Autism Secrets

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in journalism we were talking about kids who dont vaccinate their kids. is it true that vaccines gives kids autism? im 15 and the only shot i wont get is the flu shot but im perfectly fine and dont think shots have affected me any.

There is no concrete evidence that says vaccines cause autism. If there was then the federal courts would not have made a ruling. Many associate the MMR vaccine with autism, but little do people realize that the MMR vaccine is given around the same time the typical characteristics of autism become noticeable, many had characteristics at an earlier age but were not recognized, many think there child was just slow and would grow out of it. Many also associate thimerosal (mercury additive) in other vaccines as to causing autism, but yet you never heard about if the mother ate fish such as tuna that is known to have high mercury content while pregnant, or perhaps the mother had mercury fillings in her teeth that could of been absorbed into the system while pregnant. If people look at thimerosal as a possible cause then why hasn’t everything with mercury been considered, how many cases of research have you heard in regards to those. Thimerosal hasn’t been in vaccines since 1991 except the flu vaccine which you can get with or without thimerosal. Granted some vaccines with thimerosal were still given after they began the removal of it until the supply was gone, wouldn’t the cases of autism being diagnosed go down because of no longer using thimerosal. If you do some research, there was a Dr. who started the whole theory about the MMR vaccine issue who was later found to be discredited. (**edit: **Dr. Andrew Wakefield is the doctor who associated the MMR vaccine as to causing autism in a report released in 1998 and published in The Lancelot, it was later found that he fixed the results and most of those children in the research had signs of autism documented in their medical records before they recieved the MMR shot. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683643.ece end edit **)
My son was diagnosed with autism before receiving his MMR shots, he has had both doses since and his autism did not get any worse, my 2 older sons had their doses and neither of them have autism or any other condition. Bottom line is no one can say 100% for sure what the cause is regardless of what they believe. You’ll find just as many parents who strongly believe vaccines did not cause autism in their child as you would those parents who do believe it did. You know you never heard to much about the vaccine issue until Jenny McCarthy opened her mouth, I feel many parents just jumped on the bandwagon. She use to also say that autism can be cured but changed it to that they can recover, it cannot be cured, it is a life long disability but with proper treatments and the earlier they receive them, the better chance they have to overcome many of their characteristics. For example, I know these are not the same but am using it to demostrate a point…someone is found to be diabetic, they change their diet to control their blood sugar level, they take insuline to prevent diabetic seizures and also to help control their blood sugar level, just because they may never have a diabetic seizure and their blood sugar level remains under control does not mean their diabetes is cured. In many cases you would not even realize they had diabetes unless they stated that they did. Same goes with autism, even though they receive treatments and characteristics improve and some even disappear does not mean the autism is no longer there. Another example would be asperger’s which is a form of autism sometimes known as high functioning autism, to those not familiar with the characteristics of asperger’s they appear to be normal and to some above normal because they usually are very intelligent and have very high iq’s, just because they appear to be normal or above normal doesn’t mean they don’t have asperger’s.

My 3-year-old was diagnosed with autism, mild form. There is this doctor in the Tampa bay area that does a treatment like chellation (measuring mercury levels) and gluten free diet and vitamins? do you know if it is true?, I am very skeptical because insurance wont pay for it and he wants to charge $360+ testing and medications for the first time visit, then $90 for every 15 minutes on the subsequent visits. My son’s therapists and doctors, neurologists and pediatricinas said nothing of that is true, I am afraid to fall for it and to be a scam and a lie to rip us out of money, I don’t know what to do… does anyone have experience with this?

Marta, for everyone who encounters a disease or condition that has no cure, there are dozens of people who are waiting with "snake oil" cures to take their money. Your child does not learn like typically developing children do, but that does not mean he won’t make progress and become a valued member of our society. He needs special methods, strategies, & interventions to learn. I am a special education Pre k teacher here in the Tampa Bay area, and I work with many children with autism and other special needs. The best advice I can give you is to work closely with your child’s therapists & teacher to carry over into the home the strategies & interventions the teachers are working with at school. If your child is not yet in a Pre K ESE (exceptional student education) program, I would encourage you to get him enrolled now. This time before Kindergarten is critical in helping & teaching him to prepare for his school career, social skills, and language development. One thing I see too much of on the internet is the "Us vs. Them" attitudes between parents of children with autism and teachers/ school system. This is tragic, because we need each other in order to help the child to be successful and reach his goals. You, as a parent, are his first and most important teacher. If you work with his teachers to carry over skills into the home, then he has a better chance of success. Get in touch with CARD at USF (Center for Autism & Related Disorders). In my 10 years of teaching Pre K, I have seen parents use chelation, GFCF diets, and supplements. I have not noticed any difference with any of these. Be careful of what’s out there. Best wishes to you.

What I have read, some of the symptoms of Autism is lack of confidence, self esteem…

Here is the difference,
When my daughter was a toddler,she was very shy.At home, she would talk non stop.I would take her to work with me,and if a co-worker spoke to her,she would cling to my leg,bury her face,and not say a word,obviously knowing the person was trying to interact with her.
When my son,who has autism, would go to work with me, and a co-worker tried to speak to him,he had no reaction at all.It was as if he couldn’t hear them,and sometimes almost seemed like he didn’t even see them.Like he looked right through them.In fact,having his hearing and eyes checked were things we had tested before we learned of his autism.
So both kids wouldn’t talk when I took them to work,but you see the difference?

If its 1 in 150 children, why isnt any vigorous research being made or any type of therapy known through our government health agencies?

Why hasnt this question came up an epidemic that is at its full speed in ANY presidential debate from both parties?

Mercury in vaccines (which is used since it’s a cheaper preservative). There’s a huge amount of fairly irrefutable evidence for it, unfortunately anyone that claims this is a "quack who does not know what they’re talking about."
Fortunately, if you’re aware of this fact it makes it easier to deal with autism since you can opt out of vaccinations and detox the mercury. It’s a fairly common practice for the powers that be to not want to remove a toxic poison from public exposure if they profit off of its usage, and hinder and attempts towards addressing the problem. Autism is just another cause.
Other sources of mercury (ie tuna), and all the food additives are believed to be contributing causes but the link is much harder to prove. Hence the best answer is probably mercury in vaccines.

Autism is usually diagnosed around the age of three when an abnormal development of the child is noticed. An early diagnose is essential for the future medical care as well as for the outcome of the parents. An initial diagnose of autism includes a physical evaluation and a neurological examination completed with a registry of the medical history of the child since birth and a medical history of the family. Clinical testing may also be helpful to classify the condition and rule out other assembling diseases.

Specialty physicians must carefully evaluate the mental and physical development of the child as well its communication and language skills. He must know if the patient has babbled, waved or grasp objects before the age of one year and other major signs during his development. Frequent office visits are necessary for the doctor to determine eventual response to treatment and one potential progress of the condition.

Similar conditions to autism are Rett disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger disorder, pervasive development disorder, hearing loss and metabolic disorders. Autism is most common encountered in males sometimes connected to the fragile X syndrome that causes mental retardation. A series of testing can be performed to rule out conditions with similar symptoms:

Blood tests are made to determine eventual disorders in the blood lipids or amino-acids and other metabolism-linked conditions. Genetic diseases are ruled out by DNA and chromosomal analyses. Hearing tests are used to rule out possible connections between language difficulties and deafness. An electroencephalogram would detect potential brain damages and a magnetic resonance imaging would detect eventual brain disorder.

The Asperger disorder assembling autism only appears in boys and develops progressive neurological damages after the first three years of life. Symptoms of Rett disorder are extraordinary memory and musical skills, the inability to interact with others, primitive language skills, lack of facial expressions and inability to express emotions.

Patients with the disintegrative disorder are characterized by the lack of bowel and bladder control and no language, motor or communication skills.

The Rett disorder produces microcephaly, inability to express feelings, lack of motor skills and is mostly encountered in girls. It develops during the first 18 months of life. Children suffering from the Rett disorder require medical treatment as they may experience weakness, cognitive regression, constipations and breathing problems.

Pervasive development disorder occurs between 2 and 12 years of age and produces a delay of social and communication skills.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about autism causes please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/autism-causes.htm

Groshan Fabiola
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/diagnosing-autism-97611.html

 As a physician who treats ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders one always see such a variety of symptoms and severity of symptoms.  As ASD is thought to be multifactorial it is always important to get as specific as possible with the treatments so as not to waste the time and resources of both the doctor and family.  We use a sensory motor hemispheric approach but always try to eliminate any of the common scientificly established links to autism and the conditions associated with this spectrum of disorders.  As such, one of the supplements found to help children suffering with these conditions are Omega 3 fatty acids.  Let’s go to the literature.

 Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in children with autism: a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study.                 

                1: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Feb 15;61(4):551-3. Epub 2006 Aug 22.   

Amminger GP, Berger GE, Schafer MR, Klier C, Friedrich MH, Feucht M.

Department of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. paul.amminger@meduniwien.ac.at

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that fatty acid deficiencies or imbalances may contribute to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-week pilot trial investigating the effects of 1.5 g/d of omega-3 fatty acids (.84 g/d eicosapentaenoic acid, .7 g/d docosahexaenoic acid) supplementation in 13 children (aged 5 to 17 years) with autistic disorders accompanied by severe tantrums, aggression, or self-injurious behavior. The outcome measure was the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) at 6 weeks. RESULTS: We observed an advantage of omega-3 fatty acids compared with placebo for hyperactivity and stereotypy, each with a large effect size. Repeated-measures ANOVA indicated a trend toward superiority of omega-3 fatty acids over placebo for hyperactivity. No clinically relevant adverse effects were elicited in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide preliminary evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may be an effective treatment for children with autism.

Plasma fatty acid levels in autistic children.

1.      Prostaglandin Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2001 Jul;65(1):1-7.

Vancassel S, Durand G, Barthelemy C, Lejeune B, Martineau J, Guilloteau D, Andres C, Chalon S.

Laboratoire de Nutrition et Sécurité Alimentaire, INRA, domaine de Vilvert, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas cedex, France. vancasse@jouy.inra.fr

Phospholipid fatty acids are major structural components of neuronal cell membranes, which modulate membrane fluidity and hence function. Evidence from clinical and biochemical sources have indicated changes in the metabolism of fatty acids in several psychiatric disorders. We examined the phospholipid fatty acids in the plasma of a population of autistic subjects compared to mentally retarded controls. Our results showed a marked reduction in the levels of 22: 6n-3 (23%) in the autistic subjects, resulting in significantly lower levels of total (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (20%), without significant reduction in the (n-6) PUFA series, and consequently a significant increase in the (n-6)/(n-3) ratio (25%). These variations are discussed in terms of potential differences in PUFA dietary intake, metabolism, or incorporation into cellular membranes between the two groups of subjects. These results open up interesting perspectives for the investigation of new biological indices in autism. Moreover, this might have new therapeutic implications in terms of child nutrition. Copyright 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.

Role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the management of Egyptian children with autism.

1.      Clin Biochem. 2008 Sep;41(13):1044-8. Epub 2008 Jun 12.    

Meguid NA, Atta HM, Gouda AS, Khalil RO.

Department of Research on Children with Special Needs, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.

OBJECTIVE: Estimation of free polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in blood and evaluation of behavior of autistic children before and after taking fish oil (Efalex) were performed. DESIGN AND METHODS: 30 autistic children (18 males and 12 females) aged 3-11 years and 30 healthy children as control group were included in this study. Tandem mass spectrometry and CARS were used to estimate the free PUFAs from dried blood spot and to evaluate the autistic behavior respectively. RESULTS: Before taking Efalex, linolenic acid showed a significant reduction (71%), followed by docosahexaenoic acid (65%) and arachidonic acid (45%), while linoleic acid was the least affected PUFA (32%). After taking Efalex, 66% of autistic children showed clinical and biochemical improvement, linolenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid showed the highest levels after Efalex supplementation. CONCLUSION: PUFA supplementation may play an important role in ameliorating the autistic behavior.

These studies support that children with ADHD Aspergers tourettes, OCD and Autism should consider Omega 3 supplementation as part of their treatment program and discuss these issues with their physician.

For more information about Dr. Mane’s approach in treating children suffering Autism and ADD/ADHD visit our website at http://www.manecenter.com/ADHD.htm.

Dr. Mane offers one on one consultation as well as Group Seminars.  If you are interested in scheduling a consultation or to attend a seminar please call 813-935-4744. 

Nelson Mane
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/tampa-dr-nelson-mane-states-autism-treatment-essential-fatty-acids-681576.html

Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in our day-to-day food items. While it is an essential element of our diet, the body of an Autistic child reacts differently than a normal child. Hence, it is essential for the parents to plan gluten free diet for your child suffering with Autism.

Initially, one must understand that gluten free diet is not a cure of Autism. It primarily lessens the symptoms of Autism in the child. Further, one must hold on to this diet for several months rather than a few weeks. While the gluten free diet the child intakes does its job well, it takes a long time to remove the gluten that is already consumed. In certain cases however, people do find immediate results.

It needs a lot of planning to follow gluten free diet. The regularly used cereals like rye, wheat, and barley contain high content of gluten. Therefore, it is also found in most types of bread. Yet, grains such as wild rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, oats, soybeans, and sunflower seeds contain are surely gluten free.

Certain vinegars and sauces also contain gluten. The artificial flavorings and many other snacks & cookies available in the markets also contain gluten.

To your surprise, gluten can be present in foods that you would never have expected such as the spices. So while following the gluten free diet, be sure to read the labels on each and every food pack.

Gluten free diet can be quite expensive to follow as these items are sold mostly at the specialty or health stores. While this might get too heavy for your pocket, nowadays major grocery stores also deal in these products. Gluten free flour, pancake mix, waffles, cookies, snacks, and many other foods are also now readily available.

Hence, it is advisable that parents make a group and shop in bulk for these products. This makes the costs relatively cheaper and later the families can share the food items.

Planning economically, it is also convenient to cook gluten free food at home. The recipes are available at many common resources like the internet & cook books. A whole lot of information in this regard can also be gathered from the book shop or the library near by.

Children suffering with Autism can consume meat, fruits, fish, vegetables, eggs, nuts, etc. as these are all gluten free. To make this diet interesting for the child, one might plan children’s beloved snacks made out of gluten free ingredients like muffins & cookies made of gluten free flour. Once this practice gets into the system of the household, it gets easier.

The dairy products contain casein that the autistic children are commonly allergic to. So while following this diet, many people minimize or stop the diary products as well. Yet, it is advised that you should get done your child’s allergy testing. Your doctor can guide you more on the same.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/autism-treatment-how-to-control-your-childs-autism-with-gluten-free-diet-709416.html

Statistics say that there are more than a half million people in the U.K. affected by autism, and the number of diagnosed cases is rising rapidly. It was seen that boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism, and twelve times more predisposed to have asperger syndrome.

Autism is a lifelong disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to other people. People with autism have problems with social interaction and with imagination.

People with autism can say that reality is confusing, and it is difficult to interact with people, places, events, sounds and lights.

The causes for autism are not clear at this time, no one knows if there is an external factor like diet, an infection or exposure to toxins in the home that can lead to autism. There exists the suspicion that there are genetic factors involved.

It is known that the degree of this disability varies. That is why the term autistic spectrum disorder or ASD is often used. For example there are people with classic autism, that may have severe learning disabilities or little speech. Other people, that have Asperger syndrome could be able to live and work independently and may have an average or above average intelligence.

Many parents of children having autism may experience a serious dilemma: there exist a lot of websites on the internet, there are a lot of practitioners from private surgeries, that offer treatments or sustain that they can even cure autism. Of course this may be a lie, and that is why the decision is hard to take. The problem is that there is not enough information about autism, scientific trials have to be done in the future.

It is good to know that there exists a large number of support groups, charities and web sites made for people with autism and by the people with autism.

It was seen that the number of persons diagnosed with autism is rising rapidly, but, unfortunately, there is still too little knowledge about this condition. The autism is affecting the way a person communicates and relates to other people, but the factors that cause this are not known. There are only some suspicions, like the possibility that genetic factors to be involved, but we will find the real causes that lead to this condition only after more researches will be done.

For more information about autism please review http://www.autism-info-center.com/autism-symptoms-checklist.htm or even http://www.autism-info-center.com/autism-symptoms.htm

Groshan Fabiola
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/autism-a-problem-that-needs-more-scientific-study-122744.html

The Asperger syndrome affects children and adults patients by modifying their communication skills and making them unable to interact with the persons around them. The autistic disorder in most cases associates the lack of communication skills with learning disabilities.

The Asperger syndrome is an autistic disorder related to autism but with less symptoms or less serious modifications. The pure autism is rare, about one case in 5000 children and it occurs four times more often in male children than in girls. Autistic spectrum disorders are all conditions implying symptoms related to the manifestations of autism.

The exact cause of autism cases is still unknown to scientists but researchers have detected a possible link between the condition and a genetic factor without any actual pattern of inheritance. Autistic modifications are blamed on brain damages and abnormal development before birth, during childbirth or after birth.

The first signs of an autistic disorder appear soon after birth in severe cases but usually between the age of 3-4 when parents observe abnormal modifications in the child’s behavior. There are three main symptom groups involved in autism and patients with the Asperger syndrome have only some of these signs, unlike the children with actual autism who suffer from disorders from all of the three symptoms groups.

The main difficulty of children with autistic disorders is to interact with the persons around the. They hardly ever make and sustain an eye-contact, resist cuddling, reject any form of affection and never look for it, cannot stand being kissed, have difficulties in making friends and are mostly unable to play with children their age. Autistic patients are not able to understand emotions coming from other persons and have problems with obeying simple rules; this leads them to the incapacity of frequenting a regular school.

Patients show an obsessive interests for repetitive actions and might look at an object fro an increased period of time. They have no imagination and are not interested in imaginative play. The games are almost the same every day and usually match with playing methods used by younger children. The ability to communicate with others is disturbed, cannot keep a conversation and cannot use words in meaningful sentences.

Regular actions like walking, sitting up or down will be later acknowledged and assimilated than normally. All patients with autistic disorders tend to be clumsy and struggle the games lessons at school. Older patients develop obsessive interests for exact timetables and resist changes in their environment. They rapidly become agitated and angered if their routine is modified. Autistic children are extremely sensitive noise and light and might show severe responses.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about autism symptoms please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/autism-symptoms.htm

Groshan Fabiola
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/autism-and-asperger-syndromesimilarities-and-differences-105942.html