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Show Volume IX Issue IX THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 3 February 15, 2004 Guest Commentary Autism Awareness By April T. Flitton What comes to your mind when you hear the word autism? Handicap, mental retardation, flapping hands, someone rocking back and forth over and over, or the movie Rainman? We have a child with autism in our family. His name is Garrett. He doesn’t flap his hands or rock back and forth, but he does do a lot of jumping and clapping. Each child/person with autism has different degrees or levels of severity, and each family with a child with autism has their own story. Each one is different, but I’d like to share a bit of our story with you in order to raise awareness about autism. Garrett Flitton What is autism? Autism is a developmental disorder with impairments in language and social interaction skills. Individuals with autism appear to be in their own world and use their own language; sometimes their world can be very painful because they can be very sensitive to sounds, bright light, touch, and noise. They have great difficulty communicating their needs and wants, and they have difficult behavior. When Garrett is frustrated, he’ll scratch and hit himself, or when he gets excited he’ll kick or punch his brothers. It is a guessing game at times because you can’t seem to meet their needs. Infants and babies can cry to tell you that they are tired, wet, hungry, or just need to be held. Sometimes it is frustrating to know what they need because they can only tell you in this one way of communicating. Autism can be very similar. Autism knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries; and family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism’s occurrence (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). When Garrett was 8 months old, I noticed something in his behavior that I thought was very strange. He would never reach out for things that he wanted. He never reached towards a toy, to me, or to my husband. He rarely cooed, babbled, or smiled. Crying seemed to be his only means of communication, and he wouldn’t let you hold or snuggle him to sooth him. As he grew older, around 20 months old, the organ music at church would send him into a crying fit for hours, and he still hadn’t said his first word. Something else I thought was odd, he would sit through an entire cartoon movie without leaving his seat. He looked like he was in a trance. When playing with his toys, he would line them up and they always had to be in the same order. But the hardest thing for my husband and me was to watch Garrett not recognize those around him. It wasn’t until Garrett was three years old that he actually knew who his papa was. To everyone who meets Garrett, he appears to be a normal looking child, until a new acquaintance tries to have a conversation with him. He is unable to answer their questions, and will start to repeat a line he heard from a movie, or sometimes he’ll strike out and claw, scratch, or hit the person Paid Advertisement Ear Infections…? "Free Report Reveals The 'Latest Research' About Ear Infections & the "Shocking Truth" Your Doctor Probably Doesn't Know And Likely Hopes YOU Never Learn…" Boston - A new, free report reveals what leading medical researchers have proven to be the cause of most ear infections. Ear infection misdiagnosis and mistreatment is rampant and leads to countless years of unnecessary suffering. This free report reveals a natural procedure that is giving ear infection sufferers their "lives back" with amazing results for many. If you or your child suffers from ear infections you need this no obligation, no B.S. free report that once read…you'll know exactly what to do! To finally get out of pain… Call the toll-free 24-hour recorded message at 1-800-867-8308. Built by an architect/owner. Cedar shingle sided contemporary saltbox is light, clean and refreshingly different. Privacy and views. Inside is a ‘must see’! Priced perfect at $205,000. Office: 745-2545 Cell: 690-1232 asking the question. But, mostly, he’ll just ignore them completely. The next set of looks you receive from the confused greeter seem to ask, “What’s the matter with him?” After a while, you ignore these stares and try to move on with your business. Sometimes it’s worth the time to quickly educate someone who might be helping you at a store so that they become aware of what autism is, but, at other times, shoppers don’t have the understanding or the time for you to explain your child’s behavior. Autism is more common than multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, or childhood cancer (Children’s Biomedical Center of Utah). Twenty years ago, the incidence rate in the U.S. for autism was 1 in 10,000; in 2001, it jumped to 1 in 250. Today, the incidences of autism is still growing at a rate of 10 to 15% per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001; U.S. Department of Education). With statistics like this, there will be, by the year 2020, more than 1,057,000 children in the state of Utah, and it is anticipated that more than 4,200 of them will be diagnosed with Autism (State of Utah Demographics and Economic Analysis, 2003). This will impact state resources, particularly within the public education system. What causes autism? Autism has no single cause. Researchers believe several genes, as well as environmental factors— such as viruses or chemicals—contribute to the disorder. There are other studies that have found abnormalities in several regions of the brain, including the cerebellum, amygdale, hippocampus, septum, and mamillary bodies. Neurons in these regions appear smaller than normal, and have stunted nerve fibers that may interfere with nerve signaling. These studies suggest that autism results from disruption of normal brain development early in fetal development. There are other studies that suggest that people with autism have abnormal levels of serotonin or other signaling molecules in the brain. Both of these studies have discovered interesting findings, but they are only in a preliminary stage, and require further study. As more and more studies have been conducted, researchers have been able to disprove the early belief that parental practices were responsible for autism. We, as a family, have hope for Garrett. We were one of the lucky ones to have had our names placed on a waiting list two years ago and selected to attend the Northern Utah Autism Program (NUAP). The average wait to participate in NUAP is 18 to 24 months. This is due to a lack of funding for more schools both with private as well as state funds. This program has been a lifesaver for us because Garrett now has a way of communicating his needs. We regret to say that many children with autism whose names are on the list will be too old (over the age of 5) for the program before their name comes up. While there is no cure for autism at the present time, therapies, or interventions are able to bring about substantial improvements. At Garrett’s autism NUAP preschool, he has made huge improvements in his language and behavioral skills because the school focuses on educational/behavioral intervention. Strategies are practices that emphasize a very structured and intensive skill-oriented training that is developed for each individual child. Garrett can now communicate some of his wants and needs, and plays with his brothers as opposed to always striking out at them. He can say some phrases like “I want water please.” Garrett has helped our family gain patience, trained us to become detectives, and to rely on faith to get through each day. Studies are being conducted continuously in an effort to crack the autism puzzle. Recent research has already helped bring us closer to more answers, which now allows us to help better diagnose, treat, and eventually cure autism. We hope that, with more autism awareness, we will be able to better educate, inform, and raise funding for research and schooling so that children with autism may have the best opportunity at the best life we can give them. |