Autism-World

Annabel:I am adopting a child who’s mother is mentally retarded, she also has another kid who has autism. What are the chances of this baby having autism or anything else. What are signs of it?

Juniper:Yes, autism does run in families. The current thinking is that a sibling has a greater chance of developing autism with a close relative with the disorder, but there may be contributing environmental factors. Some of these factors might be exposure to high levels of mercury, digestive problems such as enzyme deficiencies, perhaps a virus, etc. There are some things you can do to lessen the odds of your baby developing full-blown autism, and I’d be happy to list a few.

1. Consider a delayed schedule for routine immunizations. There is some evidence that children at risk for autism may not be able to process the mercury present in vaccinations very well, which may affect the brain development.

2. Try a gfcf diet for a few weeks if you have a toddler, and see if his general behavior becomes more social and healthy. This is especially important if the child has frequent diarrhea. This is a sign that he is not digesting his food properly, which can seriously impact his development and behavior! There is a lot of info on the gfcf diet online for you. For an infant, consider soy formula, which is slightly less allergenic to these kids than dairy.

3. Stay away from large amounts of artificial and dyed foods. Autistic kids tend to be very sensitive to red dyes in particular.

4. Be aware of early signs of autism at around 12-15 months, such as the child not communicating through grunts or gestures, not pointing at things he wants you to see, and having a lot of trouble winding down at night or when stressed out. Feel free to email me if you need more help at that point, or have any questions.

5. Autism is four times more common in boys than girls. There is no real probability out there for siblings, but I’ve heard 1/32, 1/20, etc. I’d say that many siblings would be “sensitive” to developing autism, but for some reason, not all of them do.

I am the wife of a man with Asperger’s syndrome, (a form of high functioning autism) and the mother of three kids, one of whom has moderate-severe autism. We caught it early and he is making huge amounts of progress with proper treatment, so early intervention is key. Explore the use of digestive enzymes, which are a food product and are very safe, and don’t be afraid to ask other moms with autistic children for advice. Oftentimes, they know a little bit more than the doctors do when it comes to play therapy of nutritional supplements that can be helpful. Try the autism research institute and Dr. Bernard Rimland for a balanced perspective on the disorder.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 10:28 pm and is filed under What is Autism.