Can someone tell me more about AUTISM ??

[CTrain]

I did google it and has a general idea of it but I like to hear it from someone that has been affect by it.

So is it treatable ??
Is it a life long "disease".
Can someone with Autism function alone in society ??

Any insightful information would be appreciated.

 

[ElFenix]

i don't think its treatable. in fact, i think its often fatal. but there are some incredible autistic savants

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i don't think its treatable. in fact, i think its often fatal. but there are some incredible autistic savants

what the hell? it's not fatal.

please CTrain... consult reputable online sources for your answers on autism.

 

[0roo0roo]

its a disfunctional brain.

they have no theory of the mind. in other words they cannot guess what others are thinking.

 

[sandmanwake]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
its a disfunctional brain.

they have no theory of the mind. in other words they cannot guess what others are thinking.

How is that any different than any man's relationship with a woman?

 

[DannyBoy]

There are a billion different types of Autism, I myself am Autistic, although if you were to meet me in real life you wouldn't think it.

Depending on the type of Autism / severity of the condition, depends on how well the person will be able to advance in life, autistic people generally fall into 2 categories, the "higher ability" and "lower ability", it's pretty self explanatory.

No it's not treatable, but some conditions such as 'higher level' Aspergers Syndrome (which is what I was born with), affect certain parts of the Brain that you can learn to manipulate as you grow older, luckily mine was very mild and I have 'grown out of it', so to speak.

 

[0roo0roo]

when they watch film they are as more likely to fixate on a mechanical light switch as to a actors face. facial expression/emotion mean little to them.

 

[Platypus]

If you want some specifics answered, my sister is a triple certified special education teacher/caregiver. I can pass anything on to her if you PM me.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: sandmanwake

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
its a disfunctional brain.

they have no theory of the mind. in other words they cannot guess what others are thinking.

How is that any different than any man's relationship with a woman?

yea.. its like that... only way way worse

 

[nakedfrog]

My cousin was autistic for a long time (he was born a bit premature). He just couldn't learn to talk for years, which frustrated him, and he ended up getting a helmet because he'd ram his head into walls when he got upset. I think by the time he was 8 he was out of it, but he's always been a bit slow since then too.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
when they watch film they are as more likely to fixate on a mechanical light switch as to a actors face. facial expression/emotion mean little to them.

Actually, autistic people generally lack social skills and have higher IQ's however it doesn't always have to be that way, some can be extremely sociable and be as dumb as a doornail, you can't explain autism to someone without them reading years worth of research to get a good understanding.

Even then, no-one really knows for sure what causes autism.

 

[cjgallen]

Originally posted by: CTrain
So is it treatable ??
Is it a life long "disease".
Can someone with Autism function alone in society ??

It's a genetic disorder.

Autism is often times accompanied by mental retardation. Obviously someone mentally retarded may never function alone in society. My brother however, has Asperger Syndrome (sometimes called "High functioning Autism," there's debate as to whether they're actually the same thing). He's literally the smartest person I know, but you can tell he's just not right. Anti-social, difficulty dealing with many trivial situations, what seems like a lack of common sense. Will he be able to function alone in society? I think so, but he's still got a long way to go IMO (he's 21 years old).

My brother was in special school until fourth/fifth grade I think, and has been in public school since (and three years of college!).

 

[Squisher]

As I understand, treatment for autism centers around one-on-one special education early in life that is almost never covered by insurance.

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: DnaJ
There are a billion different types of Autism, I myself am Autistic, although if you were to meet me in real life you wouldn't think it.

Depending on the type of Autism / severity of the condition, depends on how well the person will be able to advance in life, autistic people generally fall into 2 categories, the "higher ability" and "lower ability", it's pretty self explanatory.

No it's not treatable, but some conditions such as 'higher level' Aspergers Syndrome (which is what I was born with), affect certain parts of the Brain that you can learn to manipulate as you grow older, luckily mine was very mild and I have 'grown out of it', so to speak.

I think this is the type of info I was looking for.

The severity of it is like a stroke right ??
Some people have strokes and are able to be back to normal while others are never the same afterward.

He has not turn 3 yet.
He was always different since he was born but only recently he was diagnosed with it.
I'm not around him long enough to know how severe is his Autism but I know my brother and the wife are really sadden by this.

I'm hoping its not too severe where he can actually function by himself later on and not have to depend on his parents for the rest of his life.

 

[CTrain]

Originally posted by: cjgallen

Originally posted by: CTrain
So is it treatable ??
Is it a life long "disease".
Can someone with Autism function alone in society ??

It's a genetic disorder.

Autism is often times accompanied by mental retardation. Obviously someone mentally retarded may never function alone in society. My brother however, has Asperger Syndrome (sometimes called "High functioning Autism," there's debate as to whether they're actually the same thing). He's literally the smartest person I know, but you can tell he's just not right. Anti-social, difficulty dealing with many trivial situations, what seems like a lack of common sense. Will he be able to function alone in society? I think so, but he's still got a long way to go IMO (he's 21 years old).

My brother was in special school until fourth/fifth grade I think, and has been in public school since (and three years of college!).

Thanks for the info.
I hope my nephew falls in this category.
My biggest worry is if he has to depend on his parents for the rest of his life.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: CTrain

Originally posted by: DnaJ
There are a billion different types of Autism, I myself am Autistic, although if you were to meet me in real life you wouldn't think it.

Depending on the type of Autism / severity of the condition, depends on how well the person will be able to advance in life, autistic people generally fall into 2 categories, the "higher ability" and "lower ability", it's pretty self explanatory.

No it's not treatable, but some conditions such as 'higher level' Aspergers Syndrome (which is what I was born with), affect certain parts of the Brain that you can learn to manipulate as you grow older, luckily mine was very mild and I have 'grown out of it', so to speak.

I think this is the type of info I was looking for.

The severity of it is like a stroke right ??
Some people have strokes and are able to be back to normal while others are never the same afterward.

He has not turn 3 yet.
He was always different since he was born but only recently he was diagnosed with it.
I'm not around him long enough to know how severe is his Autism but I know my brother and the wife are really sadden by this.

I'm hoping its not too severe where he can actually function by himself later on and not have to depend on his parents for the rest of his life.

It really depends how well the parent brings up the child, I had a *very* strict mother that kept correcting me when I made social mistakes and helped educate me when I was younger. Thanks to that I learnt to deal with my behavioural issues as a child and 'grew out of them'.

She had repeated tests done with doctors and she thoroughly researched my condition to make sure I would grow up to get the most out of my life.

I have to say, thanks to her efforts I'm pretty much 98% a normal person now, I still get uncomfortable in some social situations but it never lasts more than a few seconds.

The upside to it is I was born with an IQ of 162 which evened out to ~140 as I grew older, although I don't consider myself that intelligent, mentally I am extremely fast at learning new things and carrying out tasks.

 

[Joemonkey]

two things about autism i have read that stick out in my mind:

Autistic people generally cannot feel empathy towards other human beings. Here is a link explaining what I mean pretty well.

Some people swear Autism is caused by certain immunization shots, MMR being one of them. Here is a link with some data about that.

 

[cjgallen]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Some people swear Autism is caused by certain immunization shots, MMR being one of them. Here is a link with some data about that.

It's a coincidence that symptoms of autism show up at the same age that children get the MMR. We were part of a class action lawsuit, but it never panned out because that theory was proved wrong numerous times.

 

[desteffy]

google knows more than ATOT on this subject...

 

[TheBlondOne]

My little cousin has autism. As previously noted, it comes in all different levels of severity.

My cousin is 5 and kind of lives in his own little world. He CAN function--walk, talk a little, read a bit, write, etc. But he has a very hard time focusing and doesn't communicate well. He is learning more over time, but it's definitely a slow process.

It's not fatal, it's not the end of the world, it just takes a lot of love and patience. Both of which I'm sure your family has.

Best of luck, you're in my prayers.

Sarah

 

[Pocahontas]

There are hundreds of types of autism, most are related to other physical, emotional and or psychological delays or disorders. The best news is that they have come a lonngg way in research and they are so many avenues for help that the only thing that is vital to all children with autism is that they have love, support and help : )