8 Challenges in Autism Today
Sorting through the concerns on vaccines, screening and treatment options, and social strategies.
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Behavior
By Coeli Carr for MSN Health & Fitness
Facing facts: Science has established that autism is a developmental brain disorder, but experts have not yet been able to pinpoint why the behavioral outbursts associated with this disorder occur, says Richard Foxx, Ph.D. Foxx is professor of psychology at Penn State University, an adjunct professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, and co-editor of Making a Difference: Behavioral Intervention for Autism (Pro-Ed, 2001). What experts do agree on is that these behaviors—which may include tantrums, self-injury and aggressiveness—are learned, says Foxx, whose specialty is treating behavioral problems in people who have autism. The behavior, he says, is a way for a child with autism to communicate the need for attention or to escape from an undesirable situation.
What to do: Foxx suggests parents enlist the services of a board-certified behavior analyst who can help assess the motivation behind the disruptive behavior. (You can find one at www.bacb.com.) For example, he says, a child may have a strong negative reaction to taking a bath and will throw a tantrum whenever asked to take one. However, a behavior analyst might determine that the child was watching a favorite DVD when asked to take a bath, and was expressing frustration over being interrupted. Possible solutions might be to schedule the bath at a different time, and then, using positive reinforcement, letting the child watch that DVD.
If parents cannot afford a private behavior analyst, Foxx suggests requesting one through the school district or a mental health organization.
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Join the discussion!
#1
Friday, May 08, 2009 7:57:50 AM
Anyone who doesn't believe in the autism-vaccine link needs to read Robert Kennedy's "Deadly Immunity" It draws a very different picture and let's you see how the government is trying to deny responsibility, when the FDA is the one who allowed deadly doses of mercury in the vaccines as a preservative. All the studies done so far have not used a double blind experiment with children who have never been vaccinated.
#2
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:22:47 PM
Another thing to consider is that the communist Chinese are gradually taking over vaccine manufacturing. In fact, communist China is now the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world. They have over 400 biopharmaceutical companies busy making vaccines ....and... The FDA admits that it inspects only 1.8 percent of the 714 drug firms in China and that, according to a GAO study, FDA inspections may be done 13 years apart (it is spaced 2 years apart in the United States).
#3
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 11:05:06 AM
my 3rd reason, is that several other countries have long held a policy of not allowing vaccination until 2 years of age such as the japanese and australians(although they are allowing folks to opt for earlier vaccinations now and have seen things such as autism and SIDs on the rise). They obviously have some important insights that we have missed, if they are willing to put off the protection afforded by vaccines for 2 whole years(and I sincerely doubt the FDA and others with their routine habit of allowing drug and food reviewers with serious conflicts on interest). Maybe their reasoning is the fact that approx 80% of human brain developement happens by the age of 2... and there is plenty of evidence showing that many of the toxic chemicals in vaccines, individually can cause problems with developement(such as aluminum, mercury and formaldehyde).
#4
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 10:42:30 AM
The other beef I have with this denial of vaccine involvement is of course that they want to spout how "safe" vaccines are... and yet what do you have to sign everytime your child gets a vaccine? Three plus pages of consent forms and informationals clearly stating several side effects of vaccines, including death(last time I read it in one of these the rate was 1 in 1700) , seizures and brain damage... anything that is capable of these things, how is it not capable of other forms of damage to the brain and body?
#5
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 10:30:04 AM
on the #2 challenge of autism... and Oh yes, it is a challenge...to get people to listen to why many parents with autistic children believe vaccines are a culprit in the equation. It is NOT just the timing of the onset of the condition with the vaccine, it is the fact that the rates of autisim dramatically increased after the introduction of the MMR in the 1970's here in the US and then the rates did an almost exact repeat increase in the UK during the 1980's after the introduction of the vaccine there. Coincidence? I don't believe in such and animal and neither did Dr. Bernard Rimland of the Autism Research Institute. I consider him the single most important person to autism research today, it was he who blew the "refridgerator parent" theory out of the water and got autism recognized as a neurological and developemental disorder. I consider any research he presents, as reliable. He sited this information in an article almost a decade ago.
#6
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 10:05:54 AM
I have yet to read an article about Autism that I can relate to. My boyfriend's son is 13 and severely autistic...he doesn't talk, not potty trained, aggressive, resistant, etc. I've only been in his life for 2 years and as he gets older and stronger, every day tasks are becoming alot more difficult. I'm searching for any information I can get my hands on that will help make all of our lives easier. I just wish more articles would discuss the more severe forms of autism...
#7
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 11:37:26 AM
There were hundreds of comments on this article a week ago. Most from parents outraged by the misinformation regarding the links between autism and vaccines. Where did they all go? Where are all the voices of the parents of children with autism? Is silencing them really the best move?
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