Autism Spectrum Disorders

All through school I was told I had a learning disability and now through research on Asperger's I'm 98% sure I'm on the spectrum and I have so many questions now. should I change my diet? what books should I read? Is there cognitive exercises I can be doing? Should I get a formal diagnosis?

duffylynnreb wrote: »

All through school I was told I had a learning disability and now through research on Asperger's I'm 98% sure I'm on the spectrum and I have so many questions now. should I change my diet? what books should I read? Is there cognitive exercises I can be doing? Should I get a formal diagnosis?

A diagnosis is mainly helpful if you need it for some assistance or concessions at work or at school.

My son is not completely diagnosed yet because we homeschooled him and he didn't need the diagnosis. Now he is planning to attend some high school and I want the concessions for things like a private, quieter room for writing exams in. KWIM?

And I would read everything. Some might help you and some might not.

As to diet, whole foods seems to help some. Gluten and dairy (casein and not the lactose) seem to bother some. My son's behavior and thinking improves when he is GF ad dairy free. Red dyes also seem to bother him.

Having recently studied ASD for the past 8 years, we discovered the experts still don't know what causes it or what will cure it. Some evidence exists that points to the possible source coming from the father's DNA but still speculation.

I have two sons who have autism and they both have different dads. They are part of a study through Columbus children's hospital, to map their progress throughout their life and also we are going to be participating in genetic studies.

I don't know what causes it but I know when both of them were first diagnosed I went through a grieving process, and now I just want answers as to why. My oldest who is five was diagnosed at three years old and my youngest who is 3 1/2 was diagnosed at two. Their symptoms as they have aged have become more prominent. They're both and a handful of different therapies that's basically my entire life, and at this point I have pretty much just accepted that I'm going to spend the rest of my life caring for them because they're both very high on the spectrum.

synchkat wrote: »

My son was diagnosed with ADHD and tested for Autism but was diagnosed as "quirky". The dr. said if they were still using the Aspergers diagnosis he'd be on the spectrum for that. but he's just quirky. Guess who else is quirky? Me. The more appointments I go to for him I realize I would have the same diagnosis if I were going to school today as would my brother and probably my husband.

so I say genetics.

My son has some sensory issues. He hates loud sounds or sudden sounds and has lots of food sensory issues. Then again hubs hate loud sounds and I have lots of issues with foods

I agree to a point that some parents just go looking for something and some kind of diagnosis. Heck when we went for our appointment to get the results of the boy's Autism test the Dr. said some parents would be unhappy with the lack of diagnosis. We were shocked but he said lots are looking for something to get them some services for help.

It's entirely possible that your child with ADHD also has sensory issues and is not, in fact, autistic.

However, (putting my teacher hat on a minute...one moment...), that's plenty to demonstrate a need to get an IEP, OT services, etc. So in a way, even if the diagnosis isn't correct--medical professionals are far from perfect--you can get the sort of help and supports needed from school and community that is necessary.

Whether or not he is or is not on the autism spectrum may be an ongoing journey. And what "autism" is keeps shifting.

I think it is most likely genetic, I have been officially diagnosed as clear cut case of Aspergers and although no one else in my family has wanted to get an official diagnosis it is very clear that many other members of my family also have it, my only sibling , my mother and her brother and my grandfather and his sister my great aunt. In my family it is very clearly a dominant genetic thing.

In school I was assessed a couple of times and diagnosed as having specific learning difficulties, it was very clear I was quite different to most children but they could not put finger on why or what was going on. It was not really so well understood back then, same for the generations before me. I got my diagnosis as an adult.

mburgess458 wrote: »

My son is severely autistic. I think one problem with the genetic versus environment argument is that in my mind "autism" or "on the spectrum" is NOT just one thing with one cause. It is diagnosed based on symptoms. If we named a new disorder "Headache Disorder" we could argue that it is caused by stress...or hunger...or lack of sleep...or a million other things. Because having a headache isn't a disorder, it is a symptom of a disorder. I think eventually autism spectrum disorder will be split out into a bunch of discrete disorders that have similar symptoms.

The fact that very premature babies are more likely to be autistic (see link below) proves that autism CAN be caused by environmental factors. My son was a preemie and I'm convinced that is behind his autism. He might have had some genetic predisposition for the possibility, but no one else in my family or my wife's family were preemies and no one else developed autism.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20151228/study-extremely-premature-babies-at-greater-risk-for-autism

I think the real problem here is that we've only presented the options of "genetic vs. environmental", when in reality it should be more "nature vs. nurture", since non-genetic causes can still fall under the "nature" category.

There's a genetic correlation.

@kanibre thanks for sharing and welcome to MFP forums.

My son was in speech therapy since he was 3. He's super smart and was reading board books by 3 1/2. He passes all the kids at school in every subject. We've never been told that he was on the Spectrum, until this year, he's 8 and in 2nd grade. He's always had to chew on something. His 1st grade teacher gave him a chew tube and it helps a lot. He is very socially awkward, but only at school or when he's with us and his friends are around. He won't acknowledge they exist if we are with him. It's weird. Talking to his speech therapist and teacher this year, they are saying it's not normal to still be chewing on things and being anti-social. He passed all his IEP tests with flying colors, so she can't work with him anymore. But, even though he reads very well, he doesn't understand what he's reading. I ask him what happened in the story and he just shrugs or says I don't know. So his therapist and teacher both said "oh, he's prob on the Spectrum, he should be diagnosed" I'm like "what?" I know he has sensory issues, his cousin also does, she chews on stuff too. And he has anxiety, that runs in my family. I'll definitely talk to his doctor and see what he thinks and go from there.

There are some really harsh comments here. Definitely not environmental. Its not abnormal, just brain wired differently. There are some things eg. Therapy to help. The extra diagnosis are due to a number of factors...better tools to diagnose, more dads over 40 having children more premmies surviving. Not bad parenting. Parents with children with austim (incl parents themselves with autism) are superparents and should not be judged on their parenting at all.

I believe it is genetic but....

There was a comment early on about behavioural issues and parenting. And I can see why that is a common thought for many. It is sad that parents can be pointed at as the problem when there are so many others who have an effect on our children's well being. I have only my own experiences to go by and will share a short/not so short part of them for you.

My sons third grade teacher had issues with the boys in her class. They were active and hyper and distracting to the class. At the same time, the school tried out a new schedule that reduced the total outside play time for elementary students to a total of 30min/day. Despite my arguments and the many research stats I brought to them they refused to change. We were in that classroom weekly and were told our child was a horror. As were at least 3 other parents. We have two older boys who had similar personalities as 8year olds and my husband and i quit attending these horrible meetings at which we were browbeaten, our son was henpecked and spoken down to, and basically the uneducated staff we were dealing with refused to listen to our advice on getting a young boy to focus. Those three other parents had children in the class who were the oldest in their families. Therefore these parents had no other children by which to "set a standard" and were highly concerned. All three brought their children in for extensive testing, at three different specialists. All three diagnosed with severe ADD and one on the ASD.

Fast forward to grade four this year: a teacher who has boys herself, is open to many learning styles, a new principal who was appalled at the recess restriction and changed it to 4 periods of outside time totalling 1.5hrs, and an altogether amazing group working with the exact same classroom, in the same school. None of these boys are medicated anymore, all are excelling, zero issue with classroom distraction, zero refusal to do work assigned, or hyperactivity. Not even one parent teacher meeting that is outside the normal.

So yes I think behavioural issues can be very related to the circumstances surrounding the child. And even extended so far as to be cumulative to daily life outside of that classroom for these boys. I can see how many are misdiagnosed due to things that cannot be controlled like the classroom situation we had. I was seriously considering moving to homeschooling and cannot imagine what that class would look like had the situation continued at our school. I can also see how parents/caregivers can be blamed for poor behaviour. And I don't think any of those parents blame the professionals who diagnosed their children. All of our boys were showing stress and acting out because of it, but when the classroom situation was resolved they reverted back to their normal selves(as normal as 9/10yo boys can be). All three that were previously diagnosed now show no signs and their families have been apologized to for the wrong diagnosis.

midwesterner85 wrote: »

I'm sure some people are going to jump all over me for this viewpoint, but I don't really care. If you think there is something that would actually change my view, I'm open to it. If you just want to tell me I'm a terrible person for having this viewpoint, or that I'm wrong because your cousin/sibling/kid/etc. doesn't fit either of the things I see; my viewpoint won't change based on that.

Since they changed the DSM criteria several years ago, the number of ASD cases has drastically increased. If you read through the criteria, you might understand why... anybody could be diagnosed under one or more of the criteria. While I believe that many patients truly have a developmental issue, there are a lot diagnosed with ASD now that just have old-fashioned behavioral issues. Many of the latter are actually "bad parenting."

That isn't to say all ASD patients fit that scenario, but it has become a trend where terrible parents have kids with awful behavior, so they take them to someone who diagnoses ASD based on vague DSM criteria. Terrible parents then just excuse their absent parenting with "I just can't help it... my kid has ASD."

My kid has autism and he is 5 since March. My 2 year old (different father) may also have it. My oldest does not (same dad as my 5 year old). What I can say is that my 5 year old is entirely non-verbal. He spoke for 1-2 weeks in 2016 and just stopped. My 2 year old says a few words here or there. The issue with those behavioral comments for me is that my kids CLEARLY have autism and they are loving, sweet, polite kids, especially when you consider their struggles. Sure, they cry more than normal for their ages, but they can't communicate, so that's understandable. We are STILL potty training.... BUT my 5 year old hugs goodbye, even gives kisses on one cheek than the other to say goodbye, does not hit/kick/bite and is starting to learn to help clean up. He even cleans up without being told now. He just learned to put his socks in his shoes when he comes home. He is a good child in my opinion. I don't think you can blame all behavioral issues on bad parenting. My child doesn't self harm either, which I hear is common. That's not to say my son is perfect and never mean because what kid is never ever mean? My son has taken a toy from his brother before, nudged him a little as to say "you're in my personal space" etc but he doesn't hurt people on purpose or throw huge tantrums for no reason. The worst he ever does is when he needs to sit still for long periods of time but that is a sensory issue and he just tries to get away (he still doesn't try to hurt anyone or break things purposely). So I can't say no child would ever misbehave despite good parenting, but I am not the most amazing mom and my kids are pretty great people IMO so I also can't say I get it 100% when they say "My kid who can speak and function acts like a total jerk because autism." I kinda call BS on that one. But in general I try to instill good manners in my children. My daughter was student of the month in her school (kindergarten) for setting a good example too. I'm very proud of her too and she can talk so she has the ability to run her mouth or act out but 90% of the time at least does not. Lol. She even helps me take care of her brothers without being asked.

I believe asd is mostly genetic. My father has aspergers, I have aspergers, and my 13 year old son has classic autism although he is on the high side of the spectrum.
To answer the question someone asked above, no you do not grow out of an autism spectrum disorder. You can try managing it and train yourself to look people in the eyes and whatnot, but it will always be there.