<p>Wow, just wow…how those parents do it just amazes me…it puts my minor irritations back into perspective</p>
<p>Everyone complaining about their colleges and their kids colleges should watch programs like this</p>
<p>Most of us are very very lucky and don’t even think about it</p>
<p>I just watched it too. I taped it for my sister who has a 15 year old son who is autistic. Her husband died 8 years ago so she is raising him alone. I talk to her every day, and I know what she and other parents in this situation are going through. There aren’t the right words to say how horrible it can be in so many different ways. My grown daughter suffers from severe mental illness and she will not allow me to help her much.</p>
<p>There is a great deal of suffering around, to be sure. Makes me so much more grateful for my happy college-bound son.</p>
<p>Better autism than something potentially fatal, JIMHO. (I am not trying to disregard how hard this must be, by any means).</p>
<p>We watched it too - our whole family was extremely moved by the program. Our 14-yr. old said everyone in his Middle School should watch it. Some of the kids seemed so sweet and loving that it just broke my heart when they talked about bullies.</p>
<p>I guess God knew what He was doing when he gave us 3 healthy boys - not sure iId be up to the challenges those families face. What incredibly strong & courageous people those (and all parents w/ special needs kids) are. I bow to them - and will pray for them too.</p>
<p>Autism seems to be a growing problem nowadays. Does anyone have info on the causes? (I’ve always heard it’s unknown). It also doesn’t seem like there is enough being done in society to help families like this in need - THIS is where the $$ in social programs should be going!</p>
<p>I applaud HBO for airing this program - hope it will increase awareness everywhere. It sure did here!</p>
<p>Autism IMO is a spectrum and while difficult, not only neurotypicals are able to go to college and raise families. My daughters college roomate has asperger’s, and both my kids and I are on the spectrum.</p>
<p>[The</a> Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They Think They Know](<a href=“http://stag.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-03/ff_autism]The”>http://stag.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-03/ff_autism)</p>
<p>There have been two autism programs lately. Last night’s was called “Autism Everyday” and was on Sundance. “Autism the Musical” is being shown on HBO.</p>
<p>“Autism Everyday” was much more about the nitty-gritty, exhausting, demoralizing day-to-day experiences of families with a severely autistic child. None of their children were going to a school in which they would be in a position to be bullied, because they need constant one-on-one supervision, whether at school or home. Some of the kids in “Autism the Musical” are a bit higher functioning, with some language and other abilities. </p>
<p>And, tobia_e, I wonder if all of the parents featured in “Autism Everyday” would agree with you. You wouldn’t believe some of their comments. The title comes from what it takes to deal with their children every day and for the rest of their lives. And the parents have to worry about what will happen to those children when they (the parents) die–who will care for them, how will they live.</p>
<p>My heart goes out to the parents, siblings and other relatives of those with autism. And my heart breaks for the children themselves–they have been robbed of what we usually take for granted, a normal life.</p>
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<p>A normal life? Since when is being “normal” necessarily optimal? I agree that it is unfortunate that many autistic people cannot lead independent lives and thus pose somewhat of a burden to their caretakers, but as another person who is on the autistic spectrum, I find the constant pity for autistic people unwanted and somewhat offensive. They experience the world in their own way, and the only bad thing about it is that it’s not the “normal” way.</p>
<p>ek - I read the article you linked. Very enlightening. It’s interesting to think that Autism isn’t really a DISfunction, just a different way of funtioning, as the article suggests. Gives a lot more credit to those w/ Autism than society generally does. Thanks for posting.</p>
<p>My mistake in getting the two programs confused - HBO aired “Autism: The Musical” yesterday also, so I thought that was the one to which the OP referred. I shed a few tears watching the HBO program, I can only imagine how much more moving the Sundance program would be.</p>
<p>Yes, austism is aq spectrum and there are many high functioning people with the disorder</p>
<p>In the cases shown- these families gave up homes, gave up their lives and did it unselfishly for their child</p>
<p>One parent said- We are using up our son’s college fund, and actually paying for his Harvard education now and will be every year for the rest of his life</p>
<p>Also, insurance doesn’t cover many of the medical bills, there are few good places for help and long wait lists (and from what I understand, the longer you wait, the less chance of real improvement) and these people live 24-7 autism.</p>
<p>I think ever kid who is complaining about anything- from the imperfect school, to having to gosh, make sucha tough decision between two ivys needs to watch programs like this</p>
<p>Makes their problems seem very petty</p>
<p>Trima: I didn’t mean to offend you. We can’t know what is going on in the mind of an autistic person who has great difficulty communicating or perhaps can’t communicate at all. Sympathy for someone who feels fine would be misplaced.</p>
<p>My son is on the spectrum as well. Also, highly gifted, but still manages to do well academically and socially at a regular high school. </p>
<p>And my good friend with whom I serve on a landscape committee, has an adult daughter (38 years old) who is autistic…and we have very different life experiences. Part of it is a severity of condition issue…but also a large part is the amount of knowledge and therapies that have become available in the last 20 years. I have always been my son’s advocate, began language and SI therapy as soon as he was diagnosed, eventually left my career to focus on his needs. I believe this is why he is so successful. Honestly, most of his friends and teachers have no idea. They just think he is quirky-smart and very cool. I do inform teachers if we get into an academic issue, usually structure-related when they occurs. I’ve become a pro at ‘working’ the teaching structures so he is accommodated. (And I’m lucky, that for the most part, we have top-notch teachers willing to bend a little.)</p>
<p>Now on the other hand, my friend had to take her adult daughter to the gynecologist yesterday and it was the most heart-wrenching, upsetting experience for everyone. She is very communicative and is in an adult program to build social skills. But when she has a bad experience, it can take weeks for her to recover.</p>
<p>I almost feel that at some point there will be a need to divide the spectrum, as it were, so that both ends have programs that really work for them</p>
<p>You have one “group” that has difficulty feeding themselves, can barely talk, have problems with controlling their bodies (this is where my good friend is at- she has a teenage boy that uses the bathroom about half the time, is in a program, but has to battle for each and every inch she can get, and is scared to death about what will happen when she dies or can no longer physically take care of him)</p>
<p>to the other end with the highly gifted individuals who have roadblocks but can function well</p>
<p>I almost think it does both groups a disservice to put them all together- the needs are so varied and people too often don’t understand the needs and differences </p>
<p>As well, families have very different dynamics- the divorce rate among parents with the more challenging types of austism to deal with is 80% or higher</p>
<p>So some will know autistics and see the high functioning types, and not understand why another mother of an autistic child can’t get their daughter to pay attention or behave, and then you get the other side that just sees the type of son my friend has and doesn’t see the potential of the highly funtioning autistic person</p>
<p>Well said, citygirlsmom.</p>
<p>How are the highly-functioning autistics recognized/diagnosed?</p>
<p>when they start doing research for their own kids and start going _ oh- oh- hmm.</p>
<p>That is to say- hard to diagnose.
Even in kids, not a lot of people "professionals"who know much about anything besides ADHD or other conditions that are more subtle.</p>
<p>When I was being assessed for DVR- to see if I could get the state to help pay for vocational school- the psychiatrist said, that unless I had been diagnosed as a child- I didn’t have anything now.
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Um yeah in the 1960s they were really good about identifying behavior and learning differences.</p>
<p>bz - Strangely, my friend’s 38 year old daughter and my son seem to have had the same start…but ended up at either end of the spectrum. </p>
<p>General observations early in life: no infant babbling; intense focus on some stimulus, intense avoidance of other stimulus; reliance on echolalia to communicate, refusal to make eye contact; major sensory integration issues especially taste and touch textures and vestibular issues; flat speech with little intonation or pitch pattern change…questions sound like statements;</p>
<p>Examples…as an infant/toddler, my son shrieked at the sight of mylar ballons (because he remembered the noise the tank made when they were inflated), would sit for hours trying to make a crooked swinging door hang straight; crawl over my shoulder and down my back if I didn’t fix the back door mat perfectly straight before we left the house; would not touch grass or sand with his bare feet; before he could walk, he memorized sequence of commercials on the Weather Channel and would crawl away from the TV in hysterics right before a commercial that he didn’t like was about to air. (The background noise of the Weather Channel for some reason was soothing to him, except for the occasional ‘bad’ commercial). Before three, he taught himself to read…but, he had a hard time communicating verbally and would piece together phrases. For instance, if we were going to the doctor, instead of saying “I don’t want to go because I’m afraid”, he would say in a very flat voice “How about - 'fraid of doctor.” “How about - stay home.” He also never played with toys…rather collected them and lined them up…for hours on end. Never learned to ride a bike or pump a swing…though we tried so hard to teach him. These are just a few things off the top of my head.</p>
<p>And according to my friend, her daughter was very similar. But my son is high functioning and her daughter is not. I think the fact we had early access to the Meyer Center at Texas Children’s was a huge advantage for us…but no doubt, her daughter’s condition is more severe than my son’s.</p>
<p>Btw…his diagnosis as highly gifted was also at the Meyer Center. Most people incorrectly assume this is a good thing. It’s not. Gifted is good, highly gifted is a tough row to hoe.</p>
<p>ldmom - is there any proof that the kinds of intervention you secured for your child can be helpful if started at later ages? Just thinking - if some parents don’t have the money to pay for many of the long-term, intensive interventions when their child is a toddler, per se, can these interventions work if somehow the finances change once their child is of grade school age. I’ve heard what some parents pay for additional intervention, coming into the home many times a week, for intensive therapy, and it’s mind boggling… they’re paying out of pocket for it. Definitely not something the average family can even consider.</p>
<p>Idmom–</p>
<p>Congratulations on raising such an exceptional child. I’m sure that your dedication in meeting his specific needs made a huge, positive difference in his development.</p>
<p>I just happened to come across this thread and am wondering where I can view the Sundance Program. I am a paraprofessional and work with autistic students. I did see the HBO program and it was really good. Whenever I get the chance I try to learn more about the challenges that these kids and their families encounter and how they deal with those challenges. I feel like the more I understand, the better I can do my job.</p>
<p>There are state early intervention programs- HOWEVER, many people don’t know about them.
<a href=“We Educate You On Bodybuilding, Fitness & Weight Loss”>We Educate You On Bodybuilding, Fitness & Weight Loss;
I never found out about them until my daughter was too old, even though she was attending a co-op preschool, that employed teachers who worked with the university, even though she was attending a high risk clinic at the university, even though her pediatrician must have known about them.</p>
<p>These programs are generally, or at least in our area, administered through the school district. ( perhaps that is why others didn’t suggest it)
She was screened @ 5 years old, by the district and the OT identified that she could benefit from therapy, however, she didn’t meet the cuttoff criteria for the district to PAY for it. It wasn’t covered by insurance becuase it was not a HEALTH issue & we really didn’t have the money .</p>
<p>But teriwitt, I think that started at anytime- it could be beneficial. The OT taught me some theraputic techniques that we used & there is a lot of change that still can occur</p>