I mean everytime I turn around a new kid suppossedly has some degree of autism but yet they can do everything a normal kid can do, except they specialize in throwing a little tantrum if they dont get their way. I heard a respected doctor say on NPR that most kids diagnosed with autism are but a bunch of brats who have no respect for anything. Does anyone agree?
I listen to NPR and would be really surpirse if that is what they said. I do not have a child with autism but I have been diagnosing it for over 8 years and I can tell you that the children I see are in no way just spoiled. They actually have a developmental difference that impacts their functioning in all areas, including language use, socialization, and behaviors. Can you give a date that you heard that, or the name of the person? Read some of my articles for some insight http://www.ehow.com/members/doban-articles.html
all I can say is WOW!!!! ignorance .. you should really do some homework before posting such misinformed information on here! Many children with autism do have filers… wonder about some adults too!
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As an aunt to a wonderful little boy who has autism, I would have to disagree. He was about 3 when he was actually diagnosed, but you could tell there was something wrong from the beginning. He cried all the time, but it wasn't a normal cry. My youngest daughter is just 2 wks younger than my nephew and he was just so different. He wasn't even able to talk until he was about 5 ( and he was in an intensive program to help him).
I believe that society wants to blame someone for the problems that some children face, so they look to the mother. That isn't fair. The same thing happens to moms of children with ADHD/ADD. My son has severe ADHD. I am a nurse and overheard some of my peers discussing ADHD. One of them said that all kids that have ADHD come from mothers who abused drugs. I was so upset and called her on it. I never used drugs in my life nor did my son's father (his mother said that she believes that he also had it as a child but nobody knew ADHD back then). Brain scans show an actual difference in the brains of these children.
I just wish that people, especially professionals ( like the doctor) would not try to place the blame on the parents all of the time.
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No they are not! What an insensitive question. I tell you what could equally be happening. Consider this scenario.
The medical profession, becomes sick of being sued for causing developmental disabilities in children due to negligent care at birth and comes up with a way to avoid it. Although parents can clearly see at an early age that something is wrong with their child, – there is a consipracy whereby the majority of doctors stop diagnosing these children until they are about two – three years old. Instead of using the usual diagnostic criteria, they begin to place the diagnosis of these children 'within the autistic spectrum.' – Thinking that autism has purely a genetic explanation and not realising that it can also be caused by brain injury, the parents go away and deal with it. In the process, the doctor gets off without the parents realising that the fault lies with him.
Think about it!
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//[EDIT] – Guys, this is no medical doctor he’s talking about. It’s Michael Savage, conservative radio talk show host, whose syndicated show is broadcast on NPR among others. His degrees are in botany and anthropology as well as epidemiology and nutritional science. This is what he said: "[Autism is a] fraud, a racket…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…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.”//
And which "respected doctor" would that be? Surely not talk-show host Michael Savage, who has no medical credentials: http://autismparents.net/micha.....ordinaire/
http://news.aol.com/newsblogge.....stic-kids/
http://www.associatedcontent.c.....html?cat=5
Because I wonder if Mr. Savage would care to explain to us how our son's other autistic symptoms are related to lack of discipline? If we yell at our son, calling him an idiot and telling him to "straighten up and act like a man" as Savage suggests, do you think it might cure his hand flapping and compulsive behaviors as well? Maybe it would work on his anxiety and depression. And the eye-blinking and head-thrusting tics that go along with his accompanying Tourette's syndrome? Maybe it would even clear up his gastrointestinal issues that go along with his ASD. H***, if I'd known it was that easy to cure autism, I would've called my poor son an idiot a long time ago. What an insensitive, uninformed jerk!
He is dead wrong. Before we got our son's diagnosis and realized what the heart of the matter was, we treated him the same as we did our older two children, which included pretty strict discipline. At first, we thought he was just "strong willed," so we tried out Dr. Dobson's techniques. Once, I switched him over and over again after putting him to bed one night and believing that he was deliberately defying me by crying out some weird word every time I left his room after I had asked him twice to stop. I ended up in tears and asked him why he was deliberately disobeying me when he knew it was against our rules. His response was, "I can't help it, mommy," and then later we got his ASD and Tourette's diagnosis when other symptoms began to appear. We didn't recognize it at first, because he seemed like just a normal kid with a strong will. But it gradually worsened to the point our son can't even function in a normal classroom setting now (mostly due to the anxiety created when he's singled out for bullying because other kids don't understand his Tourette's tics and when his teachers expect him to do the same work in the same manner as typical students because of his high IQ).
Unfortunately, in the case of Asperger's (an ASD that commonly involves tantrums and meltdowns), it is usually not diagnosed until the child is too old to take advantage of early intervention programs. Early intervention is key in improving overall prognosis for children with ASDs. The reason for this is that a child’s neural plasticity (the brain’s ability to be shaped) is at its maximum potential when the child is very young. With the typical late diagnosis of Asperger’s, much cellular damage has already been done, and it is questionable whether or not the damage can be reversed. We have hope, though, and are currently pursuing DAN protocol with our son.
I've got an idea for people who believe in this brat theory. Why don't you sign up as a volunteer respite provider and spend a little time in our shoes before passing judgment?
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http://autismaspergerssyndrome.....s_syndrome
http://www.christian-mommies.c.....-tantrums/
Bad parenting does not cause Asperger's syndrome: http://www.parentkidsright.com/pt-asperger.html
This isn't the only issue NPR has the autism community up in arms about: http://www.spectrumpublication.....h-npr.html
a small percentage are
just like a small percentage of ADHD is actually bad parenting
on the other hand there are many good parents that are doign such a good job that the children's symptoms are decreasing—I know kids with autism where you wouldn't know most of teh time…..
there are many so called respected doctors spewing quackery
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I listen to NPR and would be really surpirse if that is what they said. I do not have a child with autism but I have been diagnosing it for over 8 years and I can tell you that the children I see are in no way just spoiled. They actually have a developmental difference that impacts their functioning in all areas, including language use, socialization, and behaviors. Can you give a date that you heard that, or the name of the person? Read some of my articles for some insight http://www.ehow.com/members/doban-articles.html
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I guess you never ran into a non verbal autistic child, huh?
No…I don't agree with it.
I've been working as a child advocate for Special Needs kids for a while, and their issues come in a thousand different forms, from very mild to severe. You mention the moms…I guess the dads aren't involved?
But i have noticed that almost no "normal" young adult seems to manage getting through college without anti-anxiety drugs, or anti- depressants. Its easy to generalise, and judge. Let's hope you never have to deal with "special needs" in your family.
Anyone who makes a snap diagnosis of "autism" without medical support is pretty sad, however…
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no.
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I am the mom of a child with autism and he can't do everything a"normal" kid can do. He can't talk to any one who doesn't know him without me translating for them with his hand jestures. He can't socialize with others like "normal" kids do. Now if you want to speak of tantrums then please educate yourself They are MELTDOWNS that comes from no where and most of the time for no reason. How dare any so-called respected doctor say that they are a bunch of brats. I would love to go into debate with any un-educated doctor about it. As far as respect for anything he respects everything he has as well as others. He doesn't touch things that don't belong to him. OH I guess that may be because of the ocd he has. Yeah that goes along with autism. I hope this so called respected doctor reads this because I would love to know what he thinks "NORMAL" kids are. I need a definition for that. I personally don't think I know about normal kids. I have never seen any 2 kids the same to be considered normal. So I guess to your question "NO" I don't agree and people who don't have a child or deal with a child with autism have absolutely no idea what it is like or how to deal with it. But you know what!!! I am very greatful that GOD chose me to be Brendens mom. He has taught me more and shown me more than any lesson in life I have ever had.
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