Autism - Volunteer 4 Your Fav. Org. - All Skills Needed!

[alpswissart]

great i like the creative part of cutup

[glassjim]

This video on Autisim shows a caring and concern about how any parent would do anything to improve their autistic child. A parent's love is complete and all consuming JG

[liebejill]

Thank you!  Well expressed.

[liebejill]

Demonizing is a strong word. Perhaps, they mean that many children with autism lack social reciprocity. This can mean among other things that they may lack the ability to care if they hurt someone's feelings.

[autismdiva]

The MIND institute has led the way in demonizing autistic children, making them sound as if they are truly awful and nearly non-human. Once you do that it's easy to advocate for terminating autistic fetuses. They are looking for biomarkers. Biomarkers might be detectable in the fetus. It's naive to think autistic fetuses wouldn't be aborted the way Down syndrome fetuses are now.

[autismdiva]

The MIND Institute is running a B12 study right now that is shocking to many people. It wouldn't be shocking to people who think B12 is no big deal, but there is some very good evidence that methyl B12 can methylate genes at random perhaps shutting down key gene products, perhaps shutting down tumor suppressor genes putting the child at greater risk for cancer.

[autismdiva]

The MIND institute is also looking at other more potentially dangerous "cures" for autism. I know. I just graduated from UC Davis and regularly follow what they are doing and interact with the researchers. I wouldn't be surprised if the MIND eventually advocated prenatal diagnosis for purposes of aborting potentially autistic fetuses.

[liebejill]

Can you elaborate and provide evidence for your statements please? Parents are trying to make the most informed decisions for their children. Thank you.

[autismdiva]

Also, David Amaral has said one direction they'd like to go is with plasmapheresis of mothers early in pregancy or somewhere in pregnancy to remove her antibodies to the baby's brain. It's a hypothesis they have. What damage could this do to a baby? I don't know, but I wouldn't do it. They are talking about using surogate mothers, too for moms who might have antibodies to their babies. Very brave new world, if you ask me.

[liebejill]

I am not aware of Autism Speaks advocating eugenics by stealth. The MIND Inst. has stated that they are researching genetics only to develops drugs to alleviate the negative symptoms of autism i.e. speech and stress. Also, early detection can help parents develop a positive education plan for their youngsters with parental support.

[liebejill]

I've found over the years that people's personal definition of autism can vary greatly. What I am [fighting] is the devastation of no speech, digestive issues and accute stress. I don't give a damn if my child grows into a "nerd" as long as he is happy, healthy and taken care of after I leave this planet.

[ensrifraff]

Digestive issues are no fun. Have you tried using a type pad to teach him to communicate?

[liebejill]

Is there a specific brand or technique that you would recommend?

[ensrifraff]

I'm not too familiar but if you look at videos by silentmiaow (Amanda Baggs). She's 100% nonverbal and communicates with a type pad. I'm sure she'd be glad to provide information.

[liebejill]

Thanks!

[liebejill]

This video was designed to be a positive experience. I do not condone genetic screening of autism for purposes of abortion and I have not read that Autism Speaks does either.

[dinahkcm]

Your video is a highly positive experience in marked contrast to "Autism Speaks" arousal of public concern by hyping the negative (please tell me of exceptions if you know of any). People at high risk of having a child with a (very costly) severely handicapping condition may think that the responsible thing to do would be to terminate? Eugenics by stealth is the potential reality in a world of individual choices in which termination is commonplace (cf Down syndrome).

[liebejill]

For many, our children achieved all developmental milestones until about 18 months of age. This is why we believe autism to be a medical condition. Many of us endure the heart ache of our children crying unconsolably. This is why we believe it is a medical condition. I have another son who is not autistic. He does not cry unconsolably. Their medical realities are not equal, but I love them equally and unconditionally.

[dinahkcm]

J'm very sad to hear that your autistic son cries so much; of course it could be because he's in a lot of pain and that could be for quite a variety of reasons which can be medically treated. I hope you find out what makes him cry and can work out how to fix that. Luckily feeling miserable isn't actually part of his autism.

[liebejill]

Many children that have autism have G.I. problems. Are you the parent of an autistic child?

[dinahkcm]

No, see above. Having attended many conferences addressed by Paul Shattock I am aware of these issues and my comment was intended to be sympathetic.

[liebejill]

There is an article in the August issue of "Town and Country" which features Autism Speaks. There are parts of the article which may be shocking to non-parents of severely autistic children. My belief is that the article is portraying these parents as very human, having thoughts that even they wish they never had for even a second.