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Just as with autism where the focus seems to be on children, this also occurs with ADD and ADHD. Approximately 50% of children who have ADHD will grow up to be adults with ADHD. I previously provided a website that had screening for autism. Here is a nice link to a website to tests for adults to check for ADHD type symptoms. This is a nice online test quick and easy for those of you that are wondering about yourselves. http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm
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I have been warned that writing about possible problems with international adoptions might upset some in the international adoption community. Yet, I feel compelled to write this article. One, because this information should be available to those making a decision regarding these types of adoptions. Also, because it is a perfect example of how sensory and motor delays can cause autistic type presentations.
I had the pleasure of treating a wonderful young girl that was adopted from China. This was actually my introduction into the world of international adoptions and possible complications. The next few sentences highlight some of the issues I have been informed of. Many times the ratio of caretaker to child in some of these orphanages can be as high as 40 to 1. Many times, these children only have their diapers changed once daily. There is the possibility that their hands may be tied as the hands may be considered dirty. Children may never have been taken out of that crib. In fact, they may just have a drip type tube from which to get sustenance. This I was told described the conditions in one of the better orphanages. I was given a copy of a book relating to a term “the dying rooms .” This is a term relating to some of the horrible conditions in the Chinese orphanages during a certain time period. The phrase “Dying room” can be googled and you will be able to find information regarding a book and a television program relating to the same subject. This particular child had not been out of her crib until she was adopted at 18 months old. Therefore, she could not crawl or walk and certainly could not feed herself. When I saw her she was approximately 12 years old.
In the functional neurology model we look at the motor system as being an important driver to brain function. Naturally then development of the motor system is considered paramount development of brain function. Any Situation in which a child did not scoot on time or crawl on time or misses any of their motor milestones becomes a red flag. Primitive reflexes and lower areas of the brain become inhibited as higher areas of the brain develop. If there are inefficiencies in this process, there tends to be inefficiencies in optimal brain function at the highest levels which is what we see in autism spectrum disorders. Therefore, this child was a perfect model for this concept. The fact that she was never out of the crib until she was 18 months old. She had no motor or movement stimulation. She had very little sensory stimulation whatsoever the first 18 months of her life. It is common to see these children stimming and head banging in their cribs looking for some environmental stimulation from the outside world. As I have often said in my presentations to parents and professionals alike, most people realize that if you affect the brain such as in a stroke, you will affect the body. Most, however, do not realize that it is to the receptors from the environment that drives brain activity. Therefore this child’s very limited environmental stimulation had a high probability of presenting with developmental delays, sensory issues and autistic like symptoms.
This child’s functional neurologic examination was exactly as one would expect. She still had primitive reflexes present. She had sensory integration issues mostly related to touch and sound. She had incoordination and a balance disorder. With the appropriate functional neurological examination I was able to localize her functional lesion. Thanks to great cooperation from a dedicated and loving mother, we were able to implement a treatment program to correct her deficits. What is seen most commonly in regard to the application of hemispheric integration therapy with these children is that the ADHD and sensory type symptoms seem to improve first. I then began to get reports from her mom that her cognitive skills were also improving. This child was home schooled and had tutoring. Fairly quickly I began to get reports from mom stating that her reading level had moved up several grade levels. So once again, we got to see the motor cognitive link in action. I recall being in a functional neurology class and hearing the instructor say that “plants don’t have brains, only things that move have brains!” It was something obvious but that had never occurred to me. And so, this wonderful child was an excellent example as to how motor training can drive brain development. Of course, it was not quite as simple as just motor training. We have to incorporate the sensory stimulation and eventually layer her treatment together with cognitive exercises also so as to allow for multi modal processing. However, with the appropriate examination and monitoring of her treatment program allowed us to quickly adapt the program to her rapidly changing findings mostly on a weekly basis but at times on a daily basis.
In my office, we see many boys, as boys tend to be affected by autism spectrum disorders more than girls. However, we have seen quite a few girls and a disproportionate amount of them have been internationally adopted children. So today I got to kill two birds with one stone. I was able to write about functional neurology and hemispheric integration therapy with regard to autism spectrum disorders and inform prospective parents about a not commonly discussed situation with regard to international adoptions.
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The new statistics for autism have been published and the numbers are frightening. If you are involved with the autism community you have most likely already seen or heard these numbers talked about. It is all the buzz on all the forums and blogs. They are approximately one in 100 or 1% of the population is deemed to be on the spectrum. One in 57 boys are considered on the spectrum now. These are our children. This is our future. These numbers are astonishing. However, what I have found to be more terrifying than the numbers themselves is the reaction to these numbers. I am constantly on the Internet looking for tips, gluten-free recipes, resources and the like for my patients. When I have seen since the numbers have come out is a lot of negative reaction. There has been scientific types saying that autism spectrum disorders are not a real diagnosis with a physiologic basis like diabetes or influenza. I read comments such as “this is just a new ADHD or dyslexia.” There were also comments such as this is just poor parenting and disciplining as well as ” in my day we didn’t have so many problems children.” Yes the science is catching up but not quite there yet. But these statements have to be spoken from ignorance and those that are not involved with this community. It is clearly a sign that awareness and education is of paramount importance in this struggle to get research and financial support for this condition. Although I am not aware of the particular statistics, I am certain that there are other medical conditions affecting less than 1% of the population that get much more financial support and awareness than autism spectrum disorders.
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New studies are coming out suggesting that rate of autism in the population is now 1 in 100 as opposed to the more commonly known rates of 1 in 150. This of course is a much higher rate than the 1 in 10,000 rate that we saw a couple of decades ago. This of course is the epidemic we are faced with today. Many still argue that there is no increase in autism and that it is only that the diagnosis is being used more. That is to say, that it is now a more popular or fad diagnosis. Some argue that the increase in the diagnosis autism is just funding purposes in order to get more grants from the government or services for a particular child. This is known as diagnostic substitution. Those that have attended my presentation know that there is scientific research to the contrary. However, parents in the real world hear these “opinions ” every day . My approach also relates to “treating what is found”and not being concerned with labels. That is to say, that we observe function or lack of function, and then try to restore it. We are not concerned with labels and know that there is much overlap among these conditions. I found a great post on this issue on the following website. I thought she did a nice job of capturing the feelings and frustrations of many out there. http://auttoknow.blogspot.com/2009/09/autism-new-over-diagnosis.html
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This week I was introduced to something I had not heard of yet and so I am sharing it with all of you. I had a parent tell me about a wonderful organization that provides service dogs for autistic children. If you have seen a service dog before it was probably related to a visually impaired person, a seeing eye dog. These dogs undergo extensive training and are specially prepared for those on the autism spectrum. This sounds like a great concept and perhaps after my patient receives his dog I will be able to give you some follow up on ” A boy and his dog.” Here is the link, check it out http://www.4pawsforability.org/dream.html#Hung
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Recently, I posted some information regarding adult and teenage children with autism spectrum disorders. I had a parent of an adult child that is being treated at the office with Hemispheric Integration Therapy and functional medicine who made me aware of this link that I am providing below specifically for children over 21. We recently had a request on the message board of our support group from a parent who had a child who was about to turn 18. He had heard that there was specific things that should be put in order before the child turned 18 in order to ensure that he would receive maximum benefits. He was fortunate enough to belong to our support group and get some help with regard to this matter. For all of you out there that are not local to Tampa, this link from the Easter Seals site I thought was informative and a good place to start.
http://www.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=ntlc8_autism_after_21
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Autism spectrum disorders affect every part of our being. It is our very children that are affected and what is there that is more precious to us than our children. It involves our entire lives. I have seen a lot of single moms in my office dealing with one or several children who are on the autism spectrum. I have seen parents that have been able to stay together dealing with one or more children on the autism spectrum. I am always in awe of those with children on the spectrum, how they cope and sometimes embrace with the situation. I find that parents with autistic children are a model for the rest of us and the definition of true unconditional love. Couples that have managed to stay together definitely have something that they could teach the rest of us. The statistics for divorce among parents with children on the autism spectrum are not encouraging. This is another aspect of life with a child with autism doesn’t seem to get enough attention. Yet, a divorce will affect the lives of the parents and the child, not just with regard to financial resources but clearly emotionally as well. Here is a post from a blog where they discuss some strategies for working together as a parental team.
http://autismisnottheboss.com/category/engaging-your-husband-spouse/
