Study says children may 'grow out' of autism

There is some  new research that has been published, stating that some children will 'grow out' of autism.
The research was carried out on 112 children who had already been given a formal ASD diagnosis.
This research has come from America. The country that has a million 'cures' for autism, if you have your credit card details to hand.

For me, this research is a three fold problem for those with a formal diagnosis;

• Our government are already cutting the funding to much needed resources that are accessed by families of children with disabilities, so may well use the excuse that ASD diagnosis' are not warranted as much anymore, and so can cost cut away merrily.
• The Disability Living Allowance that has so many confusing rules and questions, and a lot of unfair benefit decisions, will have even more of an excuse to deny children any DLA reward, whilst still happily dishing money out to people with a little back ache, or those that claim to be unable to walk, and are then found to be the top player in their local rugby team.
• And then there is the ignorance of people that believe what drivel they spout from their mouths is the Gospel truth. I am sure most, if not all, parents with a  child with special needs have had a do-gooder tell them there must be a cure/ the child will grow out of it / it's not anything a good bit of discipline and a smack won't cure / it's the parents fault / there was never anything like this in their day......This research could be all they need to become even more obtuse.

What needs to be established is whether these children did indeed have autism, and not an over zealous practioner happy to give a diagnosis with little observation of the child / a parent keen to have a label for their child, who may be a little behind their peers at school / or even an unstimulating early years home life, with little or no human interaction.

The above children may indeed 'grow out' of their ASD label, but they did'nt have true autism.

I have seen documentaries about parents that do not want to accept the diagnosis, and trek around various companies and individuals that claim they can cure their child. Some of the interventions these people used on the children were harsh, and go against an autistic brains wiring.

Again this research will give these parents even more reason to force their child into daunting therapies, all the while castigating parents like me who accept this will not be cured tomorrow, he will not turn 13 and wake up 'normal', and who would rather make their child's life happy and secure.

I digress and will say that there are some very valuable therapies out there that can encourage and support autistic children but these are not forced on to the child, and are calming and safe.
Light therapy. Music and dance therapies. Massage therapy. These can be a fantastic addition to the learning support the child receives.

You can read the article about this research here - BBC News Autism

Christmas Time

So Christmas is over for another year. It was a fun one in our house. Lots of presents. Lots of naughty food. Not so much t.v, as this years offerings seemed rather stale for the most.

J seemed happy with his presents. I say this, as he opened the first one, a DVD, and promptly went to his room to watch it. The remaining presents were opened by him throughout the course of the day, with each one being taken off to his room, watched or played with, and then returning to open the next.

J's Christmas production at his school was, as usual, beautiful. The dedication of the staff is inspiring.
The hall was packed with proud parents.
Each class (consisting of around 5-8 students per class) performed a short piece. Dancing to music which was written for Christmas time was the favourite.
The warmth in that hall, from all the beaming parents, gave a sense of being cocooned in a world where our children were not perceived as different, or as being odd. There are immense emotions you feel as you watch your child perform. The hearty clapping you give to each and every child who has taken part, even if it was just to stand up there in front of us all, is genuine and heartfelt.

For J, he has no cognitive understanding of what Christmas means. Father Christmas/Santa holds no excitement for him. There is no endless list writing for gifts. The religious aspect, and of course the true meaning of Christmas, is not understood by him.

For him, Christmas is a time where he can eat more chocolate than usual, not have to go to school for two weeks, and find presents that are in his latest field of interest.
I think if he could talk, he would say that this makes for a very good Christmas for him!