Maybe It's Not Autism

                

 

Maybe It's Not Autism?

Most would agree that public awareness and access to medical information is critical to public health. Destigmatizing mental illness and focusing attention on under-diagnosed problems has been a particularly important stride of the past 30 years. Yet sometimes, publicity leads to anxiety. As an acquaintance said, ?if the disease-of-the-week doesn?t kill me, the worry will.?

Recently, a parent contacted me with concerns about his 7 year-old son, who was quiet, introverted, and highly focused on a few hobbies. "Could he be autistic?," he asked. While the boy did not meet the diagnostic criteria for autism, or an autism- spectrum disorder, his father was voicing a concern psychologists and pediatricians are hearing more commonly these days. News of the nation's autism epidemic is everywhere. On a recent drive, I noted almost as many ?Autism-Awareness? auto decals as those saying, ?Support Our Troops.?

Don?t get me wrong?I?m glad that there is increased public awareness about autism and there is indeed cause for concern. In some states, there are several times more children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders than just a decade ago. Asperger's Syndrome (sometimes known as high-functioning autism) seems to be particularly prevalent, with estimates of its occurrence ranging from 1 in every 166 to 500 births. Although there are several theories as to why we are seeing such an epidemic, as of yet, no single theory has achieved scientific consensus among researchers.

Lack of social communication skills is a core trait of all types of autism. However, I wonder if we are too quick to assign communication problems such serious diagnostic labels. A brief checklist of the communication problems common to boys included on my website and in my recent book Boys of Few Words: Raising Our Sons to Communicate and Connect may help you decide if your son is simply struggling with the kinds of expressive challenges found among many different types of boys.

By all means have your child professionally evaluated if you have serious concerns. But make sure the professional you visit understands the psychology of boys, and can tell the difference between a syndrome like high-functioning autism and something more manageable, like a nonverbal learning disability. More than once, I have encountered a child who seemed locked in his own thoughts, unwilling or unable to join the social world around him. But not every case was an autism-spectrum disorder--a thorough evaluation can reveal a wide range of potential causes for lack of social interest and communication skills.

The good news is that with time, relationship, and strategic encouragement, the great majority of kids can learn to connect with others, and even enjoy it! Finding the key that unlocks a child's mind and heart requires patience and a steadfast belief in the power of your own love and concern. And of course, one practical expression of that concern is to strive to get an accurate assessment of the challenges your child faces, so your interventions will help.

I believe the autism epidemic is real and deserves the analysis of the country's best medical minds. Children who have autism or a related problem benefit from early professional diagnosis and intensive intervention. Yet I also believe that the constant buzz about autism has led to many of us being hypersensitized about whether our child "has it." Just as an energetic 5 year-old may be misconstrued as hyperactive, a stoic 7 year-old may be thought of as having some variant of autism. Yet stoic boys are no more a new phenomenon than energetic pre-schoolers.

As our world changes, so do our expectations of children. The problem is people take longer to change and evolve than society. That difference in tempo should not be the reason for a neurological diagnosis. It's a little like getting mad at a computer that doesn't run fast enough to operate new software. The computer is running as fast as it can ? as fast as it was made to do ? yet software is evolving too quickly for the computer's capabilities.

For more information about autism and Asperger's syndrome, you might want to contact The Autism Society of America, The National Institute of Mental Health, or check my website's Resources section for links to these and other organizations that can provide more information about Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and other child development concerns. If you have questions about a child, please seek qualified professional advice. Help begins with accurate diagnosis and early intervention.

Adam J. Cox, PhD, ABPP is a Board-certified licensed psychologist and author of Boys of Few Words: Raising Our Sons to Communicate and Connect http://www.dradamcox.com

Awareness of Autism

                

 

Promoting awareness can help people understand what autism is, how it affects people and appreciate that this is a condition that many people have. If everyone knew the symptoms, the behaviors and the way it affects others then autistic people would be treated according to who they are and how they think.

As long as there are people that don't understand autism, there are still people that stare at autistic people as if they are strange or don't understand why parents are taking care of their children in a certain way.

But awareness is not just about teaching the public about what autism is, it is also for people that don't recognise symptom behaviors in their children. It is for people that have autistic children but don't know all the facts or techniques available. It is for governments to be reminded there is a large population who have needs that should be respected. It is for schools and teachers to understand how autistic people think and feel so that they can talk to them and teach them in a way they can understand.

And Remember...

The more people are reminded that autism is around then we will see more things like child friendly places where autistic children are welcome, special foods that are sold on the supermarket shelves for autistic children that are on special diets or schools that have special needs teachers.

How to Promote Awareness - There are many ways to promote autism awareness in which you can help spread understanding without it seemingly as if you are preaching.

Display your support - Currently there are several products that you can buy that let you show your support. These are things like wristbands, and autism pins or ribbons.

Events - The autistic groups and societies are the best places to go to see the local events that are happening in your area.

Donate to your national society - The national autistic societies in your country are on the front line of medical research, government legislation and so on. Their role is to represent the entire population of autistic people. For this reason, donating to your national society groups goes a long way to advancing research and development and making sure the governments and all the small government organisations keep autistic people in mind.

Donate to your local support group - You can donate to your local group or your national society. Donating to your local group is a great way to give to the local autism community. It helps them with raising funds to organise forums, meetings and events. Helping these groups grow provides a local community of people that all understand what other parents and carers are going through.

Talk to people - Also, you can simply talk to people and ask them what they know and tell them what you know. The community works in a similar way to many other minority groups, the more people that are supporting the drive for awareness and recognition, the more people will take notice and accept their views.

Ben Sidman is a Parent of an amazing autistic child and founder of http://www.autism-support-community.com - an informative and friendly web site for parents with autistic children.