a cure for autism?

[AlysWho]

a friend of mine has come back from a trip to the Highlands with some exciting news for me- she met a lady who had Cured Her Son from Autism, using colostrum (first milk).. WTF? Has anyone heard of this?
I have to admit it made me very cross, for reasons I cant very clearly explain tho.. I'm not a believer in 'cures' for autism, and I'm not looking for one. I honestly believe that DD's autism is such an integral part of who she is that to wish it away is to wish her away. Does this sound weird to you lot? x

[willowthecat]

I think if it was that easy, there would not be many ASD children around ! I don't think it is wrong to wish away language or learning difficulties or more realisticallly work to reduce them but this is not the same as wishing the child away.

[AlysWho]

We have, and are, working very hard with DD to give her the best possible opportunities for learning and living life to the full. She's had 12 years of specialised education, therapies etc. What she's struggles with most is anxieties, which are partly triggered by her struggles cognitively.
Is it because she's older i wonder (14 yrs) that I feel that her and her asd are inseperable?

[willowthecat]

That makes sense - ds is 7 and even now it is much more part of him than when he was 3 and what we expected did not happen but expectations fall into line with reality over time but as you say that does not mean life is not a struggle

[dolfrog]

AlysWho

ASD is a complex mix of cognitive disabilities and deficits, most of which have a genetic origin, and it is these problems which trigger the behaviors which form the criteria of an ASD diagnosis. So unless there is a cure for each of these cognitive and / or genetic issues there will be no cure for ASD, until research and medical science have perfected genetic engineering to facilitate such a cure.

The current cutting edge research with regard to ASD has identified links to ADHD, and various types of auditory processing, and language processing issues as factors that can contribute to the causes of ASD. The leading researchers are talking about autisms, or more subtypes of ASD which need to be identified and understood and provide specific forms of support and help each individual who has an ASD diagnosis may require. The old behavioral approaches to understanding these problems has long since past, we are now well into the age of neuroimaging and genetic research, and identifying the real issues. it is the complexities of ASD and the complex problems it presents which is partially causing the delay in the scientific research.

[EllenJaneisnotmyname]

I hate the term 'cure' as well. There is no cure, and now he's 11 my DS is who he is and not having autism would make him a different person. Everyone is different, though, and I can see that the more severe the autism, the more difficult and distressing the behaviour, the more you'd want a cure.

[Marne]

It makes me so angry when people talk of curing Autism, it can't be cured, you can cure it and its unlikely there will ever be a cure, you can't re-wire the brain and Autism is something you are born with and will die with. Autism can be treated and an Autistic person can improve, be taught to control their traits and hide their traits but they will always have Autism. I love my dd's and i love who they are, if i was to take away the autism they would not be them. Yes life will be tough for them but thats mainly due to the way other people will treat them. My girls see the world differently to most people but they see things that others do not. The world would be a boring place without Autistic people/children.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Colostrum is magic stuff. There are studies that show it can be effective at slowing the growth of cancers. It is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-biotic and has properties that people don't understand.

However autism is not an illness or a sickness. It is way the child is built. You can influence development to some extent but you can't change the genetic profile base.

I'm especially angry with your friend because I am a strong advocate for the benefits of breastfeeding and to make such outlandish claims stops the real benefits from being taken seriously.

[coff33pot]

Informatiion like that could lead to a lot of mothers who didnt breastfeed and have a child with autism blaming themselves.

Breastmilk is good for passing on antibodies etc but it cant rewire whats broke.

And my son isnt ill

[amberlight]

Yup. It's much like teaching someone who's Deaf to lipread and announcing "they're cured of deafness!". We adapt, we learn, we overcome obstacles, we can get good training, we might be able to cope better if we're in less stomach pain or whatever else...and that can look like a cure (but we can tell you that it's most certainly not cured at all).

[IndigoBell]

I don't think we should ever give up searching for a cure.

Many of us have done many amazing therapies which have vastly improved our DCs.

ASD is only diagnosed if you display certain behaviours. It's not diagnosed by a genetic test or anything like that. So it is possible to cure it, in that you can stop displaying ASD traits and get your diagnosis removed.

And people certainly have had done that.

[AlysWho]

Yipee! I'm so glad I'm not the only one that doesn't want to Cure My Child of Autism! I was beginning to feel like a dangerously bad parent... Its taken me YEARS to accept her for who she is, and not to judge people with disabilities. Going to a Special School has finally rid me of my affliction of thinking that wanting a positive peer group for her meant cramming her into as much of a mainstream world as possible, EXactly like a square peg in a round hole..Her peer group is there, at her school, she loves it! Who the fuck was I to judge all those children as not a postive peer influence??Awful. (But suprisingly common I think.?)
I love her autism- its honest, real, and funny, challenges us to think differntly, and SO often brings out the best in other people. x

[AtYourCervix]

I'd like a 'cure'. I am also perfectly placed to get hold of bucketloads of colostrum. Don't think DD2 would be up for it though, what with her weird aspie diet and all

[IndigoBell]

Does Colostrum contain Omega Oils? I bet it's something like that.....

[Marne]

Lenin- but all those things can be helped with, there are therapy's, there is medication to help with sleep and social interaction can be worked on (i takes a lot of time but it can be done) but this doesn't meen curing him, just helping him to cope.

Alys- i'm gald you think the same way as me, i have had this convosation so many times and so many people have said they would cure their child autism if they could, there will possibly be times in the future when i may wish i could take it away (when i see my dd's struggling) but overall i wouldn't want to change them. Our lives would be so different without Autism but after living with it for years i think life would be so boring without it. Dd2 is in a MS school as is DD1, dd1 will possibly stay in MS and plans to go to uni (yes, she's only 7 but has her life mapped out), i beleive she will achieve this as long as people can except her for who she is, i'm unsure of dd2's future, she's doing ok at MS but i feel she will have to go into a sn setting by the time she's 7 but thats fine, i'm happy as long as they are happy .

[dietcokegirl]

ooh, let's book a coach trip and get ourselves up there!

Honestly, DS1 shouldn't have autism if colustrum is a cure!

I am on the 'I would like a cure for autism' wagon purely because I don't want DS1 to struggle in life. I love his personality and wouldn't want that to change. Is that part of the autism though? I personally don't think so.

[Marne]

I love dd1's personality but i think if i removed the Aspergers she would be totally different, she can talk for england which can sometimes be anoying but the way she talks and the way she describes her views on life gives her her personality. Some of her traits i think will help her be succesful in life, she likes to be in charge, she sticks to rules and she always wins an argument (traits that you can find in a lot of bosses) , on the other hand, she suffers from anxiety (i know what that feels like as i suffer from it and i would do anything to remove that trait). Dd2 has severe speach delay, she can talk but often chooses not to which makes it hard for me to know how she's feeling, i think this will improve in the future, may just take time but if i had a magic wand thats the one thing i would fix.

[sphil]

I would cure Ds2's autism in a flash if I could. He will never live independently, he faces huge challenges every day and his frustration at not being able to communicate clearly is growing as he becomes more aware. I dont believe it would changed his personality fundamentally - it would just give him an easier, and I think, happier life.

Havng said all that, my opinion would be different if he didnt have SLD, but was still the same Ds2. So maybe its the learning difficulties I would cure.

[saintlyjimjams]

I would cure ds1's autism as well for the same reasons as sphil. He's a fabulous tease but it would be great if he could do that verbally (he's 12, non-verbal).

Having said that we don't hang around waiting for a cure before we live our life. He actually has a very happy life, he surfs, he moor walks, he walks the dog - every bloody day he forces me to drive to the beach with him and the dog, and he is surrounded by love. I realised a few years ago he only has one life and if it was going to be a severely autistic one then we may as well fill it as full as we could (we have to because he can't). It does limit his freedom though (no road sense, self injurous behjaviours, challenging behaviours) and waving bye bye to autism would remove those limitations.

For him autism as a condition is more relevant than autism as a culture (Donna Williams has had a lot to say about that).

[ovenchips]

Could it be that the colostrum referred to is actually a nutritional supplement? I am fairly heavily into treating autism bio-medically and have come across this on websites.

Something like these maybe? autism-supplements.com/supplementsforautism/colostrum

[sphil]

I think you may be right Ovenchips. Ds2 was prescribed it for a short time by a nutritionist a couple of years ago - I'm ashamed to say I cant remember what exactly it was for.

It didnt cure him though !