Schneider promotes Asperger's Syndrome awareness

[Guest guest]

Schneider promotes Asperger's Syndrome awareness

By , Spotlight Health, with medical adviser A.

Shoop, M.D.

On Smallville, Schneider plays the father of teenager

Kent. In real life, Schneider is dad to his 11-year-old son, Chasen,

who also has incredible abilities.

Actor Schneider's son has Asperger's Syndrome, and the 11-year-

old is a font of baseball facts.

" My son has Asperger's Syndrome, which is part of the autism

spectrum, " says Schneider, who is best known for starring on the

Dukes of Hazzard. " It's likely Albert Einstein had Asperger's, and

so did Jefferson. Bill Gates I'm certain has it. With many

highly motivated successful people that have done something in an

obscure area, you're going to find an 'odd bird' now and then. "

" Ask Chasen just about anything about baseball, and he can rattle

off names, dates, statistics, you name it, " Schneider explains. " He

just consumes everything he can about baseball. It's his thing. "

Asperger's Syndrome (AS) occupies the higher functioning end of the

autism spectrum. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that

affects early brain development, often causing communication

difficulties and problems with social interactions.

Despite its identification in 1944 by Austrian physician, Hans

Asperger, the syndrome was not recognized as a unique disorder until

1994. As such, the exact number afflicted is unknown. But the

National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that 400,000 people

have autism, making it the third most common developmental

disability.

But a report by the California Department of Developmental Services

estimates that the number with autism may be as high as 1.5 million.

The prevalence of the autism is likely as high as 10 to 12 people

per 10,000, the study shows.

The challenges faced by people with autism and Asperger's come from

the same place, " says Shore, a doctoral candidate in special

education, concentrating on the autism spectrum at Boston

University. " They just express themselves differently. For example,

we see significant delays in communication for autism. There is no

significant delay in verbal ability for Asperger's. "

Other characteristics of Asperger's include:

Deficiencies in social skills

Difficulties with transitions or changes, preference for sameness

Obsessive routines

Repetitive motions

Restricted interests

Difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language)

Sensory issues

Difficulty determining proper body space boundaries

By definition, people with AS have a normal to above average IQs.

But while many Asperger's kids possess advanced vocabularies – often

sounding like " little professors " — they can be extremely literal

and have difficulty using language in a social context.

'Autism bomb'

" Chasen was formally diagnosed a couple of years ago with what they

termed a form of autism, " Schneider says. " Then it was refined to

Asperger's. When I was a kid, we called it the 'hyperactive kid in

class' – you know, the one who was the brain and had little or no

social skills whatsoever. Everyone seems to need a label. My son I

guess could be considered an 'odd bird.' "

So was Shore, the doctoral student.

" I was hit with what I call the 'autism bomb' and lost language

skills but then started getting it back at 4 years of age, " Shore

says. " In 1964 I was diagnosed with strong autistic tendencies. If I

were to have been diagnosed at age 12, it would have been

Asperger's. "

" So what happened with me is what happens with most people on the

autism spectrum — I moved from a more severe end to a lighter end, "

Shore adds. " The challenge is to move children as far to the lighter

end as possible. "

The cause of autism and Asperger's remains a mystery.

" We think there's a genetic basis that is exacerbated by something

in the environment, " Shore says. " The question is – is the catalyst

a vaccination, a virus, or something else? "

'But what we do know there is definitely something in the

environment that is causing it, " Shore states. " Thimerisol is being

strongly scrutinized, perhaps in part due to the overlap in

symptomology between mercury poisoning and autism being about 80-

90%. But we're not sure. "

Autism expert Bernard Rimland says he is sure.

" I've been studying this for over 40 years, " says Rimland, who

founded the Autism Society of America and now serves as its

director. " In my opinion there is very little doubt that the

increased rate of vaccinations is responsible for the increase in

autism. Not only the number of vaccines but also the amount of

mercury has increased. Mercury is extraordinarily toxic in small

amounts, but some people are amazingly susceptible to minute amounts

of mercury. "

" There is a huge epidemic of autism, " says Rimland, who consulted on

the movie Rain Man. " A recent report examined the hypotheses as to

why there is such a large increase. Migration to California does not

explain the increase. The report rejected the hypothesis that there

was a change in diagnostic standards. Another theory was kids were

reclassified from mentally retarded to autistic. But this was not

the case either. It is the vaccinations. "

To support his case, Rimland says that the symptoms of mercury

poisoning are " amazingly like the symptoms of autism. " Boys are four

times more susceptible to mercury toxicity than girls. Autism is

four times as common in boys as girls.

Mercury rising

When interviewed by the ASA, Rick Rollens, who has helped with the

California studies, acknowledged the possibility exists that

vaccinations could be responsible. " …Since mercury containing

vaccines are still in use today, including the most recent

recommended addition to the childhood immunization schedule ... (of)

two shots of flu vaccine for babies, it will take a few years to

start seeing the effect of the phasing out of the mercury containing

preservative thimerisol from childhood vaccines on the autism

epidemic. "

" The experts have been wrong before and the experts are wrong this

time too, " Rimland states. " When we were children we had three

vaccinations before the age of 6. Now the kids get 22 before the age

of 2. It's a little like saying if a kid can safely carry three

books in his backpack, then 22 is also safe. "

" The good thing from all this is they've taken the mercury out of

the vaccines, " adds Shore, who authored Beyond the Wall: Personal

Experiences with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. " Because you

shouldn't be injecting mercury into anyone. "

But Rimland urges extra caution because many old vaccinations are

still being used that still contain mercury.

" The FDA has not recalled the vaccinations so the advice we give

parents is if you have an autistic child in your family insist on

seeing the package insert – don't take their word for it, " Rimland

cautions. " Read it yourself. If it says thimerisol, don't let them

use it. "

Schneider has his own advice.

" If your child is going along just fine and developing skills when

they should and then you notice all of the sudden that his forward

progression stops and begins to reverse, you need to take your child

in and find out what is going on, " Schneider says.

Among the treatments that can help children with autism and

Asperger's:

Behavior modification

Special education

Medications – though not specifically for Asperger's, anti-anxiety

drugs and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be helpful for

symptoms.

Schneider says his son has benefited greatly from social skills

training as well as having used a " shadow " in school to encourage

him to interact more with his peers.

" Fortunately, Asperger's is not like some of the terrible diseases

we are fighting to cure through the Children's Miracle Network. It's

not going to kill Chasen, " says Schneider, who helped found CMN

which has raised more than $ 2.5 billion for children's

hospitals. " It doesn't mean it's easy for Chasen, but he's an

amazing kid, and I am so proud of him. "