These are my two nephews: Noah (8) & Elijah (6). They are the loves of my life. They are SO sweet and full of love and I couldn't adore anything more. They are both autistic. And it absolutely breaks my heart. Let me fill you in on some of the basics about this disorder and hopefully it will help you to understand why.
Autism is a complex disorder that has no known cause or cure.
1 in 150 children are diagnosed with some form of autism. For boys, the number is 1 in 94.
This makes it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.
Symptoms can range from mild to severe and span 3 general areas:
-Language development
-Social development and behavior
-Repetitive and odd behaviors
No two children with autism are alike. My nephew Elijah is more severe than his older brother, Noah. Elijah is 6 and is nonverbal, not fully potty trained and has difficulty being in new environments with people who are unfamiliar to him. He is very frustrated with his inability to communicate his needs. He loves to do certain activities over and over again such as watch the same videos endlessly, throw rocks, and jump in the pool over and over.
Noah is 8 and now has a large vocabulary of words. He is potty trained and loves to help his younger brother. Both he and Elijah are in special classes in the public schools. Noah loves to learn and enjoys practicing his flash cards of vocabulary words, shooting basketball hoops and lining up his toys in certain patterns.
There are some theories about the potential causes of autism. It is generally agreed that there is a genetic predisposition in children with autism that causes them to be susceptible to environmental triggers. A controversial theory that has been refuted by the medical community but is strongly held by a group of parents and a few scientists is that immunization shots given at a young age trigger autism.
One last thing I wanted to share on autism--and if you're still reading at this point, you are awesome!--are some early signs of Autism. These are important to know so that you can watch your own children and possibly help other parents out who you know. The earlier Autism is detected the more successful treatment can be. Here are some "red flags" to be on the watch for:
No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
No babbling by 12 months
No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
No words by 16 months
No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
Remember that Autism is very complex and mysterious at this time so no two children will display the exact same behaviors or symptoms. But these are some general things to look for.
One of the most frustrating things to me is that this epidemic is largely ignored by the medical community. Doctors are not taught about it in medical school. Parents take their children in to their pediatrician with concerns about their child's development and they are told that they are over-reacting and not to worry about it. And there is very little being done to find a cure. The effort is definitely out of proportion to the size and extremity of the epidemic. It breaks my heart to think of what we, as a society, may be unknowingly doing to an entire generation of children. We've got to put an end to this disorder.
Last year I lead a team that consisted of my family and some friends and we participated in the local Walk for Autism.
Autism is a complex disorder that has no known cause or cure.
1 in 150 children are diagnosed with some form of autism. For boys, the number is 1 in 94.
This makes it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.
Symptoms can range from mild to severe and span 3 general areas:
-Language development
-Social development and behavior
-Repetitive and odd behaviors
No two children with autism are alike. My nephew Elijah is more severe than his older brother, Noah. Elijah is 6 and is nonverbal, not fully potty trained and has difficulty being in new environments with people who are unfamiliar to him. He is very frustrated with his inability to communicate his needs. He loves to do certain activities over and over again such as watch the same videos endlessly, throw rocks, and jump in the pool over and over.
Noah is 8 and now has a large vocabulary of words. He is potty trained and loves to help his younger brother. Both he and Elijah are in special classes in the public schools. Noah loves to learn and enjoys practicing his flash cards of vocabulary words, shooting basketball hoops and lining up his toys in certain patterns.
There are some theories about the potential causes of autism. It is generally agreed that there is a genetic predisposition in children with autism that causes them to be susceptible to environmental triggers. A controversial theory that has been refuted by the medical community but is strongly held by a group of parents and a few scientists is that immunization shots given at a young age trigger autism.
One last thing I wanted to share on autism--and if you're still reading at this point, you are awesome!--are some early signs of Autism. These are important to know so that you can watch your own children and possibly help other parents out who you know. The earlier Autism is detected the more successful treatment can be. Here are some "red flags" to be on the watch for:
No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
No babbling by 12 months
No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
No words by 16 months
No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
Remember that Autism is very complex and mysterious at this time so no two children will display the exact same behaviors or symptoms. But these are some general things to look for.
One of the most frustrating things to me is that this epidemic is largely ignored by the medical community. Doctors are not taught about it in medical school. Parents take their children in to their pediatrician with concerns about their child's development and they are told that they are over-reacting and not to worry about it. And there is very little being done to find a cure. The effort is definitely out of proportion to the size and extremity of the epidemic. It breaks my heart to think of what we, as a society, may be unknowingly doing to an entire generation of children. We've got to put an end to this disorder.
Last year I lead a team that consisted of my family and some friends and we participated in the local Walk for Autism.
It was an amazing experience. I can't wait to do it again this year! The walk is taking place in Tempe on Sunday, November 2nd. If you'd like to join us in the walk or if you are willing to make a contribution towards helping to find the cause and cure of Autism, you can join or contribute here.
Thanks so much for reading! I can't wait for the day when we will look back on this time in history with gratitude that we have beaten this awful disorder!
Thanks so much for reading! I can't wait for the day when we will look back on this time in history with gratitude that we have beaten this awful disorder!
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