The "A" Word

Autism is a really easy word to say, until a doctor (or you, yourself!) diagnoses your child. 

As I have said before, there were early clues in James' development as to where he was headed.  When James was between one-and-a-half and two years of age Jim and I began to realize that our little guy was hardly talking.  When he did speak, it was just a handful of words, and he didn't always use them appropriately.  I had a feeling that something was going on, so I researched metal detoxes on the internet.  I ordered one that had great studies and was published--others must have seen results with it, too.  The price has just about doubled since I bought it back then.  I didn't even put it together at the time, but as I used the detox, James slowly began to use more words.  My concerns started to diminish, and I put away the metal detox without much more thought about it. 

We were blessed to have been visited by a family at our church several years ago who had two beautiful boys; one was autistic.  The young man was constantly moving (and constantly smiling!) He spun his hands at times, which I've learned in my research with James is called "stimming".  (self-stimulatory behavior--refers to repetitive motions such as arm flapping, rocking, spinning, or repetition of words and phrases) That was a preview for me, a clue the Lord provided to tuck away in my memory for a later date.

It is so funny to think of the way definitions of words change and our attitudes toward them.  Autism used to be thought of as a disease caused by mothers! The "refrigerator mother" label was based on the assumption that autistic behaviors stem from the emotional frigidity of the children's mothers. As a result, mothers of some children on the autistic spectrum suffered from blame, guilt, and self-doubt from the 1950s throughout the 1970s and beyond.  Praise God that is not the case anymore, though there needs to be a heightened awareness of what autism really means, and what can be done to recover from it.

Some of this next information will seem like it is straight from a science fiction movie...though it's old hat around here by now.