tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post113002118068844781..comments2024-03-27T15:43:53.969-04:00Comments on Adventures in Autism: Does Autism Treatment Change Personality?Ginger Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1131754394223176712005-11-11T19:13:00.000-05:002005-11-11T19:13:00.000-05:00So I have wrapped up all my thoughts on this debat...So I have wrapped up all my thoughts on this debate in this post:<BR/><BR/>http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2005/11/safety-v-personality-change.htmlGinger Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1131754336058360562005-11-11T19:12:00.000-05:002005-11-11T19:12:00.000-05:00Kev said... As you know, I don't like chelation. I...Kev said... <BR/><BR/><I>As you know, I don't like chelation. It really genuinely worries me.</I><BR/><BR/>Fair enough. <BR/><BR/>Please indulge my probing questions so I can narrow this down. I want to understand what exactly worries you about chelation. Autistic children not dx with metal poisoning being chelated, or any autistic child being chelated? Off label use of chelators like IV ETDA, FDA approved like oral DMSA for lead, or any chelator including natural ones like l-glutathione and ALA?<BR/><BR/>What if the child is being supplemented and tested regularly to make sure minerals are in balance?<BR/><BR/><I>I speak out against chelation and against a sole mercury causation but that’s about it.</I><BR/><BR/>While some may think that mercury plus nothing equals autism, I just came from a DAN! conference and heard people like Bradstreet talk, and over three days I did not hear anyone put forth that message. Mercury was always discussed in the context of a TRIGGER for autism, for which many of the metabolic problems needed for the disorder are already threatening to take place, one among many toxins that can set the process in motion. (See DAN Blogging post http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2005/10/dan-blogging.html)<BR/><BR/><I>Simply put: I don't think any of these things can possibly cure autism. if I thought they could I might be more vociferous in my opinions.</I><BR/><BR/>Again for clarification, then if they did work to cure autism, you would speak out against them more loudly? Meaning you truly believe that autism should not be cured even if the metabolic breakdown is completely defined and we know exactly what the problem is?<BR/><BR/><I>Secondly is, as I say, the high regard that I have to have for adult autistics whos autism has quite clearly enhanced their lives and even where it isn't you'll find a love of being who they are.</I><BR/><BR/>Good, great, as it should be!<BR/><BR/><I>It may well be that if he'd been 'cured' 10 years ago they wouldn't know the difference but that wouldn't make it right.</I><BR/><BR/>Wouldn't make it wrong either.<BR/><BR/><I>I find it very difficult to see how we as non-autistics can believe we know best what an autistic might want.</I><BR/><BR/>Depends if they are adults, teens, minors or our own children. I would never presume to tell an adult with autism what treatment decisions they should make, at the other end of the continuum, I feel very comfortable making decisions for my sons that will dramatically influence the outcome of their lives.<BR/><BR/><I>The fact that we are their parents indicated a truer level of relationship - as parents we have lots of obligations but does that include the right to remove what is, like it or not, a core part of who our kids are?</I><BR/><BR/>My answer to that is yes. I have to make a judgment call, are the upsides of autism worth the downsides for my son? I don't think that they are because they put him at risk. I believe that safety trumps pretty much everything.<BR/><BR/>In addition, the treatments that we are doing with him are all measures that make him more healthy. Chelation to rid his body of mercury and lead; vitamins and minerals that he does not seem to get enough of; really healthy organic food while with holding food that he is allergic to; probiotics, digestive enzymes and nystatin to make his digestive track work properly.<BR/><BR/>Here is my big question: If these measures, that are to make his body more healthy, end up changing his personality and/or cognition, then was his 'autism' ever truly a "core part of who he is"?<BR/><BR/><I>Thanks for conducting this debate on such non-aggressive grounds.</I><BR/><BR/>Is there any other way??? ;)Ginger Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04200286625735078479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130208410511291732005-10-24T22:46:00.000-04:002005-10-24T22:46:00.000-04:00My experience has been that my son has become less...My experience has been that my son has become less savant-like with <BR/>nutritional supplement therapy and Pivotal Response Training. This time last <BR/>year, he was constantly adding numbers and into spelling big-time (He was 4 <BR/>then). Today, he is very interested in play-dates and has become aware of <BR/>friendships the other kids have. His personality has changed to become more <BR/>social, more engaged, less inwardly focused. He is also more willful - which I <BR/>view as a good thing. <BR/>AngelaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130182406422947212005-10-24T15:33:00.000-04:002005-10-24T15:33:00.000-04:00This is a great post. Your question at the bottom ...This is a great post. Your question at the bottom struck home to me. This summer we heard the wonderful news that my son no longer could be considered Autistic. The one thing that I noticed was he no longer had that amazing ability to spell any word after hearing or seeing it once. For example, at 2 1/2 a friend's father was over our house while the boys were playing. I have a magnetic board with letters. My son picked up the letters and started to spell his son's name, which was a very long name. The man's jaw almost hit the floor. His son (same age) could only identify one letter in the alphabet and my son could spell about 20-30 words including his son's 8-letter name. He no longer has that amazing ability. He can spell but not only after seeing a word or hearing the letters once.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I'll trade the supper human spelling for a child that can tell me what he wants, what is wrong, how he feels, and what he did that day.<BR/><BR/>JackieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130158504642006682005-10-24T08:55:00.000-04:002005-10-24T08:55:00.000-04:00ooops! anonymous was me! forgot to include my name...ooops! anonymous was me! forgot to include my name!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130158452418981452005-10-24T08:54:00.000-04:002005-10-24T08:54:00.000-04:00thank you, Ginger! for your posts. ever fascinatin...thank you, Ginger! for your posts. ever fascinating, thoughtful and respectful! i so appreciate your approach, your willingness to get and keep the discussion open. i guess i DO want to hear about it becuase i'm always coming to your site!<BR/><BR/>our son's personality hasn't changed but he has become more engaged, more interactive, more relaxed, and more, what i would call, himself, since we began 'treatment'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130124686632019562005-10-23T23:31:00.000-04:002005-10-23T23:31:00.000-04:00It's an interesting question. My own answer: we ...It's an interesting question. My own answer: we started floortime and SI work with Damian in the spring of 2001. (We don't do biomed or ABA so I can't comment on those.) I loved my son and felt I knew his personality, but he was afraid of so much and unable to communicate with us, unable to enjoy other kids (was terrified of them)... he had so many barriers to being fully comfortable in the world. <BR/><BR/>I've never thought of it as a cure. We're not trying to stamp out all signs of autism; he'll always have some sensory quirks, so what? We're simply helping him become more whole and, frankly, more wholly himself. I look at him now and I see the two year old he was, definitely. He's the same kid, with the same love of music, the same sense of humor, and even the same love of certain sensory textures. He's just more integrated and present, more able to enjoy his friends and more able to understand the world around him. He's more himself, that potential self we saw back then.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130097432642768532005-10-23T15:57:00.000-04:002005-10-23T15:57:00.000-04:00Hey Ginger, Gabe started ABA 8 weeks ago and is ...Hey Ginger,<BR/><BR/> Gabe started ABA 8 weeks ago and is now able to communicate with us. He no longer shakes the cupboard doors screaming and crying for something we have no idea what he wants. He now smiles at us and says cereal, chips, milk when he is hungry. What a blessing it is to us to hear and understand our son. Gabe is Gabe and we love all of him. I cherish his way of thinking and little quirks, they're beautiful. Why would I want to change that? ABA has just brought more of his personality to the service. He used to just stare at the TV, now he dances around to Maisey and Tahlula. Not because WE want him to, but because we gave him the resources to be able to. Education is a tool for everyone.Mom to Mr. Handsomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03664592848896720811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130091473349353912005-10-23T14:17:00.000-04:002005-10-23T14:17:00.000-04:00You speak for a lot of us, Ginger. Thanks.You speak for a lot of us, Ginger. Thanks.Wade Rankinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986780783735604000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130089674886792582005-10-23T13:47:00.000-04:002005-10-23T13:47:00.000-04:00Yes, we parents do ABA, biomedical, "interventions...Yes, we parents do ABA, biomedical, "interventions" to help our children be more than they can be. As Wade might say, we often get caught in the semantics--I don't think anyone would object to helping a child with headache-inducing stomach aches. I think my son's personality has been pretty much the same throughout--just we see and hear more of him expressing it.kristinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01104388229716638534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771487.post-1130076670268829162005-10-23T10:11:00.000-04:002005-10-23T10:11:00.000-04:00Hi Ginger,My 3 year old's connection to us 'typica...Hi Ginger,<BR/><BR/>My 3 year old's connection to us 'typicals' used to be through music. He was obsessed with the piano since we purchased the first toy one around 15 months. He's been taking music lessons from a music therapist, and she's been impressed with his aptitude. He can match pitch with his voice and can hear key changes in music. I don't exactly know what that means or even if it's that impressive for a 3 year old, but I consider music to be his special talent. As his receptive and expressive language has improved, (through ST, DT, verbal behavior, omega-3 sup., and glutathione) his interest in the piano has dimensioned a good degree. Before, an explosion could go off and it would not take his attention away from the piano. Now (at his lesson) if someone should walk into the room, he'll stop playing and take interest in that person. Sometimes it's hard to get his attention back to the piano. It's possible he might lose interest in the lessons entirely. For me this is no big deal. I was never interested in him being a musical genius. I just wanted him to have a source of joy and an improvement in his quality of life. Now he is finding joy through other sources and that's fine by me. Music is still his 'thing'. It's still what calms him if he's had a really bad day, but it's not the only thing in his life anymore. I can't imagine anyone that had seen his life before would ever say it was a mistake to give him therapy and biomeds. Perhaps parents that don't want to make personality changes, don't have a child that is so severely dysfunctional.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com