Different Views

       It is difficult to express what I feel about Autism. Many people simple wish for a cure, but that's not what I want. Though many people say that Autism is not part of a person, there are many others who say it is. I agree. It's not that devastating. What I would like for Autistics is a cure for what makes them socially unaceptable for the "normal" people, however hard those "normal" people try to understand them. There is nothing wrong with things like lack of eye contact, in my opinion. Some tolerance would do society well. There are plenty of societies that consider eye contact disrespectful, though where I live it is expected. This reminds of a song:

From Disney's Motion Picture "Pocahontas"
Vocal: Pocahontas (Judy Kuhn)
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz

You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places, I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see, if the savage one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?

You don't know...

You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or ask the grinning bob cat why he grinned
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle in a hoop that never ends

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or let the eagle tell you where hes been
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountian
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind

How high does that sycamore grow
If you cut it down then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need sing with all the voices of the mountain
We need paint with all the colours of the wind

You can own the earth and still
All you'll own is earth until
You can paint with all the colours of the wind

       In some ways, all that is needed for tolerance. Autistics.org is one such site who believes this. I believe it is not enough, but it is necessary.
       Please do not be offended by my posts or any links. I do not agree with many of these sites. Just search for Autism on a search engine. You will never see sites that endorse the exact same thing. Though many people ask "What is Autism?" none of us know. Even for Autistics themselves, they will not know wholly. Though we can always stand in someones's shadow, we will never stand in someone else's body. Please comment as you wish, even flame, though please keep out profanity, or else my own blog will be blocked by my security software. After all, we can't be stubborn on our views about something we don't really know about.

Busy...Busy...Busy...

       The school year's progressing, and I'm getting busier. Now I'll just have to try to post at least two times a week only. Please though, spread the world about Autism, keep learning about it, and have a good life!
       My brother's having another Cub Scout meeting today. For those of you that know about Cub Scouts, he's going to try to get his Bobcat badge, which is the first badge. Last meeting was pretty good and he had fun. Hopefully today will be fine as well.

Diagnosis

       One of the things about support for Autism is that it's hard to get it. Firstly, they don't tell people openly about the programs, like the Autism Waiver and suchlike, since if everyone who needed it had it, the government would lose alot of money. It's often those who are unable to get word to these things that need it most, such as lower-income families who work hard and really need someone to help their child while they work. In addition, it's often hard to get the right diagnosis. Today we ate dinner with another family with a child that I am sure is Autistic. I checked the diagnostic criteria afterwards, which I have here. I noted the lack of verbal communication, stimming (repetitive behaviors), lack of attention (today the child kept trying to go somewhere else), and lack of eye contact. Yet this child was diagnosed with mental retardation. I doubt that s/he is mentally retarded. Did they even test her/his IQ appropriatly? My brother had normal IQ for everything except for verbal, which was extremly low. Yet that is typical for Autistics.
       There's also another disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified, or PDD-NOS. I've heard it called "Pediatrician Didn't Decide-Neurologically Odd Son (or daughter, of course)." I agree. The diagnostic criteria is basically this (from NIMH: "If a child has symptoms of either of these disorders [Autism, Rett's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), Aspergers], but does not meet the specific criteria for either, the diagnosis is called pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)." PDD-NOS is like the place where stuff that doesn't fit in the other recyling categories is put. Not only that, those diagnosed with PDD-NOS miss out on alot of services. These people deserve support. They aren't getting it.

Schools

       My brother's school isn't too good. The staff aren't treated too well, so they keep changing. He's had about four different teachers, not counting aides and all those substitutes they have. Both his best teacher and aid aren't working there anymore. Oh well...he's not learning much there anyway. Autistics deserve better schools. He would do better home schooled but then we would lose the Autism Waiver, which funds alot of things, like therapists for him at home.
       Well, I'm quite busy even if my brother isn't.

Slightly Jealous

         Today my brother ate up all the jello before I even tasted it. I'm slightly jealous, but I ate some other food that he likes. Somtimes I just need to put up with it. The thing about a sibling that's not "normal" is that they're less likely to be punished.
         Too much sugar isn't too good for him eitther. Everyone probably knows that it causes hyperness, and that it tends to be even more effective in those with AD/HD. AD/HD is also on the Autism Spectrum, which is usually said to consist of AD/HD, Asperger's, PDD-NOS, and Autism. There are some diets for Autism that restrict sugar and sugary foods because of this.
         Well, I just hope my brother doesn't go too hyper in therapy today.

Shadow Syndromes

       Been pretty busy. My brother's been behaving very well these past few days.
       I happened to reflect upon shadow syndromes today. Quite often, you will observe that Autism Spectrum (it's called a spectrum because of the wide variety of symptoms associated of Autism) individuals come from families who are considered intelligent- scientists, doctors, and gifted siblings. Some people theorize that some of the genes causing Autism with some other genes may also cause intelligence. Certainly, Autistics are intelligent though few on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may show it.
       Yet not only is intelligence common in Autistic's kin, often so is shadow syndromes. Often a weak form of Autism occurs in one of an Autistics's kin. Sometimes we wonder...is Autism the result of an extreme form of intelligence?

Other Autism-Related Blogs

       I searched for some other Autism-related blogs today. I found this one which had a post I could relate to well.
       From the blog Autism SUCKS! :

"You see, autism is a developmental disorder. Those that are afflicted by it have a hard time with development that children without autism learn naturally or more easily, and that's if they can learn it at all. Which a lot of times they can't."

"But we love him like crazy. He's a great kid. He loves to swing. I love to see him swing because I built the swing for him. To see him enjoying it almost makes me cry. When he's happy he's got the biggest smile and the brightest eyes. And looks? Don't get me started. He's about the most handsome 13 year old boy you'd ever see. If he didn't have autism he'd probably be modeling right now. And remember, he's my stepson so I'm not biased. He's got his momma's Italian genes and it shows."

       My brother's like that too. I love him and he has that same look of pure joy when it comes. Everyone says he's handsome and has the brightest eyes. Yet he's tiny from being so picky about food, which is common in Autistics. But that look of pure happiness can only be found in a heart better then one of gold.

Ah...Friday

       I was extremely busy yesterday. I'm tired today from all that work yesterday.
       Anyway, I haven't talked about the causes of Autism yet. Why? This is an extremly complicated issue because there is no commonly accepted cause of Autism. If you want to read alot about this, go to my other site, Autism and Related Disorders, and click on Autism, then Causes. As this site is mostly too detailed and monotonous, I am putting a summary of what it is here:
       Despite the numerous theories put forward, the most common theories would be genetics, brain abnormalities,
gut/intestinal tract abnormalities, and mercury in vaccines.
       Though no genes have actually been identified as causing Autism, a pattern of Autism Spectrum Disabilities has often been seen to run in families.       
In addition, recent studies using brain scans seem to show abnormalities in the shape and structure of Autistic brains.
       As for the gut/intestinal tract abnormalities, there is increasing evidence that the gut/intestinal tracts in autistics are impaired. This is a complicated process, but it is said to cause "leaky gut". In the bloodstream, peptides, a result of "leaky gut" react with the internal chemicals, at certain areas of the body called opioid receptors. This slows the brain down and should they get into the brain, they act similarly to the drugs morphine and heroin! (Please visit the site for more info.)
       Lastly, mercury (no, that is not a typo, there actually was and occasionally still is mercury in vaccines) in vaccines has been suspected to cause Autism as many parents seemed have their child regress into Autism, (regressing into Autism at about age 1 ½ to 2 sometimes happens) after their child received vaccines. A disease that is now rare was acrodynia, or “Pink Disease.” This was often caused by mercury that was previously in teething powders. Though most babies died, some recovered and many of them exhibited Autistic traits. However, how is the mercury in vaccines at all? Thimerosal, an agent that is used in vaccines as a preservative is 49.6 %mercury by weight. If the amount of mercury in the vaccines a child receives is totaled up, it is significantly (often 500%) more then the acceptable amount. Yet, many children’s bodies are luckily able to excrete most of that mercury. This issue is highly controversial and the validity of this theory is unknown.
       Though Autism was first described in 1943, Autism remains a mystery.

A Busy Day

       I'm very busy today. Very. Anyways, my brother is playing some math software and not doing very well. He's still doing addition and subtraction, but he can't do it in his head. However, he's good at this geometry activity where you imitate a shape.

Boy Scouts

       My brother's joining the Boy Scouts, specifically the Cub Scouts. Today is his first meeting. I hope he does well.

A Fine Day

       Today was a pretty good day. My brother's having therapy right now.
       I read an article that said that maybe 12-13 yr. olds suddenly may change mentally because they become temporarily Autistic like. I'd really like to test that out.
       I will try to post everyday, but some posts, such as this one, will be quite short.

September 11

       I doubt any of you do not know what happened upon that fateful day. Blessings.
       Today my brother was kicked out of his Chinese class. The other parents complained about him laughing randomly and once, throwing things. (Note that often Autistics do not laugh because they are happy. Often it is a release of anxiety.) I'm not too happy at his behavior, but I feel sad because he didn't understand what he was doing was bad and he did try to participate appropriatly, such as in raising his hand. He'll be switched to another class.
        In any case, afterwards I redid the lesson at home. He's only doing numbers, but to my horror, I found he did not recognize the Chinese characters as words. Now I am not surprised about his behavior. If I took a 2 hr. class in foreign language, all conducted in that language without any understanding of the procedures, I daresay my behavior wouldn't be too good either, though a bit less eratic then my brother's.

Hurricane Katrina

       Please help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in any way you can. Your help may save a life, especially children, the elderly, and those with disabilities and special needs. Read about Michael Homan's experience in here, and you'll learn the conditions there. Numerous people affected do not have life, liberty, and the persuit of happiness. Quote the blog Eye of the Storm, the author, Josh Norman wrote "Standing on the beach, I met an active duty army guy stationed at Fort Bragg. He said, "I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan and I have never destruction like this." " Some people are helping those with disabilities such as Autism. Please help all the victims of Hurricane Katrina in any way you can.
       In such a situation as this, what is the effect of it on Autistics? Autism causes not only poor social skills and communication which would impair an Autistic's ability to ask or recieve aid, but also causes difficulty in reacting to situations appropriatly. While in times of normacy in lives similar to most Americans, a stressful situation might cause some screaming of an Autistic, in such a hurricane, some Autistics might bolt just anywhere, anywhere at all. However healthy they may be, without using common sense a person would have only a minute chance of surviving a catastrophe such as Hurricane Katrina.
       Do not think though, that Autism is mental retardation. Many are more intelligent then us in many areas, proven by IQ tests. Some have savant abilities, such as in the arts, math, or writing. Autistics are still people, people who care about others.

About Myself

       I've created this blog as a blog to express myself and increase Autism awareness. My brother has Autism and though he is a great brother, always nice and never fighting with me, he has poor social skills and communication because of Autism. I hope you'll enjoy reading my blog and learn about Autism as you read through my posts.