Cure

September 24, 2007

I saw this word and I'm sure this has been a topic before.

Is there such a thing? If there were a 'cure' would I want it for my son?

My son was diagnosed with AS in kindergarten. My first thought wasn't

to cure him, it was 'So that's why.'. He was born this way. That I'm

sure of. No vaccine or crappy diet (which he is guilty of) or any

environmental conditions or anything else made him Autistic. He wasn't

normal one day then gone the next. He has always been this way. I

never once thought of 'curing' him. AS is who he is. If I take that

away from him who will he be? He is an extraordinary young man. If he

didn't have AS would he be just ordinary? Oh I know there will be many

things that will be easier, but I have a 19 year old son who is

'normal' and there were many things that weren't easy with him, just

different.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

Tammy:)

September 25, 2007

Hello Tammy, I feel a little different. Aspergers/autism is not "what" my son is. Autism/aspergers is a neurological disorder {title}, that makes learning harder for my son. It's a disorder that makes it harder for him to socialize with other children his own age. It makes it harder for people to understand his needs. Him being so very literal makes it harder for him to understand our language. all those doctor appointments, therapy & social skill classes take away from his play time. I don't think if there was a pill to cure autism it would change my son's personality or the person who he is. I just think it would make life a lot easier for him. Just like you, I love my son just as he is, more than life itself. but curing autism would make his life better. This is just my opinion I wanted to share. Others might have another thought. I also think by us taking our

children to therapy and doctors is like trying to find a cure. But when this question was asked before. I asked my son if there were a pill that can cure aspergers, would you want it. and he said no. there is nothing wrong with me having aspergers. Albert Einstein had aspergers and he was really smart, and I'm really good at lots of things too. I do like what you wrote and it give me another way of looking at autism/aspergers. *smile* RoseTammy <binny63tjf@...> wrote: I saw

this word and I'm sure this has been a topic before. Is there such a thing? If there were a 'cure' would I want it for my son? My son was diagnosed with AS in kindergarten. My first thought wasn'tto cure him, it was 'So that's why.'. He was born this way. That I'msure of. No vaccine or crappy diet (which he is guilty of) or anyenvironmental conditions or anything else made him Autistic. He wasn'tnormal one day then gone the next. He has always been this way. Inever once thought of 'curing' him. AS is who he is. If I take thataway from him who will he be? He is an extraordinary young man. If hedidn't have AS would he be just ordinary? Oh I know there will be manythings that will be easier, but I have a 19 year old son who is'normal' and there were many things that weren't easy with him, justdifferent. Does anyone else feel the same way? Tammy:)

Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Games.

September 25, 2007

I agree that I would have grabed at a cure when I was told that my 15 month old son had autistic tendecies. K.B. had no life to him. He would just sit around and not get into anything or just wonder around the room still not interested in any thing going on around him. I just thought that he was the best angle ever, after raising 3 children already. Then my babysitter informed me that my son would not let her touch him and he refused to let her feed him. Angie had started watching KB when he was 11 months old and had to always remember that he was in the house in his playpen because he refused to come out (he was content in the playpen) She was afraid of how I would react to her if she told me that something was wrong with my youngest son and so she waited for me to notice that he did not respond to people and things approtialy. Took me to figure it out when he was 15 months and not talking or attempting to talk he had started to bang his head on everything and he refused to let family members near him. As soon as IRC said Autistic tendiecies I went out and got books on Autism and started learning as much as possible then started researching on how to get rid of each tendiecy. You have to understand, I did not relize that KB's eyes were dead. Until afterwards when we brought him back to us. Looking at pictures then and now you can see a major differnce in his eyes.

I refused to let him withdraw in himself and BOY did I ever get his unhappy opionion about that! But now at 3 yrs of age he smiles, he plays and he is so loving that I am beside my self with joy. He was offically dx with mild to moderate Autism at 2 yrs and 7 months of age. We are still working with him and if at times he withdraws from us we make him come back. My KB has such a wonderful personality that it is so much fun to interact with him. He is 3 yrs old this month and still progressing.

The down side of not knowing that something is wrong with your child and not getting the help early enough is that Austin at 8 dx AS is not happy, angry, wants everything his way, verbally abusive to family and sometimes physical. He can not do self care without help this is not who he is but part of his disability and I know he would be a much happier person if I had caught him early enough and worked with him as I had with KB. I can say this because I have been working with him this summer and he has shown us a side of him I did not know existed. Yes, I would want a cure for both of my children.

Re: ( ) Cure

Nope, I would grab the cure with both hands. Autism does not define who my kids are. Autism is a disorder and I do not give it credit for anything good or wonderful about my kids. They are wonderful, smart and extraordinary on their own. Without autism, they'd be wonderful, smart and extraordinary but with better skills and the ability to lead a full and independent life. With autism, that is questionable.

I don't get why people credit their child's anything with having AS - as if having a disorder like autism would make them better for having it. People always do this! And this subject comes up constantly on the list. But autism is not a good thing. I think perhaps people with HF kids - AS kids really, are those who think along the line that AS is somehow a gift that causes their child to "be who they are." Spend more time with severely autistic people and you will quickly lose that thought. Well, it worked on me anyway. My kids are also HFA and not AS. We had many years of struggle because of severe language delays alone. I never knew if they would improve at all. There was a never a guarantee there. So it was a horrifying experience, IMO. When my oldest was dx'd with autism, they said "He may always be like this" and at the time, he couldn't talk and sat around banging his head and screaming all day. I never forgot that. Every inch he gained along the way are credit to his own internal strength in fighting against the autism. I would have loved to have a cure to have made this much easier for my kids and for all kids who suffer with autism. That way, they could all shine and show us the wonderful kids they are once autism does not prevent them from shining fully.

Other people disagree, I know. But this is my own personal take on this subject.

Roxanna

Autism Happens

( ) Cure