Not Just Autism

NOT JUST AUTISM

Initially, I started the site for Autism. Then I learned that many like my own son have been diagnosed with more than just being on the spectrum or with autism.

Because there are some signs and symptoms that overlap you may find professionals and parents trying to figure out what goes with which diagnosis. It is maddening that in some school districts it would seem that diagnosis is everything in terms of services to provide rather than addressing the need. A few years ago you had to have an "autism" diagnosis for extended services now its all "spectrum disorders". Personally, I have an aversion to the PDD-NOS because to me this just means they can't figure out all that is going on or they don't want to offer a definitive diagnosis.

A psychologist (recently by the way) stated, "I don't think your son is autistic. Most autistic children are mentally retarded, clearly your son is not mentally retarded. I think our son is emotionally disturbed". She spent 30-40 minutes with him 2 days before the IEP, and didn't bother to read (though it was a lot) any other reports submitted in which he met 10 of 12 criteria for autism. During this same period we were at a clinic for behavioral therapy - joke. She gave him a book on bipolar, asked him to read through it, then came back and started reading it out loud saying, "Now this is how you feel right?" He was like "No" "Oh but sometimes this is what you feel... - What the heck was that? A month later he had a 25 hour Video EEG which showed "frequent and significant partial seizures" in 4 areas of the right hemisphere. So then I went to look up information about that. Some of the behaviors related to that were clearly what he exhibited down to his verbal tics. SO how the heck do you know?

You don't. You take each symptom or behavior and you deal with it. But then you get one thing sorted and something else pops up. You have a flock moving into biomed and the GFCF or raw foods for some children and adults these seem to alleviate many symptoms for others it does nothing. For some people with autism the GCFC diet is great but for seizures there is another diet. You can't do both. For sleep some respond to Melatonin, devices like the weighted blanket, warm baths, or prescribed medication.

These differences in treatment can cause very emotional responses in people sometimes as fiercely as the vaccine debate. We see this on the boards throughout the networking sites etc...

For some all the therapy in the world will not change their child's circumstance but services need to be in place to ensure the highest quality of life. We see our parents of older or adult children facing major concerns for lack of services once early intervention and school age services are gone.

No matter how severe or "high functioning" our children young or old deserve the means by which to attain and maintain the highest quality of life at all times. At all ages.

STOP

We are not here to debate. We encourage families to share their stories whether they are doing BioMed, GFCF, Other Special Diets HBOT, OT, PT, Speech, Deep Pressure, vaccines or no vaccines even Stem Cell Therapy and the list can go on.

The links here are intended to explain different diagnoses NOT TO DIAGNOSE or TREAT! Please seek advice and specific guidance from a medical professional.

We must keep in mind that every person (child or adult) is unique.