Sunday, August 9, 2009
We are in the process of editing the list of references and offering some neutral sources of information and suggested reading. In the mean time, please feel free to offer your own ideas for getting at "the bottom line." Please remember you are welcome to disagree but keep it respectful and polite. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
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Dr. Good...,
ReplyDeleteI look forward to learning more about ASD and its treatments and therapies from you and your blog. I am a complete newby and layman when it comes to all things Autism/ASD. I hope to learn more on your site as well as sharing any information I might come across.
The world of autism was a mystery to me until recently. Events in the last several months have only clouded the mystery more.
I live in a small apartment in Seattle, WA. My upstairs neighbors are parents to a teenaged boy who I believe suffers from autism. I used to remain awake through the night, and distracted from daily events by his constant activity. I had always thought of autistic children and quiet and reticent, existing more in their heads than in our physical world. This young man challenges that assumption; he will pace/stomp back and forth the length of the apartment for hours on end only stopping to sit directly over my living room and I can't be certain about this, but I think he has a rolling pin and is rolling pie crusts on the wood paneled floor. (It is the only way I can relate the noise he makes...) This behavior continues until about 4 a.m. when the stomping again takes place. I have seen the boy only once in my six months here. I think he was venturing out of his safe zone and made his way downstairs to my apartment. I was just walking in from outside and must have startled him. He looked at me with the most vacant stare, turned away and walked back upstairs to his apartment. When I got inside my apartment there was the briefest moment of silence and then the stomping began again. I am learning to file the noise away as predictable background; it no longer keeps me awake or distracts from other things, but always makes me wonder. (Yes, I am making the assumption that he is autistic and I could very well be wrong.)
Obviously there are varying degrees to the condition and different people suffer differently but I am wondering if there is a "PAT" definition of Autism/ASD. If so could you provide it?
Finally, I have recently read articles in I believe Time (or Newsweek, not certain,) and Yahoo news quoting scientists in Canada and California have come up with significant treatments that allow many Autistic adults and children to lead relatively normal lives. I think of this young man that lives above me and nothing short of a miracle could allow him to lead an independant "normal" life... Do you give any creedance to these claims? (I will find the links when and if time allows...) I'm also reminded of a plot point in a novel by one of my favorite writers, Tom Robbins. The hero in the book claims to have been born autistic, impervious to the outside world, locked inside a prison in his own mind... He comes to be cured while swimming with dolphins and theorizes that his autism was caused by some sort of hydro shock at birth; that is suddenly going from a liquid environment to our gaseous reality... I realize the thought is simplistic, but I admire the writer and the research he does for every book he writes so I was wondering if this was something you had run across in your studies or clinical work.
I apologize for my length here Dr. Good, I figured that since I was your first follower though I might as well dig in. :) Again, I am just a layman, the topic is new and mysterious to me; I'd like to learn as much as possible and hopefully understand. You have two open ears and an open mind here. Please keep me informed.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gonzo