do some children with autism grow out of autism?

[sesley]

is American research, but do some children grow out of autism, or is it that coping strategy s are more used.I know autism is a life long condition and some cope very well and others do not.mine is 13, we still have a way to go, though he is getting a grip on the aggression a bit more.His mindset is about 11 now.He still needs support in lessons and around the school. http://m.bbc.co.uk/n...health-21029593

Edited January 16, 2013 by sesley

[smileyK]

I don't think it possible to just "grow out" of any kind of ASD as part of you -who you are I don't care what research is done I think it silly statement to make one which isn't helpful in anyway shape or form! Its not like childhood illness grow out of automatically! (Asthma) I think these kind of statements 'stick' out there in society making it harder! I think it is possible to grow with the ASC but I don't agree possibility of waking up one day and not having it there following you with you all time without a break would be a "dream come true" but you can manage better with coping skills in place from early on if not can be hard to manage /cope effectively well without struggling!

[Special_talent123]

No you do not grow out of autism. whoever wrote that article is stupid. We learn to live and cope with our autism, but we dont grow out of our autism

[Lyndalou]

I've had a good search and unfortunately I can't find it but some time ago Sa Skimrande posted an article called 'Aspergers Grows Up' (or some similar title). It was an amazing article which detailed the different ways that people with so-called 'higher functioning' forms of autistic disorder 'grow up'. It acknowledged that many people (adults) are unrecognised as having an autistic disorder by virtue of the fact that in general, experts and professionals do not really know how people with the condition learn, grow and adapt to become at times almost indistinguishable (on the outside) to everyone else. Those with higher IQ's are thought to be particularly adept at 'hiding' their autism.

 

I think that professionals place far too much emphasis on 'observable behaviour'. On this forum it is mentioned over and over that peope can 'learn' to maintain eye contact, they can 'mimic' other people's behaviour (sometimes the right people and sometimes the wrong people) and if this is done repeatedly it becomes more easy to do and many children at school try to blend in and go to all sorts of lengths to hide their differences.

 

I think it can be very misleading to blindly believe the 'experts'. Often they have their own agendas for conducting research and often they can be researching within very restricted perameters. I don't believe that experts 'understand' how the brain works for the most part. They don't understand just how amazing people can be and the difficulties people can overcome - autistics by nature work very very hard and this can go for appearing 'normal' too. I think experts still do not give people credit for their strengths and still expect to see stereotypes and when they don't see those stereotypes they think those people no longer are autistic! It's all quite back-to-front in my view!

 

If you look at programmes like 'Son Rise' in the US who claim that their children are 'cured' by undertaking their intensive therapy I would suggest this is the same thing; children who have worked darned hard to overcome their problems and focus on their strengths EVEN THOUGH they are autistic.

[oxgirl]

My son hasn't grown out of his autism, but at 19 he is certainly a very different person than he was when he was younger.

 

~ Mel ~

[Suze]

I agree with Mel, the autism changes and manifests differently.........it certainly has for my son.I think things may change when they are able to control their environment more and are not forced into scenarios they find uncomfortable.

[oxgirl]

I think a lot of it also has to do with self-awareness. When my lad was younger he wouldn't think twice about shouting out at the top of his voice in assembly about how bored he was, totally oblivious to the gasps of shock and horror from the rest of school. Now, he is much more self-conscious and wouldn't dream of drawing attention to himself.

 

~ Mel ~

[smileyK]

I wasn't "picked up" til my early teens which I think makes a huge difference to self -acceptance along the way to how fast you grasp growing up!

[Merry]

I agree with Mel, the autism changes and manifests differently.........it certainly has for my son.I think things may change when they are able to control their environment more and are not forced into scenarios they find uncomfortable.

 

I also believe this is the case....Since my own life has become stable and comfortable, since i've not been having to struggle with a career that i can't cope with and being forced into difficult social situations every day, i've become very settled and although i still have aspergers, i don't get so many of the `not coping` symptoms that i used to get such as depression, burning out, anxiety and panic attacks, emotional outbursts etc...it's very hard for the younger ones. They have to work twice as hard as everybody else at life. It's a lot of work as a kid and young person...but for some of us, later in life, once the hard work's been done and we've learned how to fit in and how to cope, we can seem pretty normal a lot of the time. I've heard about these `cures` too. I think it's worth looking into. The diet aspect for example has definitely effected my condition. After switching to organic food, my thinking became much clearer and my moods stabilized a lot.

[robert7111a]

The BBC's article states autism in its title and then "higher functioning autism" later on when this should have been made clear in the title. It's very misleading and will get people's hopes up

 

But as I'm finding out, the real experts (on this forum) are right as they either live with the condition or have children with the condition and therefore see this every day. Merry beat me me to it...I am learning how to be/act normal, I am learning more about the condition (and myself) everyday from reading, watching and listening - I just wished I found out 30 years ago... So yes, behaviour is learned/mimicked so that people with AS can get through life. But the person will still have AS no matter what - it may just be he/she does not show any outward signs in public. But coping/learning requires a lot of energy and I guess people with AS will burn out faster than their NT counterparts.

 

It would have been nice for the BBC to have provided links to this research...

[Shnoing]

But coping/learning requires a lot of energy and I guess people with AS will burn out faster than their NT counterparts.

That's exactly my feeling, too. You (I) get exhausted more quickly and need more times to relax. Even if you "play normal".