Most of us know who Jenny McCarthy is and how she CLAIMS she "cured" her son. I refuse to give her any more attention so this post will NOT revolve around her and her sensationalist claims. (My thought, she is a drama queen, Evan may very well have been misdiagnosed, (it is claimed he instead has Landau-Kleffner syndrome)). So that's all I am going to say about her.....
I digress. My real issue is the false hope that media is blowing up desperate parent's arses. My son has mild autism. I do hope that someday he can over come some of his challenges, so he doesn't feel so isolated from his peers, but a CURE??? Autism is a NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER, there is NO KNOWN CURE. I am a straight shooter. I tell it like it is. I don't sugar coat. I won't tell you something just to make you feel better. I expect the truth from everyone in my life, and you can expect the same from me....again, there I go on a tangent. Back to the issue....
Yet, articles keep coming out about kids being "cured" or "outgrowing" their autism. Click here and here for more on that. Now, I read every one of these articles. I want to be informed. I want to be able to help my readers and followers to the best of my ability. I do however think the media needs to think more before putting this kind of info out there. There are parents of severely autistic children that hope and pray for a cure. Hope and pray for a better life for their child. I don't feel it's fair to prey on these parents.
"Can my child 'outgrow' Autism?" you ask.....according to these studies, yes. It should be noted however that your child isn't OUTGROWING autism, but merely ADAPTING. These children that are claimed to be outgrowing autism, were either misdiagnosed, OR, they are growing UP. They are learning to adapt to their world. They are learning what sets them off, and learning ways around that. They are learning social skills to better interact with their peers. So you see, they aren't outgrowing their Autism. They aren't leaving their neurological disorder behind. They are merely growing up. With the help of their families, and therapists, and hard work themselves, they are learning to better navigate the world around them. They STILL have Autism. They weren't miraculously cured. If you spoke to these families that were used in these studies, I bet you will hear about all the hard work and therapy that was involved. You may even hear about homeopathic therapies. (Yes, I do believe they work. NOT all of them, but some. NOT for everyone, but for some. I myself had Liam on the GFCF diet for a year. I DID notice a difference. However, we can't afford that diet, so all I can do is limit his gluten and casein.)
So you see, there is NO "cure." PLEASE don't let media trick you into believing something that can't be true. Talk to your child's doctor. Talk to his/her therapists. Work with your child. They may not "outgrow" their autism, but they can learn to adapt to the challenges it brings. Is that enough? For some yes, but for others, maybe not.
<3 <3 <3 <3
this graphic by Our Autism Family sums it up perfectly to me. Click here and check out her AUSOME page <3
I agree fully we tried GFCF it doens;t work for us but it worked for alot fo kids I know. We do Homepathic stuff ( to our limited budget) which I believe helps for some of Peanuts behaviours but I don't expect a cure or a mircale. my mother in law always comments when peanut has done something good or learnt something new " see I told you he would be fine he just needed time" it makes me laugh now but it used ot make me angry how little she knew about Autism or her grandchild in general now I understand not all people have experience with Autism and I know she loves him just slightly misguided because of these articles she most probably reads about cures and how people have over come or outgrown Autism . xx =)
ReplyDeletethank you and yes, that is the problem with these articles. They need to have parents like us write these articles! NOT journalists who don't live our lives....
DeleteThis is so very true. Zach gets lots of therapy at school. He is interacting with his peers a lot better. I think he is well on his way to building some friendships. But the school works with him I work with him we have him in several after school activities to give him that extra social time. They are thinking by the time he goes to high school the other kids won't pick up on the fact that he has AS. He will just have some quirks. But that is not a cure that is my wonderful school district and a lot of hard work by Zach learning to adapt.
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