autism

Understanding Autism

2010-12-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

Understanding autism and fear of the dentist is a matter of introducing your child to the right dentist. You need to find a dentist who is experienced with children with disabilities, particularly autism. If you have trouble finding a dentist with such experience, your best option is to choose one who has compassion and a willingness to learn.

Baby psychology and parent psychology are interconnected. The subconscious dimension is the truer and most influential dimension of our humanness. There is no understanding autism and the true causes of autism without understanding this key fact.

The autistic children that I have clairvoyantly read and reported about usually had a variety of reasons for not making eye contact with the people around them. The most basic reason was that they were being defiant. They were being dishonest and knew they were being defiant and did not want "the outside world" to see what they were truly thinking and feeling.

Nevertheless, because of their own suppressed willful intentions and negative feelings, these children are often not clear about what they are actually seeing and feeling.

The outside world is usually a "confusing mess" to most autistic children.

Related Coverage

In addition, because of the extreme selfish control that they are exerting over their psychological experiences, their inner world also becomes a confusing mess. It often becomes difficult for them to sort out what is real and what is not. Most children with autism do not even try.There is no understanding autism and the true causes of autism without understanding this key fact. During the time spent in the womb, the baby will react by withdrawing and refusing to interact energetically. Using primitive means the baby will choose to dramatically withdraw in reaction to a parent's (or parents) extreme destructive intentions and energies.

Their parents' unfilled desire to abort usually continued to translate into a subconscious desire to "get rid" of the baby. Even when the baby is still an embryo, he or she experiences this parental "desire" in a primitive way. The embryo, then fetus, senses this "desire" and feels it as an ongoing threat of extinction. The degree of an unborn baby's reaction corresponds to the degree of a parent's (or parents) rejection, psychic abuse, and (after birth) most likely physical abuse.

There are still the behaviors that mystify or infuriate us. Some of the behaviors make us shake our head and mutter, "Oh well." After all, you have to pick your battles. Finding a way to end the constant "Sponge Bob monologue" seems almost impossible at this point, but it seems like a good time to tackle our child's propensity of asking all visitors if he can inspect the label in their jacket.

We are masterful at predicting when behaviors will occur, and adept at preventing many of them. "Don't touch the book on the right," says a parent in haste to prevent a meltdown. At other times it's just too late. "Oh dear! His red balloon just popped. Now he'll need to pop every red balloon he sees" another sighs in anguish while at a party.

ABA training is the best education tool for students and teachers alike. When you learn how to facilitate learning for these students and are able to see the results of these unique teaching methods, you will discover that everything you thought about autism is different. This program is simply remarkable and offers excellent potential for every student involved.

There are many reasons why school systems implement ABA training into their curriculums, but the result is always the same. After ABA is implemented, schools find themselves with a more educated and caring staff that truly understands the importance of treating autism properly.

Autism Advocacy

2010-12-24T07:38:00.001-08:00

I believe that to advocate for autism means advocating for the civil, human and humane rights of the autistic person.

Allowing the autistic person the ability to speak and be heard regarding their desires, thoughts and feelings, either via their own abilities to communicate verbally, visually or with assistance.

Honoring their choices about how they wish to live their lives and what assistance they request or require to live a quality life.

A while back, I worked in a legal firm which advocated for the rights of individuals who were less able (financially) to 'hire' the assistance of private lawyers to defend them, and/or assist them in empowering themselves to have their human rights (or other important issues, amongst other things) rightfully respected. When these fellow citizens felt their feelings, issues and selves were respected they felt supported, heard and relieved that there was a service with which they felt they had an equal right, as any one else in the community, to be it justice or care.

Autism Advocacy, just as with the legal firm I worked with, should equally honour and respect the autistic person.

Autism Advocacy, to me, is not about curing the autistic individual, providing invasive/inhumane or 'fad' treatments for autism, 'training' autism out of the person, labouring for hours a day to change the autistic child to become 'normalized', and so on............

I feel that true advocacy for the autistic person (child, teen or adult) is to work with them, work for them, work beside them. Listen to them and be guided by their intrinsic selves, their natural ways of communicating and being.

Gain a clear understanding/interpretation of what the elements of their 'autistic' behaviours (e.g. rocking, handflapping etc.) mean.

Learn what is the best way they can confidently communicate their needs and wishes.

Know that what is one autistic person's 'experience' and way of being is and can be very different to the next autistic individual.

Be respected for their individuality and their personhood.

Autistic children (or persons), who are unable to speak for themselves or act on their own behalf when it comes to what assistance is being provided for them, especially need to be advocated for in a fashion as I have described above. They deserve nothing less.

A person who believes in advocacy in its' truest sense is not a self serving individual. They are individuals who believe in honoring the dignity of a fellow human being and acting on their behalf (when needed or requested to) to ensure that such is upheld by 'others'.

A personal perspective

2010-12-24T07:36:00.001-08:00

There is a plethora of information, regarding the diagnosis, therapies, opinions, beliefs, causes, and so on, surrounding autism. So much so, that it can be very daunting for parents who have newly discovered a diagnosis of autism for their children.

I don't believe that persons with autism should be 'cured'. I believe we as loving parents and carers can work 'with' our kids and provide them with the quality of care and education, love and support that they (as with all children) need to enjoy quality of life (just as we hope for ourselves).

Celebrating achievements, progressive milestones, honouring their rights as valued human beings, helping overcome difficulties, 'walking along side them' and , especially, 'hearing' their 'voice' and listening to their wants and desires, are some of the things I perceive as being imperitive to loving and living alongside our babes (children), friends and other persons who have autism.

I am a devoted mother of three children, one son who has autism. Many other family members have autism, diagnosed and undiagnosed, too. Throughout the years of this experience, combined with the experiences of working with children with autism, I have learnt many things. One of the most important things I learnt was that we cannot presume to force 'normality' upon our children (with autism). To deny them their real selves; to quash their intrinsic selves and try to redesign them, finding a 'cure' (not a word in my vocabulary) and demanding they conform to our ways of thinking and behaviour, to me is disrespectful. Assisting the person with autism to live a quality, happy and meaningful life (for them) according to their 'design' and not ours, to me, is paramount.

As I get time, I hope to post links to the many interesting and real personal stories from people with autism. An important part of learning about autism, I feel, is to listen to these stories; hear the voices from their heart and soul.

Autism in God’s Economy: The Least of These

2010-12-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

Autism Awareness month 2007 has been one like we have never seen before. It has seen Oprah do a show on Autism, for the first time after decades on the air. It has seen the CDC announce that Autism now affects 1 in 150 in this country. It has seen controversial Senate hearings to decide where the hundreds of millions of CAA money will go. It has seen a prominent autistic come out of the closet. Finally, and most heartbreaking, it has seen the worst shooting in US history perpetrated by Cho Seung-Hui who was reportedly autistic but never received the help he needed to live in a neurotypical world; and the irony of trying to cover up his autism during Autism Awareness month.

Because so much is at stake, the autism discussion and debate grows louder and more fevered, often making it difficult for those involved to really take in various perspectives. Even when we do, they are all still flawed human perspectives. Even the best, brightest, wisest and most experienced of us do not have the whole story.

But God does.

So in “Autism in God’s Economy” over the next six days I will discuss a few things that the Bible tells us about God’s perspective on those with Autism and on the rest of us. This series is predicated on the deity of Christ and the inerrancy of Scripture, which may be controversial ideas to some of my regular visitors. If they are to you, I invite you to read on none the less, and take a look at what God of the Bible says. If you are a professing Christian, then this is an important series for you to read no matter how autism affects you.

The Least of These

God’s economy turns the world’s economy upside down. Jesus brought with Him the radical message that the last shall be first, the meek shall inherit the earth and the poor will get the Kingdom of Heaven. We tend to hear these verses and think of them as nice thoughts, but Jesus did not intend them to be taken so lightly. He intended them as a window into His mind and a look into the future. And to prove it, he lived it out.

Jesus was God. He was the very same God that created the world and all of us that roam it. Everything belongs to Him. Yet when He put on a mortal body and came to walk in His creation, He didn’t come as a king, but a servant. He owned no property but the cloths He wore, He held no office, and He did not show up and order the governments to start doing His bidding. He had the right to all of it, but He laid claim to none of it.

Instead He chose lowly fishermen as his friends, socialized with social outcasts, spent His time touching lepers, gave relief to demon possessed psychotics and cleared out hospitals.

He did not ‘climb the ladder of success’. He lived a life that was oriented toward the broken and excoriated those in power who would not do their duty to serve them.

In God’s economy, the weak, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the overlooked, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the sick, the oppressed, the grieving, the bullied, the exhausted, and those at the end of their rope are the ones who get into the VIP section. They are the ones who gain the attention and compassion of the God of the Universe.

If you have any doubt of this, and even if you don’t, read Matthew 25:31-46. It is one of the most important passages of scripture that any of us in the Autism community will ever read, and now that 1 in 150 are being diagnosed with it, almost all of us are in the Autism community.

Take a moment to read it.

It tells us that what we do in the lives of “The Least of These”, we do to Jesus Christ Himself.

If those of us who claim to be Christians want to know if we really are, and be clear, just saying you are a Christian don’t make it so, then examine what you have done in the lives of the most vulnerable people in your world.

Interesting websites

2010-12-24T07:28:00.001-08:00

I should have placed these websites in the links list a long time ago. They are full of interesting information, forums and articles to do with Aspergers/autism, and alot of interesting stuff from people on the spectrum themselves.
Professionals, parents and persons on the spectrum, alike, will be interested in what these sites have to 'offer'.

Wrong Planet and OASIS

Autism and Behaviour

2010-12-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

Do you understand the behaviour of your autistic child, friend or sibling?

Discovering the reasons behind the behavioural responses/reactions is paramount when helping our autistic sons, daughters, siblings, family member or friend to experience a more rewarding and happy life with others and especially for themselves.

Some therapies focus on behaviours primarily and aim to change/alter/challenge the way an autistic person is responding to a e.g. stimulus. In gaining an understanding of the reasons or influences behind the response/behaviour in a holistic fashion, as is unique to the individual, the alteration or 'modification' can perhaps also focus on our understanding of the variety of responses inherent (as they can be diverse) in human nature. When we understand such, we can assist with learning alternative or other ways the autistic person can 'deal' with stimulus (if necessary for a healthy, happy and safe life experience).

If we discover underlying influences, such as a previously undetected illness/health issue, and treat such appropriately, we may well find that some difficult behavioural responses of an autistic person to a situation may dissipate/decline or even reduce dramatically.

When we attain such an understanding, we can see that not 'one way' is the 'only way' to understand someone or that one focused style of intervention is the best of its 'breed' when assisting our autistic children, friends etc..

As I mentioned above, a holistic approach, I feel, is the best consideration when we seek assistance/interventions for our children.

Each child can be different in many ways to the next. What works for one may not work or be appropriate for another.

I also believe that our children should not "be vessels of experimentation" (Quote from my book - "An Autism Connection - sharing the journey with other parents").

What can affect the behaviour of a child (whether on the spectrum or not)? Could you be asking these questions or could your autistic child, friend and sibling be asking themselves some of these questions?

- learning styles,

- communication abilities,

- health upsets (diagnosed or undiagnosed),

- physical abilities (to relay infromation),

- self esteem levels (including confidence in relaying information),

- feelings of self worth (inc. perception of self),

- possible exposure anxiety,

- the known or anticipated response of others,

- levels of trust in exposing one's fears to another,

- personality,

- fear of ridicule,

- feelings of inferiority (if the behaviours or responses of others imply their 'superiority'),

- sensory overload and other personal aversions,

- bullying,

- puberty,

- interrupted routine or sudden change,

- new unscertainties or fears have arisen,

- family issues,

- loss of a relationship (e.g. friend moved, or someone passing away etc..),

- are we having a good day or a bad day today?

- are we overtired?,

- are we hungry, thirsty etc.?,

- are we feeling ill?

- "I'm feeling happy. What's your problem?"

- am I able to relate to my helpers/teachers?

- do they (teachers/helpers etc.) relate to me?

- is my environment (e.g. school) the most appropriate for me?

- am I reacting to a medication?

- is a particular medication appropriate or necessary?

- are the 'interventions' being applied appropriate?

- is the help (educational and otherwise) designed to suit my needs or is it generically based?

- am I really understood?

- do I have communication devices/ assistance methods appropriate for my needs?

- am I worried about something?

- am I worrying about you (the parent, friend etc..)?

- "I need my own space and you don't get it."

- "I don't want to be social, but you insist..."

- "I don't want to be held now..." (knowledge of sensory preferences and aversions)

- "I don't want to look into your eyes..." (sensory overload)

Note, the "quotes" are things I have heard some autistic persons (mainly children) say to other people in moments when the 'others' have not understood their behavioural responses (exhuberantly in an exited/happy or angry way)

Autism and Heavy Metals

2010-12-24T07:24:00.000-08:00

This interview between Donna Williams and Dr. Ed Danczak is a 'must read' for parents of children on the Spectrum, and who are interested in or wondering about heavy metals, biomedical treatments, invasive procedures and so on - all considered in the 'light' of 'treating' Autism.

I first met Dr Danczak when I was working as an autism consultant in the UK. When I saw kids who had physical symptoms I’d send them up to him and I was pleased to find most would end up in a healthier state and more switched on and together once their health issues were addressed. Here’s our interview

DONNA WILLIAMS
Hi Ed. Tell us a bit about Dr Ed Danczak. How did you get into biomedical treatment of those with autism?

DR ED DANCZAK

I had been using acupuncture and later a variety of complementary medicines with the encouragement of George Lewith and Julian Kenyon in Southampton, UK. I was asked to open a partner clinic in Manchester. I attended a lecture by Len McEwan who was using a novel immune technique called EPD to treat autistic children, and he claimed that their functional capacity could be substantially improved, and quoted cases where this had happened. I did some research, and found that there were a number of physicians with similar experiences, and decided to find out what was being done. There were a number of different approaches, no specific programme and very sketchy evidence of efficacy. Very soon afterwards, out of the blue, you called me up in 1996 and asked me to see a child with autism and I started to apply some basic therapies to evaluate their effects.

DONNA WILLIAMS
When people use the term ‘biomed’ in the context of autism, it pretty much conjures up words like ‘chelation’, ‘mercury’ etc. What’s your take on that?

DR ED DANCZAK

In 1996, the chelation theories had not been proposed, and there was no controversy over vaccine. The treatments that we started to use involved fixing basic building block deficiencies such as Magnesium, Zinc and managing the gut and immune system function. All the ingredients that we chose were based on papers published in the mainstream, journals such as the Lancet, BMJ and new England Journal of Medicine. We relied on peer reviewed papers, and evidence that was repeatable by third parties when experiments or trials were quoted.

Later on I was asked to submit evidence to the Scottish Parliament on mercury and autism together with the use of chelation, which at the time had no evidence to support either an association or a possible treatment route. Subsequent population studies using fine-tooth epidemiological research has shown no association between mercury containing vaccines and autism, and there is no toxicological reason why the sticky heavy metal atom of mercury should be easily removed by chelating agents.

As an occupational physician, when heavy metal exposure occurs the first rule is to consider very carefully whether chelation should be used at all. It can lead to toxicity from the very metal that you are trying to remove. For example in lead poisoning, use of chelation is associated with an outpouring of lead from sequestered (and safe) bone stores which increases the likelihood of toxic lead symptoms occurring. indeed the risks of chelation causing epileptic fits due to removal of “good” minerals such as zinc and magnesium is very real. Chelating not a treatment option for an office or unsupervised setting.

Mercury is present everywhere on planet earth, and the human body is actually quite tolerant to low levels of exposure. There is no evidence to support the assertion that autistic children as a group have any specific intolerance, although there is always anecdote.

As an interesting side issue, lead poisoning causes cognitive impairment, and this is part of the differential diagnosis of developmental delay in children. The US has shown lead poisoning to be a significant feature, but this is reversible and responds well to removal from exposure. Chelating is unnecessary, as the body usually deals with lead quite well. Other heavy metals such as cadmium which used to appear in plastics and also from contaminated vegetables and earth, also causes a reversible cognitive impairment, but this too responds very well to removal from exposure. Indeed in he cadmium smelting industry proposals were made to use cognitive tests as a way of assessing cadmium effects as there is not a linear correlation between exposure and impairment of function.

DONNA WILLIAMS
What are the range of improvements you’ve seen in people with autism who have used biomedical treatments?

DR ED DANCZAK

Autism is a behavioural description, and therefore comes in many aspects.All children were fully investigated in a non invasive way to establish deficiencies of co-factor minerals such as zinc, magnesium and manganese. In my book I have described children who had epilepsy, no control over their bowels and an absence of speech who, over the course of approximately 2 years gained control over their fits using supplements of zinc magnesium and manganese, together with bowel support, and anti-convulsant medication. The development of speech is always associated with a change in behaviour, and this improves as speech becomes more articulate. Other children have used similar regimens from a much higher functioning level gaining significant improvements in interaction and educational achievement. An relative deficiency of zinc alone may lead to low growth with children slipping into the lower percentiles of the growth chart. This was a concern with one parent whose child should have been tall, his parents were both over 6 feet high, but when given zinc, he rapidly started to grow and catch up to where he should have been on the predictive chart. The concurrent ADHD showed improvement as well.

DONNA WILLIAMS
Taking ‘autistic’ as an adjective, do you feel there are aspects of ‘autism’ which are about personality or neurological difference which are not related to gut, immune issues?

DR ED DANCZAK

Autism is a behavioural description quoted in DSM IV and the ICD 10. Underlying illness should always be addressed. For example, in my book I describe autism responding favourably to the use of anti-convulsant therapy. Ear infections and persistent glue ear are higher than expected in children with ASD. There is good evidence to support the claim that clearing up glue ear improves hearing, and therefore communication, as speech is heard clearly. Some children presenting to the clinic had clear speech impairment with a strong nasal component and very flat in tone consistent with hearing through a thick tube of mucus in the inner ear. Once the ear condition had been addressed the child became responsive and the features of behaviour which pointed to an ASD diagnosis gradually began to resolve. The inability to deal with infection properly is an important feature in the genesis of symptoms picked up during early childhood.

In the gut, problems seen in the clinic usually related to persistent diarrhoea, poor toilet training, associated with mineral deficiencies of zinc magnesium and often manganese. The use of replacement minerals, probiotics and gut support medication from complex homeopathic preparations is only a little different to that used in African children with the consequences of malnutrition. The persistent diarrhoea in ASD leads to a biochemical profile in the hair similar to malnutrition seen in the developing world. Managing basic building blocks is the essential tool and not overly complex therapies with a base only in hypothesis.

There is a clear genetic link between the occurrence of the broader autistic spectrum in families and the occurrence of specific autism in children. The genetic link is not straight forward. Genes affected seem to be involved in brain and gut development together with those related to allergy. The objective of many researches has been to identify and manage the genetic components to reduce degrees of autism, but so far this goal has proved elusive.

Personality is as much a feature of the environment in which the developing child is brought up and the evolution of the brain through the first 25 years of life or so. Much has been invested in comparison between the Burt model of identical twins separated at birth, brought in different environments particularly related to material wealth. The achievement of the child in the comfortable background was claimed to be different and possibly better than the child who was brought up in the deprived community. Certainly family disturbance is a common feature in ASD where ADHD has been diagnosed. It was established in Liverpool that children, form disturbed homes, who were offered a bed to sleep in the day and an area of the school where they could be insulated from disturbance was highly beneficial in behaviour and educational terms. When this was used the need for Ritalin and other similar drugs was dramatically reduced.

DONNA WILLIAMS
In the culture-cure debate biomed is seen as part of society’s fixation on demonising or eradicating autism. Do you feel the two can be reconciled?

DR ED DANCZAK

Autism is not a demon condition, nor is eradication a rational response to a behavioural disorder diagnosed by description only and with no signature biochemistry or genetic tests.

Many of the symptoms attributed to autistic behaviour can be produced from a range of social and clinical conditions. Some have no inter current illness, many children do.

The pharmacological effects of cytokines, the short proteins released in the immune system are very powerful. They have effects on sleep, and brain circulation. resolving a low grade immune system upset with night sweats, can lead to a significant improvement in the child’s cognitive function when these are addressed.

Many parents want their child to conform to the coffee morning expectation of normal development. This is entirely natural and in fact seems to have been the indicator that led some parents to seek advice on delayed development. However, children do not all develop at the same rate, even on the physical aspect of walking. Language acquisition can be slower with some children, and a premature diagnosis of autistic behaviour can be very difficult to establish. Demonising particular behaviour has always been part of society as the herd seeks to exclude those it believes are different in some way. The common example of bullying in the school playground occurs because the group does not like one aspect of a child’s personality or clothing.

Although my clinic was always about managing the physiological aspects to try to get the body to work as well as it could, support for the parents, steering them towards social support and expert parent programmes substantially reduced their anxiety, which reflected in the child’s response. Pre-school management of development and inter current illness is very important. Equally, the desire to start education early, as low as three years old, will probably lead to an industry of investigators trying hard to identify children whose development is part of the normal range but who may only be a little slower than their peer group.

DONNA WILLIAMS
You present yourself as working holistically. Could you explain this in the context of biomedical treatment.

DR ED DANCZAK

I have summed up the difference between holistic medicine and the conventional approach as that between reductionism, that is to say, treating the most specialised niche of illness such as the localised lung infection compared to dealing with the person as whole. This would involve attention to the individual and their needs, management of any infection, or poorly functioning area such as the gut, the use of physiotherapy, and avoiding the use of take this and go away type medication.

This view is an interaction between the physician and the patient. This is extended in the management of ASD to a doctor, parents and child relationship. The development of the child is critically dependent upon the parents, but will also require a team of others including Educational and child psychologists, teachers, therapists, medicines, and supplements to help make the child’s body work properly. From this list it is evident that the physician cannot be the sole purveyor of therapy.

DONNA WILLIAMS
As a holistic doctor supporting biomedical interventions for those with autism who have gut, immune issues, which other types of issues do you see as relevant to the adjustment and development of a person with autism?

DR ED DANCZAK

Understanding is probably the most important issue. Parents attending the clinic wanted someone to advise them on a range of topics from support through to medication and supplementation. Many had no-one to talk to and had ideas that were based on erroneous conclusions in the grey literature, or the daily printed media and had been convinced about specific treatments which were not necessary or were only realistically useful in the otherwise stable and well child.

The complexity of issues raised in recent years from the vaccine campaigners alone has kept large numbers of people occupied in contested debate. The outflow from this has caused substantial worry and confusion amongst parents who have been alarmed and frightened by a behavioural diagnosis which has become demonised in the media. The most important thing that a physician can do is sit and listen, and address concerns. A busy hospital or GP department with a short appointment time is no way to deal with this. As the the physician is often the lead member of the team what seems like a ten minute interview is never enough

DONNA WILLIAMS
Tell us about your online E-book.

DR ED DANCZAK

The book is a collection of informative essays intended to be taken a small amount at a time. The chapters go through the use of complementary medicine and shows evidence for the use of my approach in the management of children.

Chapter Six is the distillation of the interaction between different body systems that can have an effect on the developing child and commentary related to this. The Chapter can be seen on www.autismmanagement.net which apart from a flow diagram has indicators to where to go in the book to read it up.

There are case studies where we have varying degrees of responses from different therapeutic directions. The essential is that there is a marriage between complementary and conventional medicine, with each having something to offer, and improved outcomes when done together.

DONNA WILLIAMS
You’ve retired from practice now. What’s that like? How does a doctor hang up the white coat?

DR ED DANCZAK

When my dad was 83, I asked him what it was like to retire. He looked at me and said he thought he might consider it soon! He was still very active in the community and whenever someone asked him for help, he didn’t turn them down. I am similar. Although I don’t have the white coat on anymore, some of my old patients keep in touch if they have difficulties and when any parent shouts help, I will try to if I can.

Treating people in the clinic required intense concentration, and for every day in the hospital I needed a day to organise paper, treatments and medication. It was never confined to the 30-60 minutes of clinic time. I do miss the patient contact and the evolution of a child’s behaviour as interaction develops between parents and an awakening child doing toilet training, communication acquisition both verbal and non verbal.

"Autism Reality" YouTube

2010-12-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

This is a great video on YouTube called Autism Reality, posted by theWrongPlanet.

It is a highly acclaimed documentary film, featuring Dr. Temple Grandin, Alex Plank and is produced and directed by Alex, and runs for 10 minutes approximately.
Whilst watching this documentary, I was trully moved.

Inspirational Autism Quotes

2010-12-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

When we seek an inspirational quote about Autism, we may be looking for just the right group (sentence?) of words which can describe a heart felt feeling, thought or even such group of words can become a personal mantra which we say to ourselves regularly to give us a sense of peace, confirm our beliefs or desires, express our understanding of and compassion for our Autistic children, partners or friends and so on.

Inspirational quotes can also give us the strength to 'carry on' when 'times' are hard or somewhat difficult: when we are feeling sad or unsure about life or even at the other end of the 'spectrum' - when we are in a 'good place' emotionally, physically and so on.

Sometimes inspirational quotes give us the drive to carry on and confirm our beliefs in what we trully hold dear to our hearts. A well designed/written quote can sum up in even just a sentence a powerful feeling, belief or thought which touches or is cemented in your soul.

Many people who have visited this site are keen to discover the 'right' quote to qualify such feelings, beliefs or thoughts. Many of these quotes will be used to share with others and to help promote understanding, compassion, empathy and respect for the souls who are on the Spectrum and their families.

So, what I will add to this post, as I find them, are direct links to net sites, books, articles and whatever else I can find, which centre around quotes and/or poems for Autism.
Books/quotes on Autism by me
Lucarinfo
Asplanet
The Greatest Quote.com (generalist)
The Soul of Autism

Advice and Authors on Autism

2010-12-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

Dear parents, friends and all others who are interested in reading and learning from the plethora of articles on the internet regarding Autism.

There are some very good, practical, relevent and informative articles written by some learned professionals, parents and especially Autistic individuals themselves, who know what they are talking about. They have a real and proven understanding of the Autism Spectrum and write their 'words' in such a way as to honour and respect the dignity, value and personhood of the Autistic person.

But, lately I have been reading up on some articles proclaimed to be written by 'knowledgable' (even 'expert') writers on the net, and I have been perturbed by some of what is being proclaimed as knowledge.

I know I am not alone in my thoughts here.

But I do worry that some parents who are looking for information and 'answers' to their questions may be absorbing some of the misinformation in some of these articles.

Now....having said that, I personally do not proclaim to be an expert regarding the Autism Spectrum (or the greatest writer in the world :)) I listen to and learn from not only my Autistic children, family, colleagues and friends, draw from my own experience, intuition and observation of living with Autism, and am regularly reading the resources of knowledgable writers in the field of Autism.

When you read an article, to learn something more about Autism, please maintain an inquisitive mind, but moderate your intake of the information by filtering the truth, relevence, fact, fiction, genuineness, 'credentials' (real knowledge and experience) of the writer.

There is much wonderful information about Autism out 'there', but be selective about the information you may apply to your own personal journey with Autism.

A good place to start building quality knowledge is to include in your reading the many texts and articles available by Autistic authors, parents, some professionals and others genuinely dedicated to providing accurate information and advice.

What many people do, who learn through reading the many sources of information, they apply many of the suggestions, blocks of advice and info (in general) to their treatment of their children and other persons who are on the Autism Spectrum.

Lets make sure that this information applied is as correct as it can be, humane, applicable, honourable, ethical and respectful of the actual and real needs and desires of our Autistic children/teens/adults.