The Autism Spectrum

Article: A Radical New Theory

2010-10-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is exactly what I've been saying all along! I've actually been pretty much taking it for granted my whole life. Oversensitivity can make you seem cold and distant. Too much noise can make voices hard to isolate. Being afraid of literally everything--and just going on with life anyway--can make you seem fearless. This last point can be dangerous. If everything hits your sensors as a life-threatening crisis, then you have to make a habit of ignoring the alarms that go off.

A Radical New Autism Theory
By Maia Szalavitz

A groundbreaking study suggests people with autism-spectrum disorders such as Asperger's do not lack empathy—rather they feel others' emotions too intensely to cope.

People with Asperger's syndrome, a high functioning form of autism, are often stereotyped as distant loners or robotic geeks. But what if what looks like coldness to the outside world is in fact a response to being overwhelmed by emotion—an excess of empathy, not a lack of it?

This idea resonates with many people suffering from autism-spectrum disorders and their families. It also jibes with new thinking about the nature of autism called the “intense world” theory. As posited by Henry and Kamila Markram of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, suggests that the fundamental problem in autism-spectrum disorders is not a social deficiency, but rather an hypersensitivity to experience, which includes an overwhelming fear response.

(more at The Daily Beast...)

"Special"

2010-04-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Applying labels to large groups of people can be very useful, but it's inherently dehumanizing. If such a group is in the minority and viewed unfavorably by many outside the group, then any labels applied to this group begin to acquire negative connotations. In this way, perfectly neutral terms such as "idiot" and "retarded" develop into insults and must be replaced by newer (though essentially synonymous) words like "autistic" and "handicapped". As long as social prejudices still exist toward the labeled group, such new terms gradually develop their own negative connotations and must be replaced again. It's an endless cycle. This is why we see the word "special" today used gingerly to refer the mentally handicapped as well as sarcastically as an insult.

I'm not pointing this out as a suggestion that we push for new words to refer to individuals with autism or other developmental disorders, nor am I suggesting that we attempt to reclaim archaic terminology and purge it of its insulting connotations. I'm simply suggesting that we all recognize words for what they are: strings of letters representing sounds arbitrarily linked to ideas which vary over time as well as in the minds of individual speakers. In short, don't get hung up on terminological issues. Pay close attention to what people are actually communicating, not so much the particular words they choose.

Are You Ready?

2010-03-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I got another interesting update from my dad about my brother Caleb. I can't believe it took me so long to post it! I guess grad school can do that to you.

Key Words: Are You Ready?
By Cliff Jones, Sr.

I just learned something that works with Caleb. I can ask and tell him over and over to do something, but if he is feeling resistant, he won't do it.

But I found out tonight that if you pose it as a question, it seems to work.

I was asking over and over for him to get undressed for his bath, but he kept circling the house for a half hour.

Finally, I said, "Are you ready for your bath?" Then he started saying he was ready and got undressed and got in the tub.

I asked him to stand so I could wash his body and he wouldn't. Then I said, "Are you ready to stand up?" And he got up.

I've done this a few times now and it seems to be a key. Maybe the phrase "Are you ready?" gives him a moment to get his mind ready for what you are about to say.

Anything that works, right? I'm going to try some more things. Maybe a negative, like "Are you ready to stop opening the refrigerator?"

Article: More Cases of Autism All the Time

2009-10-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

So two separate studies are both saying 1 in 100 kids have some form of autism now, with only half of those cases being reported as "mild". That means you've got 1 in 200 kids (about 1 boy in 125) with a serious problem. I think it's interesting how the mainstream media will say that it's probably just better diagnosis and then go on to ask how we're going to handle this dramatic increase financially. The label doesn't matter; if we have an increasing chunk of the population that can't take care of themselves, then something is seriously wrong.

Study: More cases of autism in U.S. kids than previously realized

A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics indicates about 1 percent of children ages 3 to 17 have autism or a related disorder, an increase over previous estimates.

"This is a significant issue that needs immediate attention," Dr. Ileana Arias, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. "A concerted effort and substantial national response is warranted."

The study used data from the federal government's 2007 national survey of children's health. The survey of parents was conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The results are based on a national telephone survey of more than 78,000 parents of children ages 3 to 17. iReport.com: How has autism affected your family?

In the study, parents were asked whether a health care provider had ever told them their child had an autism spectrum disorder. ASD is a group of brain disorders comprising autism and two less severe disorders: Asperger's disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.

(more at CNN.com...)

Profile: Jonathon

2009-08-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

1) I am answering these questions for my son Jonathon. We currently live in Nashville, TN. Jonathon was born in El Paso, TX and he lived there until the age of 3.

2) Autism in my life has been an opening to a different view of the world. Autism has been a learning experience every single day. With Jonathon being my second child I learned that I had to look at parenting in a new way. Every single obstacle and every learning experience I’ve had with Jonathon has required me to constantly be thinking outside the box.

3) Jonathon was born April of 2003. He was diagnosed at the age of two. Autism ASD has been his only diagnosis. I believe that injecting my son’s small body with multiple doses of viruses when he was just a baby has had something to do with it.

4) He is nonverbal. Socially he interacts only with his immediate family, Dad, mom and sis. At school he interacts with teachers and therapists. He likes adults more that he does children. He usually shies away from other children but is the opposite way with adults.

5) He has had speech therapy and occupational therapy since the age of two. He has improved significantly. He has gone from a appearing to be in his own little world and being super shy to a sweet boy who looks you in the eye and constantly wants your attention. He loves hugs and kisses.

6) Communication is his biggest obstacle.

7) He knows the alphabet forward and backwards. We found this out by working through puzzles with him.

8) I have learned to view the world with different eyes. I learned to question and learn things for myself. A lot of research has come out of this. I feel like this opportunity has been placed in my life and I feel blessed for having the chance to live it.

I Need Your Help!

2009-08-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it's been dead on here for a while. I'm currently in graduate school for linguistics, and I don't know how active I'll be on here over the coming months either.

That said, I always have time to post new profiles if you'll only take the time to answer my short list of questions. I'd prefer a photo to make the profile more personal and interesting, but you don't even have to supply a name. You can even post your answers as an anonymous comment if you're concerned about complete anonymity. Whether you answer for yourself, a loved one, or just pass the link onto somebody else, I'd really appreciate your help to get this project rolling!

My original intent for this blog was to be a collection of profiles of people with some form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including Asperger's syndrome. I only have a handful of profiles so far, and I'm really hoping to get more from you guys so I can get a better picture of the full spectrum of autistic disorders - what autistic individuals all have in common and what they don't - and share that picture with the general public. I'm particularly interested in the possibility that the autistic brain itself is not deficient at all, but is particularly susceptible to certain outside elements (gluten, mercury, aluminum, antibiotics...), which turns a perfectly natural difference into a true disorder.

Another blog I maintain, LP Notes has been overlapping with this one more and more lately. Call me paranoid, but it really seems to me that people with autistic/Aspergian genes are being intentionally marginalized and subdued. Regardless of your views on this issue, if you think there might be a connection between the ever-increasing amount of vaccinations we're virtually forced to subject our children to and the sharp rise in the prevalence of autism - or if you'd just prefer to make your own decisions about what goes into your body - please take a look at this recent post on forced vaccinations and sign the petition against such practices.

Magnesium: The First Thing to Try

2009-05-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

I've said it before, but maybe not strongly enough: Magnesium is amazing! If you're a label-checker, you might have the idea that it's not so important (since magnesium content is almost never listed), but I can tell you from personal experience that it can be the difference between feeling normal and having uncontrollable tension, anxiety, panic attacks, intermittent vision problems, and spasms that keep you (and maybe even your spouse) up at night.

About 75% of Americans don't get their minimum recommended daily allowance (RDA) of magnesium. In addition to anxiety-related problems, this can also cause depression, migraines, PMS, lethargy, and heart disease, and a lot more trouble. Some form of magnesium deficiency is responsible for roughly 150 thousand deaths a year in the US alone! So let me tell you, getting enough magnesium is important!

For someone with autism, it's even more important to get enough because they seem to need more magnesium than non-autistic individuals. In fact, a therapy combining magnesium with vitamin B6 has been shown to be effective for treating (but not curing) autism.

How much is enough? For an adult male, somewhere around 400 mg should be OK. Females need a little less, maybe around 350 mg. For children, the RDA is 80 mg from 1 to 3 years old, 130 mg from 4 to 8, and 240 mg from 9 to 13. But as I've said, children with autism may need more. Excess magnesium works as a laxative, so that's a good way to gauge how much a particular individual is able to absorb.

A good magnesium supplement (one using magnesium citrate) might be a good idea to have on hand, but you should also try to get enough magnesium in your diet. I've made up a little list of some foods I like that are pretty high in magnesium.

cup of peanut butter = 397 mg
cup of buckwheat flour = 301 mg
cup of peanuts = 257 mg
head of cabbage = 189 mg
cup of spinach = 156 mg
cup of black beans = 120 mg
cup of oats = 112 mg
cup of coconut milk = 104 mg
cup of pinto beans = 86 mg
cup of kidney beans = 80 mg
can of tuna = 53 mg
medium potato = 48 mg
cup of squash = 43 mg
can of sardines = 36 mg
tbsp of molasses = 35 mg
tbsp of cocoa = 27 mg

And remember that although wheat and dairy are good sources as well, people on the autism spectrum might want to avoid these foods for reasons I've talked about before. That's why I left them off of the list. Here's a somewhat flexible daily menu I made up for myself that adds up to around 400 mg of magnesium.

2/3 cup buckwheat flour or 1/2 cup peanut butter = 200 mg

1 cup black beans or 1 1/2 cups pinto beans = 120 mg

1/3 cup spinach or 1 cup squash or 1 medium potato or 1/4 head of cabbage = 50 mg

1 tbsp molasses or 1 tbsp cocoa = 30 mg

Of course, you'll want to design a diet to fit your own personal needs and preferences. The USDA National Nutrient Database is an awesome reference for this sort of thing. You can look up a nutrient to see which foods have the most or look up a food to see what nutrients it has. Very handy!

It really would be convenient if the problems associated with autism could be treated with a pill. But despite what some doctors would have you believe, they can't. Luckily a lot of problems can be fixed with good old-fashioned diet, exercise, and sunlight! I know it's not easy to keep track of all that stuff, but it's worth it. Good luck to you and yours! Hang in there!

Caleb Goes to Austin

2009-04-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

My dad's been sending me a lot of emails lately, updating me on how my brother's doing. Caleb's on so much medication, it's ridiculous. That's why he's going to a state school in Austin for a few weeks; it's sort of like rehab. I hope this little story can serve as a warning to parents of autistic kids to resist medication as much as possible. We tried to, but we also trusted doctors a little too much, in my opinion at least.

Caleb Update
By Cliff Jones, Sr.

I met Caleb Wednesday morning at Brenham and he was packed and ready to go to the state hospital. Brenham insisted that they drive him, so I followed in my truck, right behind. Three staff went: the psychologist and two guys.

A couple blocks down the street, Caleb turned around and saw me following and smiled real big. We stopped halfway there for a break at Whataburger.

When we arrived at the Austin State Hospital, the admissions building was downright scary. There was a barred gate and fence with security locks, as if we were checking into a prison. The intake room was also security locked with plexiglass windows and three bureaucratic women sitting behind the windows. One woman asked where the commitment papers were.

Let me back up. Caleb's psychiatrist had suggested the hospital after a year of trying to reduce his meds at Brenham, which only resulted in behavior problems and self-injury, and ER visits and stitches and staples. She said Austin was set up for this kind of problem and we could reduce him off his meds much more quickly and safely. I was hesitant about it, but agreed. The psychiatrist also gave me the understanding that no judge would need to be involved because they had an arrangement with the hospital that if Caleb stayed less than 30 days, it would not be necessary.

So we get there and the intake people had no idea what we were talking about and insisted on a judge's commitment papers. Everyone got on their phones and started calling all around. The doctor sounded like she was trying to get the commitment done quickly. I stepped up to the window and asked if there was such a thing as a 30-day stay without court papers and she said absolutely not.

I was ready to leave with Caleb right then. Finally, the admissions administrator came out and apologized profusely and explained it again as Caleb's psychiatrist had at Brenham and that their admissions staff were mistaken. At this point, I wasn't going to trust these strangers with my son, and I asked if there was anything written describing all of this because up to that point, everything had been done strictly on the basis of conversations. She went back to her office and had a hard time finding anything. After a long while, she brought out several printed items from state law that described this situation, so I was thinking about this and what to do when the bureaucrat from the intake desk came out and informed the Brenham staff that they could leave, and insinuated that I could leave as well. Brenham people were starting to go when I said, "If you all leave, you are leaving Caleb with me, because I haven't decided yet whether Caleb will stay here." The doctor asked if I'd prefer that they stay, and I said it would be nice.

The bureaucrat lady then told me that Brenham had custody and had transferred that custody to Austin hospital. Basically, that I had nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile, sheriffs with mental patients in handcuffs were coming and going. It was a very rough place.

I told that lady that I was the guardian and whatever I said was the way it was, and that I could take Caleb home with me right then if I decided to. She left the room without saying anything. Five minutes later, she came back and told me that I was the guardian and whatever I said was the way it was, and that I could take Caleb home with me right then if I decided to. In other words, she had been corrected by her boss and told to come out and apologize to me.

This whole time, Caleb is right there with me, hearing all of this going on. Then the admissions administrator came out and again apologized profusely. I told her I wanted to talk with whoever would be treating Caleb and see his room, etc. She took us both back inside the hospital, where we waited and spoke with the admissions doctor. The Brenham staff left.

Eventually, Caleb's admission was complete and I was satisfied that it would be safe to leave Caleb there.

It was time to take Caleb to the Specialty Services department, which was across campus. I followed the van that carried Caleb and hospital staff. When we got to the other building, they got out and Caleb was having problems. I decided to let the staff handle it because I was supposed to go around to the other side of the building to check in as a visitor. Caleb was looking around for me as two people dragged him into the back door. This broke my heart.

It was quite a while before the social worker came to the front to talk with me. She said Caleb had needed to be put into a restraint chair as soon as he arrived.

However, I was impressed with the social worker and Caleb's new doctor. She is all for the plan of getting Caleb off of as much medication as is possible. She said Caleb's situation is not unusual because many facilities are not able to handle behaviors like his, and over the years, more and more medications are added, then they end up at her hospital, being taken off of them. She has been successful before with this.

They also have a psycho-pharmacologist who will be studying everything about Caleb's meds and also a neurologist who will be examining him and monitoring his progress.

Next morning, there was a phone message asking that if I were still in Austin, that they could use my help in managing Caleb's clinic visits that day. I spent several hours working with Caleb and helped him get his physical and EKG. First, though, I spent a really nice hour with him in the visiting room.

I was stunned when he got up and began marching around, singing the song the guards sing in The Wizard of Oz. ("Ohhh-weee-Ohhh...") I don't ever remember him singing by himself like that, his entire life. He was getting pleasure from the singing, and bouncing his hands as he marched, keeping rhythm. Caleb had never been able to keep rhythm before and I take this as one more miracle in his development. I believe new connections are being formed in his brain, thank God!

I had to hand-feed Caleb his lunch, since his hands are still in the padded gloves.

Caleb had a one-on-one staff member, but he mostly just observed how I dealt with Caleb as we went to the clinic. It took a lot of doing but I managed to get Caleb to allow them to place the electrodes on his ankles, wrists, and chest. However, we were both down on the floor and the guy running the test had to bring his stuff to us, not the other way around, haha. They thanked me a lot for my help. They were going to give up.

The physical went fine, too, and then we went outside. The staff guy was waiting and wondering why the van had not arrived back. I felt it best for Caleb to go with him instead of my truck. However, by this time Caleb was becoming agitated at the wait and I got a very painful bite on my neck. The van arrived just in the nick of time and I said goodbye to Caleb and they left. Then I started back to Magnolia. Wheww.

I called Friday and Caleb had had no more behavioral problems. The social worker said that he had been happy and singing all day!

So it was a very scary and rough start but I feel Caleb is doing great now. Thank God!

Movie: Chocolate

2009-04-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

If you're at all interested in martial arts movies, I've got a pretty good one for you: Chocolate. I just watched this last night, and it was awesome. No special effects or fakey stuff, just really amazing moves/stunts, all performed by the actors of course.

Why am I talking about this here? The main character is autistic. Jeeja Yanin, who trained for a total of four years to make this film, portrays a pretty young girl with very limited language, a fear of flies, and savant skills that translate into near super-powers.

Sure, the premise is... unlikely (considering the tendency for autists to have poor coordination), and the movie got cheesy a couple times (like when a second autistic kid with a severe twitch also turned out to be a good fighter), but the story was very interesting and well-performed overall.

Unless you just don't want to see any movie with a lot of fighting, I'd highly recommend renting this one. Here's a trailer. Just a head's up: There's an extremely cheesy line toward the end of this trailer that was not present in the original Thai version. You'll know it when you see it.

This movie was made in Thailand and contains Thai, Japanese, and English in different parts. Overdub voice actors tend to suck, so I suggest using subtitles.

Videos: Savants are Amazing!

2009-03-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

This first video is of an autistic man drawing Rome completely from memory. Yes, the whole city. He first goes on a helicopter ride to see it all and then gets to work.

This next little boy is only five years old and has pretty amazing spelling abilities. They're all the more amazing when his severe language impairment is taken into account.

Of course, not all of us on the spectrum have savant abilities like these. My visual memory is actually pretty bad; I couldn't imagine attempting to draw a single building from memory, though I'm pretty good at drawing. That said, I've never had any trouble with spelling. And I keep track of little details like apostrophes and commas way better than most people. It's no super-power, but it is handy since I've chosen to study linguistics and work as an English teacher (for now).

My point is that any diversion from the norm is likely to have drawbacks but might also have benefits. Every complex system (including the brain) is full of trade-offs, which can hopefully be balanced for the best overall results. Over time, our brains (both individually and as a species) adjust to our environment and lifestyle. Our society has changed an awful lot in the past few centuries, so any diversion from the current norm is all the more likely to show some benefits.

You can apply this knowledge to your life no matter who you are. It's the classic think-outside-the-box idea. In science, you'd call it experimentation. Change something, anything, and pay attention to what happens. You'll be surprised how many changes turn out to be beneficial.

Missionary for Health and Sanity

2009-03-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

I don't like to say that I have "autism" because to me that's pretty severe and comes with major language difficulties. My younger brother has this kind of autism, "classic" autism. I've always felt like the main difference between us is that I learned how to talk and he never did, but it was only a few years ago that I seriously looked at Asperger's syndrome and figured out that I must be on the autism spectrum too.

Since then, I've adjusted my diet (no wheat, no dairy, lots of magnesium), and I'm sure I wouldn't get any kind of diagnosis now. I still have some anxiety, but it's nothing like before. I learned how to control my panic attacks pretty well while teaching in Japan, but these days I don't even seem to have them (unless I go off my diet or something). I still don't understand people's nonverbal communication very well, but I'm learning tricks all the time.

I know there are a lot of people who don't want Aspergians to be called autistic at all because they're so different from people like my brother, but I think those differences are just a matter of degree. It really is all just different shades of autism. The only problem is that there are a lot more people on my end of the spectrum, and those people are much more visible (since they can blog for example). That makes everyone think autism is no big deal, just a bunch of whiners.

I'd just like to say as clearly as I can that the growing epidemic of autism in this country and around the world is a huge deal. I'm just lucky because somehow I figured out how to take care of myself and function OK in society early on. I want to help everybody else with what I've learned, but that's a bit like being a missionary. You go around telling people to do a lot of work and give up things they love because it's for their own good in the long run. That's generally not well received. Oh well, at least I can point people to my blogs.

Things That Help

2009-02-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

As I've said before, I'm mildly Aspergian (though most people just think I'm weird, self-centered, awkward, thoughtless, obsessive, or some combination thereof). I say "mildly" not because it's no big deal but because I'm able to do a pretty good job of keeping my life together. Actually, I do need a lot of help from my wife and parents and such, but that's normal I suppose.

Over the years, I've found a few things that make me feel better, less autistic but not less me: exercise, magnesium, and a gluten-free diet. I have a feeling sunshine should be on there too, but I haven't yet noticed the particulars of how I feel different when I don't get enough sunshine.

When I don't get enough exercise for a couple days, I feel really restless and often depressed. I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep at night and waking up in the morning. I think this is totally normal and has nothing to do with autism.

When I forget to take magnesium powder for a few days, I get more tense and fidgety. Suddenly, I'm not able to wear a hat or shoes or keep things in my pockets without feeling really irritated, like I'm suffocating. My eyes might feel like they're unable to focus or twitching back and forth for a few seconds. When it's too noisy or when I'm laying in bed trying to sleep, I have little spasms, especially around my neck. If this is really bad, my head might turn to the side so hard and fast it hurts. If I'm laying down, I might do something that looks like a really fast stomach crunch. This is how I was my whole life before I started taking magnesium citrate. I just took it for granted and tried not to worry about it.

When I eat anything with gluten (wheat protein) in it, I feel pretty good at first. I've always had this sort of pleasureful chill-wave going through my body from time to time, and it seems to happen a lot more right after I eat wheat. A little later, I get pretty clumsy, disoriented, and irritable. I never want to blame the wheat (because I'd love to be able to eat bread and drink beer), but it seems to be the obvious culprit. I never had a chance to notice this stuff before because a normal American diet is absolutely full of wheat. Try to keep on the lookout for the next time you go all day without eating some form of wheat or gluten. (Hint: It's even in oatmeal and corn flakes!)

Casein (milk protein) is supposed to cause problems similar to gluten, so I'm avoiding it too. But whenever I do have some diary, I've only really noticed some mild stomach problems. That said, it's really hard to remember your state of mind, and at the time, you don't think to connect it with any external factors. It's like when an obviously tired and grouchy kid needs a nap. There's no convincing that kid that they only hate everything right now because they're tired. My daughter's only two, and she's already told me she doesn't love me anymore a few times. So it goes.

My point with this post isn't to tell you not to eat wheat and start taking a good magnesium supplement (though that may be a good idea). My point is that you should change things around in your diet and lifestyle (one thing at a time) and pay close attention to how it affects you. Experiment on yourself! Don't go to a doctor and let them start experimenting on you. They don't have the same vested interest.

An Alternative to the Mercury Theory

2009-01-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

I recently had a bit of a back-and-forth with a blogger who goes by the name of Daedalus2U. Quite an odd name, yes, for an odd fellow. He is very strongly opposed to the idea that exposure to mercury causes autism, and he makes that known whenever he gets a chance.

So far, I've seen a lot that points to nutritional deficits coupled with overexposure to poisons (like mercury, aluminum, fluoride, and antibiotics) being the major causes of autistic disorders (with genetics leaving some more susceptible but not actually making anyone sick). Therefore, I can't totally agree with Daedalus2U on everything, but I do respect his views on the subject. He really seems to be on to something, and I hope (for all our sakes) that he's solved the puzzle!

Here's some of what he said in response to some questions about mercury as a contributing factor in ASD.

I am not saying that mercury is good for anyone. It isn't. Mercury exposures should be reduced as low as is feasible. Canned tuna has ~0.5 ppm mercury in it. 100 grams of tuna has about 50 micrograms of mercury. Ingested methyl mercury is better absorbed than is injected thimerosal, in that ingested methyl mercury results in higher blood and brain levels than does the same dose of injected thimerosal. It makes no sense to blame mercury from vaccines when people receive orders of magnitude more mercury from other sources. The only reason mercury from vaccines is being blamed is because pharmaceutical companies have deep pockets. Now that thimerosal is removed from vaccines, there is not the slightest hint of a reduction in autism cases. Why? Because mercury in vaccines never had the slightest thing to do with autism.

. . .

The source of NO [nitric oxide] that I am working with is from a surface biofilm of ammonia oxidizing bacteria. Bathing removes those bacteria and reduces the NO/NOx status. I see that mechanism as the normal physiological pathway by which humans regulate their basal NO/NOx status. Disrupt that biofilm and you disrupt basal NO/NOx status. Disrupt basal NO/NOx status and you skew physiology to a high stress state and exacerbate all disorders that are exacerbated by stress. I don't see them as disorders per se, I see them as normal physiology that is invoked under stress. They are adaptive in the short term. They become maladaptive in the long term when pushed to an extreme level by chronic low NO/NOx status.

. . .

The ammonia oxidizing bacteria are very well known in soil chemistry and in waste water treatment. I am the first to find that they are commensal and important in physiology. It is hard for some to accept that concept because they are obligate autotrophs and so don't grow on any media used to isolate pathogens.

The bacteria are quite slow growing, so it can be difficult to recover a biofilm once it is lost through bathing. Once you have a biofilm, bathing is optional. These bacteria suppress the heterotrophic ones that cause disease and odor.

If you're interested, here's a short summary of Daedalus2U's "biofilm" theory of autism. It's almost two years old, but it still jives with what he's saying today. The only problem with his blog is that it's really technical and usually pretty long-winded. Not a problem if you're a serious researcher, but a little intimidating for the casual reader.

Denis Leary: Not Cool!

2009-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Yet another celebrity has chosen a side on autism. Not surprisingly, Denis Leary chose the asshole side. This is from his new book that no one's going to buy.

There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you--yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both.

When asked, Leary said his chapter on autism, entitled "Autism Schmautism", was his favorite and that he hoped Jenny McCarthy would picket his book tour because it would be good for sales. I think Jenny McCarthy's probably too busy working on the real problem of autism to tell people not to listen to a washed-up comedian's plea for attention.

I don't have the energy to do my research and write a full-blown article on what exactly is wrong with Denis Leary's (and also Michael Savage's) view of autism, so I'll just link to someone who already has: Tanner's Dad on Causecast. His post has a really long title: Autism, Freedom, Vaccine Injury, Freedom, Denis Leary, Freedom . . . and so on.

Everything Is Connected

2008-12-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

I was promoting this blog on Twitter recently, and this guy responded to a little message I threw up about mercury toxicity.

I really don't have time to be posting right now (I'm supposed to be making Christmas presents), but I feel like I have a responsibility to tell people when I see something like this. Dr. Mark Hyman is right on the money! His personal experience has opened his eyes to just how screwed up the whole medical community is.

And our medical training reinforces the illusion of separate body systems by training doctors in specialties and subspecialties--there are doctors for every inch of your body. But there are very few who understand how the whole body works as one complete ecosystem.

It's not just medicine actually; I've found the study of language (linguistics) to have the exact same problems. I'm a grad student, and I still don't know how to answer when my peers ask what I'm interested in. Language! Isn't that specific enough? Nobody seems to get that you can't form a theory in one area without a whole mess of assumptions in other areas. So you'd better investigate the whole system pretty evenly if you want to get anywhere near the truth.

Whoops, I forgot. This blog is supposed to be about autism. My language blog is over at Vokation.com.

Anyway, I highly recommend checking out Dr. Hyman's success stories, getting the sneak preview, and buying his book.

Here's the basic idea, what makes this approach unusual (and still just plain common sense).

To learn how to fix your brain, you are going to have to accept a radically new way of thinking about health--one that most doctors today still struggle to understand. The crux of it is embodies in a simple truth:

Everything is connected.

Your entire body and all of the core systems in it interact as a single sophisticated symphony. You are one whole person, and all the pieces of your biology and your unique genetic code interact with your environment (including the foods you eat) to determine how sick or well you are at the moment.

Of course! It's good to know I'm not alone in my view of mental disorders as something not at all akin to a foreign invader in the body that can be detected and diagnosed with some questionnaire. Mental disorders are just labels for the mental symptoms of physical problems. Labels like "autism", "OCD", and "ADHD" should be used for the sake of convenience and nothing more.

Nutrients have a multifactorial effect and work in synergy. It is important to attempt to correct all the deficiencies; as you can see, they all interact and overlap.

Here are a few common deficiencies you should watch out for, especially if you're on the autism spectrum. Notice I've also listed some of the problems associated with each deficiency.

omega 3 fats, EPA, DHA: ADHD, eczema, immune deficiency

tryptophan, vitamin B6: unstable mood, sleep disturbance, ADHD

vitamin A, omega 3 fats: bumps on the back of the arms

vitamin D: lowered immunity

zinc: lowered immunity, poor heavy metal detoxification, ADHD, infections, eczema, allergies

magnesium: headaches, anxiety, insomnia, muscle spasms, cramps, aches, hypersensitivity to noises

In addition to just getting enough of the raw materials you need to be healthy, you also need to avoid the things that are bothering you. You should really get testing for delayed, low-grade food allergies (IgG food sensitivity). I haven't done this yet myself, or I'd let you know some details. Here are a few common allergies/sensitivities/intolerances.

gluten: canker sores, lowered immunity

mercury: gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune problems, cognitive problems

lead, environmental toxins: ADHD

Here's the main thrust of the book: the seven keys to staying in balance (both physically and mentally). These things are much easier said than done. You can see some more good stuff on YouTube, but you'll have to buy the book to get more detailed instructions.

Optimize nutrition.

Balance your hormones.

Cool off inflammation.

Fix your digestion.

Enhance detoxification.

Boost energy metabolism.

Calm your mind.

And remember:

You need to find all the tacks under your feet to be pain free; removing only one tack will not make you 50% better.

There's one more thing I found particularly interesting in what I've read of this book:

The frequent use of antiboitics for the many infections led to a yeast overgrowth and abnormal gut flora. This resulted in a leaky gut (also called intestinal permeability). This condition gives way to the above-mentioned food allergies, systemic allergies, and inflammation.

Antibiotics -> yeast -> leaky gut -> intolerances -> autism? So the most likely candidate in my mind for the real root of our recent explosion in mental disorders like autism is . . . (drumroll) . . . antibiotics! If exposure to antibiotics can actually cause food senstivities and weaken the body's ability to get rid of toxins like mercury and aluminum, then that can cause a whole mess of health problems, both mental and physical.

With all the antibiotics we consume, excrete, and consume again through our inadequately filtered water (not to mention all the plants and animals we eat after they've consumed our drug-laden waste), it's not surprising at all we'd be seeing serious health problems as a result.

Video: Mercury Toxicity and Autism

2008-12-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

I know I've been posting a lot about vaccines and mercury toxicity lately, but I'd just like to share one more video. It's short and to the point. No drama and personal stories to get you on our side, just the scientific facts.

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When I see stuff like this, it tends to make me tear up a little. We're all like children, and our government is like our parents. It's extremely painful emotionally to learn that your parents don't love you and really just want to profit off you. I think that's why so many people are so defensive about "conspiracy theories". The same reason abused children and spouses will defend their abusers. They just don't want to believe what's really going on because it's too painful.

Note: Months after making this post, I found a really nice article explaining what I meant by the last paragraph in greater detail: "They Wouldn't Do That".

Sam's Story of Triumph

2008-11-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

A Story of Triumph
By Molly Assad

In 1993, our son Samir Assad was born here in Puerto Rico. Immediately we noticed unusual behaviors. We were told that he was a very "serious" baby. He never interacted with people, and rarely smiled. Whenever we took him for photos, he screamed. At the time, we only knew he was crying in all his photos. We now know that autistic children are sensitive to light.

My husband and I ran from professional to professional paying as much as $750 for an evaluation. Usually the evaluations came back: "Child is developmentally delayed."

When Sam was four, we decided that the time, energy, and money was better invested in the solution rather than the diagnosis. As many parents of special needs children know, the system and infrastructure to help these kids is fairly diluted, so we started paying all of the recovery privately at an approximate expense of $2,000 monthly.

Although the road was challenging, the blessings are worth it. During the experience we discovered and truly believe that Puerto Rico is the best place for a child with autism. There is no culture I know of that adores their children as much as this one.

The great news is that in 2003, Samuel Hernandez laid hands on my son and at that point his recovery began to explode. He had been home for three years being home-schooled because no school accepted him. Although he was excelling academically, his social skills were drastically delayed. He wouldn’t even leave the house and rarely spoke.

A few weeks later, when I felt like I couldn’t go another step, I looked up at the sky at 2AM and said, "I am giving him to you." A few weeks later, I found Fountain Christian Bilingual School. I told them that I didn’t need an education, I had private teachers, I just needed a place where he could blossom socially. I asked if he could leave daily at noon, because he would never make it all day. The principal, Ms. Canting, responded with this statement: "If he goes half-day, how would he graduate?" I really couldn’t believe that she didn’t know that he would never graduate.

In 2005, we were blessed when Fountain Christian Bilingual School opened its doors in Carolina. They told me that they had no experience or training, but they would be willing to try. He entered in fourth grade with a privately paid aid, where he felt loved and accepted immediately. One morning, I was sitting on the floor with him and my head was down. I was crying in frustration when Pastora Omyra passed me and said, "I want you to know that it is an honor to have him in our school."

I really had to write this because my purpose is to inspire parents to keep pushing even when you don’t feel or see results. The joy happened on May 26th. I was truly overwhelmed and shocked. Here is his picture. Samir Assad, high honors, eight medallions and a special award from the principal in recognition of his tremendous triumph. God is good. Our dream is to help all children with this condition and to give families hope. We are blessed to live on this beautiful island. For information on Help for Autism write helpforautismpr@gmail.com or call 787-642-3205.

The Aspie-quiz!

2008-11-19T10:19:00.001-08:00

I just took a very well developed, statistically valid personality quiz that predicts how "aspie" you are, how likely it is that you would be diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. It's 150 questions, which isn't short but not bad considering their original pool of questions was well over 1,000. You can see all the details about how everything correlates on the Aspie-quiz evaluation page.

Here are my results:

As you can see, the results very strongly lean to the "Aspie" side. I was actually a bit surprised. I though there would be one or two scales on which I looked more like a neurotypical. I'm really not a typical Aspergian at all because language is one of my major obsessions/skills. People like me more easily masquerade as normal because we jump through most of the hoops with no problem. My spelling and grammar are way above average. My ability to talk face-to-face with someone without creeping them out or insulting or boring them is not so great.

If you take the quiz yourself, feel free to post your results here and let me know what you think of the test. Just email me with the image code they give you on the results page and whatever you'd like to say.

And even if you don't want to take the quiz, I'd love for you to answer the questions I ask here and let me post a profile for you! You can even be anonymous if you want. If you're curious what I'm going to do with your answers, take a look at the profiles we have so far.

Explaining the Autism Explosion

2008-11-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

We've been told that vaccines are safe for everyone. We were tricked by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) who doesn't want to see people getting scared of vaccines and refusing them altogether. Their reasons may be at least partly altruistic, but they've repeatedly covered up the facts about the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal. (CDC Knew: Mercury in Vaccines Induces Autism)

When thimerosal was removed from many childhood vaccines (but not flu vaccines, which are routinely given to pregnant women), the number of cases of autism reported in California dropped sharply from 800 in 2003 to 620 in 2006, a real decrease of 22% and a decrease from the projections of 35%. Autism didn't stop, but it did become a little less prevalent, indicating that the thimerosal was at least part of the problem. (Autism Declines When Mercury Vaccines Banned) If mercury were completely removed from all vaccines, who knows how the numbers would change?

The funny thing is, the CDC was itself tricked about thimerosal. They started using it to increase vaccine shelf life and allow packaging in bulk instead of by individual dose. In reality, thimerosal doesn't even work as a germ-killing agent in vaccines because of the presence of protein-rich serum. (CDC Knew: Mercury in Vaccines Induces Autism) And actually, these vaccines aren't even very effective in the first place! (Vaccinations a Form of Eugenics?)

So who tricked the CDC? Why have we been mass-poisoning everyone all these years (in a number of ways, not just through vaccines) at just low enough levels that only certain people are affected? Rather than spell out exactly what I think the motivation is, I'd like to summarize an extremely interesting article I found recently on a more general subject: Theory of Mind vs. Theory of Reality, the tradeoff along the Autism Spectrum.

Put in very simple terms (which the author does not use), stress in the mother can cause autism in the baby. Specifically, low levels of nitric oxide in the womb cause the baby to develop differently.

It is only in utero and early childhood that neurons can be epigenetically programmed to form the major structures in the brain with the characteristic neuroanatomy observed in ASDs such as increased asymmetries, larger numbers of neurons and larger brains.

It has to do with a trade-off between the developing individual's Theory of Mind (ToM) and their Theory of Reality (ToR).

. . . a less developed ToM interferes with ASDs communicating with neurologically typical individuals (NTs) and their very well developed ToM. . . . The NT ToM forces NTs to think in anthropomorphic terms, even when it is inappropriate because they lack a robust ToR.

It's not just the genes that determine how the individual will turn out but also the environment, especially the earliest environment, the womb. Imagine the natural development of the embryo/fetus as having some intelligence and you'll understand the process better. I'll just say that it's the genes deciding how the baby should develop. When the mother seems to be in a particularly high-stress environment, the genes figure it must be life or death out there. If this is the case, the finer points of empathy and cooperation go out the window in favor of more basic survival skills.

The author goes on to compare these different abilities to a word processor (ToM) and a spreadsheet (ToR).

If you tried to input a spread sheet into a word processor, you would get many error codes, many misspelled words; the word processing software would reject it as badly formed. A very well formed spread sheet cannot be read on a word processor. This is analogous the problem that some NTs have with understanding people with ASDs.

Of course, a similar problem occurs when autists try to understand NTs. If you try to import a word processing document into a spreadsheet, you'll lose all your formatting and have a hard time making everything fit into rows and columns. Autism, then, is primarily a difference, not a disorder, but it comes with a host of problems, especially since mainstream society has been designed by and for NTs.

Autists (provided they are able despite their own problems) are supposed to solve the world's problems and make the environment less stressful for future mothers (and their babies of course). This whole phenomenon of an autistic explosion seems to be a sort of self-correcting feature of humanity!

Cultural notions of what is appropriate affect abilities (i.e. what people think they or anyone can do). . . . A degree of social isolation from disrupted mirror neurons may insulate ASD individuals from incorrect paradigms of science, technology and the peer pressure associated with cultural practices which must be abandoned to overcome hard times.

While the deficient ToM is probably a bad thing for the individual, it's probably a good thing for the society.

No doubt repetitive trial and error was needed to acquire de novo skill(s) to manufacture stone tools 2 MYA, and such individuals had to ignore criticism that they were bizarre for “uselessly” banging stones together. . . . ASD individuals developing skills unrecognized as useful by NTs must possess a compulsion to acquire those skills despite peer pressure that such skills are useless.

He also speculates that adolescent rebellion may similarly serve as a check on the shared assumptions of a culture (its ToM).

If the older members of the tribe live long enough to transfer their wisdom to adults past their adolescent rebellion period, perhaps the wisdom is worth transferring. If not, then perhaps it isn't and the tribe should try new approaches until that happens.

Of language acquisition and creation (i.e. creation of creole languages), the author describes a sort of "peer pressure" as essential to the process.

The majority acquire a shared Theory of Mind with respect to linguistic mapping. In other words, the differences between the shared Theory of Mind and that of any individuals in the population are reduced. The deviation is not reduced by changes to the shared theory of mind; the deviation is reduced by individuals adopting the shared ToM as their own. . . . I think this relates to the importance of "peer pressure" in the age group capable of forming a Creole language. If peer pressure were not so compelling, a single coherent language would be difficult to achieve.

Transmitting not only the language but the shared ideas (the shared ToM) of a given culture is beneficial only if that culture is working. If all the adults are under extreme chronic stress, something needs to change; the shared ToM isn't doing its job.

When times are easy, transmitting the cultural information that led to those easy times is important. It is important to do so with high fidelity because it worked. When times are hard, the culturally transmitted information isn't working, and so needs to be abandoned or modified.

Developing and maintaining a good ToM involves skills in conflict with developing and maintaining a good ToR. Therefore, you can't really have it both ways.

A ToM needs to remain static for individuals to be able to communicate with each other. A ToR needs to be dynamic and change when ever it is found to be in error or to be dysfunctional.

Many autistic individuals, often called "savants", have observable mental abilities in some area that are way above normal. Because the processing power of the brain is limited these abilities come at the expense of abilities in other areas. The author posits communication as "the savant ability of NTs".

The difficulty in relations between ASDs and NTs is that NTs don't appreciate that the ToM they are using for communication is a savant ability that ASDs don't share, and shouldn't be expected to be able to emulate. An ASD can't emulate the NT savant ability to communicate any more than an NT can emulate an ASD savant ability at mathematics.

An individual doesn't need to be born with autism for it to develop. Extreme social isolation can cause development "on an autism-like pathway" because the body recognizes ToM as useless in this situation and focuses more on ToR.

Some monkeys were raised with no social contact at all, even with their mothers. Such monkeys were profoundly affected and exhibited rocking behaviors, self-injurious behaviors and profound disruption in abilities to interact with other monkeys. They were termed autistic by the experimenters. Surprisingly, some of these socially isolated monkeys exhibited superior cognitive abilities.

Nitric oxide (NO) is the signaling molecule responsible for maternal bonding in mammals. If the mother lacks sufficient NO (because of a very high-stress environment), proper bonding can't occur. This keeps the mother from wasting her resources and gives her a chance to stay alive and possibly reproduce again when times are better.

If a mother does not have the metabolic resources to generate sufficient milk of sufficient nutritional quality to sustain her infant until it is weaned, she (and her infant) is better off not bonding to her infant and abandoning it.

In isolated individuals, NO production is reduced in certain parts of the brain. However, the brain does seem to maintain enough plasticity to at least partially recover.

If a non-social environment becomes social, reconfiguring neural structures to cope with social interactions would be advantageous.

This author suggests that increasing the NO levels of autistic individuals, coupled with behavioral therapy, might be an effective way to rehabilitate many people with ASD. I think this certainly has therapeutic potential, but it might be a little unrealistic to count on this kind of treatment to reverse all the effects of autism. Actually, if all you knew about autism came from this paper, you might wonder why any sort of therapy is necessary. It doesn't sound like a disorder at all, more of a natural adjustment, a freeing of the individual from the mental bonds of a dysfunctional society so that the individual might enlighten and thereby improve the society as a whole.

This might make sense if you limit the discussion to Asperger's syndrome. But how do you explain all the severely affected individuals out there with more "classic" autism? Putting everything I've seen and read together, a picture is starting to develop for me, and it's a bit grim. It looks like autism as we know it is really two separate things that typically, but not always, co-occur.

First, there's the side of autism discussed in this paper, the autism that can be a great benefit to society as a whole. Then, you have all the harsh, debilitating symptoms associated with exposure to the toxins in vaccinations, dental fillings, processed food, and who knows what else. It looks like this aspect of ASD, the dark side of autism, is a targeted attack on those individuals whose atypical brain structure is a major threat to the status quo. If the whole purpose of a reduced ToM is to resist authority and peer pressure enough to see the light and shake things up, don't you think that's a scary proposition for the handful of people at the highest levels of power? Just to be clear, I'm not accusing the US government per se. Higher than that.

Now that I've said my piece, let's see how long I stay in a position to keep doing so. I doubt I'll be killed, but character assassination is extremely commonplace for people who say things they shouldn't. Oh well, better to open your mouth and be thought a fool than just keep quiet when you know you shouldn't.

Video: Vaccines and Autism

2008-11-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Vaccines aren't as effective as we've been told. They have always been introduced on the tail end of epidemics, making it seem as if they're causing the decline. When outbreaks happen, they affect mostly vaccinated people. Doesn't make any sense, does it?

Children in the US are required to endure a ridiculous (and ever growing) number of vaccines. We use more vaccines than any other country in the world. This is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Casualties are paid off; that's accounted for in the pricing of the product. And we don't even have a choice about this.

People don't die of the flu. They just have to stay home from work. The effect this has on the economy is what's weighed against our health risks. It's very bluntly putting a price on our lives. A cheap price.

Adding up the mercury in all the vaccinations our children are required to have, we're giving our babies far more mercury than adults can safely tolerate, according to FDA standards. If your baby falls victim to this, the denail/cover-up is so strong that not only will you lose your child, but you might wind up in prison for it.

Somehow, the medical community is rife with corruption. How did this happen? The medical professionals are told from all sides they're doing the right thing. So when they see evidence to the contrary, the can't believe it and try to find some other explanation, any other explanation to keep their clear conscience. Everyone handles the toxic assault of these vaccinations differently. Individuals with auto-immune problems can be expected to have much more trouble. When thimerosal injection was recently (and for the first time) tested on animals, the results were clear: Some mice have a lot of trouble with this neurotoxin.

Health officials have dismissed the idea that vaccines can cause autism as irrational without ever studying the population of children suspected to have been affected by these vaccines. They don't want to cause a public scare. I say, be scared! It's about time people got scared; we're injuring and killing our children en masse, and it needs to stop! The explosion of autism can't be explained by better diagnosis in the last decade or two, not by a longshot. We're clearly doing something wrong. We need to wake up.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has been aware of the problems with mercury in vaccines and simply covering it up. This information has been made public through the Freedom of Information Act. Did you hear this story on the news? Why not? As a country, the reality of all these new cases of autism is about to hit us hard. When they turn 18, the parents stop shouldering the whole burden themselves, and the rest of us have to shell out some money to help.

Alan Yurko is a hero. Not a murderer. We all need to start being our own experts. Don't trust information just because it comes from someone with credentials. Weigh all the information you can get, and accept what makes sense! You shouldn't have to go to prison before you start researching, learning, and spreading knowledge about issues like this.

Article: The Amish Anomaly

2008-11-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

In traditional Amish communities, autism is extremely rare. Apparently, the rest of us are doing something wrong. It's not simply a genetic disorder.

The Age of Autism: The Amish anomaly
By Dan Olmsted

Where are the autistic Amish? Here in Lancaster County, heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, there should be well over 100 with some form of the disorder.

I have come here to find them, but so far my mission has failed, and the very few I have identified raise some very interesting questions about some widely held views on autism.

The mainstream scientific consensus says autism is a complex genetic disorder, one that has been around for millennia at roughly the same prevalence. That prevalence is now considered to be 1 in every 166 children born in the United States.

Applying that model to Lancaster County, there ought to be 130 Amish men, women and children here with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Well over 100, in rough terms.

Typically, half would harbor milder variants such as Asperger's Disorder or the catch-all Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified -- PDD-NOS for short.

So let's drop those from our calculation, even though "mild" is a relative term when it comes to autism.

That means upwards of 50 Amish people of all ages should be living in Lancaster County with full-syndrome autism, the "classic autism" first described in 1943 by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner at Johns Hopkins University. The full-syndrome disorder is hard to miss, characterized by "markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests," according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Why bother looking for them among the Amish? Because they could hold clues to the cause of autism.

(more at Whale.to...)

There's a Link Between Autism and Rainfall!

2008-11-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

A new study from Cornell found a pretty good correlation between the amount of rainfall in a given county and the prevalence of autism there. You can read a good summary of the finding here: "Rainfall, Autism May Be Linked". Check out what people are saying on The Onion.

Everybody's throwing in their two cents about how meaningless this study is because correlation doesn't prove causation. No one is saying that rain directly causes autism. But there certainly is a statistically significant link. Lisa Jo Rudy, over on About.com, says the following:

Indeed, it is possible to find a statistical link between rain and autism. It's also possible to link ANYthing new or newly prevalent to autism. Make a list of everything that has changed or increased in prevalence since 1992, and you will find a statistical link between that thing and the rise of autism diagnoses.

What she says is technically true, but she's ignoring a ridiculously obvious fact: rain is not "new or newly prevalent". So she went off on this tangent, concluding that we should ignore this kind of study, for absolutely no reason.

There are several possibilities people point out in the discussion of why rain is linked to autism: not enough sunlight resulting in a vitamin D deficiency, more mold in these climates and more time spent indoors inhaling it, and more time spent watching TV and lazing around, to name a few. Of course, we do breathe in a lot of potentially harmful chemicals while indoors, much more than we do outdoors. So there's plenty to investigate there too. David Kirby of the Huffington Post talks about mercury as a likely culprit. This seems particularly plausible to me for a few reasons.

For one, check out this comment by someone called "Dkin":

Mercury is known to damage the kidneys. The kidneys are where vitamin D active metabolites are formed. More rain/snow usually means less sunlight. If the kidneys of mercury toxic victims are damaged, getting activated vitamin D in physiologically required levels would surely suffer. Vitamin D has been in the news alot lately because research is revealing how important it is to healthy immune, hormonal and detox function. Vitamin D is crucial for glutathione function in the brain. There is significant and compelling research finding low glutathione levels in children suffering from autism. Looking at kidney function and vitamin D metabolism in autism should be undertaken.

Very interesting indeed. Mercury levels have actually been shown to be significantly lower in the hair of autistic individuals (as Daedalus so vehemently (and misguidedly) proclaims). This testing was done for children whose mothers had comparable amounts of mercury-containing amalgam dental fillings, which shows that you can't use this kind of hair emission test to tell how much mercury's actually in the body. Autistics have lower levels of glutathione, an enzyme that helps people get rid of mercury, so it makes sense that mercury would build up in their bodies (causing all sorts of trouble) and not show up on hair tests. There is a connection.

I remember my dad telling me how when he was a kid, they used to play with mercury from broken thermometers like no big deal but these days they act like the stuff will kill you. I'm not trying to assign causation, but it is interesting to note that he had two boys, one Aspergian and the other profoundly autistic. I know my brother had jaundice as a baby. So did my daughter. Since jaundice can be cured by sunlight, I'd really like to see how this condition fits in (how it correlates with autism, mercury contact, and such).

So mostly, what we can get from this study is confirmation of something we already suspected: If you want to be healthier, get a good amount of fresh air, sunlight, and exercise, and don't eat a lot of junk or use a lot of harsh chemicals in your house. Sounds easy, right? People know diet and exercise are good for them, but they keep asking, "What else is good for me?" It's our lazy culture getting lazier by the day that can explain so many of our problems. (And I'm not just talking about American culture either, the culture of the developed world is lazy.)

One more thing. I happen to have written a song on the connection between rain and my brother's autism years ago (back in 2002, when I was fresh out of high school). Don't be too critical; I was just a teenager.

Caleb as a Boy

He wakes up and barely notices.
The dreams don't stop; they just keep on going since
He sleeps in pitch black room with a lock on the door.

He sits and waits for the morning.
He thumbs through the pages of his favorite storybook.
Rain on the roof is loud as the book gets thrown to the floor.

Caleb doesn't wanna hear the rain anymore.
Caleb doesn't wanna hear any noise at all.
He's happy just to stay in his quiet little world,
Playing with his legos and his rubber stringy ball,
Staring at the photo of his family that he tore.

He doesn't know how to say what's on his mind.
He's never read a letter or a simple Valentine.
His head is filled with a sound that originated there.

When people talk, he can't pay attention.
He drifts into space and prefers not to listen
To the nonsense floating all around his head like dust in the air.

Caleb doesn't wanna hear the rain anymore.
Caleb doesn't wanna hear any noise at all.
He's happy just to stay in his quiet little world,
Playing with his legos and his rubber stringy ball,
Hiding from a world that doesn't really care.

Gluten, Casein, and Such

2008-11-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

I've heard all this before, but I've forgotten about it time and time again, always before doing anything about it. Today, I have to make this post at least.

As I've said before, autism is not some disease like a virus where you either have it or you don't. It's a collection of seemingly related traits that tend to co-occur often enough in individuals that they deserve a collective label. As such, people diagnosed with autism can be very different from one another, and even the most typical, defining traits won't be common to everyone.

Around 70% of individuals with autism also have digestive issues. That's a big enough chunk that you might think it should be included in the definition of autism, but it's not so obviously related to other autistic traits such as language/social problems, self-injuring, tantrums/rage, and mental "fogginess". Not obviously, but it is related. Check out this document for a good summary of the problem and some possible solutions. (You can check out the products listed at NutritionAndAutism.com.)

A condition known as "leaky gut syndrome" is very common in people with autism. (Check page 10 of this document for symptoms.) You may have heard of it. I have, but I was never so clear on the details. In a nutshell, the body isn't very good at digestion, and partly digested proteins (peptides) make their way into the bloodstream, causing all kinds of problems. One such problem is that these peptides can turn into morphine-like substances that give the person a doped-up, cloudy feeling and reduce sensitivity to pain. The individual can become addicted to these chemicals and want to consume a ridiculous amount of food containing these hard-to-break-down proteins (such as milk or bread), which just makes things worse. When I was younger, I drank as much milk as my parents would allow; sometimes I downed a whole gallon in a day. Since then I've switched to soy milk, but recently, I've been eating cottage cheese like crazy and wondering why.

I've compiled the following tips as a quick reference for any of you who are on the autism spectrum or care for someone who is. They might also be pertinent for individuals with ADHD.

Avoid any foods you might be allergic or sensitive to, such as soy, corn, eggs, sugar, peanuts, beans, and nuts. Figuring out what foods you're sensitive to is the tricky part.
Avoid all dairy products (milk, butter, cheese, etc.) and all products containing dairy products, including non-dairy creamer, whipped topping, bakery glaze, breath mints, canned tuna packed in oil, processed meat such as hot dogs or bologna, some salad dressings, high-protein beverages, nutrition bars, fortified breakfast cereals, nutritional supplements, and some pharmaceuticals.
Avoid products with any of the following ingredients: milk solids, lactose, galactose, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoglobulin, lactobacillus (if not dairy-free), lactate, lactic acid, casein, caseinate, calcium caseinate, magnesium caseinate, potassium caseinate, sodium caseinate, hydrolyzed milk protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, whey.
Avoid anything containing gluten, including wheat, rye, barley, triticale, spelt, kamut, and sometimes oats.
At least for a while, avoid citrus fruits, corn, shellfish, caffeine, and sugar.
Instead try rice, fresh fish, rice milk, coconut milk, almond (or other nut) milk, potato milk, ghee (clarified butter), lard, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, and/or amaranth.
You might also try soy milk, tofu, and other soy products, but they may have problems of their own.
Be sure to supplement your diet with enough safe food to make up for all the grains and dairy you'll be cutting out. Malnourishment is another common problem for autists. You might need more magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D, and/or selenium than most people.
According to some material I've been reading, you should have yourself checked for celiac disease to make sure your not completely intolerant to casein before you start this diet to know how strict you need to be.
It's also a good idea to get your urine checked for opiate peptide residues (from casein, gluten, and/or soy) to make sure this really is your problem.

You should expect an improvement in about three days. If you don't see improvement in a couple of weeks, try it again being even more strict or just try something else. If you want more information on this sort of thing, I've found the following books on Amazon.

Article: Drugs for Fragile X Syndrome

2008-10-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

This development only applies to those individuals whose autism is caused by fragile X syndrome. I'd like to make a distinction now between disorders like fragile X and those like autism. Fragile X is defined by a physical abnormality, a mutation on the X chromosome. ASD is defined by a cluster of psychological symptoms. Therefore, if you have the symptoms, you have autism.

Maybe in a few years, we'll understand autism better and be able to redefine it in physical terms. (Of course, there had better be a pretty good fit between some physical cause and the symptoms or else you'll have a lot of autistic people who seem perfectly fine and a lot of autistic-seeming people who must have something else.) Or we could just leave the definition how it is and start accepting the fact that mental disorders are not at all like viruses, active entities that work against your body. You can identify a virus, but you have to describe, define, and effectively invent a mental disorder.

This doesn't mean autism's not real, just that it's not an "it" you can really point to. More of a "how".

Drugs Hint at Potential Reversal of Autism
by Jon Hamilton

Scientific researchers can spend years in the lab on obscure topics, like how a sea slug remembers or how a fruit fly sees color. But every now and then, a basic scientist makes a discovery that changes human lives.

Mark Bear, who directs the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT, is one of those basic scientists. He's discovered a system in the brain that could change the lives of thousands of people with the genetic disorder known as Fragile X Syndrome.

Fragile X is a mutation on the X chromosome that can cause mental retardation and autism. Until now, there has been no treatment.

But Bear discovered that the mutation responsible for Fragile X appears to disrupt a system in the brain that regulates synapses — the connections between brain cells. He says the system works a bit like a car.

"You really need both the accelerator and the brake to properly function," Bear says. "In the case of Fragile X, it's like the brakes are missing. So even tapping the accelerator can have the car careening out of control."

(more at NPR.org...)

Article: Prepping Kids with Disabilities for College

2008-09-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview I found where a young man with Asperger's syndrome talks about his transition to college. From the introduction, you'd think he had to really struggle to understand his subjects. Calling Asperger's a "learning disability" is inaccurate or, at best, vague. This guy has no trouble "learning" as you and I would normally use the term; he considers "academics" one of his strengths and even calls himself "a nerd".

So why does he have "a little more work to do than others" when it comes to college? I'd say it's not the quantity of the work that's so different from neurotypicals but the quality. The sorts of things normal people never even have to put forth conscious effort to learn, people with ASD struggle with. Things like:

making your facial expression match up with the sort of emotion you want to communicate
setting the tone and volume of your voice to suit who you're talking to and where you both happen to be
walking in a way that doesn't get you made fun of
listening when people are talking to you
finding a happy medium between no eye contact at all and a creepy, unrelenting stare
not freaking people out with your behavior (resisting the urge to flap your hands or bite your arm, for example)
and just language in general

Notice that last item. Language difficulties may not be obvious because normal people put virtually no effort into formulating their sentences. Someone with a high-functioning form of autism might sound like he or she has a perfectly fine grasp of language, but I'll bet it didn't come effortlessly. This conscious attention that needs to go into their language often results in a big vocabulary, good spelling, and/or a really good grasp of the rules of grammar we all study (but most of us despise) in high school. Speaking for myself, I need those rules to make sure I'm producing acceptable sentences, especially in writing. (Well, maybe most people just don't care if their sentences are acceptable or not, but I'm getting sidetracked.)

I find it interesting that the young man's mother mentions she went to graduate school. I have autism in my family, and I'm in graduate school right now. Now that the definition of autism has been broadened considerably to include people like me who can still function and even thrive in society, I'd love to see the correlations between autism and nerdism.

Anyway, the mother offers lots of advice (and provides several links) on how to transition your teenager with autism into being more independent and maybe moving out. She mentions "advanced directives", plans for dealing with the individual if and when something goes wrong. Here's a very good question every caretaker of someone with autism should know how to answer:

If you start to get stressed out, what are the early warning signs? What do you want to be done for you, and where do you want to go for treatment? Is there anything in particular you don't want or anywhere you don't want to go?

I've had to learn these "early warning signs" for myself, and I've tried to answer this question for caretakers at my brother's school, but they don't seem to know what to do with the information. They just wind up calling 911 when things get out of control, which is no long-term solution.

Enough with my introduction. Here's the article!

Prepping Kids with Disabilities for College
By Vikki Valentine

In one way or another, Roger Diehl has been preparing for life as a college freshman since preschool. But the University of Wisconsin-Madison student has had to do a little more work than others.

Diehl has Asperger's, a form of autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He's also suffered from depression, with his first bout occurring as early as 3 years old, says his mother, Sita.

Diehl, now 18, has had help from his parents, grandparents and school staff to help him make this transition work. He and his mother told their story last week on Morning Edition. Here, Roger and Sita Diehl, who runs Tennessee's National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI), answer listeners' questions about what their family did to help Roger, and offer advice on how to help kids with mental illness or learning disabilities get ready for college.

(more at NPR.org...)

Article: To Infinity and Beyond

2008-09-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

I find the father's characterization of autistic people being fearless very interesting. Having a relatively minor form of Asperger's syndrome myself, I'm definitely not fearless. Actually, I think I have a little too much free-floating fear (anxiety) because my brain recognizes its own tendency to overlook danger. I can space out and do pretty dumb things that get myself hurt a lot.

I think this paradox of people at one end of the spectrum having almost no fear and people at the other end having too much fear is paralleled by linguistic ability. Autistic individuals are generally classified as "low-functioning" when their use of language is severely impaired. But people with "high-functioning" autism (usually just called Asperger's syndrome these days) are often characterized as using overly formal, pedantic language. (Personally, I adjust my speech depending on the social context, but it takes a great effort.) And in the field of linguistics, I think aspies are over-represented.

Anyway, on to the story! It's a real tear-jerker.

To infinity and beyond: A sparkling survival story
By Mallory Simon

Walter Marino shouted to his 12-year-old son, Christopher, as he drifted farther away in the Atlantic Ocean.

"To infinity," the father yelled.

"And beyond," Christopher replied.

After a rip current swept the boy and his father out to sea Saturday, darkness fell, and the sound of rescue helicopters and boats grew faint until they were nonexistent.

Despite the danger, Christopher, who has autism, was enjoying himself, his father said. The boy lacks a fear of death because of his autism and finds comfort in the water, Marino told CNN.

Marino finds comfort in his son. Their unique circumstances helped keep them alive for more than 12 hours in the open ocean, Marino said.

"With many kids with autism, the thing that is so dangerous is that they have no concept of fear or fear of death," Marino said. "In this case, though, it perhaps saved him -- that and the fact that water is one of his favorite things. Whenever he goes missing or tries to run away, we can always find him near water ... even at the mall if it is just near a fountain."

(more at CNN.com...)

Video: Bill Maher Talks Some Sense

2008-08-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

I don't really like Bill Maher. But gosh-darn-it if he didn't hit the nail right on the head!

A Short List of Autism Resources

2008-08-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

Since I started this blog, I've had a short list of "resources" appear on every single page. As I was preparing to add another site to the list, I finally decided that wasn't the best way to do it. So I'm listing those resources here instead, and this time, I'll be providing some short descriptions so you'll know what you're clicking on.

The Autism Hub: A central point for blogs about autism from autistic people, family members, students, and professionals.

Autism Society of America: The nation’s leading grassroots autism organization founded in 1965.

Autism Speaks: The somewhat controversial but widely accepted voice of autism. Lots of news.

Autism Teaching Tools: An online resource with free information and teaching materials.

AutismWeb: A parents' guide to autism and other pervasive developmental disorders.

Autistics.org: "The real voice of autism." A social network by and for autistics, not parents of autistic children, though family members and professionals may find this website helpful.

Books on Autism: A list of the best selling and highest rated books on autism from Amazon Shopping.

Caleb's Mom Talks Autism: My mom talks about my brother, a severely autistic young man in his twenties.

Defeat Autism Now! (DAN): Dedicated to the exploration, evaluation, and dissemination of scientifically documented biomedical interventions for individuals within the autism spectrum, DAN holds several conferences a year.

Diagnostic Criteria for Asperger's Disorder: A complete description of Asperger's syndrome for the purpose of diagnosis.

Diagnostic Criteria for Autism: A complete description of autism for the purpose of diagnosis.

FAIR Autism Media: A large, categorized archive of original videos on autism.

First Signs: Dedicated to the early identification and intervention of children with developmental delays and disorders.

MAAP Services: A nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information and advice to families of "more advanced" individuals on the autism spectrum.

Polyxo Teaching Resource: A resource for parents, professionals, or anyone interested in teaching children with autism developed by Jason Wallin to encompass a variety of instructional techniques and philosophies.

Sage Medical Laboratories: Testing for delayed food sensitivities, a very common and perhaps even defining problem with autistics.

Spectrum Magazine: An online magazine for the autism and developmentally disabled community. Highly recommended!

Talking About Curing Autism (TACA): An online community of families affected by autism. Especially helpful for families who have just received an autism diagnosis.

The Truth About Food and Health: Promotes the healing of all things: the physical, the mental, and the emotional. All kinds of information on nutrition and self-healing.

Wrong Planet: An online community for people with some form of autism, mostly Asperger's syndrome. Holds the view that autism is not so much a disability as a difference.

If you'd like to add anything to this list, please leave a comment! I'll keep updating this page, so come back anytime.

Michael Savage: Not Cool

2008-08-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

My dad's been telling me about how cool Michael Savage is for a while, but I don't listen to much talk radio these days. For one thing, I've been in Japan for the past 14 months or so. Now that I'm back, I'm still not going to listen to Michael Savage because, apparently, he's an asshole. And not the lovable kind like TV's House either. I'm talking about the kind that picks on autistic kids as if they're all just faking. (Well, to be fair, he didn't say "all", just "99%".)

According to AutismTeachingTools.com, this is what Michael Savage had to say about autism:

Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism, since I'm not talking about autism? A fraud, a racket. For a long while, we were hearing that every minority child had asthma. Why did they sudden--why was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], "When the nurse looks at you, you go, '[fake cough] I don't know, the dust got me.'" See, everyone had asthma from the minority community. That was number one.

Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I’ll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That’s what autism is.

What do you mean they scream and they’re silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, "Don’t act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot."

Autism--everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, "Don’t behave like a fool." The worst thing he said--"Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody’s dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry." That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you’re turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have.

So... What do you think? Is there any excuse for that kind of comment? I say no. You can check out a full, fact-based argument against him here. I'm not even going to bother.

There's Something in the Water!

2008-08-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ingestion of fluoride is known to cause discolored teeth, brittle bones, chromosome damage, Alzheimer's disease, hyperactivity, decreased intelligence, underactive thyroid, apparent arthritis, bone cancer, damage to the male reproductive system, and various mental disorders. Fluoride has been shown to strengthen teeth only when used topically, not when ingested. So why do we keep pumping this stuff into our drinking water?

I haven't found the answer yet, but I did find a great list of 50 reasons to stop drinking fluoridated water. Here's a few excerpts that might be of particular interest to people affected by autism.

19) Animal experiments show that fluoride accumulates in the brain and exposure alters mental behavior in a manner consistent with a neurotoxic agent (Mullenix 1995). Rats dosed prenatally demonstrated hyperactive behavior. Those dosed postnatally demonstrated hypoactivity (i.e. under activity or "couch potato" syndrome). More recent animal experiments have reported that fluoride can damage the brain (Wang 1997; Guan 1998; Varner 1998; Zhao 1998; Zhang 1999; Lu 2000; Shao 2000; Sun 2000; Bhatnagar 2002; Chen 2002, 2003; Long 2002; Shivarajashankara 2002a, b; Shashi 2003 and Zhai 2003) and impact learning and behavior (Paul 1998; Zhang 1999, 2001; Sun 2000; Ekambaram 2001; Bhatnagar 2002).

33) Some individuals appear to be highly sensitive to fluoride as shown by case studies and double blind studies (Shea 1967, Waldbott 1978 and Moolenburg 1987). In one study, which lasted 13 years, Feltman and Kosel (1961) showed that about 1% of patients given 1 mg of fluoride each day developed negative reactions. Can we as a society force these people to ingest fluoride?

35) Also vulnerable are those who suffer from malnutrition (e.g. calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D and iodide deficiencies and protein poor diets) (Massler & Schour 1952; Marier & Rose 1977; Lin Fa-Fu 1991; Chen 1997; Teotia 1998). Those most likely to suffer from poor nutrition are the poor, who are precisely the people being targeted by new fluoridation programs. While being at heightened risk, poor families are less able to afford avoidance measures (e.g. bottled water or removal equipment).

16) Fluoride forms complexes with a large number of metal ions, which include metals which are needed in the body (like calcium and magnesium) and metals (like lead and aluminum) which are toxic to the body. This can cause a variety of problems. For example, fluoride interferes with enzymes where magnesium is an important co-factor, and it can help facilitate the uptake of aluminum and lead into tissues where these metals wouldn't otherwise go (Mahaffey 1976; Allain 1996; Varner 1998).

(As a side note, I'd like to point out that I suffer from "free-floating" anxiety, and taking extra magnesium every day is about the only thing I've found so far that helps.)

44) Studies by Masters and Coplan (1999, 2000) show an association between the use of fluorosilicic acid (and its sodium salt) to fluoridate water and an increased uptake of lead into children's blood. Because of lead’s acknowledged ability to damage the child’s developing brain, this is a very serious finding yet it is being largely ignored by fluoridating countries.

42) The chemicals used to fluoridate water in the US are not pharmaceutical grade. Instead, they come from the wet scrubbing systems of the superphosphate fertilizer industry. These chemicals (90% of which are sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilicic acid), are classified hazardous wastes contaminated with various impurities. Recent testing by the National Sanitation Foundation suggest that the levels of arsenic in these chemicals are relatively high (up to 1.6 ppb after dilution into public water) and of potential concern (NSF 2000 and Wang 2000).

30) Once fluoride is put in the water it is impossible to control the dose each individual receives. This is because 1) some people (e.g. manual laborers, athletes, diabetics, and people with kidney disease) drink more water than others, and 2) we receive fluoride from sources other than the water supply. Other sources of fluoride include food and beverages processed with fluoridated water (Kiritsy 1996 and Heilman 1999), fluoridated dental products (Bentley 1999 and Levy 1999), mechanically deboned meat (Fein 2001), teas (Levy 1999), and pesticide residues on food (Stannard 1991 and Burgstahler 1997).

12) Fluoride is a cumulative poison. On average, only 50% of the fluoride we ingest each day is excreted through the kidneys. The remainder accumulates in our bones, pineal gland, and other tissues. If the kidney is damaged, fluoride accumulation will increase, and with it, the likelihood of harm.

39) The US Public Health Service first endorsed fluoridation in 1950, before one single trial had been completed (McClure 1970)!

49) Many scientists, doctors and dentists who have spoken out publicly on this issue have been subjected to censorship and intimidation (Martin 1991). Most recently, Dr. Phyllis Mullenix was fired from her position as Chair of Toxicology at Forsythe Dental Center for publishing her findings on fluoride and the brain; and Dr. William Marcus was fired from the EPA for questioning the government’s handling of the NTP’s fluoride-cancer study (Bryson 2004). Tactics like this would not be necessary if those promoting fluoridation were on secure scientific ground.

You might be saying, "That's nuts! What can I do?" You can start by drinking bottled water and/or buying a fluoride filter. Also, try to avoid cheap, processed meat that's been mechanically separated. You might want to buy some fluoride-free toothpaste or just make your own from baking soda and peroxide. That's fine to protect yourself and your family, but you can probably do more.

We've got to do something to stop this and other forms of mass-poisoning, and we've got to do it soon. Visit the Fluoride Action Network's website to see how you can take action!

The Vaccine Debate

2008-05-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

Last month, a court decision involving a girl with both autism and mitochondrial dysfunction stated that her autism was caused by vaccines she recieved when she was 19 months old. Mitochondrial dysfunction may be the most common medical condition associated with autism, occurring in somewhere between 7.2 and 20 percent of autistics. See the full article entitled "Father: Child's case shifts autism debate" on AJC.com.

This means that for at least a large group of the autistic population (those with "mitochondrial autism"), early vaccines may in fact be to blame. The mainstream media has been taking it for granted for years that vaccinations have no connection to autism and instead asking (quite condescendingly) why parents seem to think there's a connection.

According to a Skeptical Enquirer article entitled "Vaccines and Autism: Myths and Misconceptions":

Multiple independent lines of evidence all point in the same direction: vaccines in general, and thimerosal in particular, do not cause autism, which rather likely has its roots in genetics.

So one side says that vaccines can cause autism, at least in some cases, and the other says it's genetic. Why can't both be true? Actually, doesn't there anti-vaccination argument imply that autism is genetic? Vaccinations obviously don't give everyone autism, but maybe they exacerbate problems in those already genetically predisposed to have autism. With roughly 1 in 150 children having some form of ASD and at least 1 in 100 boys on the spectrum, any connection established between vaccines and autism is serious.

If you haven't already, you might want to look into some type of detox program to rid yourself or your child of heavy metal deposits. Though I can't vouch for it personally, Detoxamin looks like a good place to start. It's on the right track anyway.

Personally, I have to make sure get enough magnesium or I'll become agitated and twitchy. The best way I've found to get it when I need it is by mixing a mouthful of cocoa with water and swallowing! It's great! Just be careful not to get too much caffeine; you'll probably need another source of magnesium like pumpkin seeds or something.

Daily Miracles for Caleb

2008-04-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

My dad recently sent me an email telling me what's been going on with my brother recently. It's quite a story.

Daily miracles
By Cliff Jones, Sr.

My son has suffered severe autism and developmental retardation, along with several other diagnoses, from his infancy. It has been a long journey, and it has been coming to a head recently. He is now 23 years old. I cannot go through the entire story right now, but will just try to give a thumbnail sketch of the last weeks.

He was in a special school in San Antonio for about 8 years. They had told me they would keep his medications at a minimum; however, when I moved him closer to home into a group home, he was on many drugs and I could not get an accounting for the reasons or the drug history from that school. He spent a year and a half at one group home, then the last month and a half at another. Neither could control his behaviors enough to reduce the drugs he was on. Brenham State School seemed to be the only option, but it has not accepted applications for the last 6 months due to lack of medical staff.

This last place he was said that they were a church ministry; however, their methods did not seem Christ like to me. This included keeping me in the dark about what they were doing, and flat-out lying to me.

Each time Caleb exhibited autistic or compulsive behaviors, they seemed completely clueless about how to deal with it. I tried to explain to them what to do, but I was ignored.

He would bite himself when he was stressed and anxious. The answer was to reduce his stress. But his caregivers would constantly increase his stress level by becoming confrontational and dragging him to doctors. He has an ointment that heals his wounds quickly, but these people would not use it.

I mentioned they would keep me in the dark. One night, two weeks ago, I got home late from work, after 8 PM, and had not even begun to think about fixing dinner, when a phone call came, informing me they were on the way to the hospital with Caleb. He had been awake for more than 24 hours, but they had not told me. He had bitten himself on the hand and needed medical attention, they said.

I raced there and found a dozen or so security people and nurses. They were all making him very nervous and stressed. He was in an emergency room, losing it. I put everyone out and worked with him for about an hour. He was throwing things and banging holes in the walls with his head. The hospital staff finally insisted on restraining him. I had to coach him through the experience. It was horrible - to think it all could have been avoided if they had told me earlier that he had not slept that night and was biting himself.

He finally calmed down in the wee hours of the morning and was taken back to the group home. Two days later, these Christian caregivers practically forced my hand to take him to a "psychiatric hospital" in downtown Houston. I was told they would keep him for about a week and get his medications stabilized. They told me I had no choice. They lied.

We got there and it was only a processing center, not a hospital, and they found an excuse to send him next door to Ben Taub hospital to be "medically cleared." That was their way of dumping patients, the ER staff told me. Meanwhile, all the staff from my son's group home left us there alone. We got back to his home at 5 AM. I took my son to his room and fell asleep on the floor next to him. The next morning, the staff was gone again, having abandoned their charge a second time.

I had already decided this place was not good for my son, but I had nowhere to put him. Taking care of him by myself would cost me my job, and I had already done that for several years, a decade earlier. So I was hesitant to go through it again. But I was willing if it meant the well-being of my son.

A few days later, I was called at work. It was 12 noon, and they said my son was having problems again. I tried to explain what to do, but they kept giving excuses and not listening to me. They wanted to call the paramedics. I insisted that they wait for me to arrive, not to call the paramedics, and that I would be there in less than an hour.

I neglected to mention that, in the intervening days, I had had a vision of my son being in a confrontation with police officers, who were tasering him. I had feared for my son's life and was in constant and intense prayer. I hated even the thought of his being aggressive to an officer, and that it could lead to his death.

I even told his mother that we had to get him out of there, and described what would happen. But these "Christian" people who abandoned their charge, just as the hireling shepherds that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 10, had convinced her that I was wrong.

So again, I raced to his school. Ten minutes before I got there, they called me again, assuring me that they were waiting for me. They lied. One staff told me that 911 had been called before they'd ever even called me.

I arrived to a parking lot jammed with emergency vehicles. There were 5 or 6 police cars with lights flashing, an ambulance, and another emergency vehicle or two.

I ran inside to find my son strapped to a gurney, screaming, with his pants pulled down and exposed, and a dozen "professionals" standing around him. They never explained why he was exposed or why they had left him that way in front of so many strangers. The administrator later told me that the police were called "for another client," which was a lie. I am obtaining the police report.

They would not release him to me because they had given him a sedative injection. I told them all that I was withdrawing any authorizations from the school and that I was his guardian. I told the school that my son would not be returning.

The ambulance took him to a hospital a half hour away. Keep in mind that all of the traumatic events my son suffered were supposedly so he could get medical attention for his hand bite. After 5 hours at the hospital, they had not washed his hand nor given it any medical attention. On our way out, I washed it myself and put some ointment on it.

But here is the good part: While at the hospital, I got a call telling me that my son was accepted into Brenham State School. This was good timing, because I had just put my new job in jeopardy, because I was committed to keeping my son at home until a better place for him could be found.

After a day at home, he was no longer stressed and had stopped picking at and biting his hand. He was now offering his hand to me to dress. He was happy and not anxious.

Within 48 hours, I was in a tele-conference for admission to Brenham. It was brought up that I had not provided his immunization records, and that he would not be admitted without them. Also, my guardianship renewal letter. But miraculously, they could take him in less than a week, which was phenomenally quick for a bureaucracy to move.

Although his mother had agreed to locate the immunization records, she had tried for 2 years to do this and had not been successful.

It was now Friday. I needed to go to the courthouse to get a copy of my guardianship papers. It is very hard caring for my son and getting him ready, but about 10 AM we were at Jack-in-the-Box for breakfast. I found that my driver's license and my debit card were missing from my wallet.

You'd have to know my son to understand what this means. He has compulsions and hyperactivity. Every small object in my home has been picked up and relocated to destinations unknown. There are books, puzzle pieces, and everything imaginable scattered everywhere.

I prayed on the way back to my house, knowing that I would not be able to find my license and debit card without God's help. I prayed his promises, such as the promise in Proverbs that he would "direct my steps." I have found him doing that with me many times, and it never grows old to me. I will be going one direction, and my steps will end up going a different direction, and I will end up where God wanted me.

I heard from his mother, meanwhile, that she was not having any luck getting the immunization papers. Nothing seemed to be going right.

I got to the house and began searching for more than a half hour. While searching, I decided to call the school district to see if I could run down the immunization records. Somehow, it was easy for me. I immediately got through to the right person and she found the records. I could come by the school in 10 minutes and pick them up. However, she said, "You'll need a photo-ID."

"I just happen to be looking for that right now," I said.

It was hot and my air conditioners don't work well. I was sweaty and searching the whole house, so I opened my front and back doors to let fresh air in.

Of course, I was praying the whole time.

"Oh great," I was thinking.... A large wasp had just flown into my house and into my bedroom. My son was going in there, too, so I went in and got the fly-swatter. Telling my son to stand back, I got it in about three swats. The swatter had not been in its right place, of course, so I went over next to my bathtub, where I kept the swatter.

As I fell to my knees to replace the swatter, sweaty and weary, I prayed on more time: "God, I need a mir - a - " The last part of that very word sort of fell out of my mouth accidentally. There, where the swatter normally was, lay my driver's license and my debit card.

God had sent that wasp into my house, knowing that it would redirect my steps and that I would find my lost cards.

We got in the car, with photo-ID, got the immunization papers, got the guardianship papers, delivered them where they needed to go, then drove into Houston, where my boss handed me what I needed to be able to work at home. I forgot to mention that before - my work completely understood my situation and was willing to let me work at home.

After years and months of trying to get this stuff all together, God performed it all within a few hours.

* * * *

It is a hard thing for me to place my son at Brenham because I believe in the power and willingness of God to heal. But it seems to me that this is where God wants him right now, to get him off of as many of those drugs as possible.

Meanwhile, I am having a very blessed time with him and he is now accustomed to coming to me with any problem, such as a tummy-ache, a tooth-ache, or whatever, and having me pray for him.

Tonight, I got to see him pray a prayer all by himself and to see God answer it.

He was experiencing a choking sensation in his throat. I laid hands on him and prayed. He put my finger on his Adam's apple and I massaged it and prayed again. Then the thought occurred to me to give him a few Fig Newtons with milk, to soothe the throat.

He doesn't speak well, but a few minutes later, he spoke to me in his own manner of speech.

"Want more snack food."

He sort of mumbles, but I understood. "You want more snack food?" I laughed.

"Yeah."

"Have you asked God for more snack food?" I smiled.

My son threw his hand into the air and said, "God, want more snack food in Jesus' name, amen."

That was the first time I ever heard him create and pray his own prayer. In tears and joy, I laughed and gave him a big 'high-five'.

And yes, God answered his prayer.

(more at Prophetic Ruminations...)

Article: Psych Meds Drove My Son Crazy

2008-04-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing story about a young man with Asperger's syndrome who developed "autistic catatonia" after being wrongly medicated. The crooked system of drug companies in bed with doctors is to blame.

Psych meds drove my son crazy
At 17, my son was a funny, odd autistic boy. But a misdiagnosis turned him into a violent, unpredictable man, and drove our family to the brink.
By Ann Bauer

This is a story with a hopeful ending. Lucky, even. But be forewarned, you have to get through a lot of hopeless, unlucky crap before you find it.

Here's how it all starts: My first-born son has autism.

Now that isn't hopeless or, in my opinion, unlucky. Autism isn't sick or crazy. It's rigid and routine, a little eccentric. Autism is multiplying columns of numbers easily while being unable to look anyone in the eyes; listening to only one band's music, and always in the same order, for a period of six weeks; refusing to eat anything orange. It's also being able to remember the exact date and time you ate a bison burger in Chamberlain, S.D., when you were 6. But there's a really charming side to all this, a wonderful tilted perspective on life that, if you're a parent of autism, you come quickly to enjoy.

I was a parent like this.

Until he was 17, my son was unique and funny and odd. He was difficult in some ways but incredibly easy in others. He washed the family's dishes precisely, went to bed at exactly the same time each night, and sorted our mail into careful piles. He did fairly well in school -- above average in math, a little below in social studies -- and spent his weekends playing tournament-level chess. He was a loner, but sweet and articulate and very close to his only brother.

Then junior year came. He met a girl, he went to a dance, he thought life was better. And for a night it was. Then the dance ended, the girl decided she was interested in someone else, and the boy became depressed.

(more at Salon.com...)

Article: Jenny McCarthy's Son's Recovery

2008-04-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently, her son was effectively "cured" through a combination of dietary and behavioral therapies, which amounts to good old-fashioned elbow grease.

Jenny McCarthy: My son's recovery from autism
By Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey

Editor's note: Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey are actors and parents actively involved in autism-related causes. McCarthy is the author of the book "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism."

In light of the recent Hannah Poling decision, in which the federal court conceded that vaccines could have contributed to her autism, we think the tide is finally turning in the direction of parents like us who have been shouting concerns from our rooftops for years.

Autism is a debilitating disorder, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is suffered by 1 in 150 kids, making it more common than childhood cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined.

Recently, England and Ireland reported that autism is affecting one in 58 individuals.

Is it any wonder that autism has become many new parents' No. 1 fear?

We've met some of the most amazing moms and dads who are forging their own path to prevention and recovery. When our son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism we were lucky enough to benefit from their knowledge and experience. Evan has been healed to a great extent by many breakthroughs that, while perhaps not scientifically proven, have definitely helped Evan and many other children who are recovering from autism.

(more at CNN.com...)

Article: Girl's Writings Explain Her Behavior and Feelings

2008-02-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

My sister sent me a link to this video, and I thought I'd post the related story. It's another example of a severely autistic individual being not nearly as impaired as everyone thought.

Autism Breakthrough: Girl's Writings Explain Her Behavior and Feelings
Doctors Amazed by Carly Fleischmann's Ability to Describe the Disorder From the Inside
By John McKenzie

Carly Fleischmann has severe autism and is unable to speak a word. But thanks to years of expensive and intensive therapy, this 13-year-old has made a remarkable breakthrough.

Two years ago, working with pictures and symbols on a computer keyboard, she started typing and spelling out words. The computer became her voice.

"All of a sudden these words started to pour out of her, and it was an exciting moment because we didn't realize she had all these words," said speech pathologist Barbara Nash. "It was one of those moments in my career that I'll never forget."

Then Carly began opening up, describing what it was like to have autism and why she makes odd noises or why she hits herself.

(more at ABCNews.com...)

Article: The Age of Autism

2008-02-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent me a very interesting article several months ago, and it just occurred to me that I should start posting things like this. I want the main thrust of this blog to be profiles of people with autism or Asperger's syndrome, but that doesn't prevent me from posting while I wait for responses to my questions.

The Age of Autism: Quite the coincidence
By Dan Olmsted

It's amazing the coincidences one comes across while reporting about autism:

The autism rate rises in tandem with increasing numbers of vaccines that contain a known neurotoxin, ethyl mercury.

Public health authorities say that's coincidence.

Parents say their children became autistic after receiving mercury-containing vaccinations, sometimes several shots in one day.

Pediatricians call that coincidence, too.

Another remarkable fact that caught my attention: Autism was first identified in both the United States and Europe at almost exactly the same time. Child psychiatrist Leo Kanner published his landmark paper at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1943; pediatrician Hans Asperger published his -- about a slightly less severely affected group of children -- in Vienna in 1944. Cut off by a world war, neither knew of the other's work.

Coincidence, say the experts, who attribute the timing to improving diagnostic techniques in both countries.

(more at EarthTimes.org...)

Videos: Nutrition as Medicine

2008-02-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting little summary of the life of a genius.

And here's a short explanation of why the work of Linus Pauling and others is so stifled. We should be examining nutritional therapies first and resorting to dangerous chemicals only when there is no other alternative!

If you want to learn more about this sort of thing, you might want to visit TheTruthAboutFoodAndHealth.com or EnCognitive.com.

Self-Diagnosis

2008-01-15T00:51:00.000-08:00

As I said in my first post, I believe that I have Asperger's syndrome. I've never been to a real psychologist or psychiatrist to the best of my recollection. I've tagged along on doctor visits with my brother (who has what you might call "classical" autism). I've been to a few school counselors, met with a family therapist a few times, and I've even been to an internist so that he could diagnose me with "generalized anxiety disorder" and give me some highly addictive drugs that didn't work. But I've never actually had a real psychological check-up.

So maybe I should get one. Maybe I should go get a professional's opinion on whether I have Asperger's syndrome or not. But that takes time and money. And since I'm already dealing with my problems my own way, it's hard to see the incentive for getting a diagnosis. If I had the time and money, I really would like to try some therapies though. Like biofeedback, for instance. I'd also like to try yoga and/or get back in the martial arts. But I have a wife, a two-year-old daughter, a full-time job, and a lot of bills. (Not to mention ridiculous aspirations of changing the world through language.) It's not so easy to balance everything.

The thing is... a diagnosis is a professional opinion. They don't do a blood test or even a brain scan. They ask you questions and make a judgement call. In my understanding, "Asperger's syndrome" isn't something you either have or don't; it's more of a label for a bunch of somehow-related symptoms. As we learn more about this kind of thing, we're bound to redraw boundaries between disorders and create new labels for new disorders that are yet to be "discovered".

I've seen the diagnostic criteria and taken questionnaires online, and I can see that, for me, it all boils down to the doctor's opinion on whether my social and professional impairment is "clinically significant". It's incredibly significant to me. All that anxiety I have that's supposedly "free-floating", just worrying about nothing, I'm really worrying that I might slip up and do something just a little weird that gets me fired or hit by a car or something. It's hard acting normal all the time.

So what do you guys think? Should I make time and save up money for diagnosis and/or therapy? Right now, I try to remember to take magnesium (through powder, pills, or pumpkin seeds) so I'm not too twitchy and spastic, rhodiola so I'm not too spacey and foggy-headed, and chamomile tea if I need to make sure I don't freak out in a really stressful situation. I could certainly use more help if there's more available to me. It's a little extra difficult since I live in Japan right now, but I'll be moving back in a few months.

Profile: Jenny

2007-12-23T04:57:00.000-08:00

1) I am answering these questions for myself. My name is Jenny. I live in a rural part of Ohio. I have included a recent black and white self portrait.

2. Autism is uniqueness and eccentricity often to extremes, compounded by communication difficulties.

3. I was born in 1983. I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in November of 2006 at the age of 23.5 years. I believe I was born with Asperger's. I have watched home videos of myself as a baby (approximately between the ages of 7 months and 3 years) and I appear different than other babies that age.

4. Social Skills: Seriously lacking. I knew even in preschool that I was different. I couldn't figure out how to make friends, be popular or part of the "in crowd". This has never changed. I have always been more comfortable socializing with adults. Now that I am an adult (I'm 24), I find that at work I prefer the company of the older people at work. I have only a few close friends my own age and only socialize with them occasionally as it is very draining to me and I need a great deal of downtime to recover.

Linguistic skills: Although I have a decent vocabulary and know many big or "intelligent"-sounding words, I have communication difficulties. I have trouble speaking up to advocate for myself and also trouble choosing words a phrasing that will not sound as though I am angry, accusatory, or mean spirited.

5. I have not had any specific treatments or therapies for Asperger's. Living in a rural area there are not any groups or other opportunities for sharing experience and knowledge with other Aspergian/autistic adults. I have tried to learn all I can about my diagnosis from books and Internet resources. I have also provided my family with some information so that they can hopefully better understand me and my differences.

6. Biggest difficulties? About four months ago I began my first "real" job. I work at a library. I have trouble with money management and managing my time so that I have enough down time and free time to really wind down and relax. I also have difficulty socializing with coworkers during lunch and coffee breaks.

7. The one accomplishment that I have felt extremely satisfied about has been learning to advocate for myself.

8. Through receiving a diagnosis and learning about Asperger's I have felt relief to learn that I'm not just an uncoordinated screw up loser; I have legitimate difficulties and that I do need some extra accommodations to be my best and that’s OK. I think I am beginning to like myself for who I am and appreciate my uniqueness. By learning that I am Aspergian and not an anti-social freak I am becoming happy with myself and who I am.

Aspie-quiz Results:

Profile: Anonymous

2007-12-18T00:19:00.000-08:00

1) I am the mother of a four-year-old boy with autism. We live near Sacramento, California. I have enclosed two pics, one of my son alone and one with his older sister. She talked extremely early and had sensory issues.

2) Define autism? It's hard to be concise, LOL. Autism, for us is social, speech, and toileting delays. The things another child would normally know, such as their name and whether they are a boy or a girl, have to be taught to my son through ABA (applied behavior analysis) tutoring. He also has a strong stubborn streak which I think is a trait of many autistic children.

3) My son was born February 28, 2003. He was diagnosed at the age of three. His initial diagnosis was PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified). His second diagnosis was autism. I think it is genetic and environmental. His father might be borderline Asperger's, and my son also has many food sensitivities.

4) His linguistic skills have improved greatly in the last two years. He can pass for a typical four-year-old. His social skills are better, but he is not good at saying hello and goodbye to others.

5) My son goes to a head start pre-school with typically developing and delayed peers. He has speech therapy twice a week. He is on the gluten-free, casein-free diet. That has been responsible for some of the hugest improvements. I took him to two music and movement classes. Those seemed to trigger speech explosions. He started ABA three months ago and has showed such incredible gains that the pre-school sent us a letter stating he was blossoming. We are getting ready to start the Super Nu-Thera vitamins. I've heard they help a lot too.

6) Biggest difficulties? I swear this kid is never going to be potty trained. He has trouble controlling his temper in certain situations. He doesn't know how to socialize with other children very well.

7) Special achievements? Yes, he has a sense of humor. He talks incredibly well. He's much better at not running out into the parking lot when we run errands. He'll hold my hand which he would never do pre-ABA.

8) I've learned that an individual can live a full and happy life regardless of disability. If at first you don't succeed, try again. If one method doesn't reach him, another method may. And I've learned to pick my battles.

Profile: Anonymous

2007-12-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

1) I am the mother to a 7-year-old girl with Asperger's.

2) Autism to me is a neurological injury. Genetics loads the gun and environmental assault pulls the trigger. I would like the world to know that people with Asperger's are not deliberately trying to be rude, or disruptive. They are dear, sweet, lovable people who don't always understand social nuances. They are very sensitive and love deeply, though that might not be apparent on the outside.

3) My daughter was born in 2000. She was first diagnosed with Sensory Integration Dysfunction at 3 years old. We went with that until kindergarten when the official Asperger's diagnosis was given in order for her to receive better services at school.

We believe our daughter's autism was triggered by her infant vaccinations.

4) She's very verbal. Advanced vocabulary. Very literal, black and white thinking. Quite naive. Unaware of how she comes across. Unable to understand that people won't want to be around her if she screams and carries on. She very much wants friends and is able to play well one on one. Large, unstructured group play is very difficult for her. She winds up crying and screaming most of the time in playground situations. She does very well with her sibling. They "get" each other. She has never shown any jealousy over him and has adored him since the day he was born.

5) Therapies? Auditory Integration Therapy, OT, chelation (ALA & DMSA), Methylated B-12 shots, Feingold Diet, GF/CF diet, Specific Carb Diet, Gymnastics for special needs kids, social skills therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, tons of nutritional supplements, floor time when she was tiny, vision therapy.

She has improved dramatically over time. With Berard Auditory training at three years old, she was able to wake from sleep without screaming, her balance improved and her anxiety dropped markedly. By far the best intervention has been the MB12 shots. She went from screaming non-stop all day over every little thing to being able to function in the world. We do so many interventions at once it is often difficult to tell what is helping or if it is a synergistic effect, but she has made tremendous gains since she was two years old. She is mostly a joy to be around these days and does quite well in her second grade mainstream/inclusion classroom most of the time.

6) Biggest difficulties? Playground. Transitions at school. Anxiety about not being able to do something perfect at school. She does not comprehend that school is for learning how to do things. She seems to think that she is already supposed to know things. She cries, screams, or rips up her papers, if she feels too threatened by something new. She also has no understanding of how her actions appear to her peers. She still does not quite understand how to join a group. She tries but does not look at the people to make sure they are hearing her, and often goes ignored. At this point, it is not malicious, I've observed it and the other children really do not seem to notice her trying to jump in.

7) The fact that this little girl, with skin as thin as paper, is able to go through the day, and be mostly joyful, is huge achievement as far as I'm concerned. She is so brave. She has become quite the artist and writer as of late. She loves writing chapter books complete with illustrations. She also loves animals.

This little girl that can be so difficult is also the sweetest person on earth. Every teacher she's ever had has fallen in love with her and gushed about how much they learned by having her as a student. (School administrators have not been as supportive.) I feel she is paving the way for better understanding of students that come after her.

8) Autism has taught us to drop our snap judgments about people. I often sometimes get frustrated at people's insensitivities but in all honesty I know I would have been just like them before having this amazing daughter. She has opened our hearts to a new kind of compassion, not just for our child but for everyone. She has helped us "not care" what the rest of the world thinks, and this has given us freedom and courage in all areas of our lives, not just things related to autism. My husband and I are much less self conscious and more willing to live less conventionally. We have been so very blessed to have this child.

Profile: Ron and Cameron

2007-12-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

1) I'm Ron. My son Cameron and I live in Brisbane, Australia.

2) Autism can also often be co-associated with other issues like epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, etc. There are major gray areas between autism and other issues like OCD, ADD/ADHD, ODD, etc.

3) My son was born in February, 1997, but this was after his mother had had chemotherapy and radiation therapy in 1993/94. He was diagnosed as having Asperger's syndrome at the age of five. (He has behavioral issues). We were guaranteed that we would not be able to have any more children due to the fact that the radiation therapy had killed all her eggs. And she was in medically induced menopause.

I was born in October, 1963. I was diagnosed as being "hyperactive" as a 10-year-old, in 1973. In 1973 they weren't diagnosing Asperger's. That is a medical term that only came into existence in about '91. I was diagnosed a couple of years after son was, because of noted similarities between him and myself, by various people including family.

4) Both of us have high-functioning linguistic skills, though my son is below par for his age. Mine was below average at school but improved after I left school, but has improved with lots of reading and study since. My son and I have major socialization issues in dealing with people in the community.

5) Medications, nil. There are not a lot of therapies available locally. Especially for adult people who are diagnosed later. Most are aimed for children, especially pre-school children.

6) Biggest difficulties? My son: Obsessional behavior around Pokemon, which rules his life. Socializing and bullying are more major problems. Behavioral issues get in the way as well. Me: Well, gardening.

7) Special achievements? Not really.

8) Life will slowly improve for people with Asperger's as they grow as they learn to disguise their problems and issues, but it happens slowly as they mature and mellow.

Video: The National Anthem

2007-12-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

I feel a little silly, but this video made me tear up. The man singing has autism and gets a little nervous halfway through the US national anthem.

Profile: Caleb Jones

2007-12-11T23:36:00.000-08:00

1) I am responding for my son (the blog owner's brother). We are both located in Texas.

2) My understanding of autism is that it is an umbrella term describing several developmental disabilities. When my son was younger, he was more classically autistic: not wanting to be touched, not communicative, wagging his hands and compulsively, repetitively playing with small toys. I helped him overcome his not wanting to be touched by years of hugs and contact, until now he seems to enjoy it. He still removes my hand from his shoulder if it is there too long.

3) He was born in 1984. His development seemed normal except for delayed speech and then his speech was impaired. A neighbor kid made fun of him once. I saw it affected him a lot. He seemed to withdraw from that point on, though I may have imagined it. We took a long trip in a loud truck and he seemed almost vegetative from that point. This all coincided with his early vaccinations, in which thimerosal was administered. I tried auditory retraining, to no avail. Several other diagnoses came later: profound retardation, OCD, even bipolar.

4) He only expresses his needs or wants. Most questions are answered with a "Yeah." If given a multiple choice question, he repeats the last option provided. He does not know names of colors, cannot read or write, to my knowledge.

5) Auditory training did nothing, behavioral training helped some. He is non-responsive to most therapies.

6) He wants to communicate and when he expresses a desire that we cannot understand, his frustration builds until he becomes agitated and can be destructive. He was put on multiple medications, and at this point we are trying to place him in a medical situation so these can be reduced. No one knows how they are affecting him. He is having a number of grand mal seizures.

7) He is a very sweet, loving man. He has a heart of gold and cries when he seems to be thinking about his condition. This self-awareness is his biggest achievement.

8) Raising him has changed my life. I have grown in an understanding of compassion that I never thought possible. I have also developed post-traumatic stress disorder due to raising him, so life will never be easy for me again. My life's lesson is to be kind. Never ridicule or put someone down for a condition they cannot help.

Profile: Anonymous

2007-12-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

1) I myself have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. For the purposes of this questionnaire I insist on remaining totally anonymous.

2) As I understand the term, autism refers to a mental disorder--whether induced by vaccinations or (much more rarely) by heredity--whereby the individual in question is largely or totally disconnected from the world outside him/herself.

3) I was not diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome until I was 59 years old. The person diagnosing me was a clinical psychologist.

4) I have had to work hard at learning the social skills I need to survive and even thrive, but I have done so. My linguistic skills in retrospect were below average for someone of my intelligence until age 49 when I sat down to write a grammar of my native language, English. Once I discovered, analyzed, commented upon and wrote exercises for certain linguistic principles, my command of English began to improve, at first slowly and then more rapidly. At the present time, while it's still necessary for me to rapidly monitor my oral production, I'm speaking (and writing) better than I've ever done in my life--and this at age 65.

5) I take no medications for my condition nor has it ever been suggested that I do so. I've tried a bunch of therapies from hypnosis to the "talking cure," but all have failed. What progress I've made I've made on my own.

6) Biggest difficulties? Shifting gears. It takes a little while for me to get involved in a task or project, but once I do I do not want to quit--and when I must, I find it takes a conscious effort for me to redirect myself and begin the next task or project. Sometimes I must spend ten minutes or more reading trash fiction or watching TV just to reorient my consciousness.

7) Special achievements? A dozen books (co-authored or sole-authored), over four dozen article-length publications, five dozen scholarly presentations, etc., etc.

8) What I've learned from my Asperger's is that the time has come for me to stop beating myself up over something that's not my fault. Not "beat-ups", then, but "heat-ups" to get my gears shifting faster and more smoothly are what is called for.

Aspie-quiz Results:
My score: 129/200. "You are very likely an Aspie." So now you know--what you already knew before anyway! Much more telling is the fact that for the umpteen-quadzillionth time I was unable to figure out cybernetic instructions without help. That, by the way, is a question the quiz might want to add: "Do you have trouble following instructions that are not perfectly step-by-step?"

An Open Invitation

2007-11-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

With your help, I hope to build a large collection of profiles on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition ranging from non-verbal low-functioning autism all the way to Asperger's syndrome, which isn't always obvious.

My younger brother has classic, low-functioning autism. He's also been diagnosed with epilepsy, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and retardation, among other things. He has learned to communicate, but only in a handful short, preset phrases. He's been loaded up on prescription drugs since he was a kid, and it's proving extremely difficult to get him off them.

According to all the self-diagnostic material I can find, I have Asperger's syndrome. In college, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and given Effexor and then Lexapro, but that was no good. All in all, my problems are manageable without drugs. I can blend in with the rest of society fairly well; it just takes extra effort.

But enough about me. If you or someone you love has autism or Asperger's syndrome, I'd like to hear from you. Please try to answer the following questions as accurately as you can. Email your responses to "jones@vokation.com", and I'll make a new post about you or your loved one as soon as I get a chance.

1) Are you answering these questions for a loved one with autism? If so, what is your relationship with him or her? Please provide your name(s) and location(s) in as much detail as you feel comfortable with. A photo or two would be greatly appreciated!

2) Please define autism as concisely as you can. No dictionaries please; I'm looking for your understanding of the word. What would you like the world to know about autism?

For the remaining questions, I will use the phrase "the individual" to refer to the individual with ASD, whether this is you or a loved one.

3) When was the individual born, and when (approximately) was he or she diagnosed with autism or Asperger's syndrome? Have there been any other diagnoses? Do you believe the disorder was triggered by something in particular?

4) Please describe the social and/or linguistic skills of the individual.

5) What sort of therapies have you tried? Has the individual improved over time? If so, how? Please describe any medications and their effects as best you can recall.

6) What are some of the individual's biggest difficulties today?

7) Has the individual made any special achievements you'd like to mention?

8) What have you learned from your experience with autism? Have you formed a philosophy or taken away any life lessons?