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I am very saddened that my 3 about to be 4 year old brother has autism. The people told us he has "high-functioning autism." I really want to cry, all I want to see is him having a normal life, going to normal schools.
Before, he would never talk, say a word or anything since maybe 1-2 years old. At 3 he started saying a bit more complex words and now he is actually replying to what we ask him a bit, finally started pooing in the toilet, and even asking a bit of questions himself.
I have been looking everywhere and I couldn't find any direct answers for these few questions, so please anyone on TL who knows a bit about autism please help me!
Can Autism be helped to the point where a person can have a normal social life?
Can Autistic kids like my brother go to a normal school?
Basically all I'm looking for is assurance  . Also can this be passed on to their kids?
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Are you sure this is the right place to look for answers?
I am sorry btw
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On May 22 2010 13:11 grog wrote:Are you sure this is the right place to look for answers? I am sorry btw
Well, their are some very smart people on TL and some are experts at this stuff.
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On May 22 2010 13:09 DallasTx wrote:Can Autism be helped to the point where a person can have a normal social life? Can Autistic kids like my brother go to a normal school? Basically all I'm looking for is assurance . Also can this be passed on to their kids?
Autism can't be cured but through therapy you can get them to talk/interact with their environment a bit more. They can go to a normal school but it's better to send them to a special school as they can be bullied or the work may be too hard for them. And no autism is not genetic.
I can understand your position totally as my younger brother is also autistic.
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I have high functioning autism and traits of schizophrenia.
I am taking a ton of drugs and they aren't doing jack shit besides make me extremely tired to the point of complete exhaustion.
I hate to be a doomsayer but I at least have no hope in life of doing anything you folks would consider "normal" (not that I'd ever want to, really). Ever. I can't even begin to tell you about... anything. There's too much to say.
But it is also highly unlikely your brother will end up like I am because my psychosis is extreme.
As long as you don't live in Canada (specifically BC) you should be a lot better off than I am. Our mental health care is... useless, to put it lightly.
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I put up a Blog post a little while ago about my own autistic brother, who is currently 12 years old. It talks a bit about my experience having a brother with Autism and might give you a bit of an idea about what it can be like.
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=122592
Each autistic child is unique and the experience will be different, but there are some things that are common. Some are able to be somewhat social, but for the most part they won't be able to interact as everyone else does. It's one of the most common downsides of the condition. My brother currently goes to public school under the special education program there.
If you have any more specific questions, don't hesitate to ask me.
Edit: Oh dang, someone ninja'd me and put my blog up already. :o
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If it would help any, I would say whenever hes at the park he loves playing with kids and is VERY smart. He remembers all the line in a hello kitty movie word for word.
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On May 22 2010 13:24 DallasTx wrote:
If it would help any, I would say whenever hes at the park he loves playing with kids and is VERY smart. He remembers all the line in a hello kitty movie word for word.
It's good he likes playing with others. 
Every one of them truly is unique. Some can speak perfectly fine with people while others can't even properly pronounce words.
One thing you can bet on is that helping to raise your brother won't be easy. You'll be constantly faced with new challenges and upsets. He will do things that won't make sense to you and sometimes you honestly don't know what you can do. But just stay with him, love him, care for him. He will make you grow in ways many people can't even imagine, and in the end, you two will have done more for each other than you'll ever really realize.
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I dont want to be insensitive, but im pretty ignorant on the subject. Is it true that autistic kids are usually super talented/smart in one way or the other?
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On May 22 2010 13:54 TheAntZ wrote:
I dont want to be insensitive, but im pretty ignorant on the subject. Is it true that autistic kids are usually super talented/smart in one way or the other?
No that's not an actual trait of autism but some can be savant's in memory, maths, etc. And even then they're not normally autistic but have traits of asperger's syndrome.
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On May 22 2010 14:04 maps wrote:Show nested quote +On May 22 2010 13:54 TheAntZ wrote:
I dont want to be insensitive, but im pretty ignorant on the subject. Is it true that autistic kids are usually super talented/smart in one way or the other? No that's not an actual trait of autism but some can be savant's in memory, maths, etc. And even then they're not normally autistic but have traits of asperger's syndrome.
ah alright, thanks, was really curious about this
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On May 22 2010 13:54 TheAntZ wrote:
I dont want to be insensitive, but im pretty ignorant on the subject. Is it true that autistic kids are usually super talented/smart in one way or the other?
Some people might call me smart (depending if they've seen my mods, novel, or not) but in a way I am a total retard.
My disabilities grew considerably worse from the age of 16 onwards (sometime after I dropped out of school and actually began "growing"). For example, my verbal speech used to be good but over time it has become very bad. Now I stumble over words constantly. Likewise, my typing used to be very strong (I type with two fingers at around 70-100wpm) but now that has degraded and I constantly make typos whereas before I did not. My motor skills in general are decaying.
I will never be able to do things like drive a car or maintain a long verbal conversation even though technically I am capable of both (I have driven around in a parking lot before heh, but I'll never even attempt to get a license, I know I would end up crashing). But above all, my abilities to focus and concentrate are completely destroyed. I also have severe learning disabilities; long have I desired to learn programming (specifically C++) and 3d modeling/animation but I have always failed in even getting started, and despite nearly a decade of playing with 3d programs I have hardly penetrated the very surface of the subject.
The mere presence of another person, even one I may know, incites a massive psychotic episode inside. The end result is unbearable anxiety attacks. This may not even be a person - it could be something I hear or see, totally unrelated to people at all. I an extremely sensitive person emotionally, so the chronic depression that comes with the job is often unbearable.
I like to think of myself in some ways brilliant, but the blade is double-edged and most vicious. Yes, I am intelligent. Will I ever get to harness that intellect? No.
Maybe I'll make a post about it sometime.
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I believe on the news a few nights ago I saw a segment on Oxygen therapy utilized to combat Autism in children.
Essentially the child and another occupant (Usually a parent) sit inside a hyperbaric pressure chamber and breath pure oxygen for about an hour. The theory behind it is that the oxygen will allow blood vessels to better develope in the brain allowing for more oxygen to reach it, thus reducing the symptoms. In theory it sounds reasonable however this therapy is still in experimental stages, and there is little evidence other than anecdotal to support it. Either way you may want to check it out.
Good Luck
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Autism is a social disorder, not learning disability. There are vast differences between a learning disability and someone who has social functioning disabilities, which thus affect his ability to learn. Someone with Autism, cannot function the same as you or I in a social setting. They have trouble communication their needs, or even deciphering what those needs are. Therefore, schooling can be a very stress full environment for an autistic child. They are sensitive to touch, light, noise, and many other factors which would make it harder for them to learn. They have no problems with absorbing the information, many autistic people have IQ's that are off the charts. Its a matter of getting the information past the mental block and around all the environmental elements that will play a part in their ability to concentrate. It sounds the same as someone with a learning disability, but as for treatments, and therapys, not so much.
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Eh, I don't have a name for that aspect. But it's there. What you describe is pretty much what I concluded. Light especially, as in daytime, has a huge negative impact on my abilities.
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On May 22 2010 14:41 IskatuMesk wrote:
Eh, I don't have a name for that aspect. But it's there. What you describe is pretty much what I concluded. Light especially, as in daytime, has a huge negative impact on my abilities.
You keep sounding more and more like a vampire.
Hope things go well with your brother. Family love is so important.
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My cousin is autistic as well. He just turned 18.
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my mom's an expert on child autism, and i've picked up a few things along the years...
basically, most autistic people throughout their lives have "routine" or "schedule" and don't like change. If things change they have really irrational reactions. Also, it's good to go to a clinic for therapy, because things such as speech impediments can be fixed within 2-3 years with proper therapy.
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Some useful stuff has already been mentioned. The key point, I think, is to not view autism as that much of a mental illness. Depression (or anything related) is not a natural trait of autism. By themselves, people with autism are perfectly fine (as fine as you can be) and do not endanger themselves or others, really. Their problems, however, arise from their incompatibility to "normal" life and "normal" people; from what you are describing, your brother seems to be alright, but in general, it's mostly the early treatment of children with autism that decides whether they can one day lead an unproblematic (yet probably still different) life.
A special school and expert help to help him build the abilities to interact with the "normal" world on his own (when he is older) are certainly very useful things to do. The importance of early childhood intervention can hardly be overestimated, as far as I know.
My mother studied social pedagogy and a friend of hers, who unfortunately lives a few hundred km away, gave birth to an autistic child, too. She suffered a lot from psychoses in her life, though, and the development of the child turns out to be rather a catastrophe, according to my mother's rants, because her friend could barely raise a normal child, and autistic children need a lot more care, without giving you back so much (because huge spontaneous emotions aren't exactly their domain).
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EPT
