Some facts have emerged. There is definitely a genetic link. Families with one autistic child are more likely than others to have a second autistic child. One family I know of has six persons with ASD symptoms in four generations! This is extremely rare. But no longer need a diagnosis foretell tragedy! Much can be done once the disorder is confirmed. And even then, simple treatments may suffice. One family of four, mother, father and two children, all have autism. They have learned to avoid family confrontations very effectively. If one occurs, they take out any feelings of frustration on a Family Trampoline. Visitors are used to finding one or more family members leaping up and down and finally emerging calm!

It has been found that ASD, not just a brain disorder, can also affect bodily functions. Too many children show digestive or immune system problems to call it primarily a malfunction of the brain. Allergies are often linked. Diet seems to play a part. It is interesting that children who have had to "starve" for tests often seem to improve, only to revert to behaviour problems when the normal diet is again resumed. So more study of the effects of diet is being undertaken. Research is also being carried out on environmental factors. Are all the poisons we regularly pour into our air partly responsible? For some time, emphasis fell on reactions to childhood vaccines. This is still being examined.

It seems even babies can be diagnosed. Gifted and highly trained therapists are able to detect symptoms much younger, at least in some children who may be at risk.
BC's wonderful Knowledge Network ran a series on treatment of babies and young children not long ago. Much emphasis was placed on capturing the baby's attention. With slightly older children, insistence on eye contact was foremost. If discovered and treated young enough, Autism can often be controlled, not erased, but managed so that the child, and later the adult, can live a worthwhile, happy life. This series will be repeated. Watch for it if you are trying to become more familiar with this puzzling disorder. It seems to offer great hope for parents.

It is being realized that Autism is highly complex, as we now finding with Cancer. There may be an interaction of causes, also. It is urgent that treatments for ASD be discovered. So far a number of treatments have been tried, which may help only some children. The Lovaas Therapy is one such approach. It does not help all children, but if it does, surely government agencies should pay for it! It may cost $45,000 to $60,000 a year for intense one-on-one therapy, but is not half a dozen years of therapy worth far more than a lifetime of unnecessary suffering? Ninety percent of untreated children end up in group homes or other residential facilities, or struggle to live far below the poverty level. Surely this is not what we want for our children.

There is help to be found. The Autism Canada Foundation (www.autismcanada.org) has links to hundreds of therapists all across Canada. Another group, Autism Society Canada (www.autismsocietycanada.ca) is a nationally incorporated charity founded in 1976. Its aims are to educate the public, give all possible information and encouragement, and refer to other sources if necessary. Then there is the Autism Treatment Services of Canada, (www.autism.ca), which gives advice to parents, and helps find treatment for children. Residents of B.C. may also find the Autism Community Training of B.C.(www.actbc.ca) worth investigating. Don't give up.

And above all, don't despair! Your autistic child may also have a hidden talent. Some of the great artists, musicians and thinkers, have also been autistic. Think of Van Gogh, Glenn Gould, Einstein. Perhaps if treatment had been available, genius could have been tempered with a happier life. New approaches are constantly being found. The ASD child born today should live to fulfill his or her own destiny, happily.

2007-06 - Dodi Morrison -