tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184208181444239184.post5956155730613246307..comments2024-03-14T13:25:42.698-04:00Comments on Child in Mind: Diagnosing Autism in Infancy?Claudia M. Gold, MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13081419560269676730noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184208181444239184.post-43757518037182203252010-11-17T19:14:56.012-05:002010-11-17T19:14:56.012-05:00Hi Regina
Thanks for your comment. I think the pr...Hi Regina<br /><br />Thanks for your comment. I think the problem comes in trying to generalize about a vast and complex subject. I have taken care of many kids with a diagnosis of autism whose parents describe very challenging behavior in early infancy. They speak of a wish that someone had helped them to make sense of their child’s bewildering behavior. Just yesterday the mother of a 14 year old boy with autism was describing how she had to stand in front of the kitchen sink with the water running in order for her son to be calm enough to take a bottle.<br />On the other hand, there are children, like your son, who do not have these difficulties in infancy and are subsequently diagnosed with autism. It makes me wonder if these are different biological entities with different genetic vulnerabilities with the common endpoint of the profile of an autistic child.<br />As my piece was on diagnosis of autism in infancy, my focus was on those children whose difficulties start soon after birth. In doing so I inadvertently oversimplified a very complex issue.Claudia M. Gold, MDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13081419560269676730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184208181444239184.post-50804759992792778832010-11-17T17:10:22.165-05:002010-11-17T17:10:22.165-05:00I can only relate my own experience as a parent of...I can only relate my own experience as a parent of a child with PDD-NOS and cognitive impairment.<br /><br />My son gave his aunt a beautiful, wide smile the day he came home from the hospital. He nursed beautifully, and we spent many precious hours gazing into each others' eyes as I held him skin-to-skin. I still like to listen to an audiotape of him having a wonderful, cooing "conversation" with his grandmother at 4 months of age. If anything, he was too indiscriminately happy. In all his infant and toddler pictures, he is gazing into the camera with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.<br /><br />The underlying message conveyed by your article and citations is that infants with autism are generally fearful of close contact, poor feeders, unrewarding and uninterested participants in the parent/child dyad -- and their symptoms could be ameliorated by sensitive parental engagement. Perhaps I'm touchy on this subject, but reading the post made me feel burdened by the expectation that I should bear some responsibility for the social emotional gains -- or lack thereof -- of my infant eventually diagnosed with an ASD. That doesn't feel helpful to a parent who hasn't begun observing atypical behaviors until well into the second year of life, which is when MOST parents begin to suspect something is awry.<br /><br />I can say with confidence that I mothered my infant son with great sensitivity to his needs, and that did not prevent him from developing sensory problems, echolalia and an intense need for ritualistic routine in the second year of his life.<br /><br />I pray for the day when genetic testing can not only establish a diagnosis for infantile autism, but also inform strategies for intervention in the first year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184208181444239184.post-69082577894563046372010-11-13T00:57:49.994-05:002010-11-13T00:57:49.994-05:00I've been thinking about this post for a week....I've been thinking about this post for a week.<br /><br />My sense (based on my conversations with mothers of children with autism) is that early diagnosis & intervention is overall a benefit, not a burden. The label isn't the problem.<br /><br />Do come visit The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, <br /><br />http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ <br /><br />You might meet some mothers who are fostering healthy emotional development for children with autism. You might also meet some adults with autism who also have healthy emotional development -- while still autistic.Liz Ditzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03455722013211350247noreply@blogger.com