Fwd: Autism Study

[Guest guest]

I am on a rant. Check out this study http://homepage/group/Nellab/home.htm or call 417-5414. Basically this study is suggesting that if sibling infants of children with Autism are given more mother child interaction they will not become Autistic. It reaks of " refrigerator mother " to me but check it out and see for yourself.

Hello Dr. Neal,

This attachment is a picture of my son Matt he's 16 and is learning to pretend. This is his version of " Cat in the Hat " . It's never to late to learn these skills but you have to do it when the body is recovered enough to be able to process it...... 

I participated in several studies at UT's psychology department with my children when they were infants. In fact my child with Autism participated in the study at 4 months in which they measured if he was looking at attractive faces longer than unattractive ones. We quit coming in for studies when I finally told them he could not point with his finger and this was the beginning of our Autism journey. So I admire what you do there.

But, this new Autism study concerns me greatly. It seems to imply that by giving more face time and one to one interaction time to a suspected infant with Autism that somehow this will circumvent Autism. Firstly this is dangerous ground because for many years Psychologists wanted to blame " refrigerator mothers " as the cause for Autism. You cannot " undo " Autism by play therapy because Autism for many is a series of medical disorders that seem to have root in the sensory system. Suggesting you can will drive parents to undo frustration and again make them feel as if they played a role in CAUSING their child to become Autistic. My child would not look at me. Not that I didn't try, every day on every occasion he wouldn't even turn to my voice after he was a year old. Before that he would look at me but was often very sick with intestinal disorders and had severe reactions to vaccinations. He would not eat solid foods other than six selected ones. I had another child 18 months older who talked in full sentences at a year and was very interactive. This autistic child cried non stop after the DPT HIB and by the time he was 2 he was so hyperactive we had to take drastic measures just to keep him safe. He would not read a book with me as a toddler and he did not like to be held. It was only when he had a fever (the worst one coming after the MMR it was 104) that he would let me hold him.

What I mean to say here is....this is not a psychological issue. You cannot undo Autism if it has a medical basis of which I believe could largely be the inability to detox the toxins from our environment and adjust to the mass increase of the vaccine schedule. I raised all my children the same. The same interaction although with the child with Autism I worked harder on getting him to look at me because I was so concerned. My other two children are fine. There is no autism in my family back 3 generations. We do however have auto immune disorders and nerve sensory issues in several boys and ADD. Something pushed my second child into Autism. But I can personally guarantee you my trying to engage him would not have made a hill of beans worth of difference and I'd have been blaming myself all these years thinking I " did it wrong " . I think your study is actually dangerous to the well being of the mothers you are studying and I hope you give them information on how to seek medical treatment for their children with Autism so that when they do begin to emerge socially (as my son now is doing at 16) they can start the interaction you are doing now and it will actually be helpful.

Fondest Regards,

Trina Sherman _Zach Sherman 17 and Matt Sherman 16 (both babies seen at UT for psychology studies)

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