Anyone else seen this interesting journal paper?

[theDudesmummy]

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12037/full

Yes I saw this. I actually think I have watched my DSD "grow out of autism" so i do believe it. It is only a tiny minority though, and I suspect there is no magic bullet, or miracle diet or even my favourite ABA - I think it is just the luck of the genetic draw.

Tony Attwood, at the conference last week, talked of people possibly becoming 'sub clinical', meaning that there symptoms had reduced so that they were no longer adversely affecting function to the degree required for a clinical diagnosis. I think this is saying something similar.

It does not mean you grow out of autism but perhaps that you are able to manage your condition or that you gain skills to address the deficits.

I certainly believe that is possible and it is what I fight for every day!!

Exactly right - perfect description of DSD. She isn't cured, but her IQ is so good that she has learned to compensate for or overcome most autistic behaviours. She wouldn't get a diagnosis now, but retains a few vestigial parts of the spectrum, eg slight social awkwardness.

My Dad got a Dx of severe dyslexia at age 60.

It wasn't that he didn't have dyslexia before, but that he had developed coping strategies to enable him to manage and get through life to an extent, until he progressed so far into his career that the demands of his job got him the threat of a disciplinary and an OT referral which led to his dyslexia assessment .

I think one way or another, IQ must play a part in how much someone can teach themselves to fit in/adapt. My Dads turned out to be very high (at least that's what e told us -lol)

Very interesting Star. I wonder how many shy or geeky or loner-types out there are undiagnosed hf autistic men from a generation before ours that just didn't do diagnoses.

I hope this report will put a rocket up the @r£s of complacent professionals.

In this NY Times (www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/health/some-with-autism-diagnosis-can-recover-study-finds.html) piece the report author:

Dr. Fein emphasized the importance of behavioral therapy. ?These people did not just grow out of their autism,? she said. ?I have been treating children for 40 years and never seen improvements like this unless therapists and parents put in years of work.?

www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/health/some-with-autism-diagnosis-can-recover-study-finds.html

No. They'll just use it to suggest that children don't need any help and they will be what they will be.

Yes, it will take the experts a while to get their head round the idea that ASD children could be making significant improvements. Here's another quote from the NY Times piece.

• Sally Ozonoff of the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the research. ?I know many of us as would rather have had our tooth pulled than use the word ?recover,? it was so unscientific...? -

I was also interested to read that the researchers recruited these 'optimal outcome' children through unofficial channels like tv ads and appeals on the radio. I wonder if the parents had all been pooh poohed by their local paediatricians.

Yeah, I think the thrust of this is what we all scream for - 'give us the support and we can teach (some) DCs through this.' unfortunately I think it will just be another way to not support, to 'wait and see' and to post 'it's just made up' on the Daily Fail's website.