When You Have An Autistic Child

Any reader of this blog knows of my disgust with some of the high profile media coverage of autism disorders and autism realities.

From the CBC, command central for the "positively unrepresentative of autism disorders" Neurodiversity ideology and the quirky, quarky rhetoric of Michelle Dawson and Dr. Laurent Mottron, to CNN star Dr. Sanjay Gupta's odd obsession with Amanda Baggs, an alleged autistic person whose ""autism insights" and scripted autism videos seem contrived to many autism parents, the most prominent television "news" machines seem intent on Hollywood "Rain Main" style coverage of autism than on reporting the grim realities confronting many persons with autism disorders and their families. The print based media offers more diversity of autism coverage. While the barely autistic, we don't want a cure, movement gets glossy magazine coverage there are some reality based autism news features in the print media.

Faces of Autism is an excellent, reality based, spectrum wide, treatment of autism from journalist Pete McMartin and photographer Glenn Baglo in the The Vancouver Sun which first appeared in April 2007. And today the Montreal Gazette offers an understanding report on some realities facing parents of autistic children. Reporter Elaine Creighton and the Gazette tell it like it is in Raising an autistic child is not easy featuring Ghislaine Noé the mother of a young non-verbal autistic man now living in a rural residence.

The story tells of frightening moments like realizing her then 5 year old son was walking on the roof top to the everyday challenges of brushing teeth and public behavior issues to the sad fact that her son was at some point too much of a challenge for her in an urban environment.

Ms Crieghton and the Gazette tell of the love and compassion this mother has for her autistic son and provides a rare understanding of the challenges of parenting a child with autism:

"When you have an autistic child, you must be mindful of everything. "


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Autism Speaks' High Risk- High Impact Autism Research Initiative

Autism Speaks is continuing to demonstrate real leadership in the autism world with the announcement of its High Risk-High Impact (HR-HI) autism research initiative designed to support research in areas "that are under-investigated or which could benefit substantially by bringing in outside experts to accelerate progress. "

One of the first areas identified by the AS steering committee is the need to work with lower functioning, non-verbal, autistic persons who tend to be under-represented in research studies. (One Montreal researcher, judging by his published study abstracts appears to work almost exclusively with persons with Aspergers Disorder, Autistic savants and persons with High Functioning Autism.) Another interesting area of study to be addressed by the HR-HI initiative is the need to examine the role of body systems, other than the brain, in autism.

Change.org and other Neurodiversity organizations, even the IACC, promote a static concept of autism disorders. They recoil at research and inquiry that might lead to a fuller understanding of causes and potential treatments for autism disorders. Autism Speaks continues to offer a much needed, dynamic alternative. The HR-HI autism research initiative will help provide a more complete view of autism disorders including, hopefully, treatments and cures that will never be researched under the narrow, static, "it's gotta be genetic" view of autism.

autism