Help With Autism

When parenting an autistic child, the key to fostering their development is having patience and keeping your cool. Autistic children suffer from underdeveloped social and communication skills, and sometimes learning a simple practice or process can take a lot more effort. If parents practice patience with their children, they’re more liable to teach them over time.

When parenting a child with autism, it’s also important to avoid lingering on one particular subject for an extended amount of time. If an autistic child can’t learn something, or doesn’t want to learn something, often no amount of effort on the part of the parent will help them to learn it faster. It’s wise to take all learning step by step, and ensure that difficult subjects are learned over time rather than making an attempt to cram it all in at once. With patience, understanding, and a cool head, you can help your autistic child develop into a more functional adult; just remember that it’s not going to be easy, but the results are spectacular!

When children are young they receive essential vaccinations that prevent a number of dangerous diseases and illnesses that were so potent they caused epidemics in the past.  Diseases like typhoid, tetanus, and smallpox were leading causes of death in the past, and now children can become immune to them at an early age.  However, sometimes more important than receiving the initial vaccination shots is ensuring that the proper booster shots are received throughout the years.  It’s common for children to be vaccinated at birth, only to have parents shirk off future vaccinations, increasing their risk for serious illness that could easily be prevented. 

It’s also important for adults to receive vaccination shots as they advance in years; as a general rule, checking with your doctor’s office on your birthday is a good idea.  Vaccination provides significant benefits, but it’s also important to be aware of one potential risk that comes from the preservative thiomersal.  This preservative has been discontinued in mainstream use because it contains the toxic substance mercury, which can be fatal if it enters the bloodstream in large amounts. 

Parenting is a difficult endeavor as it is, but parenting a child with autism comes with a whole other list of difficulties. Here are some tips from parents of autistic children, that may make the process a little easier, according to myaspergerschild.com:

1. Cope with the grieving process: it’s natural and healthy to grieve over your child’s illness, but don’t focus on it and the negatives. Stay positive and capable, for your child and your family.
2. Look after yourself: Caring for an autistic child takes time, but if you don’t spend any on yourself, you’ll have nothing left to give. Takes some time out to exercise, make sure you eat properly, and even try to find some alone time.
3. Adapt routines: Autistic children thrive on routines, and become distressed when those routines change. It’s also important to adapt a routine that works for the child, instead of just fitting him/her into yours. Find a schedule that suits everyone.
4. Arm yourself with knowledge: The more you know about the condition, the better you will be able to deal with it.
5. Get support: A support system is crucial. And not just a family and friends system, but a group of people who are familiar with autism and may be able to help you out with the intricacies of the condition. People who understand exactly what you’re going through will be extremely helpful.

The link between vaccination and autism continues to become a hot issue as doctors vehemently deny it, while both parents and others in the medical community claim that the link is valid.

In a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, physician, Dr. David Ayoub, claims that pediatricians rely on information provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is funded by the companies that manufacture vaccines.

“With the recent concession by government health officials that childhood vaccines worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autism-like symptoms in a Georgia girl, and that she should be paid from a federal vaccine-injury fund, the facade of lies is beginning to crumble. I urge parents and pediatricians to do their own research with a thorough review of available literature and stop trusting reassuring claims from the very agencies that are responsible for this horrible debacle,” wrote Dr. Ayoub.

In the latest autism news, Marathon County residents who worry about a loved one at risk of wandering away will have an added safety net when a local agency can raise enough money and volunteer support.

The Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin needs about $15,000 and trained rescue personnel to start Project Lifesaver in the county, said Lonnie Cole, the center’s Older Americans Act director.

Project Lifesaver provides traceable radio-transmitter wristbands for people who suffer from dementia or other conditions such as autism that make them vulnerable to becoming lost and endangering themselves.

The resource center already has implemented Project Lifesaver in Wood County. The agency serves both counties.

Wood County authorities joined the national program in February 2007, four months before a 7-year-old autistic boy went missing from his Wisconsin Rapids-area home. He was found dead in a nearby pond a year ago today. The boy’s mother since has become a Project Lifesaver donor.

“For the most part, those we have on the program in Wood County are children with autism,” said Tami Drew-Huiras, a social worker in charge of the county’s Project Lifesaver efforts.

“We could have hundreds of people signed up for it,” she said. “I know for a fact that there are many more people out there who could use it.”

Cole said she has yet to calculate how many Marathon County residents would qualify for Project Lifesaver, which asks that families pay $25 a month for the service.

While preparing for the birth of her daughter, Christy Rue stumbled across a concern that she is now trying to share with every parent.

The 25-year-old mother is one of thousands who have picked up the cause to promote cleaner vaccines.

“The doctors give the shots, you know, so they must be safe,” Rue said.

But the disheartening facts, she said, are children are being disabled and pharmaceutical companies are paying lobbyists to help the vaccines pass through Washington.

“I’m not against vaccines,” Rue said. “I just want them to clean up the stuff they’re putting in there and give them a safer schedule.”

To make her concerns heard, Rue and her children traveled to Washington, D.C., for the “Green Our Vaccines, Too Many, Too Soon” march and rally two weeks ago. The three were among 8,000 people that walked from the Washington Memorial to the Capital Building, holding signs demanding change and pictures of children who lost their lives from reactions to vaccines.

“It was amazing to see how many people have been affected by vaccines and nobody knows about it,” Rue said. “To look around and see all these children, these innocent children who are victims, who now are having severe issues mentally and physically.

“When we walked down Independence Avenue it was a surreal feeling because so many other Americans had done this before for an important cause. But this is not just any old cause that will be forgotten about tomorrow. These are our kids and they are our future.”

The support for clean vaccines – meaning extracting toxins like formaldehyde, aluminum, antifreeze and mercury – has been slow because a majority of the medical community denies a link between vaccines and certain disorders such as autism.

Parents of autistic children believe autism is linked to mercury-based vaccines given to children as infants.

The mercury-based thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines in 2001 because of the autism fears. The number of autism cases continue to rise, though, leading health officials to set aside the connection. Today, 1 in 150 children have the disorder.

“Scientist say there’s no link, but who is paying for the research?” Rue said.

One of the main battles green-vaccine promoters face are the special interest and biased ties scientists have, she said.

Along with Mothers Against Mercury, a North Carolina-based organization, Rue is spreading the word about N.C. House Bill 431. The bill, which would limit the amount of thimerosal in vaccines, passed in the N.C. House last year, but failed to make it past the Senate’s Health Committee, Rue said.

Sitting in the pediatricians office last week, Rue said she looked around and wondered how many parents knew what was in the vaccines their children would receive.

“I’m not against vaccines by any means, I just don’t want my child being 1 in 150,” Rue said. “I don’t want anyone’s children.”

 Autism research from the US suggests that compared to other developmental disabilities, low birthweight and premature birth was linked to a higher risk of autism, especially for girls.

The study had two goals. The first was to find out how frequently autism prevailed compared to that of other developmental disabilities in low birthweight and preterm babies, and the second was to establish the specific risks involved.

For the first goal, the researchers counted all children born in Atlanta between 1981 and 1993 who survived until the age of three. These were located from vital records.

From this group they then identified those that were still living in Atlanta at age between 3 and 10, and who had developmental disabilities: autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, or vision impairment. They used another set of records for this, the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program.

For the second goal, the researchers looked at records from the first goal and created a “nested case-control sample”, with those children identified as having autism being the “cases”, and those who were not identified as having a developmental disability (or in receipt of special education) as the “controls”. (It is a nested sample because these groups are subgroups of the overall cohort). Over 550 case-control pairs were created.

The results showed that:
• Compared to other developmental disabilities, the prevalence of autism in preterm or low birthweight children was significantly lower.
• Birthweight below 5.5 lbs and birth at less than 33 weeks gestation was linked to a twofold increase in autism risk.
• This increased risk of autism was higher in girls and when autism was accompanied by other developmental disabilities.
• For example, there was a significant fourfold risk of autism in low birthweight girls who also had mental retardation, whereas there was no significant increased risk in low birthweight boys for autism alone.

The authors concluded that:

“Gender and autism subgroup differences in birth weight and gestational age, resulting in lower gender ratios with declining birth weight or gestational age across all autism subgroups, might be markers for etiologic heterogeneity in autism.”

“There may be sex differences in genetic factors leading to autism.”

Low birthweight and pre-term birth are already known to be among the biggest risk factors for developmental disabilities.

As any likeminded adult could repeat, parenting a child with autism is a taxing journey.  Parenting in itself isn’t easy, but watching your child unable to express themselves due to a factor that is beyond their control is heartbreaking. 

There are times when I’m trying to help my child out with a puzzle or play with them and they get extremely frustrated and stomp away.  After that, it takes a long time to calm them down.  Recently, we’ve been treating their autism with PCM-Rx, which not only has detoxification elements, but it also has a calming affect.  There’s been a change in my child within the last few weeks that we’ve been using PCM-Rx.  Obviously, we will have to work together to treat their autism, but to let them know that everything will be alright and that a hug can actually get them to stop from destroying things is a wonder in itself.

ADVANCED PARENT TRAINING SESSION
AUTISM ONE 2008 CONFERENCE, MAY 21-25, 2008, CHICAGO, IL
www.autismone.org 

Friday, May 23rd from 1:45 – 6:00 pmHave you been to several biomedical autism conferences over the years?  Has your child been using biomedical interventions, diets, and supplements for a while?  Then join us for this new feature of Autism One and hear:

Sudhir Gupta, MD, PhD presents:
Contemporary Immunological View for the Pathogenesis of Autism

Autism is a multi-factorial and polygenic disorder in which immunological and metabolic factors appears to play a role in the pathology of the brain and the gut.  In this presentation Dr. Gupta will provide evidence and propose a role of determination of fates of CD4 T cells to explain the pathology in the brain and the gut of autistic children.  A role of oxidative stress in the cells of the immune system will also be discussed. 

Mary Megson, MD presents:
Medical Management of the Improving Autistic Child:  Does my child still need 25 supplements a day?

Experienced parents are very knowledgeable and have tried various biological interventions with their children with autism as they heal.  This talk will discuss treatment of those “almost off the spectrum” kids.  Many need support in long term management of their child’s ongoing biomedical treatment. 

Anju Usman, MD presents:
From Complexity to Simplicity:  Implementing the right protocols for your child with ASD

 Biomedical interventions have evolved over the past decade from B-6/Magnesium to options almost too numerous to count.  In our attempt to leave no stone unturned, some effective and non-invasive interventions may be overlooked.  We will discuss a few protocols that we have developed and refined over the years.  These protocols are individualized based on specific signs, symptoms, and laboratory biomarkers.  Protocols to be discussed will include those for:  strep/aluminum, glutamate/Ca+2, ammonia/biofilm, COMT ++, COMT–.

Jeff Bradstreet, MD presents:
Understanding the Core of the Gut-Brain Connection and How to Fix It in ASD

The automatic regulation of the gut largely requires a balance between two opposing sides of the nervous system: the sympathetic (fear, fight, and fight) and the parasympathetic (rest, focus and digest).  The rest and digest side uses acetylcholine as its main transmitter and the vagus nerve as the principle pathway. The vagus nerve simultaneously regulates motility, digestion, heart rate and speech (through the recurrent laryngeal nerve). Now we know it also provides anti-inflammatory signaling to the GI tract as well. It is likely the vagus nerve plays a central role in ASD symptoms and recovery.
 

HOPE IS ALWAYS REAL
RECOVERY IS HAPPENING 

Autism one 2008 conference, May 21-25, 2008, CHICAGO, IL
For a list of 100+ speakers and presentation abstracts (in progress) visit: www.autismone.org

FAIR Autism Media has posted the press conference held earlier today in Atlanta with the family of Hannah Poling.

Click here to view:  http://www.autismmedia.org/media11.html