My Autism Insights

I’ve recently come across a book and a movie that I think are worth checking out if you have some time over the weekend.

  First a movie: Snowcake.  I reacently learned about this movie in which Sigourney Weaver magnificently plays an autistic adult who has just lost her daughter.  Aside from being a very moving film about redemption (not hers), the performance gives a fascinating perspective on the world of a person with autism and also the way neurotypical people interact with them.  One scene in particular got me a bit riled.  After the wake for her daughter, she starts to behave in a way that might be considered by some to be inappropriate to the situation, but she was in her own home.  A neighbor tries to stop her.  This annoyed me - I hate to see someone go into another’s home and then control what goes on there.  If you don’t like it, go the hell back to your own house!  Anyway, it’s an excellent film.

Kid, Parents, and Power Strugglesby Mary Sheedy Kurcinka - I read this about 2 months ago and I think I will flip through it again.  Some very concrete strategies for interacting with children sans power struggles.  What I found most compelling was that Kurcinka spends a lot of time looking at how a parent’s issues will influence their interaction with their child.  Although this book does not directly deal with parenting a child with autism, she does address how special needs change the playing field, unlike some other parenting books I’ve read.

If you’ve got any other recommendations, please feel free to share a comment!  Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Because I’m multitasking at the moment (and just realized I put my pj’s on inside-out) I’ll have to be quick today.

1. I am thankful for Claritin-D 24 hour allergy medication. It’s that time of year when the change of seasons is bringing eczema, sneezing, and sleep disturbances for Gus. Claritin makes a big difference and is much less expensive than Zyrtec.

2. I am thankful for bedtime. Did I mention I just put my pj’s on inside-out? Some days are like that and I am just happy when they end.

3. I am thankful for long weekends and camping. It gets the kids away from electronics for a few days, we spend some fun family time together and sleeping in a tent (on an air mattress and as long as it’s not raining) is just awesome!

I may be scarce this weekend because of said camping. So if I’m not around, have a great weekend & Labor Day, and please share your thankfulness in a comment!

One week to go.  All the neighborhood kids are getting their last ya-yas out before they are put back on lockdown until the winter holidays.  These last couple of days have seen nearly every neighborhood kid playing in one big, mostly happy, group.  Even Gus was in the mix for a little while yesterday.  Today, he wasn’t very interested.  He chose to come in to play on the computer.  There wasn’t a problem, and no one was bothering him.  He just wanted to chill out with some peace and quiet.  Should I have made him come out, get some more exercise, enjoy the fresh air while he can?  Probably.  But it’s the last week of his vacation.  Maybe it’s okay for him to enjoy it any way he wants.

Chris at A Free Man has written one of the few posts that you should definitely read!) about the causes behind autism that balances technical information with plain English. I usually have a hard time digesting scientific information - it makes my eyes blur and my brain shuts down, but this is an excellent and informative post, easily understood.

The bottom line:

“Most evidence supports that genetics plays the dominant role, but if in fact the frequency of autism is rising, then there are very likely some compounds in our environment that play a role.”

This seems to suggest something important to me. Things like vaccines and diet, since they are environmental, they may help to mitigate autism, but I don’t see how they can erase it. The conclusions presented by Chris have pretty far-reaching implications for the entire biomedical movement, too. Lots to consider in terms of finally moving forward with trying to work with those children and adults who have been diagnosed. Maybe now more energy can be spent looking at that instead of just at causes.

image from It’s a Blog Eat Blog World

Club - noun

1.a heavy stick

Gus seems to have a fondness for clubs or otherwise large sticks. If he’d lived during Medieval times, he’d have been right at home with the quarter staff. But he is not Friar Tuck and any mom with overhead light fixtures can attest that having a child swinging a broomstick around is a bit of a stress-inducing thing. So how can we possibly channel that natural affinity for club-like items into a less destructive and more constructive activity? Teach the boy to sweep!

His household “job” is to sweep the bathrooms since he likes to play with the broom so much. We’ve even offered to get him his own little push broom because the other kind is a little harder to coordinate.

You’ve got to play to your child’s strengths and interests, right? How have you been able to channel your child’s strengths?

Sugar was a problem, so we cut out as much of it as we could. Milk was bad because it has casein, which has a sort of doping effect (reportedly) so we cut it out almost completely. But cutting out milk means that we have to give Gus calcium supplements, most of which, ironically, are made with milk. Enter: the Gummies. Yeah, we give him candy-calcium. And now he’s figured out how to open the not-so-child-proof cap. Half a bottle the other day; seven today by the time I caught him. Is it possible to overdose on calcium? Maybe we should just give the kid some cheese and forget about it.

I can’t recall a day in the past year, maybe longer, when I haven’t read or heard about the word ‘vaccine’ in relation to autism at least once a day. I tend not to dwell on the issue because both my kids have had their full complement of vaccinations, so it’s a moot point, and since I’d much rather the momentary pain of a flu vaccination over the weeks of misery that the entire family suffers when one of us gets sick, I also make sure that everyone gets a flu shot every year. We’re a vaccination family. So why am I mentioning it today?

Well, I read an interesting post at Left Brain/Right Brain about measles this morning, and it got me to thinking.

I have two friends who are expecting their first babies withing the next two months. They both know that we have an autistic child. If asked about vaccinations, what should I say? One school of thought believes that vaccinating children is almost certain to doom them to the nightmare of autism (not my words, and by the way, I don’t consider autism or my life as an autistic child’s mother to be nightmarish - nightmarish is a word I reserve for Call of K’thulu). But by following that line of thinking and not vaccinating, that leaves the child vulnerable to potentially deadly diseases. Anti-vaccine folks maintain that measles was wiped out, yet the number of cases has been growing, and there have been at least two deaths.

What’s worse? The remote possibility of catching and dying from measles or the even less likely possibility of a vaccination contributing to a diagnosis of autism? Hmm…

May I just point out that Gus exhibited signs of sensory dysfunction and developmental delay pretty much from day one? So that, for me, blows the vaccine-autism link right out of the water. Can I also mention that my daughter was vaccinated in exactly the same way as her brother, two years after he was, and has shown only the slightest difficulty with fine motor skills, which is a problem that runs through my husband’s family? The answer is seeming much clearer now.

I think it’s fairly nuts to tell people not to vaccinate their children, especially in today’s world. The fact that so many parents, out of necessity, send their sick kids to school is enough of a reason for me to make sure my children are as protected as I can make them short of arming them in full plate mail (the seams in the armor would allow germs in anyway). And there’s still that pesky issue of autism and vaccinations not being linked in any credible studies. But, even if by some miracle of science, the link was somehow made, is autism really a worse fate than severe illness that could lead to death? Sorry, but I’ll take my Gus with all his quirks any day.

And if I haven’t been clear enough, if you’re wondering what to do, please vaccinate your children for their sake and for the sake of all the rest of our kids who should not have to be exposed to a real epidemic like measles when it can be avoided. If it makes you feel better, split up the vaccinations. Your child will get a few extra pokes and you’ll have a few extra copays, but that’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s worse to do nothing. You want ‘greener’ vaccines and a change to the schedule? I find that less offensive than just tossing them out the window altogether.

I think I’ll go back to straddling my fence now. Thanks for reading and please feel free to let me know your opinion.

Edit:  For more on this today, check out Autismvox .

Today was a less than optimal day, so while it’s been a challenge to think about gratitude, I’ve found that thinking about the things that I feel grateful for has helped salvage the evening.

1. I am thankful for the other autism bloggers around the blogosphere. Since starting this blog (even before to be honest) I’ve done a lot of reading of autism blogs and their honesty, perspective and humor have helped me enormously every day. So, thanks!

2. Although sometimes it’s too much, I am actually grateful for all the help we get from our families. I’ve always been very independent and hate to ask for help, but sometimes, I’ve just got to bite the bullet and accept it. Life would be much harder if I didn’t have that option because the help wasn’t being offered, so I can’t complain.

3. I am thankful for rainbows. Amazing how something as simple as a trick of light can always remind one to smile. I think Gus would relate.

I’d love to hear about your gratitude today!

The Hollywood Reporter told that Clare Danes will star in the HBO special, set to start filming around October, about the life of Temple Grandin, one of the country’s leading speakers about autism. The film, which has taken close to a decade to get the green-light, will be directed by Mick Jackson.

Temple Grandin is autistic and also a top scientist in the field of handling livestock humanely. She’s the author of several books to educate on the topic of autism including Thinking in Pictures, Emergence: Labeled Autistic, and most recently Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships co-authored with Sean Barron.

Danes will portray the young Dr. Grandin up through her graduate studies.

It’s getting to that time of year when Gus starts to have sleep issues. He came barreling into our room just before 3, ready to start his day. He’d forgotten to look at the clock. (There’s a house rule that it’s got to be quiet until 6 so the rest of the family can sleep at least until then.) He can’t really help it - I’m sure it’s got to be the coming change of season - but at the same time, I’m the worst when it comes to coping with sleep disturbances.

I’m thinking that we need to sit down together and come up with a middle-of-the-night-wake-up procedure. The thing is, I have no idea what I’d rather him do: stay in his room so that he’s up for the rest of the night or come and wake me up so I can put him back to bed so we can both be up all night.

If you’ve got any ideas on how we can deal with this, I’d be grateful! The more comments the merrier! I’m going to caffeinate now.