enlightened” era but some guys really think there so smart bashing him however they have no idea what BS they just spit out .
oh and for the matter I’m pretty sure you have no idea what autism is.
(I haev been lurking in the politics forum for a while)
[quote]oldcrabbybastard wrote:
KBCThird wrote:
I know the radio host Imus in the Morning has done a lot to raise awareness of it. Apparently there is a lot of controversy since until recently it had been thought of as being cause by genetics, however the sharp increase in incidence disputes that - ie you cant have a genetic epidemic. So now a family group is trying to get a bill pushed through congress to force teh Natl Institute of Health to do more research into the environmental factors.
Sorry this doesnt answer your question, and maybe you already knwo this, but I just thoguht I’d offer my $.02 … I’ll also say that once you’re aware of autism, whether you know someone who is directly affected by it or not, it’s amazing how many different instances of it you see/hear reference to
That bill past this month. It was held up for a while but made through… much thanks to Imus.[/quote]
im really glad to hear that, thats good news
One thing I notice with my son and my friend/supervisor’s son is that they are so different and yet the same. One big glaring thing is that even though J is 12 yrs old and my son, M, is not yet 7, they’re both very naive and both deal w/ kids who are acutely aware that they’re different. At what point does J notice? When will Max notice?
I feel like I will always have to protect him because he’s different. I need to give him as many tools as I can so he can function as close to ‘normal’ as possible because, as someone else noted, this society does not easily accept “different” and they won’t for many years to come.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
eengrms76 wrote:
Why would you say you were sorry? It’s still his child regardless of whether or not she has autism. It’s not something that “happened” to her, it’s who she is. I know you were just being polite and you think that was the right thing to say, but really it’s not when you think about it. I have to disaggree. I too feel sorry that the OPs daughter has ASD. Not because she is ‘defective’ in any way, but because she is and always will be ‘different’. Not in a bad way, but in a way that will unfortunately create a subtle, but noticeable divide from the rest of the ‘normal’ population, and that is a shame, because ‘difference’ is not a popular and celebrated thing in our current society.
I don’t have any direct experience with autism, but many of the children my mother used to sit for had downs and a child my wife currently has in her Day-care has downs. I know that with good physical therapy, speech therapy, and loving and devoted parents a special needs child can live a very positive and fulfilling life. I worked as a volunteer with autistic children for 5 years. They were very rewarding for me, but I learnt that society is not ready to accept much that is ‘abnormal’. Yes, ASD people can have fulfilling and rewarding lives, but they can also have confused, awkward, isolated lives, no matter how much care and devotion is lavished upon them. One kid I worked with often thought about killing himself, because he was aware of the gulf that seperated him from his ‘peers’. And he ‘only’ has aspergers, not classic autism. His familly loves him, but they have triplets as well, one of whom also has autism and so ‘R’, ofter goes unnoticed. I’m not saying that the OP would in any way neglect his offspring, but sometimes life gets in the way of a perfect upbringing…
How severe is the autism affecting your daughter? At 4 she should be in pre-school by now. Is she going to a specific school that specializes in her needs? I know that being in an environment that is positive for their needs they can really excel.
‘Excel’ is still a relative term. Even nurtured and tutored in the best possible way, the full potential of an autistic person often does not even allow them to live independantly.[/quote]
thank you bushido, I wasn’t trying to be diplomatic towards the OP but empathetic because I know the challenges that autism can bring - this is not to say raising a “normal” child doesn’t present challenges as well but I do admire parents who raise and/or have raised autistic children. Asperger’s has similar traits to autism i.e. repetitive patterns, strict adherence to routine, etc but there is more use of language with Asperger’s as well as hypersensitivity to details i.e. staring at photos, tv etc.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
I have to disaggree. I too feel sorry that the OPs daughter has ASD. Not because she is ‘defective’ in any way, but because she is and always will be ‘different’. Not in a bad way, but in a way that will unfortunately create a subtle, but noticeable divide from the rest of the ‘normal’ population, and that is a shame, because ‘difference’ is not a popular and celebrated thing in our current society.[/quote]
I’m not going to argue with your point of view, as it has merits, but I will comment that saying you are sorry implies that the person you are saying it to should feel sorry or be sad/upset about it. I just don’t think the OP should feel sorry. Every child is a gift and they should be treated that way. Not mourned.
Is it unfortunate that his child won’t get to experience the same life that “normal” children get to? Sure, of course. But it’s not something to be sad about.