McCarthy - Louder Than Words A Mothers Journey in Healing Autism

W HEN YOUR CHILD is diagnosed with cancer, neighbors stop by your home bringing precooked meals, hugs, and support. When your child is diagnosed with autism, families who see you in the supermarket will slip away down another aisle.

WHAT IS AUTISM?

Autism is a disorder that now affects one in a hundred and fifty children. When I was in medical school, this disorder affected one in ten thousand children. These children have problems with language development and usage. They have rituals and repetitive behaviors. They have problems understanding how to interact socially. The spectrum of severity is broad. Some are severely afflicted and need institutional care, while others are only brushed with the disorder and grow up, work, marry, and have children of their own. Those with autism have higher rates of epilepsy and increased rates of mental retardation.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?

Treatment for this now all-too-common disorder is rather limited. Behavioral therapies, along with speech and occupational therapy, are the cornerstone of care. Traditional Western medications have minimal value. Aggressive behavior can be controlled partially with medication.

Controversy exists regarding the use of diet restriction for treatment and the role of vaccines and mercury in causation. Over time, many alternative approaches to autism have come and gone, refuted by the medical establishment. But remember, the medical establishment used to believe that autism was caused by uncaring parents or refrigerator moms. Many families with autistic children believe that some of these less traditional interventions have made significant positive changes in their children.

Treatments that have been shown to be effective, such as speech and behavioral therapy, are frequently not available because of waiting lists, insurance restrictions, or a lack of appropriately trained professionals. Diagnosis is often delayed or missed because of lack of screening, minimizing developmental delays, or lack of knowledge among health care providers.

Everyone agrees that early intervention is critical.

WHAT IS NORMAL?

At about five weeks of age, babies smile for the first time. I think that this is so because our ancestors threw away the babies who hadnt smiled by this time. Anyone who has parented knows how physically hard it is to care for a newborn. Finally, after nights of feedings, burpings, and diapers, our kids look at us and crack a smile (likely because they have gas), and all of sudden you feel that it is all worth it. Why does a smile back at the exhausted parent mean so much? It is because we are social beings, and this new human is recognizing us. Over the first year of life, facial expressions and other nonverbal cues (pointing a finger at something) join the baby with Mom and Dad. Then language, another extremely important milestone, develops. Over the next few years, play becomes so important. First play is in parallel: This means that two children sit next to each other, each playing independently. Next, play becomes interactive and imaginative: Children use make-believe and one another in their play. Kids in grade school form clubs and cliques. They perform make-believe marriages. It seems like everything is going so welland then they become teens.

HOW ARE CHILDREN WITH AUTISM DIFFERENT?

Children with autism dont make eye contact in the same way normally developing children do. They dont smile when they are supposed to. They dont come to you when they get hurt. They may even self-inflict pain. Their language is not only delayed, it can be deviant. They may refer to themselves in the third person or misuse pronouns. They can be hypersensitive to sounds or touch. Their play is not functional. Instead of playing with the toy truck, they spin a wheel endlessly. Interactive and make-believe play is very slow to develop, if it does at all. These kids spin, flap, and toe-walk. Other kids ignore or tease the autistic child in grade school. The phone doesnt ring for playdates. The autistic child really gets lost in the subtle social complexities of middle school and high school.

WHAT CAUSES AUTISM, AND WHY IS IT INCREASING?