Autism is caused by poor attachment?

[LosPollosHermanos17]

I have recently been involved in therapy that says autism is caused by poor attachment with the parents causing all the symptoms. I thought this was an outdated theory. Just wondered what other people think of this?

To say we are all on a spectrum seems to me as if it is minimising people with Autistic disorders so somebody can say oh im a bit spectrummy so i can relate to that person who has ASD.

The problem with "we are all a bit on the spectrum" in my mind is that logically it could lead to/ justify the kind of policy that Merton CCG are considering . Because if we are all "spectrumy" then clinical involvement is only necessary when there are co-morbid conditions, as 'mild' autism isn't a problem is it!?! but that is a different discussion.

The refrigerator parent theory is discredited, poor parenting, neglect and so on is going to lead to damaged children, sometimes that damage can look like autism. But my autistic children were more difficult to look after as toddlers because they expressed their needs differently it meant I had to be more attentive not less but I knew no different until my youngest (nt) child came along. I just assumed all parenting was this intense and found dd2 oddly easy

It's a theory! It's one fucking theory! At no point did I say it was right, valid or true - I shared it as we were discussing theories! Jesus. Ok. Deep breaths. It's a really emotive subject, and discussion is always going to get heated. I was annoyed at the use of terms like 'eye-roll' and 'special snowflake' because I don't feel they are necessarily appropriate in this discussion. As the mum of a little boy with AS, I know the feelings any conversation built around 'causes' can stir up. It's really tough, and, as I said in an earlier post, the best we can do is look towards ways of helping our children, rather than retrospectively implying blame.

I did read that autism can be caused by a mixture of genetic and environmental factors.

This is the current most accepted theory as there has been some genetic evidence found, but it will be a very very long time before it's confirmed as a cause.

Yes Mrs. Jayy but what a lot of NT people don't realise is Autism is a defined condition and a diagnosis of autism is only given if people have deficits in all three areas known as the Triad of Impairments.

The 'spectrummy' stuff just makes me cross, probably because I see every day how bloody hard it is for someone who genuinely has those deficits being minimised by all NT associates.

IM(unprofessional)E 1 in 10 sounds plausible. Interesting to see from a pp that this is a current estimate.

It's definitely underdiagnosed in females.

blank Yes, and in a way, that takes us back to one of the OP's earlier posts and the reasons behind minimising the condition - saving money.

Bigmouth I nearly said something about the Merton debacle, then decided I wouldn't it's terrifying
I really need to get off my soapbox for today.

Hope the OP is reassured that her parenting has absolutely nothing to do with her child's ASD/ASC

Aye, psychotherapy still clings onto this blame the mother crap.

Yes, it's minimising or an attempt to deal with embarrassment.

It must be frustrating for people with more severe autism and their loved ones to be lumped in with people like myself who appear to be more or less 'normal'.

rogue Your point about under diagnosis in females is crucial. When I went on the ASD course, I assumed most parents would have sons, because of the assumption that boys are more affected than girls. Twelve parents, and only three of us had boys (all diagnosed). The rest had daughters who remained undiagnosed.

Utter bollocks and the kind of thing that makes parents feel like they have failed. It's hard enough having an autistic child without some asshole telling you that it's all your own fault.

Autism is a neurological condition. It's not a disease or an illness or a psychological trauma. It's a different way of thinking and being.

Anyone who spouts this bollocks needs educating very fast. Anyone spouting this to parents of autistic children needs removing
Of the ability to do that. Lots of autistic kids have autistic parents as well and we are more likely to take stuff like this to heart.

I hope this is a troll tbh because otherwise there's some therapist fucking up peoples lives pedalling this bollocks.

Didn't there used to be a horrible mother blaming phrase "refrigerator mothers"? I thought we had moved on from that a long time ago.

Theories do require some basis behind them. 'refridgerator mother's' was a theory, it was discredited and is no longer a theory.

Currently it is thought that approximately 1:100 people is autistic. Lots of people may have elements of autistic traits but that does not make them autistic or place then 'on the spectrum'.

The latest diagnostic manual, DCM-V, uses a dyad of impairments, not a triad.

I'm sure that autism is found in roughly 1 in 10 children, but quite why I have that figure in mind I don't know.

I don't think the Romanian orphans are a terribly good case study- is/was Romania particularly supportive of autism?

Professional's involved in ASD diagnosis are not all in agreement, so it is not likely strangers on an internet discussion board are all going to be in agreement over what the primary causes of ASD are, or if we are all on the spectrum. I don't really see that as bitching.

Anyway, regardless of humanity as a whole, speaking to my siblings and looking back at my family I am inclined to believe the lot of them are a bit a lot "spectrum-y" which would indicate a strong genetic link I suppose

It might be 1:10 in Romanian Orphanages. But leaving aside the fact that neglect may have caused symptoms mistaken for ASD, the children weren't all orphans and it may well be that children with ASD were placed into the orphanages.

This is so offensive. As PP have said, some severe attachment disorders caused by "refrigerator parents" can have similar symptoms to autism. They aren't the same thing, and even now doctors struggle to properly diagnose, so I don't expect them all to be able to tell the difference. Until approx 1950s - autism was called, amongst other things, schizophrenia, mental retardation, and childhood psychosis. My son lives in the most warm and loving home, we give him tonnes of affection and he is affectionate and loving with us..... and yet, he is autistic. It's bollocks, basically.

Fuck right off..mrs make it up as you go along...

There is also a difference between "detached" parenting and Romanian orphans.
Those babies and children lived in terrible conditions. Without counting the cold and malnutrition, they barely had any human contact. No room to crawl or learn to walk . Stuck in little cots even at 2-3 years old,limbs hanging through the bars,or developed unnaturally to fit. Many of them rocked for comfort because no one else ever did. No hugs,no hand holds. No incessant talking and nursery rhymes to develop babbling and talking and natural progression of speech. A hope from the younger ones that just got squashed "are you my mummy?did you come to take me home?" Over and over again.
It's a miracle that some got out functional in the real world,but most ended up in the streets,in the sewers or institutionalised further as adults because they couldn't function. ASD or not,it's frankly irrelevant.

We went to a support therapy for families with an autistic family member.

Is this person registered with any professional bodies?

They need reporting imho!

I worked in a Romanian "orphanage" in the early 90s (most kids were actually abandoned, sometimes temporarily) and there was a highish incidence of kids with autistic like symptoms. They had been neglected by staff. As blaeberry says, it's also possible some were showing signs of autism and were then abandoned, I got access to their case files until i returned later to do an MSc in the orphanage/ hospital. Non autism related, but the vast majority were of gyspsy heritage, or else from very poor families where alcoholism/ prison was in the background and hence had been abandoned when parents couldn't cope.

I'm not a troll. I also agree about the girls being underdiagnosed. My child is a girl so she looks 'normal'.

Whatabout abortion being illegal for years didn't help either. Or the lack of information and education about contraception or the availability or it.