I'm appalled that after all these years and the increase in autism and aspergers that parents are still left wondering.
Exactly, it is totally wrong
If you knew my family history there is definitely a link
when Aidoan was first diagnosed ( I think this is an issue also) I immediately started checking into the background of mine and his genetic fathers family. Nothing on my side but when I was asking his father of any other members within his family having this disorder etc he totally denied this. A few months after wards I was speaking with his mum,she told me that his cousin had this disorder. So I have no doubt what so ever it is genetic,I just want to know the truth once and for all to what triggered this or made it more severe.
What drove me absolutely crazy,is I myself already worked out through various research what Aidoan was suffering with,what had suddenly become apparent. It took me over a year later for a specialist to confirm he was severely Autistic. At that point I could have cried,well I did actually.Not because my child has been confirmed Autistic but because now I could get him the specialised help he needed.
I was very lucky, here in Staffordshire they seem very on top of the situation and are able to provide the support and advice you need. Within 6 weeks of moving up here Aidoan was in a special needs nursery where a top child psychologist and his team volunteered his and his teams services twice a week. Within a few months the doctor had diagnosed Aidoan and immediately we worked on a plan together to help Aidoans development etc.
Many more parents still await a diagnosis even though it is blatantly obvious what disorder etc there child has.
Hi Kendra I can't believe, like I said before, that parents are still no nearer to a foolproof solution and answer. It's totally unfair to any child and the emotional distress it causes is unacceptable.
With me autism and related issues have ran through generations. When I got to know my father for a while again, about 15 years ago it answered many questions. Our youngest child was born over 9 years ago now and his autism sparked a new inquisitiveness in me. The scientists weren't coming up with anything so I started to investigate..I was amazed at what I found simply through the family line. I totally understand your frustration..you love your son and want to know..it's almost like taking a child away and replacing them with a new one. As profound as the youngest ones autism is it wasn't as big an issue because it had happened before with our oldest. You want the best for your child and I admire your determination in finding the truth.
I know exactly what you mean by the waiting..thankfully it wasn't long with our youngest but I know a couple who's little girl's diagnosis was delayed. We were so grateful for him to be diagnosed at about five so he could go to a wonderful school and progress instead of withdraw. There's a lot of determined parents who want the truth but then sometimes it takes years to accept what's happening for some. I can't blame them but the sooner they realise it the more beneficial it is for them as parents and for their child. I know by some of your posts you'll not rest till someone gives you some kind of answer.
You've got some great support there in Staffordshire. It's inbetween where we live but if you're pushy, like me, as a parent it kicks the education, etc, into touch a little quicker. I can't praise the young ones school enough. Glad to hear that Aidoan is in a good situation.
Having to wait for a diagnosis is wrong and even though I'll pester and push like I said before I nor you should have to do it. There's too many misdiagnosis out there and too many wonderful children withdrawing from society because they're in the wrong situation and are medically abandoned. If an autistic child is diagnosed early enough it can transform them completely..it did with out youngest and I'm grateful for that. Let's hope Kendra we won't be waiting for years for the scientists to finally put their finger onto it and give us much needed answers.
If an autistic child is diagnosed early enough it can transform them completely..it did with out youngest and I'm grateful for that
Me too, when Aidoan was diagnosed they doubted if he would ever speak a single word,ride a bike,swim etc etc because of the help we got from his special needs nursery and his special needs school who have specifically an Autistic unit, you cant stop him talking,he loves his bike and swimming and so many more things that most certainly would have been delayed if he hadn't have been diagnosed when he was. Aidoan was lucky, he was diagnosed officially when he was 3 years. The school I wanted him only accepted kids who were moderately Autistic. There was no expectation he would be able to get in there. But that was the only one I wanted him in as it was the best school in the area for Autistic kids with brilliant results. Between myself and his child psychologist we formed a plan,I turned our dining room into a school room , gave up work and it was hell for six months teaching him mundane tasks such as colour matching etc,but he got the hang of it and was accepted into his school and has never looked back. Sadly as we both know this is not the case for the majority
When I attended the school interview they asked why they were the only school I had marked on the form. I told them if it came to it I would camp outside on the grass verge until Aidoan was accepted as he has every right to access the best school in the area the same as any child Thankfully it didn't come to my camping out, lol.
Like you say Libby some parents are unable to accept their child's disability,but you have to at some point and as you have said the sooner the better.
Let's hope Kendra we won't be waiting for years for the scientists to finally put their finger onto it and give us much needed answers.
That's great to hear Kendra and very similar to us. Our son can speak wonderfully but he isn't fluent yet. Thanks to his resource base they've transformed him into who he is today. He's loving, funny and enjoys rough and tumble with our other children. We've still got to work on his bike but he'll get there and his school takes him swimming too.
You've really got exceptional support and I'm impressed. I love your idea of changing the dining room like that. I know our son is loving his letter work at the moment..capitals and smaller case, for eg.
Sadly you're right many kiddies don't get this help or are so severely autistic they've shut themselves off. It is sad and a shame but it's infuriating if this happens because they were left without diagnosis. Like you we're so grateful for what we've got and how our son has become
Lol oh yes Kendra..infact as a token of gratitude each Christmas we send £20 or £30 in vouchers for them with tins of chocs for the teachers and assistants. Once we thought the education was going to move him because of his improvement and I went bezerk. Thankfully the resource base knew what was happening and made sure he stayed with them. I'll be sad when it comes time for him to move to secondary school to be honest. The CSA's, etc, laugh at me actually because I blurt out praise for them when we visit school ;D
It's so true once parents accept things as they are their lives transform for the better. And our children are just like any other except they're special to us. I'm also willing to talk to other parents who worry.
I'm with you all the way Kendra..fighting for the truth may be hard but it's well worth it in the end
I was wondering if any other parents with children with autism spectrum disorder has tried changes in their children's diets? I've talked about this before in other posts, but never had a comment on it.
About a year and a half ago, I started the Feingold Diet for the whole family in hope that it would help my son. There was much gnashing of teeth, but we followed through and after the six week "cleansing" part, started to re-introduce foods to see if there was a sensitivity.
My son loves Pop Tarts. Not sure if you all have them over there or not, but they're just little pastry-like things for the toaster. About an hour after eating it, he pretty much went crazy. He told his father he was going to kill him then spit him. Pop Tarts have THBC in them (preservative). Even my son realized how eating it made him feel terrible and he hasn't had one in over a year.
We also found that anything petroleum-based affects him terribly with violent mood swings. Our whole family does our best to avoid most of the nastier chemicals in food, and we feel better. Have I cut all the fun stuff out? No, no, no, but I am very careful about what I feed him, and when he begs for a treat of Skittles, I remind him that it might make him feel badly and leave it up to him.
As other parents of autistic children know, too, their schedule is very, very important to them. We rarely deviate from our routine just because it agitates him so much.
Anyone else try changing their child's diet to see if that alleviates symptoms?
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Anyone else try changing their child's diet to see if that alleviates symptoms?
Hi there Yes I changed Aidoans diet, I cut out anything at all with the old E numbers in, also as much as possible cut down on foods containing gluten. Also I introduced marine fish oil into his diet. I did this at the start of the summer holidays about 4-5 years ago,and whether it was these changes or not I cannot be sure,but his behavior certainly calmed down a hell of alot and his attention span certainly increased, he also around this time first started to speak, only a few words but the first word he spoke made me cry with happiness let alone how he has progressed. The day after he started back at school even his teachers commented on the difference. His school is brilliant so maybe it was only this that helped him,maybe it was just his time to develop a little more...but it certainly did not do any harm taking away the added extras he didn't need in his diet,and marine fish oils added (I cant remember the name of the brand but I got it in Boots over here. I added it to his hot chocolate drink but it comes in capsule form also.
A number of parents recommended this to me at his school as it helped there children,so I thought to myself well it wont do any harm, its worth a try and voila...
I studied autism as one of the modules within my psychology studies too.
Yet you're unaware that no psychological studies whatsoever have concluded that the MMR is responsible for autism?
You even thought that Mercury was used in MMR vaccines and blamed that!
I'll happily bow out of this emotion-driven thread as I've indicated; but from what I've seen, I must point out that I have seen absolutely nothing in the way of scientific understanding regarding this issue in this thread.
Remember, Joshua is convinced that he's a real psychic because of 'personal experience'.
Post by The Legendary Barb on May 20, 2009 9:20:17 GMT
I firmly believe that all the additives that have been added to our food chain over the years have done damage to a large number of children. On holiday some thirty yrs ago our son asked for some rock, not an unusual request from a child of 7yrs.While taking money out of my purse,a newspaper clipping an aunt of mine had given me to read fell out, while waiting for my change I had a quick read. It was an article on E' s advising to eat nothing that contained more than 4. Out of pure curiosity I counted the E's on the wrapper. I was stunned ,there where 9 E's in that one small bar.Needless to say our son did not get the rock then or ever. It made me so aware of what we were putting into our unsuspecting bodies, that it more than doubled the time I took to shop,. I read every label and where it gave no info I did note buy it.I still don't .Foods do now carry more info as they should,making people more aware. With changing lifestyles people no longer have time to shop for fresh food, they buy weekly or even monthly. Hence the need to prolong the shelf life of certain food items and to use fridges . They even inject livestock with hormones to produce larger animals that in turn give more meat. This cannot be right . There is a lot to be said in favour of people who do not eat meat. Quite a few of my friends are vegetarians. This poses the question what do they spray on the crops and fruits and are they as safe as they should be. We live in a hi tec age. I believe that not all of this hi tec knowledge can be good for us or indeed is right. All we can do is be very selective in our foods and keep asking, do we need to add this or that or spray with chemicals. Of cause we do not,in my opinion it impairs the food, and more to the point it IMPAIRS OUR HEALTH. There is not I believe an easy solution to this, if indeed there is one at all .With a growing world wide population that needs to be fed what are we to do. As I post this there are men/women in white coats working away in their lab's coming up with the next lot of E's and hormones. Such is the way of the world we will all suffer to be fed.
Yet you're unaware that no psychological studies whatsoever have concluded that the MMR is responsible for autism?
Yes I am aware actually of that.
You even thought that Mercury was used in MMR vaccines and blamed that!
I didn't actually blame that Jigsaw,this is something that I had heard/read about a few years ago. If I had misread it or whatever then fine,but this is what I stated upon what I thought I had read.
I'll happily bow out of this emotion-driven thread as I've indicated; but from what I've seen, I must point out that I have seen absolutely nothing in the way of scientific understanding regarding this issue in this thread.
scientific understanding? I understand perfectly that it is more than probable genetics is the underlying cause, infact the majority of posters have agreed with that also. What would you like us to talk about that would adhere to what you feel is more scientifically based? Biology certainly is not my forte being a a mere parent of an Autistic child and I am obviously just answering on an emotionally based drive,but hey lets give it a go.. ;D
Chromosomal abnormalities? Could an abnormal genetic change have happened during the meiosis process? Mutation of a chromosome during the fetal stage? Was there some problem with the peptide bonds the mothers body was producing,maybe the fetus itself, during the development stage the bonds that were forming producing the energy etc needed to develop,maybe they mutated? Maybe one amino acid attracted the wrong chemical and repelled too much H2o and voila! Maybe this goes beyond chromosomal abnormalities, after all deformed peptide bonds are supposedly linked to Alzheimer's,maybe this is also linked to Autism?
What would you like to talk more about here on a scientific level Jigsaw? We can go more indepth regarding the Meiosis process, the various phases etc just let me know and I will give it a try. In all seriousness I think that it is totally possible that during one of the phases of Meiosis something could have happend. Or of course there is Mitosis,certainly this process could be relevant in regards to duplication of DNA etc. If there is a genetic cause which is highly likely it surely would have been most likely to have happend within one of these two processes! Always a possibility...
Remember, Joshua is convinced that he's a real psychic because of 'personal experience'.
And?
Just pointing out the analogy.
Nah, you are presuming I am basing my opinions purely on what I have witnessed and experienced, there is no comparison Jigsaw.
E102 Tartrazine. Tartrazine appears to cause the most allergic and or intolerance reactions of all the azo dyes, particularly amongst those with an aspirin intolerance and asthmatics. Other reactions can include migraine, blurred vision, itching, rhinitis and purple skin patches, (because of this more use is now being made of Annatto (E160b). In conjunction with Benzoic acid (E210) tartrazine appears to create an over-activity in children. Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye found in fruit squash, fruit cordial, coloured fizzy drinks, instant puddings, cake mixes, custard powder, soups, sauces, ice cream, ice lollies, sweets, chewing gum, marzipan, jam, jelly, marmalade, mustard, yoghurt and many convenience foods together with glycerine, lemon and honey products. It can also be found in the shells of medicinal capsules. It can also be used with Brilliant Blue FCF, (E133) to produce various green shades e.g. for tinned processed peas.The Hyperactive Childrens Support Group belive that a link exists between this additive and hyperactive behavioural disorders in children. E951 Aspartame Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a ‘safe’ additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public. Aspartame is an intense sweetener, approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has been used throughout the world in soft drinks and other low-cal or sugar free foods since 1974. It was first approved for use in the UK in 1982. It is known by the name NutraSweet, aspartame or E951.
E951 Aspartame Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a ‘safe’ additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public. Aspartame is an intense sweetener, approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has been used throughout the world in soft drinks and other low-cal or sugar free foods since 1974. It was first approved for use in the UK in 1982. It is known by the name NutraSweet, aspartame or E951.
Post by The Legendary Barb on May 20, 2009 16:11:46 GMT
Kendra thanks for that post, I had just found the site and was ready to post as you have done . Saves me a job ;D I am truly concerned about the additives in food.
The Minx, stop using this sweetener now. You will ,given time get to like tea/coffee without them being sweet. My guess is, your sweet enough already. >
your never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream[C.S Lewis]
Kendra thanks for that post, I had just found the site and was ready to post as you have done . Saves me a job I am truly concerned about the additives in food.
No probs ;D
The Minx, stop using this sweetener now. You will ,given time get to like tea/coffee without them being sweet. My guess is, your sweet enough already. >
Oh you silver tongued person you Of course honey is lovely in Tea
Autism is not caused by the MMR vaccine it is mearly exagerated. Boys get more autism than girls because the majority of males construction is a pattern following structure, they like order and such alike things which autistic people follow on the whole. Its structure based and anyone can be born with any structure of mental variance but boys have more of the pattern structure etc. The cause is unknown as of yet, other than a mental anomoly that has to be understood and possibly overcome etc.
2 Exactly,we all have Autistic Traits but why is it exaggerated in some and not others? Regarding males construction if this were true then the females in the building trades etc would be proving your theory incorrect. The cause is not known,or what exaggerates it,causes it etc. I do not believe we will ever be allowed to know.
By construction I meant the brain etc. Not builders. Males are scientifically proven to be more autistic on the whole because they are slightly more inclined to follow repeated patterns such as drawing/diagram and rules etc. Exaggeration is caused by many things including the susceptability of the individual to the MMR possible intolerance that is not testable as of yet.
The Minx, stop using this sweetener now. You will ,given time get to like tea/coffee without them being sweet. My guess is, your sweet enough already. >
I wish I could drink coffee without sugar of any description but it tastes rank. But I will reduce it and I suppose over time i will get used to having less and then give it up. Do you know they once said butter was bad for you and now they say margarine is bad for you....sometimes you don't know what to eat