New Study Shows Vaccines Not To Blame For Autism

In a bit of good news, another set of studies shows vaccines don't have any relationship with developing autism in children.  In an article published in Medscape entitled Multiple Vaccines Safe, Not Linked to Autism, Paul Offit talks about an article recently published in the Journal of Pediatrics by Frank DeStefano of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looking at the relationship between vaccines and autism. Offit finishes his article by saying that the cause of autism hasn't been clearly identified , but that vaccines are definitely not to blame.

Some critics will probably suspect Offit's motives for publicizing this study, especially since he is a strong proponent of vaccines. But as far as being a parent who wants to find real pragmatic solutions or eventually the actual cause of autism, I'd like as many dissenting opinions out there with their proponents working feverishly working to prove their own theory. If we want to find out the truth, we need to be open to any possibilities and let the people in the industry who have the resources to research it.

Temple Grandin Says Children with Autism Need to Work

It's always welcome news when people recognize that despite their condition, children with autism can (and should be) productive. In this piece from Irish Central, Dr Temple Grandin was highlighted for speaking about how Autism made it possible for her to excel in what she understood best. I fully understand what she means everytime I hear Matthew sing or play with toy drums. He has this innate ability for rhythm that he has had since age 2. Will he be a singer someday? Will he play the drums professionally in the future? It will be up to us parents to nurture the talents of children with autism to full bloom :-)

The Difference Pets Make in Children with ASD

 

It has long been the opinion that pets have a dramatic effect on children with different disorders that affect the human brain. Even for people who have met accidents that have injured their brains have benefited from the pets. More so for children just starting to open up to the world, as with young children with Autism.

So here I am sharing another article I've read that inspires me and gives me hope. Global Edmonton reports in the article "Service dog changes autistic girl's life" how one dog's adoption has made a difference in the life of a girl stricken with Autism. Alison Ainsworth, the little girl's mother also write and shares her story with the rest of the world through the website www.ifmydogcouldtalk.net. You can also show your support by buying her book to read about Emily's inspiring story.

Story Time

A recent achievement of Matt has been in reading. It has improved a lot in the last 2 months since he joined a class of regular kids. Although previously he could read individual words, he now reads sentences! In the last couple of months, he's begun to read to us. He would get a book, either Spot Goes to School or Teachers Are For Reading Stories and sit down in front of us in his little chair. He would open the books so it faced us and read the lines. An audience is required, so we sit and let him read, correcting him gently when he reads a word wrong. His little sister got the hint and she now sits down excitedly in front of kuya when she sees him get a book from the shelf of kids' books.

I guess Matt wants to do it like the teachers do during story time at school. Just this morning, since I was busy in reading email, he sat down in front of his sister and read Spot Goes to School. She would repeat the lines right after kuya said them. My wife did try to let him read Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs & Ham, but he still couldn't follow it much. The rhythmical repeating word patterns seemed to confuse him. Eventually though we hope that as he expands his vocabulary he will be able to read more complex sentences.

He has terrific 'picture' memory in that he remembers words by the patterns of the letters, not the letters themselves. I remember when he was still very young that he was often able to recognize brand names because they often appear in TV ads. It was easy for him to recognize Sony, JVC, Samsung, LG, Canon or Nokia. We soon discovered that if we change the color and fonts on say the word "SAMSUNG" he couldn't recognize it right away. So I guess kids like him really do read in 'pictures'. Even words are pictures for them.

We are excited that he is learning to read and he is doing it in a social way. We can't help but see that having a little sister has made it easier for Matt to open up.

Siblings and Autism

At times I worry about how my kids will handle autism. My eldest child has autism. His sister is 5 years younger. How will things turn out when they grow up? I constantly worry about how my girl's adolescent years will be, with her older brother's autism casting a shadow on her. Or who will take care of Matthew when I and my wife have grown old. Taking care of him will be a big responsibility to take on for one person, especially a younger sibling.

So I was actually pleasantly surprised to read this article from NorthJersey.com. I can understand how it is that most of the focus in on children with autism. I can relate with the feeling that it seems immediate family is greatly affected by it and it is fairly common for the parents to have support groups to help them deal with it. Siblings of children (or adults) with autism don't have the same support system. They deserve to have their own support groups too, because they have to deal with it with the same if not greater degree of difficulty as parents do. More so when it comes to growing adolescents who have the burden of trying to fit in with peers. Reading about Gabby Abramowitz striving to bring a message across through her research and through her organizing efforts make me feel hope that my children will manage on their own when the time comes.

It makes me smile when I see the little one hug and imitate her kuya. It fills my heart with joy when I see Matthew kiss the little girl on the head when they're playing. They will manage, I have hope.

iPods for ASP Cebu

JCI Philippines recently donated iPods to the Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP) chapter in Cebu. The iPods donated came with the Proloquo2Go software, an assistive technology software that works in devices such as the iPod. It's feature set is specifically designed to help people having difficulty talking to 'speak' through the software's interface. User's click on the icons and the softwares speaks for them through the device. This promising piece of technology will be specially helpful to people with Autism who are non-verbal.

If you not familiar with JCI Philippines, you may know them by their more popular and longstanding name. They used to be called the Philippine Jaycees. The Jaycees have been doing a lot of community work as far back as I can remember. I'm glad to see that they are participating in the cause to help people stricken with Autism. For the full news feature, you can go here: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/community/view/20100501-267477/Autism-Society-Cebu-gets-iPod-donation.

Autism Stereotypes Show How Misunderstood ASD Is

Aussie Channel Ten apologized for an autism joke stereotyping children with autism. British comedian Russell Kane was quoted as saying to the host of Good News Week that "We went at you like an autistic kid on a drum, we destroyed you". He was apparently talking about his team that won in a comedy fest contest.

Angered parents voiced their complaints about the comment made in the show that aired a couple of days ago. The TV station's website was flooded with upset comments. Complaints even reached Australia's Parliamentary secretary for disabilities, according to new sites news.com.au and TheDailyTelegraph.com.au.  Secretary Bill Shorten was quoted, "where it stereotypes vulnerable children it goes too far...What don’t they understand about making fun of a disabled kid?” Several concerned organizations condemned the comedian's irresponsible joke. Channel Ten's airing the pre-recorded show unedited was seen by many as irresponsible.

Stereotyping children with autism (or any child with any disability, for that matter) just shows how egotistical some people are. In this case it happens to be a celebrity. After the uproar, he'll probably just shrug it all off with a comment that he didn't mean it, make a press release and then go on like nothing happened. The press release by the TV station that aired the pre-recorded show unedited shows even more callousness. A spokesperson from the station was quoted as saying the network is a strong supporter of autism awareness, and that they pledged to increase community service announcements for one organization working for the cause of autism. The sad truth is their pronouncement sounds like a convenient excuse so they could slither away unharmed after saying sorry and making amends by bribing people with their 'goodwill'. Jokes like these and half-hearted efforts by those who tolerate them make the impression that it's 'acceptable' for people to joke about disabilities. And it just shows how misinformed most people are about autism and how terribly heartless they can be.