Transcript Document
DESTROYING THE MYTHS OF AUTISM Presented by Wendy Fournier and Jo Pike What exactly is autism? • Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3. • Autism is diagnosed four times more often in boys than girls. • Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. • Individuals with autism often suffer from numerous physical ailments. • Autism does not affect life expectancy. Myth #1 Refrigerator Mother Theory • Bettelheim believed autistic children did not feel loved by their mothers and retreated into a world of their own. Bruno Bettelheim Myth #2 No Emotion •Children with autism and related disorders most definitely do have emotional feelings. •Children with autism and related disorders are able to love and feel loved. Myth #3 Your child needs a good spanking! Too Bright Myth #4 You’re born with autism. •On average, autism is diagnosed at 44 months. •Many children with autism met all of their developmental milestones before the age of 2 and suddenly regressed into autism. Myth #5 Vaccines do not cause autism. •A recent study shows that children receiving vaccines containing the preservative “Thimerosal” are many times more likely to develop autism than those who receive thimerosal-free vaccines. •Thimerosal is 49.6% Mercury by weight. Mercury is the 2nd most toxic substance on Earth and a known neuro-toxin. •In the 1990’s the number of required childhood vaccinations dramatically increased. So did the rate of autism. •Please do your own research. Myth #6 Individuals with Autism are Savants. •It is not common for individuals with autism to be like Dustin Hoffman’s character in “Rain Man”. Myth #7 Autism is a Neurological Disorder •Allergies •Asthma • Sleep disturbances •Food Sensitivities •Inflammatory bowel disease •Epilepsy •Digestive Disorders •Feeding Disorders •Persistent Viral Infections • And more… Myth #8 The increase in the rate of autism is due to better diagnosing. •10 years ago, the rate of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. •Today it is 1 in 166. •This is a 5,000% increase in 10 years. If this astonishing increase is due to better diagnosing, where are the thousands and thousands of adults with autism who should have received a diagnosis 10, 20 or 30 years ago? This leads us to… Myth #9 Autism is a rare disorder. •1 in 166 children are now being diagnosed with autism. •Every 16 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism. 1992 Baseline year 1994 0-30% 101-300% 31-100% >1000% 1996 0-30% 101-300% 501-999% 31-100% 301-500% >1000% 1998 0-30% 101-300% 501-999% 31-100% 301-500% >1000% 2000 0-30% 101-300% 501-999% 31-100% 301-500% >1000% 2002 0-30% 101-300% 501-999% 31-100% 301-500% >1000% 2003 incomplete Over 2000% Myth #10 There is no cure for Autism. •Dietary intervention •Nutritional supplementation •Heavy metal chelation •Anti-viral treatments •Applied Behavior Analysis •Auditory Integration Therapy To learn more about autism and related disorders, visit http://www.NationalAutism.org.