For Moms, Educators, Caregivers and Anyone Wanting to Know More About Asperger’s Syndrome I now teach "Autism or Asperger's Syndrome: One Mother’s Journey in Search of Truth."
My book, "Autism or Asperger's Syndrome: One Mother’s Journey in Search of Truth" is the story of my journey over the last 5 years. When I set out, I simply wanted to find a cure for my son. What I found changed everything I thought I knew about autism, medicine, diets, genetics and much more.
PATRON SAINT
by Erma Bombeck
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This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?
Somehow I visualize God hovering over earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger:
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew.
Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia.
Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint-give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She' so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother.
"You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles, "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness. "
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says ..Mommy' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see-ignorance, cruelty, prejudice-and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.
God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."
On a GFCF diet there are recipes for great treats that follow the diet, and kids love them!
*My Popsicle recipe: Watermelon is the favorite fruit but any will work.
2 packages unflavored gelatin (or Jello) dissolved in 4 cups hot water
6 cups lemonade (I use the country time powdered)
6 cups seeded, puréed watermelon (I use a hand blender) *You can blend the whole “mess”, seeds and all, and then use a filter to remove the seeds.
Mix together, pour into molds and place in freezer. After about 20 minutes add craft sticks and allow them to freeze for another 2 hours or so.
To remove popsicles dip the mold into a bowl of hot water to loosen. Wrap popsicles with plastic wrap and place back in freezer. I figure my cost per popsicle is about 10 cents. The kids all love them!
By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Dr. Scott Faber talks about the plan for an environmental pediatric room at the Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill. With childhood autism cases skyrocketing and no cure in sight, doctors at the Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill are planning on a Hail Mary pass approach to the mysterious disorder -- housing young patients for weeks at a time in a pollutant-free "clean room," in an attempt to detoxify their bodies.
No cause for autism has been found, and debates rage as to whether the brain development disorder is purely genetic or caused in part by environmental factors, including air and food-borne chemicals.
With roots in autism treatment theories that until now have lived mostly on the Internet, the pediatric clean room plan would be the first of its kind in a mainstream American hospital environment.
The Children Institute's Scott Faber, a pediatrician with several hundred autistic patients and a waiting list six months long, is one of the believers in toxic causes, and the institute is trying to back him with a multimillion dollar test of the novel theory.
Under the plans -- developed with help from Duquesne University -- autistic patients would live for more than six weeks in a 1,000-square-foot room kept mostly free of harmful chemicals and pollutants, using special air-filtering systems, ultraviolet lights and air locks on doorways. Furniture, paints, toys and floor coverings would be designed to be toxin-free, and food, clothing and water organic and clean.
Doctors would seek to rid patients' bodies of chemicals and boost their immune systems through natural means such as nutritional supplements and dietary changes. Basically, it would be pushing a "reset" button on the child's body, with the hope of wiping autistic symptoms away.
"What we would like to do is have kids live in this wonderful environment where they are exposed to almost none of the Industrial Revolution. And we wonder, if the chemicals come out and the heavy metals come out, will the children start improving?" Dr. Faber said.
Please click the links above to continue reading the article.
Raising a child with Autism is the beginning of a magical journey. It is NOT the end of the world. After 7000 hours of research, I share what I have learned with other families. When I was told that my son fit into the Autistic Spectrum Disorder I began to search for help. After 18 doctors gave me 18 different "answers" I began to search for a better truth.
What began as a quest to "find a cure" for my son in 2001 has now become a mission to reach, teach and inspire him and others. As I learned more I began to teach more.
Story telling is a gift that I have enjoyed since I was a child. I enjoy teaching the art of painting pictures with words to groups of children. My first book, When I Was a Little Boy, by Jesus is completely illustrated by children, ages 4 – 11, and won an EVVY award.
I wrote "Fire and Ice" to help Tanner and Oliver evaluate a critical situation on their own. They learned what to do in a case of a fire. After they wanted to hear the story everynight, I decided to make it available to all children.
School children have responded so well that I created a writing program, the Write Story, where the stories they write actually have the potential of becoming published books! The program also teaches acceptance of all others. I use the 17 species of penguins to teach children to accept and embrace other children who are different on the outside. The children then go on to write a story about their very own penguin.
The new video of my Write Story Literacy program! For more information on the Write Story click click here.
When my toddler began to exhibit unusual behaviors I began to research. As a mother I knew something wasn’t right but no amount of testing could confirm my beliefs. What I did next, and for the following 5 years, changed my belief system about almost everything I thought I knew about genetics, drugs, therapy, diet, educators, doctors and more. I share what I've learned, what worked, what didn’t and the real truth: theirs and mine!
For more information including recipes, transitions to GF CF diets, articles, resource links and more, feel free to visit my website Artospress.com
Children with Asperger’s Syndrome benefit from an environment that helps to build upon their strengths and builds their confidence and self esteem. What interests them? Help them to gain greater knowledge about their areas of abilities and interest. This helps to build their confidence.
To help them develop their social skills it is a good idea to talk with them frequently, inquiring how they feel about certain situations. Vary their exposure to a wide range of experiences. Observe their reaction to each and talk about their feelings.
Was the trip at the park better than the trip to the mountains? Why? What made one better or worse than the other? Try to avoid large crowds, too much noise and too many sensory impulses at one time. People with Asperger’s Syndrome are simply unable to assimilate too many variables at one time and you are setting them up for a ‘meltdown.’
It helps a person with Asperger’s Syndrome to broaden their interests and topics of conversation. Try introducing something new and different, in small steps and in small time slots. For example, visit a new location that offers a perspective that may enhance an ability they already possess. Go to a new planetarium if astronomy is “their thing.” Different settings can help them to learn what is and what isn't socially appropriate.
Keep in mind that it is a critical element to ensure that they are in a safe, supportive, and strength-based group setting. Children with Asperger’s Syndrome unfortunately tend to act out inappropriately and become targets for bullies.
Because children with Asperger’s Syndrome are already fearful or otherwise resistant to socially interact with others it is paramount to begin working on their social skills as early as possible. They already have difficulty communicating with others and are often excluded in their schools by their peers because they appear "different" or "weird." Involving them in small group settings in a familiar environment not only exposes them to “accepted” behaviors but it also gives them a feeling of acceptance among their peers.
*At my house we often have as many as 11 extra neighborhood children playing in the backyard with my two boys. My almost eight-year-old son has Asperger’s Syndrome. My just turned six-year-old son does not. They both are involved with the play at times. Sometimes my older son is an observer… and that’s okay. Sometimes he prefers to just play in the sandbox or paint with sidewalk chalk. *He gets the chalk wet and “paints” wonderful pictures.
I make popsicles by the dozen and the children take turns passing them out. I am firm on fairness and each knows the unwritten rule that no one is ever left out. Yes, the extra children can be exhausting… yes, the extra children can make a mess… yes, making the popsicles takes some time and it costs me a few extra dollars… Can I afford the extra time and effort? The way I see it: The interaction for my son is therapy I can’t afford NOT to do!
A child with Asperger’s self esteem is greatly enhanced when they are given opportunities to participate with and / or help others. Allowing them to pitch in and help with chores and to have responsibilities is a great start. Making sure that they are recognized and rewarded is the second step. Watching them grow into happy, stable and productive people is the always the goal.
I learn from my very different boys every day. I aim to teach them to love and accept those differences, in each other and in all others, every day.
Who I'd like to meet:
Autism entered my life in 2003, in the form of Asperger’s Syndrome. When My older son was diagnosed, his perplexing behavior suddenly had a label. Life took on a whole new meaning! Nothing in life could prepare me for a child who often lived in an invisible box that no one could penetrate. Determined to find ways to help him with better solutions than those offered by the medical world, I began to search but I didn’t know what for.
When Hans Asperger originally described Asperger’s Syndrome in 1944 he didn’t believe that girls were affected by the syndrome at all. In 1943, Leo Kanner studied a small group of children with autistic syndrome disorders. He determined that there were four times as many boys as girls.
This data changed Asperger’s view point and set a course of study to determine why. Ehlers and Gillberg studied children in mainstream schools in Sweden in 1993 and found the same male to female ratio of 4:1. In 1982 Lorna Wing According researched people with high-functioning Autism or Asperger’s syndrome and found that there were as many as fifteen males as to one female with Autism.
Why? The diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s syndrome are based on the behavioral characteristics of boys, who are often more noticeably "different" or disruptive than girls with the same underlying deficits. Girls with Asperger’s syndrome may be better at masking their difficulties in order to fit in with their peers, and in general have a more even profile of social skills.
In 1964 Bernard Rimland pointed out that, overall, males tend to be more susceptible to organic damage than girls, whether through hereditary disease, acquired infection or other conditions. Since it is now almost universally accepted that there is an organic cause for Autism, it should not be surprising that boys are more vulnerable to it than girls.
In recent years researchers have put forward a genetic explanation for the differences with the suggestion that the gene or genes for Autism are located on the X chromosome. Girls inherit X chromosomes from both parents, but boys only inherit one, from their mothers. The hypothesis is that the X chromosome which girls inherit from their fathers contains an imprinted gene which "protects" the carrier from Autism, thus making girls less likely to develop the condition than boys.
This theory has been used to support Asperger’s view that Autism and Asperger’s syndrome are at the extreme end of a spectrum of behaviors normally associated with "maleness". Such behaviors can be extremely useful in areas of life such as engineering and science, where attention to detail and single-mindedness may be more valuable than social skills, for example.
However, researchers are still a long way from identifying a simple genetic cause for Autism. It is likely that several genes on different chromosomes will be found to be associated with Autism. This means that the X chromosome theory alone may not represent the full picture.
Various theories have been put forward for the excess of males with Autism and Asperger’s syndrome, but the picture is far from complete and until we have a fuller understanding of the causes of Autism, it is unlikely that a proper explanation can be reached.
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Hi Rhonda,thanks for the add,here & facebook! your great keep up the good work kiddo! I have an Autism group here your invited 2 hope to c u there,have fun! your friend Zoey :)
just stopping by to ask you to pray for me and my son michael he went into a residential facility last monday and isn't doing well anymore he actually tried to hurt his self tuesday night so we still need your prayers that its for a short safe and effective time
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