A new understanding of autism?

[AuAL]

Here’s a recent article about new approaches and interventions in autism:

A new understanding: how research into autism is evolving

 

[Outdated]

You should check out some of the changes going on in South Australia. We created a Ministry of Autism a couple of years back and things have been progressing in leaps and bounds since then.

https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/autism

 

[Levitat0r]

You should check out some of the changes going on in South Australia. We created a Ministry of Autism a couple of years back and things have been progressing in leaps and bounds since then.

https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/autism

The last thing the world needs is the politicization of mental and cognitive differences. Maybe we can start at special schools, and then proceed to camps, given how it worked out in the mid 20th century. I come from a country where "inner city" is a phrase largely because it's policed and educated differently. Not everything needs a political solution. It needs for people to care.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I appreciate this multi-faceted approach. My parents were all about life skills and allowing me to just do things. My parents rarely told me "No", but were quick to teach me the correct ways of doing things. So, there was never this idea that I was "too young" to do anything. Looking back at what my parents just let me do on my own, by todays standards, it would be considered bad parenting. Obviously, I disagree with that. My parents never sheltered me in any way. I have had some issues with my parents later on in life, but when I was little, I think they actually did exactly what they should have done, albeit having no idea that I was autistic.

I also was pleased to see the mention of psilocybin therapy for autism. Read up on the Stamets Stack and micro-dosing psilocybin mushrooms with niacin and Lion's mane mushrooms for not only creating a more relaxed state of mind, alleviating anxiety, improving focus, and promoting actual brain growth in positive ways. It stimulates neuronal growth factors. The dose is not enough to create a hallucinogenic trip, in fact, you can go about your daily activities without any sense that you took the medicine. The medical research on this topic, specifically the Stamets Stack, is looking very positive for treating PTSD, autism, anxiety, and now looking at dementia, Alzheimer's, and post traumatic brain injury. So, the potential applications of this are pretty broad.

 

[marc_101]

I like those approaches. I wish somebody could have given my instructions when I was young on how to interact. The trial and error took me decades to figure it out. More precisely, I'm still working on it.

 

[Rodafina]

It's an interesting article. Nice to read about a changed perspective, though it doesn't quite go far enough in a new direction for me.

This part makes me wonder how this isn't still trying to cure autism to some extent, though.

What the drugs do is modify sensory processing, for example visual, thereby improving symptoms for issues that can cause many autistic people distress, including sensory sensitivity and irritability.

It seems like a risky road to take a drug that affects sensory input. While it may help with sensory overload, wouldn't it also deaden some of the sensory attunement, curiosity, and pleasure that we can experience?

I can't help but wonder if environmental modifications are an approach that preserve the authenticity of an autistic brain and the experience the owner of that brain has in the world. Granted, I'm in a phase of life where I have been medicated for a plethora of co-morbid conditions for quite some time and all of those courses of meds left me feeling less like myself. So, at the moment, I am biased toward wanting to be med free.

 

[marc_101]

There is always that concern, but at the same time, more targeted medications that help with symptoms could help some people.

I also got over-medicated when I was supposed to have bipolar, and it was a terrible experience. But now I've found small dosages of meds that have helped a lot with very specific symptoms without much side effects.

 

[Rodafina]

There is always that concern, but at the same time, more targeted medications that help with symptoms could help some people.

True. I suppose there is always a risk/benefit balance to consider and sometimes symptoms are prohibitive to functioning, so meds are worth considering.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I can't help but wonder if environmental modifications are an approach that preserve the authenticity of an autistic brain and the experience the owner of that brain has in the world. Granted, I'm in a phase of life where I have been medicated for a plethora of co-morbid conditions for quite some time and all of those courses of meds left me feeling less like myself. So, at the moment, I am biased toward wanting to be med free.

Certainly this would have been the way of the past. And is the most logical.

 

[Hypnalis]

@AuAL

Interesting article, but shallow.

I like the rejection of "medicalization" and "Behavioral Conditioning". But e.g. ABA's problem is the conditioning aspect. Training and support materials for training would be useful regardless of everything else. IMO there's a risk of a baby/bathwater problem due to demonization

I'm skeptical of "Access Journalism" style reporting. And concerned that ASD will become subject to "Toxic Compassion" and "Toxic Acceptance". Both have turned out to be very harmful in other domains.
IMO toxic acceptance would cause as much actual harm to young Aspies as e.g. "conditioning-centric" ABA.

OFC I'm allergic to semi-technical articles highlighted with pictures of prosperous middle-class (implied single-) mothers with a baby/toddler. It makes me tense up just a little, and scan forward to see if there's too much "pearl-clutching and whining" in the article /lol.

I promise that if we discuss this I'll try to stay rational


BTW - there are quite good stats supporting the fact that children turn out much better with both parents in their lives. The full picture is interesting, but OT.
What's relevant is that you have to be skeptical when reading anything written about child development that includes the "subliminal" message that single motherhood is as good as a functional nuclear family.
The existence of one politicized lie implies the presence of others.

 

[Rodafina]

Certainly this would have been the way of the past. And is the most logical.

I have always thought my brain would be better suited for a simpler time and a much more rudimentary life. It takes a great effort (and a good amount of money) to shed the trappings of modern life, but I yearn for a return to primitive living and a focus on the most basic functions of life. Of course, if I had my wish and actually lived thousands of years ago, I wouldn't have lived very long.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

It's an interesting article. Nice to read about a changed perspective.

This part makes me wonder how this isn't still trying to cure autism to some extent, though.



It seems like a risky road to take a drug that affects sensory input. While it may help with sensory overload, wouldn't it also deaden some of the sensory attunement, curiosity, and pleasure that we can experience?

I can't help but wonder if environmental modifications are an approach that preserve the authenticity of an autistic brain and the experience the owner of that brain has in the world. Granted, I'm in a phase of life where I have been medicated for a plethora of co-morbid conditions for quite some time and all of those courses of meds left me feeling less like myself. So, at the moment, I am biased toward wanting to be med free.

It isn't trying to "cure" anything. The anatomy and physiology and genetics are still present. However, I still think it is important to improve real-world, day-to-day functioning in terms of anxiety issues, learning, focus, PTSD, depression, communication and social skills, etc.

You are correct to be concerned about medications that adversely affect sensory input. It seems whenever pharmaceutical companies have the great idea to isolate and manufacture chemical compounds, there are adverse side effects. Conversely, many medicinal plants and fungi have multiple compounds that work synergistically and without all the adverse side effects. Modern medicine has yet to learn the lessons from nature. The example of psilocybin mushrooms + niacin + Lion's mane mushrooms are that those natural compounds and neuronal growth factors can positively affect the sensory and social experience in meaningful ways. I am no herbalist, but rather trained in modern Western medicine. All I know is that sometimes manufactured pharmaceuticals work better and sometimes plants and fungi work better. Both can be true.

 

[MNAus]

Kirsty Orton didn’t mind whether her baby was autistic or not – she just wanted her 12-month-old to enjoy being with his mummy: to notice her when she came into the room. To meet her eye when she talked to him and to be able to communicate.

Translation: Kirsty Orton didn't mind whether her baby was autistic or not, just as long as he met her requirements and didn't exhibit any autistic behaviours.

In the next article Tabatha didn't mind if her daughter was deaf or not, just as long as she listened to her. Followed by Beth not minding if her son was blind, she just wanted him to look at her artwork.

The article may or may not have something to say, but in a piece on autism it's successfully put the autistic person second place to the NT mum and what she needs right off the bat. Enough of this agenda where the partners parents and friends are seen as victims.

But maybe I was too hasty, let's see the next paragraph or two.

“All I wanted to do was be able to connect and bond with Fynn,” she said. “But when your baby looks everywhere else in the room except at you and stays in their own zone, like you’re completely unimportant to them, it’s upsetting in a way that I struggle to put into words.”

Try, dear Kirsty, you poor suffering angel. Because, let's be honest, how important you are is really the most vital thing here.

Orton reiterates that it wasn’t about not accepting the autism that runs in her family. “I was fine with that,”’ she said. “But Fynn’s lack of communication wasn’t safe for a child and would be even less safe as he grew up: you need to be able to communicate if there’s something you don’t like.”

Translation: If he can't speak my language, what can I do? I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas.

Whatever the rest of the article says can, frankly, go to hell. Anything that come from this direction can't be positive. I mean, will Kirsty get her wish to be that perfect mum that makes her friends green with envy? Stay tuned.

 

[jsilver256]

I liked the article until it came to using drugs to literally change the brain. That's a giant nope from me. ASD1/ADHD is a problem only because this world is trying to force us all to be emotionally sensitive NT robots in a cubicle communicating with each other on social media.

 

[NB79]

Drugs prescribed by psychiatrists had a more negative impact in my life than positive.
Anti depressants felt like someone pulling my soul up, when i wanted to be sad, horrible sensation.
I don't believe depression is a mental illness, is part of being human, you may want to work out what is making you sad and take care of things instead of drug you up.

 

[marc_101]

You guys are a tough crowd

 

[Tom]

I am for alternate approaches being available. The more tools in the box so to speak, to tailor to the individual, the better. But you have to remember that you have a million kids* on the spectrum that don't have rich parents and societies have to fund and staff the programs and that money is limited. What realistically can every school district or group of districts manage.

As far as this program goes it is all saying what they feel will be the results and not actual results. So it will take time to see if it actually works as advertized.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Translation: Kirsty Orton didn't mind whether her baby was autistic or not, just as long as he met her requirements and didn't exhibit any autistic behaviours.

In the next article Tabatha didn't mind if her daughter was deaf or not, just as long as she listened to her. Followed by Beth not minding if her son was blind, she just wanted him to look at her artwork.

The article may or may not have something to say, but in a piece on autism it's successfully put the autistic person second place to the NT mum and what she needs right off the bat. Enough of this agenda where the partners parents and friends are seen as victims.

But maybe I was too hasty, let's see the next paragraph or two.


Try, dear Kirsty, you poor suffering angel. Because, let's be honest, how important you are is really the most vital thing here.


Translation: If he can't speak my language, what can I do? I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas.

Whatever the rest of the article says can, frankly, go to hell. Anything that come from this direction can't be positive. I mean, will Kirsty get her wish to be that perfect mum that makes her friends green with envy? Stay tuned.

This was certainly my experience with most of the parents of autistic children; the parents are bemoaning the lack of “love” coming from the child in whatever form they were looking for.

But if we turn it around, I suspect that most parents have a preconceived idea of what they are going to “get” out of having a child. It’s just if the child is NT, it is easier to get that “love” from the child.

So I don’t think that parents of autistic children are more selfish than others. It’s just the self-interest that many parents have is exposed.

 

[marc_101]

The other way to see is that the parents are trying. They try to do the right thing but they don't know how. For them "connecting" looks like connecting looks to them. It would be nice if more autistics would write parenting guides. I think that I saw a guide once, but I can't remember the name.

Or maybe I'm just trying to be optimistic -- or contrarian. That's a trait, right?

 

[Mary Terry]

This was certainly my experience with most of the parents of autistic children; the parents are bemoaning the lack of “love” coming from the child in whatever form they were looking for.

But if we turn it around, I suspect that most parents have a preconceived idea of what they are going to “get” out of having a child. It’s just if the child is NT, it is easier to get that “love” from the child.

So I don’t think that parents of autistic children are more selfish than others. It’s just the self-interest that many parents have is exposed.

So many parents are autistic themselves, and their expectations would naturally be different from NT parents who are unfamiliar with ASD.