[Hey mods! I did a search on this subject and it came up empty. If this is not true, please feel free to pm me. Don't e-mail me because I dont check my e-mail often]

The reason I started this topic is because I wanted to see how you feel about Autism, or if you have even heard of it. I live with Autism every day because thirteen years ago, my brother Wil was diagnosed with it.

Autism is a neurological disorder which is really a big mystery and I can't explain it without confusing you.

Wil has a more servere form of Autism. For the last tweleve years, he hasn't said more than twenty-five words. Autism isn't like disorders like Mental Retadation or Down's Syndrome where there might be facial deformities or "tell-tale" signs. As a matter of fact, you wouldn't be able to tell that Wil is Autistic unless you are familiar with it. In my brother's particular case, his Autism is coupled with suspected Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, in which he has to follow a set schedule to be comfortable. But what sets my brother apart from other Autistic children is that he handles change with a grace that even I, a "typical" teenager cannot grasp. Wil is the sixth child of eleven. When he was one, my mother had twins. If that isn't a change, to go from being the baby of the family to having two screaming baby girls competeing for attention, I don't know what it is.

Many celebrities support Autism. Hey! I just thought of a name. Maybe you have heard of him. Some British guy by the name of DANIEL JACOB RADCLIFFE! (tee hee hee)

O.K., I'm going to stop bragging about my brother long enough to let you all respond.

One of my friends on the same course as me at Uni has a three year old daughter with quite severe autism and impaired vision, Her daughter was only diagnosed with autism about a 2 months ago, she hasn't spoken yet but since she has been diagnosed she has had more regular session with a speech therapist, so hopefully something will come from that.

Keith Duffy is the only celebrity I know who donates and support’s an Autism trust; he has an autistic daughter.

But generally here I think there’s good support for people who have autism and there families. In terms of autistic support groups, fund raising and research, but where I think people with autism are being let down is by the education system.
As you point out autism is a very complex disorder and special schools rarely’ successfully are able to cater for autistic children, from what I’ve been told any way.

Mark Haddon wrote an excellent book 'the curious incident of the dog in the night time' which is written from an autistic boys perspective.

It really gives you a small idea of what it must be like to be autistic.

Incidentally it won the same prise as the first three Harry Potter books, the Whitbread Novel of the year.

It's one of the most original pieces of fiction I’ve ever read.

Yeah, my neighbour's twin daughters are autistic.

When they were quite young they got into all sorts of trouble. Everything from trying to jump out the windows (luckily glass in the way) to removing their nappies and flushing them down the toliet blocking all the streets drains.

One day they were playing in the garden (which is usally quite an individual and spontanious task) and their parent run inside for about 20 seconds to grab something. In that time one of the twins managed to scale the 3 foot fence pull themselves up and over and then proceeded to run towards out pond (which is 2 feet deep). My mum just happened to glance out of the window whilst ironing, saw her, and run to grab her just in time. Less than a second later our neighbour was at the fence.

Scary really.

They have seemed to have got better as they've got older, after taking some sort of special classes every day to improve the recognising of objects etc. But it is still very hard for the parents when one of the twins wakes up for no reason, disturbs the other and then both refuse to settle. Which I've been told is even harder to do that a normal child.

I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. I was diagnosed with it since I was a baby, 'cuz I couldn't start talking and I was pretty anti-social during those days. I'm pretty happy about it, 'cuz I'm a lot like other people. Since my freshman year in high school, I saw some kids who had the severe kind, which is really sad when they had a hard time talking or understanding things. A lot of mean kids do pick on me, but all I have to do is stay strong.

its been 2 years (almost) that i have wanted to say something about autism. i never knew if anyone here would know what i was talking about. i went to a school that had almost all autistic kids. im not autistic but i was close as well as my brother. it turns out that neither of us had it. autisism is a terrible thing. i watch this show called "All My Children" that has a character with autism. she cant be touched cuz her skin is sooo sensitive and certain colors hurt her eyes. its really sad. my old school helped so many people deal with their autistic children, as well as the kids themselves. i went to hebrew school one day. we were decideing where our schools tzedaka (charity money) would go. i was very very very disappointed in the Rabbi for he had not put any autisism trust up for an option. i knew that that was not like him (the rabbi) so i asked him why he hadnt put it up and he said he didnt think anyone would know what autism was. i was so shocked. i am very happy to hear that some people here can uderstand it.

Forgot one more thing, actually not too long ago, I saw an autistic kid (was it?) with his mother when I was at my doctor's appointment. I could pretty much tell by it, 'cuz there were other kids playing, but he mostly sat with his mother for the whole time.

And another thing, I saw this episode on Scrubs when this doctor met his old friend and the friend brought his child to play with the doctor's child, but the child wasn't really playing with the other kid or saying anything. Later, the doctor was trying to talk to his best friend's child, but the child still didn't say anything, so he had to tell his friend that the child might be autistic. Did anybody here see the episode?

i didnt see that. i was watching the show "All My Childrren" last night and on it, the autistic girl witnessed something terrible so she trapped herself inside her thoughts. its so sad! at the end of the episode, they had a hotline # you could call if you wanted to donate money to an autisim fund. i remember when i was at my old school, there was a 15 year old boy with autisim and the teachers would teach him how to work in the cafeteria. he liked harry potter movies so sometimes i would wear harry potter clothes and he wouyld comment on them and say things like "Expecto Patronum". it was har to tell if he was autistic or just slow sometimes. did anyone here see the movie "Radio"? i know the main character Radio wasnt really autistic but he was very close. i cried alot during that movie cuz i had seen things like it at my old school. i wish there was a cure for autism but sadly there is not, just treatment. alot of the stars that i have heard of support autism: Susan Lucci, Walt Willey, Levin Rambin, Eden Reigel, Alicia Minshew, etc etc. they re all soap opera stars so they know whta it is like since they act it out.

Autistic people, generally speaking have excellent memories, (due to their ability to focus in on a particular person, place or thing).
This means (I think, please correct me if I’m completely wrong) that they can often show a particular aptitude for maths and physics.
My friend, who has an autistic 3-year-old daughter, says that her daughter can recognise specific places she's been to before, by giving similar responses, even though her daughter is visually impaired.

It’s just relating to other people, emotions and thing along this trend which autistic people find hard to deal with (once again I think). My knowledge of autism is very sketchy.

There was a girl in the science AVCE (Advanced vocational certificate in science) Course I took (when I was 16) who had Asperser’s Syndrome, I always got on pretty well with her, and she was very skilled in her ability to carry out practical Science, which is more than I can say for myself, as I drop out of it after a year.

my step-dads son has autism. i've never met him though.he is like 4 or 5 right now. i have seen pictures of him and he is ao cute! he has like dirty blonde hair and big blue eyes. his name is Camren.(sp???) it would be nice to meet him. Also my brother has something. i don't really know if its autism. no one ever tells me anything. but if i yell at him my mom says its not his fault,and to remember hes special. so yeah something is wrong. i might just go ask right now......

I knew a kid last year who is autistic and he had progessed with social skills, being is very upbeat, kind, and positive.
Also, he loved music- always singing and dancing.
In such a world full of negative things, it brought solace to see him smile.

I know a lot of people who have autism. I am friends with a couple of them. I think that they are just thatnkful to have a friend because most people don't want to be friends with them.

RG's Babe, I know you are talking about Lily Montgomery from All My Children. My brother is like her except that he doesn't speak. I started this discussion not really expecting any response, but I'm glad you all have replied. Thanks for proving me wrong.

MOD EDIT: You have double-post but I've deleted the second one because it's exactly the same as the first one. Could be a glitch...

yea i love that show. it really helps with life issues. like autism, alcoholism, and many others. autism is really a errbile thing, i think i will start donating money to autism funds and societies(sp?). if anyone here is confused you can go to this site: Autism-Society. i think that is where you can donate money too. its really a good cause. well thats all i have to say.

[Sorry Zyra it was a glitch. These darn school computers ]

RG's Babe thanks for your kind words. Many people don't understand autism, so when I tell then about Wil, they look upon me with pity, which is something I definitley (sp?) don't need. Either that or they apologize like it is somehow their fault. . I know they don't know any better, but come on! Don't patronize me! I don't need it. Autism is just apart of my life. It has been as long as I can remember, and it will be for the rest of my life. I love Wil with all my heart and if accepting him means accepting autism, well then bring it on!

well im so happy that we could talk about this. i have one question. is the girl that plays Lily in the show "All My Children" really autistic? ive been searching for information on her for a very long time. she does such a miraculous job playing Lily that its hard to tell if she is really autistic or not. does anyone here know?

I don't think she is. I think she's just an amazing actress.

yea she isnt autisitc. i found out on her webiste, which i had no clue it existed lol. so in 3 years, i will be writing my essay for college. and it will be about autisim. well now i have run out of things to say.

With the Asperger's that I have, sometimes I get extremely shy and fidget.

Isn't Autisim related to the MMR jab? have they proven that yet?

I've never met anyone with Autism myself, but at the beginning of the year i found out i'm BiPolar, which is nothing like Autism, but as you were on the topic, slightly.

BiPolar disorder (aka manic depression) is like a YoYo effect. One day you can be really happy, then click of the fingers, you want to die. Billy from Six ft under has a more severe case than me, i've never tried to kill my older brother (like he did), but i did put my arm through a glass door after arguing with him...which meant i had to go to casualty, fun. Because when we're 'high' we can get really irritable, and the slightest thing said...BOOM! Hence the glass door.

Still got the scars on my arm.

Sorry, but I wanted to get that in because Manic Depressents have really bad rep. I'm fine most of the time.

Ygraine

oh my God! you had bipolar disorder? so did i! i dont have it anymore tho. but i was watching AMC (the show lol) and they talked about how it is so hard for children to do certain things, hear certain things, and even see certain things. God i hate it.

hmmm i think you might be getting a bit mixed up, but i've never had any of those things. BiPolar is normally diagnosed in late adollense (sp) late teens early 20s, when people are still acting like a hormone bomb! lol,

but maybe there are other things to it that i don't know. I do go off into my own little world a lot (tis a good world), and may have the shortest attention span in hisory...lol maybe it's difficult to see and hear things.. Maybe it's all linked. I;m still learning about it as i'd barely heard of t before i was diagnosed as probably having it. (it's not official yet)

This show your talking about, it sounds good. I live in Scotland, so i don't see many American shows, unless they get transferred. Which is annoying

Ygraine

wait now im confused. do you have bipolar disorder or not?

Most likely, it's just official yet, i go to a phychiatrist and talk about my life (i don't even get a coach) i was referred to him with 'probable bipolar disorder' by my GP.

But he's yet to make an official decision.

I normally tell people i am because everyone's telling me it's the most likely outcome *sigh*

Does that make any sense?

Ygraine

MOD EDIT : The use of netspeak in the forums is not allowed. It should have been "people" instead of "ppl". Please be more careful next time. Your post has been edited.

It makes perfect sense, Ygraine. And don't worry. My attention wanders in History too

I really have no idea what it is like to be in contact with an Autistic person. But there is a boy in my classs who is so sweet! His name is Tom, and he is slower that other people - he has to go to learing support and gets to miss maths (grrr... lol).

But our tutor told us like about 2 weeks ago that people throw things at him. Like rubbers, and paper. And they shout things at him. He is so strong, and dosen't tell anyone, but you can see it happening. Tom is just such a sweet boy, and the world is hurting him because of it.

Life's Just Not Fair.

Last month our class visited a school for special children. And there I saw different cases of autism in children, but the children in that school were those who can still study, meaning they are not severely autistic.

I met a child there his name was eugene and he ahs ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) I was a kind of abnormality wherein he find it difficult to focus his attention on certain objects. I did a research on this topic and according to my research the cause of ADHD was still unknown, but specialists consider genes, and improper parenting as primary cause of ADHD.

While we were at the school you can't help but notice eugene because he was always on the go he kept on playing and he didn't paid attention to his teachers.

During our visit I've learned that reflexology massage can help children with autism, because it made them more relax, and it stimulates their nerves.

To be honest until recently I didn't have much of a clue about autism (and I do neuroscience ), but one of the presentations I had to do recently was about autism - it surprised me when doing it how few people actually realise what it is, and that some of the old ideas (for example, the awful and wrong refrigerator mother theory which suggested that the way in which the child is treated causes autism) are still maintained by some people because of this lack of knowledge

- however it is good to know that a majority of people accept that it is indeed biological (the idea that social reinforcement ideas etc was set aside by the fact that many people who are mistreated don't become autistic) - which has helped greatly (as many families felt guilty thinking that it was their fault). It must have been awful when those theories were lurking around, so thank goodness for research:)

Since I have done the presentation I have looked into it more and more, and firmly support all the research (I hope to become a researcher - although not actually in the field of autism so I support all research ), into its specific neurological/genetic/biological cause and accordingly treatment - in fact I've got a couple of subsciptions to journals and newletters for general neuroscience - and nearly everyone each month has something about autism in it - so it is very very good that it is recieving such attention

I leanred about a case study (LR) in which a doctor had been reading a article about autism and correctly diagnosed LR with autism by just noticing that she did not make eye contact and well things went on from there (further tests etc and appropriate help) so it just goes to show that a little knowledge can help a great deal

It is always nice to hear about people with autism (like your brother) who are coping well with the autism and ,indeed, life and all its complications (Ok the life and the complications part, I sturggle with - a lot ) but there are some people who are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all so I am so happy that there is so much research (not that I am biased about research ) into the area to help get more of the former and less of the latter and any celebrities (yey Daniel) that show support are wonderful for highlighting such causes, especially for areas like autism where there is no visible sign and little understanding

I have Asperger's Syndrome and I went to an ebd school [Educational behavioural difficulties school] it was really weird because every one had something different adhd dispraxer dyslexic and on and on the list goes one person had autisum and was really into pokemon he could literally name them all I am kind of like that but with me its more fantasy and science fiction but at lest I wasn’t the person with the thing for extreme sports its odd because I tend to find it hard to concentrate on thing that are out side my interests but the good side is i am litraly able to run of the stats for most babylon 5 star treck star wars hich hikers guide space1999 ships like that and take a good stabe lunge slash hack at most of the others but i gess that old news

yes autism was partly linked to the mmr jab but i have not heard any thing reacently but i am gessing that you would now more than me

What is an mmr jab?

My mom and I are both educators. She deals directly with children who have some type of disorder, whether it is behavioral, physical, mental, emotional, etc. so I have heard some interesting stories. Mind you, she is not allowed to mention names of people or specific disorders all the time (privacy issues)
I have heard about asberger's and actually taught a 10 year old boy for a little while who has this disorder (I teach piano and voice). His ability on the piano was great in terms of scales, and repetitive excercises. Unfortunately, he was easily frustrated and his Mom and I decided that he should take a break for a while, which was really too bad, because I think he did enjoy it despite being frustrated at times. He es a very good kid, who has a lot to share with this world, and I believe that we are given people like him so we can better love one another and all of our inherent differences.
The other thing I think is interesting is that Asbergers and Autism are now being referred to as Spectrum Disorders, which just goes to show you that there are various types of these disorders and they affect people differently depending on the individual.
Stay strong!

Guin, the MMR jab stands for 'Measles Mumps and Rubella' it's an imuneisation that babies get, it's relitively new, (I'm 20, and it wasn't around when i was born, i know this because I had Rubella as an infant.) and there are some people who believe that there's a small chance that it can cause Autism.

Even though Austism has seemed risen in the last ten years or so, doctors are becoming somewhat obsessive about 'pigeonholing' people. Diagnosing people with disorders that they may not actually have. The most talked about disorder that people are being 'wrongly' diagnosed with, is Dyslexia, as numbers have shot up even in my memory. It seems that a child cannot be called 'challenged' but they are now dyslexic. of course, I am no expert, so these kids may indeed have dyslexia, it's just what i've heard on the news. And also with medical advances that people who might have had dyslexia weren't diagnosed even five years ago.

But, back at the matter at hand what i'm trying to say, is that the number of people who have been Diagnosed with Autism has risen. This doesn't necessarily mean that the number of people with Autsim has risen, what wouldn't have been diagnosed as autism in a child ten years ago, is now being diagnosed. So the numbers rising may have nothing to do with the MMR jab, but like i said, I'm no expert, quite the contary.

Also with the MMR jab supposedly causing Autism, means that some parents are not imunising their children against the diseases, Measles can potentially kill. And as a conciquence of children not having th jab, Measles has risen. I don't know too much about mumps, but Rubella, although not fatal, if a woman get's it while pregnant there is an extremely high chance, that the baby can be born blind. For this reason, teenage girls are commonly imunised against it.

This was in the news, must have been a year or so ago, but does any one know if Tony Blair gave Leo (his youngest son) the MMR jab? I know he wasn't saying if he had or not, even though he says the jab is safe.

I've got a form of autism known as Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) due to this I have a chronical physical development disorder. Shortly explained, due to my autism all I did when I was a little kid was sit around and do nothing. That's why I was slow in learning how to walk and even slower in other physical stuff (cycling, sports) I'm curently doing a lot of catching up on this . It also makes me feel rather uncomfortable in large crouds like in amusement parks or zoos. I was (still am) a fast learner though, I spoke almost perfect Dutch at the age of 5 (I am from the Netherlands) and my English wasn't to bad back then either (thanks to Cartoon Network). I could read at 4, completed Super Mario Bros. at 4 too . I really don't know any different than being autistic, and the thing that mathers most to me is not being treated different. even so due to my autism I had to do a lower level of education then what I could handle only becauser I had to go to a special school for "treatment" didn't help a thing, the stupid treatment. I finished that school and I'm now doing the level of education I'm supposed to do.

and on a sideline:Oh My god It's Epidemic!

My brother has autism, he was diagnosed with it when he was three. He gets excited easily about things, for example, he loves trains, and he likes to record them, and pretty much any conversation he initiates revolves around trains, and their horns and signals or whatever.
I get really quite mad when people call him a 'retard' or stupid, or give him weird glances. I just hate it, it isn't his fault.

Paul, do you ever notice people treating you differently or anything? Sometimes I wish I could trade places with my brother, because he doesn't even notice it, he doesn't really get that those people are mean to him. So I'd like to switch bodies for a day, and punch all of those people in the face. Just for some satisfaction.

Well I don't personally have a relative that's autistic, but I help out in the Special School District part of my school sometimes and assist with the autistic children. It's a hard life and I realize that. Those kids are so great though and so many people underestimate what they're capacble of. I hate seeing activites that could be done with the kids looked over because the teachers don't think they can handle it. Those children can withstand the ability to handle what so many people see them as incapable of doing and it's sad.

Nothing makes me feel better than spending an afternoon with them, having conversations and just helping out.

I think I'm sorta Autistic either that or I'm normal even though I'm weird and funny. Or just maybe crazy. Or maybe that's the way I am I don't know though. I do random, funny, dumb, stupid, crazy, and weird things sometimes. I come up with songs and sing them but they're stupid, weird, random, dumb, and crazy. For example and I made this one up too. Don't laugh at me! No jk. I sing things like these either when I'm bored or to make people laugh.

Oh, we're walking
Walking around the park
Oh, we're walking
Oh, we'll walk some more
Oh, we're walking
We'll walk till our feet get sore
We'll walk oh we'll oh some more

Lol. I know it's stupid. I made up 3 other songs that are stupid like that but my sister and brother love to sing them with me even though they're dumb. It's funny we'll be in the car singing my version of Oh my Darling till we get bored of it. Lol. Good times. Good times. Lol. HEHE!

[font=Comic Sans Ms]ok i dont have any family members who have autism but i do know 2 people who are autistic.some people say they are completely different than other people but their wrong.they just have a problem on focusing and paying attention they might be different but they are still human beings,they can be the swettest people everfont]

Autism is a very serious condition, I know my 13 year old son was diagnosed with a form of Autism called "Aspergers Syndrome" when he was 11 years old. It is not an easy thing to deal with or neither is it easy to live with. My son Jud is what doctors have deemed a "functioning autistic" he has an IQ of about 115-120 since he was like 8 years old, he is extremely intelligent and when he takes the end of the year Scholastic tests he scores on a ii or 12 grade level, he'll be in 8th grade this year. One thing about his form of Autism, he does things repetively, he makes odd sounds for no reason, he walks on his tip toes and he hates to be interrupted whenever he is in the middle of doing something. An Aspergers Syndrome person is all about schedule and order, if they are disrupted and have to stop in the middle of something they go into a fit of rage, because their brain can not comphrehend the fact that they have stopped in the middle of an activity. It is very frustrating.

It is also hard to diagnose, I was told my son suffered from ADHD and he was doped up on anti-depressants that not only made him gain/lose weight but he became suicidal as well. I took him off of the meds because I felt that they were not helping his situation. Like I said he is a functioning autitic person, but another he lacks because of this disorder is social skills. My son has no social skills, he does not know how to "socialize" in the normal way that his peers do. Doctors call it "socially retarded" He knows how to talk to his peers but usually the input he puts into the conversation does not go with the topic being discussed.

It is sad having to deal with this disorder, my son does get picked on alot in school, he is bullied cause kids don't understand that he has autism. It is very hard for him and it is getting worse as he gets older. Autistic people whenever they become adults usually lead sheltered lives, very few develop intimate relationships (they lack the skill in knowing how) they have few close friends (again another social factor) It is a very sad thing that my son goes through this, and unfortunately there is no cure.

Marcey

I've got a friend who has a cousin who has autism. His god died, and when he went to the store to get another one, he wanted to call the dog [a bulldog] "Bulldozer" xP

I think it's absolutely wonderful that so many people are willing to share their Autism stories. It is a growing disorder around the world and it is wonderful how educated people are becoming. For the past year and a half (I recently had to quit due to relocation), I have worked with a program providing therapy to children diagnosed with Autism. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.

Before I started my employment, I knew nothing about the disorder. And in four years of undergraduate and sixteen months of graduate study in social work (with a concentration in mental health) I only had one class period discussing Autism or any other disorder on the Spectrum. Isn't that sad?

But I worked with an amazing little girl for 14 months, and a little boy for 3, that will be ingrained in my mind forever. With therapy and the support of her parents and school, I watched the girl's vocabulary grow tremendously and her interaction skills improve drastically. When I first met her, she was barely able to put a few words together. On my last day, she was able to string words together and make complete sentences. On her own. It was so amazing the first time she requested to listen to Dora music (a reward we offered her for good behavior) without a prompt or when she asked to use the bathroom. We need more people in this world that are willing to take a few moments and learn a little about this disorder.

Through my employment at this agency, I was able to learn some of the struggles that parents and children alike face. Her school was trying to transfer her into a school only for autistic children. But the problem is, in my belief, such segregation harms both the autistic child and children without developmental disorders. A teacher recently explained a situation her son was going through. There was a child in this boy's class that was in a wheelchair, and the school wanted to place this child in a "special" classroom with other "special" children. This was the only class where children with any form of disability were integrated into a regular classroom. Those children in this classroom learned to accept those different from themselves much better than children without "special" children in their classes.

I was excited when I first heard that our state's governor was pushing Autism on the state's budget. This would force insurance companies to pay for Autism therapies indefinitely, saving the state billions. Whereas the current system requires the to state pay for Autism treatment, allowing only three years of treatment per child. In addition, with the program I worked for, there was at least a one year waiting list to receive therapy. Most children didn't start therapy until they were between the ages of 5-7, when it has been proven that therapy is more effective the younger it is provided. It was removed from the budget without a vote, but the governor is still working to get it included. We can only hope he will be successful soon.

The people I know with Autistic children swear immunization is a big factor. Some claim the preservative thymerisol, which is mercury-based, may play a part. Many physicians and government officials say that has nothing to do with it, yet ironically enough, thymerisol is no longer being used as a preservative in immunizations. In the US I don't think this has been mandated by the government, but the drug companies are doing this on their own. A friend of mine has a son with a slight form of autism. He had LOTS of therapy when he was younger and now does relatively well in school (5th grader). He has a severe allergy/reaction to mercury and my friend swears his autism is related to the thimerisol in his immunizations. After he showed symptoms she started therapy almost immediately and bought thimerisol-free immunization for her children, usually from private pharmacies. When her son was 4 he got a shot that had "trace" amounts of thimerisol and she said when they got home he was rolling on the floor, licking her shoes and refused to look her in the eye. His therapist said the mercury in the thimerisol triggered it.

Another, more plausible, argument is the AMOUNT of immunizations infants and toddlers are getting these days. I think their systems are being shocked. My husband and I purposely space our kids' shots out so they don't get more than 2 within a 6 month time span. An example of how many shots are being imposed... when my son was 5 his pediatrician told him he wouldn't have to get another shot for 10 years (my son HATES getting shots). So when we went in for his 8-year check up he freaked out because he had to get 2 shots... these had been added within the last 3 years. His doctor told him it was the government's fault !

I'm not saying that immunizations are bad, it's just that there are sooooo many now a days.

I don't personally know anyone with Autism, but a friend of mine works with the Special Education students at our high school, and I have talked to one particuar boy before named Eddie. He is the sweetest, funniest kid I have ever talked to, and he is such a great kid.
One thing that will always bother me is the kids with special needs who get picked on in school. One boy named Charlie gets water bottles thrown at him at lunch, and people will walk down the halls limping, drooling- like he does. But they do it as to be funny, because he is different, and I want to take a stand, and find flaws in these "perfect" teenagers, and throw water bottles at them, and pick on their too big pants and tiny skirts, just so they know how it feels.

Kids can be cruel. Period. It is awful the things people will do to make themselves feel better. In my high school, the kids didn't pick on the students that were developmentally challenged. It was great because most of the students at my school included the special needs students in activities. For example, we had a girl with Down Syndrome on our varsity football cheerleading squad. It was the students that weren't in special education that got tortured relentlessly, including the "overweight" kids or unpopular students. I once saw a girl get voted onto homecoming court because they thought it would be funny. Her date never showed up. And I know I'm a little off topic, but my point is that it wouldn't be right to do to those students what they do to the boy with autism. You would just be sinking down to their level and continuing the horrible cycle. (As a social worker) It is my job to advocate for those who need it. What I suggest (and I apologize if this is too preachy) is that you stand up when this is happening. Confront those students. I want to know where the teachers are who allow this behavior to occur. It is horrible and I just want to cry for that boy.

I never believed that all these "holistic" treatments could be effective for children with autism. And I never believed that immunizations could cause the development of this disorder. But through my experiences working with children with autism, I can understand it and even believe that it could be true. I saw the Hyperbaric Chamber transform the little girl's behaviors completely. It's unbelievable the treatments the medical community can create. What needs to be done now, though, is to get insurance companies to cover treatment options. That's the only way these children will ever have a chance at improvement.

I havent been overly exposed to kids with autism. One of my middle school friends little sister had autism and the only time I ever saw her was at our 8th grade graduation. The only other time I have been aware of being near an autistic kid was at a speech meet and I was competing against him in he was amazing! He probably had the best speech in the room and he was able to distinguish his different characters with noticeable differences and they fit the character. He was also a really nice kid and I feel bad because he was a senior so he probably will never to get to do speech again and he was really, really good!

I think it is terrible how kids who develop differently mentally or any other problems are treated. I go to a small school and nobody at my school has any handicaps or so insults are often thrown away because there is absolutely no diversity and it is a huge problem at my school. Im a little better because my mom is handicapped but she isnt handicapped in a noticeable way just she has trouble walking because she has had so many blood clots and a minor case of polio, but I have to help around the house a lot because of it but thats ok with me.

One person in my class this year who was a year older then me and I though she had autism but she actually had something else. There was this one person who came into my class to talk about autism. I had never heard of it before the person came in to talk about it. Now I hear it a lot more. I don't know anyone who has autism.

A friend of mine has Autism. His is only a mild case, although there are still some signs of Aspergers. He is incredibly intelligent and has skipped nearly four school grades. He knows he has Aspergers, although he never lets it interfer with his life much. He's so nice, and yet, there are always some people who feel the need to bully him.

hi
how on all earth could
anyone bring themselve's
to bully someone just because
that someone has autism?
it's unbelievable it's lovely shiny
that there are people here on
vtm that pay mind to autism, you all are
lovely my mama suspect's that i
probably have asperger's, but if that's true
it's kinda mild, so no harm. hope you all have a nice day xoxoxo

I found out a few months ago, that my three year old cousin has Autism. Before she was diagnosed it wasn't obvious, everyone just thought she was shy which is why she would never make eye contact or show affection. But then she turned three, and she still couldn't talk.
But I believe she is now going to therapy, and I hope she improves

Katie.

I babysit a little boy who has autism and although he can have some major temper tantrums, it makes it even better when I see him laugh or smile at something. It is difficult to know what he wants and to understand him, but he is doing so much better now than he used to four years ago. I've seen so many amazing improvements!

~alyssa~

At my school we have this boy named Ashton. He has Autism but it isnt a really bad case. But this kid.. this kid amazes me every single day. He watches nickolodean (SP?) And what he can do is watch like spongebob or farly odd parents. And quote, the whole entire show! He is like a television in school!! He also can draw amazingly he draws sonic and all sonics buddies amazing good and talks like them too! He is by far one of my better friends and is one of the funniest. You wouldnt know he was autistic!

Andrew

It really is amazing what some autistic kids can do. Some people, if you say the word autistic, they get this annoyed look on their face. They don't understand how different autism cases can be and how normal a child may seem.

I was over babysitting the autistic child that I mentioned in my previous post, and before the mom left, she was going over with the kid (we'll call him Joey) how mice will come if there is food being left out. Joey is only five and was asking questions about the mice. The mother continued on to say something about the exterminators. Joey said, "Why will the exterminators come to kill the mice?" That was even more amazing because he has speech problems! It used to be difficult to get him to say something at all. After he "mastered" the use of words, it was difficult to understand what he was saying. Now he is saying stuff like exterminators and understanding what it means!

Don't underestimate autistic kids.

~alyssa~

April is National Autism Awareness Month and the goal is to educate the public about Autism and the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Autism is classified as a severe neurodevelopmental disorder with early childhood onset, the symptoms produce significant impairments in social, communicative, cognitive and behavioral functioning. Symptoms typically last through a person¹s lifetime. Many scientists believe that both genes and environmental factors play a role in the development of Autism.

There are no cures for Autism, but pharmacological, behavioral and psychosocial interventions can change the course of the disorder. Some of the current treatment options include occupational therapy, dietary restrictions, sensory integration therapy and speech therapy, with most interventions featuring highly structured educational programs aimed at improving communication and social skills.

Some early warning signs to look for include:

-- losing or not having speech around 18 months
-- little to no eye contact
-- loss or lack of gestures
-- repetitive speech or actions
-- unusual reactions to the way things look, feel, smell, taste or sound

ASDs are disorders that affect a person's behavior, communications and social abilities. (Asperger's Syndrome is an ASD.) When children who are diagnosed with ASD participate in intensive behavioral therapy at an early age, he or she will make substantial progress. Some children make such significant progress that they are indistinguishable from their peers. While there is no known cause of, or cure for, autism, it is treatable.

Here is a YouTube video on Autism Awareness using Mark Leland's song, "Missing Pieces". The poem at the end is a bit fuzzy, so I pasted it at the bottom of my post. Both the video and the poem are beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fvVnEqkkfc

Untitled Poem by Russell Kelfer

You are who you are for a reason.
You're part of an intricate plan.
You're a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You're just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so.
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason,
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!