autism what is it

[WereBear]

It all stems from the mistaken idea that autism is a condition that afflicts an otherwise "normal" person, who can then "recover from it." But it is not an illness. It is a wiring difference that cannot be changed.

This comes from the fact that many children present no functional difficulties until certain stages of early childhood. Based on what I know now, it is likely this comes from the child's needs for support not being met. They are treated like a Neurotypical, when they are Neurodiverse.

There's a pattern here we should learn from. Only a century or so ago, deaf children were considered of low intellect and unable to be taught anything, when it turned out they simply needed a language to communicate with. Once this was provided for them, they were able to develop like anyone else.

Likewise, children with autism need their requirements for handling their environment respected, and their unique strengths and weaknesses acknowledged. Only then can we evaluate their abilities, and whether there are any other challenges that the child needs to have addressed.

 

[WildCat]

It can be managed and treated, but not cured. The only "cure" I can think of is changing the brain structure and wiring to align with the general population (so-called "neurotypical", even though there's no such thing IMO), but since there's a shortage on mad geniuses don't expect it to happen anytime soon. Or is there a surplus of mad geniuses? I lost track

All hope is not lost if you're willing to put in the work and effort to live with it in a way that benefits both the people around you and yourself. Take steps here and there and find out what works for you as an individual.

 

[Mary Lyn]

There are other illnesses caused by neurological damage that can be reversed through healing diets like the raw vegan one but of course they are not recognised by mainstream medicine that does not like to hear the term cure.

They are about managing conditions for obvious financial reasons.

Of course children will respond much easier to the reversal of neurological damage as it is not so entrenched and l consider the fact that a number of children in the spectrum who have responded to such intervention and are able to function normally at school and have their symptoms abated, as a sign that much can be done even for adults.

 

[Mary Anne]

I did some reading about Dr. Hyman this morning. He is an enromously popular and world wide famous American nutritionist who is a best selling author, and wellness coach. He works with the reknown Dr. OZ of Oprah, and daily TV show fame. I also have a book by Dr. Hyman on my book shelves!

I agree that his knowledge of nutrition and micro nutrients in foods is extremely knowledgeable. He is quite the expert in Nutrition. Nutrition has been known to help people with severe illness...but....statements about nutrition and supplements helping all people with illness, or "cures" are very extreme, and not acceptable. It is completely UNETHICAL for any doctor to say he has a “cure” for autism. Autism is a spectrum. The science is still in its early stages, and much needs to be learned world wide.

There are people who believe their stage 4 cancer, might be "cured" by changing diet, and so then they stop getting the scientificlly accepted treatments of chemo and radiation. They run a risk of dying by beliefs unproven by multiple regulated scientifically run studies across populations of humans. People who are desparate want to believe anything, and sometimes, they are believing people who are making inaccurate claims. just because a doctor "cured" on person of an illness, cannot be proven unless he can prove that others can be saved too- in a laboratory,with scientific means, and with repeatable successes. This is how science works.otherwise, "doctors" and anyone else can cheat people out of money, faith, and their lives!

There are people who believe in "god" creating miracles and healing them if they only pray. There are people who willing give large sums of money to these "religious healers" who will somehow summon god to heal them. Again, this is morally wrong.

I cannot say whether “Sam” had autism or he just had some severe nutritional illness. I believe that Dr. Hyman knows nutrition, but clearly he is no expert in neurological spectrums such as Autism. I also know that for him to even mention the vaccine issue within the articles is putting his whole medical practice into jeopardy.

Of course, if he has a hypothesis about nutrition being used for autism he should write his articles as such, and never EVER state that nutritional supplementation is a "cure." Dr. Hyman should get some grants to do proper research, but I suspect he would never be able to get that.

Nutrition helps everyone, but it will never "cure" or "erase" genetic defects such as mental retardation, the genes for alcoholism/ substance abuse, autism, and thousands of the other non-normal "disabilities" that can challenge people born in our society. People long for cures, but we are born with things that make us who we are. We want to be instantly "fixed" (with piils, theraoy, or "miracles") instead of accepting who we are, and then working hard to deal with it.

 

[Mary Anne]

There are other illnesses caused by neurological damage that can be reversed through healing diets like the raw vegan one but of course they are not recognised by mainstream medicine that does not like to hear the term cure.

They are about managing conditions for obvious financial reasons.

Of course children will respond much easier to the reversal of neurological damage as it is not so entrenched and l consider the fact that a number of children in the spectrum who have responded to such intervention and are able to function normally at school and have their symptoms abated, as a sign that much can be done even for adults.

 

[Mary Anne]

I am curious as to which neurological issues YOU believe are “cured” by eating vegan.

One cannot say that eating vegan or holistically will “cure” everything, because though it might “cure you , it may not cure everyone else. So a statement like that is unethical and unscientific.

“Cures” are “not recognized by mainstream media” because they have not PROVEN in studies, by scientific methods, over large populations. Which are then published in scientific peer reviewed journals. This is why you cannot say that a certain this or that works to cure people. When you say that a vegan diet cures certain neurological issues, you cannot back it up with any science, and so, you are going by hearsay and gossip. Unscientific.

Making changes to one’s diet is healthy for everyone. I try not to eat sugar, white foods (flour rice, breads or rice.)’ chemicals, or any packaged foods whatsoever. This means I juice raw vegetables and fruits, and eat a lot of seeds and nuts. I eat more Asian diet and despise the Western diet and medicine forced upon us. That being said, I DO agree in how diet can change everyone’s lives quite dramatically for the better. My diet change has help me mentally as well as physically... quite dramatically. But I would never ever say it could “cure or erase” any severe illness. Each human is different. Each illness is different. There is no “one size fits all” way to do things.We all heal differently.

 

[Anthracite]

"Recovery" to a NT (not the autistic person themselves), means the autistic person has hidden their autistic traits and appears "normal" (again, to the NT). This is not healthy for the autistic person and we should be fighting back against this "disease" outlook.

 

[Nima NAGHIBI]

Although there is no known cure,[6] there have been cases of children who have recovered from the condition.[14]

there has been cases of children who recovered from the condition
my english is not good

can that mean something else then cured ?

"Prognosis
There is no known cure.[6][12] Children recover occasionally, so that they lose their diagnosis of ASD;[14] this occurs sometimes after intensive treatment and sometimes not. It is not known how often recovery happens;[152]"

do you think wikipedia is writing crap? it might be .

 

[55853]

"Recovery" to a NT (not the autistic person themselves), means the autistic person has hidden their autistic traits and appears "normal" (again, to the NT). This is not healthy for the autistic person and we should be fighting back against this "disease" outlook.

You can fight against what you like, but you don't decide what I should fight for (since I assume "we" means people on the spectrum). Probably due to my late diagnosis, I've only come across the opposite attitude, with me wanting to appear normal and others telling me that I'm a different species. I'd like to know how to improve instead of being told there's no such thing as normal. It's really frustrating not being able to get a straight answer.

 

[55853]

Although there is no known cure,[6] there have been cases of children who have recovered from the condition.[14]

there has been cases of children who recovered from the condition
my english is not good

can that mean something else then cured ?

"Prognosis
There is no known cure.[6][12] Children recover occasionally, so that they lose their diagnosis of ASD;[14] this occurs sometimes after intensive treatment and sometimes not. It is not known how often recovery happens;[152]"

do you think wikipedia is writing crap? it might be .

I went to the source, and it's from 10 years ago. Understanding has changed since then. In particular, this part from the new criteria:

"Symptoms [...] may be masked by learned strategies in later life"

What 10 years ago was thought to be recovery is now recognised as learned strategies, I suspect.

 

[Mary Anne]

I went to the source, and it's from 10 years ago. Understanding has changed since then. In particular, this part from the new criteria:

"Symptoms [...] may be masked by learned strategies in later life"

What 10 years ago was thought to be recovery is now recognised as learned strategies, I suspect.

Yes! Learned strategies = adaptation. There is no “cure.”

 

[Bolletje]

Although there is no known cure,[6] there have been cases of children who have recovered from the condition.[14]

there has been cases of children who recovered from the condition
my english is not good

can that mean something else then cured ?

"Prognosis
There is no known cure.[6][12] Children recover occasionally, so that they lose their diagnosis of ASD;[14] this occurs sometimes after intensive treatment and sometimes not. It is not known how often recovery happens;[152]"

do you think wikipedia is writing crap? it might be .

Wikipedia doesn't write it, anyone can edit it. And as I explained before, no, those people weren't cured, they just learned to cope with and/or hide their autism.

 

[Nima NAGHIBI]

you mean when it says
"Although there is no known cure,[6] there have been cases of children who have recovered from the condition.[14]"

the part about in this quote that they recovered is actually from 10 years ago and today its not recovery its coping or masking or living with it right? so the wikipedia should be updated

also this :

is it true to say that doctors have tried these following ways common ways :
- cognitive theraphy
- medication such as :
-antidepressiva
-antinevroleptica

without being able to cure

can as many of you as possible answer this one.. how can i make it so everyone wil answer this?
becasue people tend to not read the ealeir posts

 

[Mary Anne]

Just started a thread just about Dr. Hyman, and nutrition for autism.

“Has anyone experimented with nutrition to help alleviate autistic challenges?”
Go to the forums, and find the section for “science”

 

[55853]

is it true to say that doctors have tried these following ways common ways :
- cognitive theraphy
- medication such as :
-antidepressiva
-antinevroleptica

without being able to cure

I haven't personally received any treatment at all. I can only answer from what I've read, as someone with no medical background.

It is true that none of those would cure autism.

But I don't they are trying to cure autism by giving those treatments. I think they are trying to improve the quality of life of someone with autism by treating other conditions a person with autism may have (e.g. anxiety, depression, aggression).

 

[Mary Anne]

@Nima NAGHIBI , we keep telling that there IS NO CURE. Why repeat yourself over and over? This is frustrating. ALL treatments help people adapt, and live with their autism. They can have better lives. But there is NO cure!

 

[Anthracite]

You can fight against what you like, but you don't decide what I should fight for (since I assume "we" means people on the spectrum). Probably due to my late diagnosis, I've only come across the opposite attitude, with me wanting to appear normal and others telling me that I'm a different species. I'd like to know how to improve instead of being told there's no such thing as normal. It's really frustrating not being able to get a straight answer.

I can't make you do anything, but since trying to "cure" us is both pointless and cruel I believe it should be stopped. Trying to force yourself NT will just make you miserable.

 

[Bolletje]

@Nima NAGHIBI there is no cure. No cure. I repeat, no cure. People have read your earlier posts. You keep repeating yourself. You should reread this topic if you need answers.

So just once more for clarity: there is no cure, no matter how many times you copy/paste the same Wikipedia paragraph.

 

[55853]

Nima, we keep telling that there IS NO CURE. Why repeat yourself over and over? This is frustrating. ALL treatments help people adapt, and live with their autism. They can have better lives. But there is NO cure!

To me it looks like either he's rephrasing the questions to try to get one of us to phrase it a way he understands, or he's struggling to word it and it's meant none of us have quite answered the question for him.

Trying to force yourself NT will just make you miserable.

It might not be what you want, but it is what I want.

 

[Nima NAGHIBI]

no i am just asking if even the first sentence of wikipeia saying

] Although there is no known cure,[6] there have been cases of children who have recovered from the condition.[14

is that also based on 10 year old material?
some peoplel have told me that recover is not the same meaning as cure .. recovery i hear from other people that recovery means someone who got well without a cure ... someone else told me recovery means surviving eh condition.