Article in the Daily Mail

[mossgrove]

I agree. It does not offend me at all. In a lot of cases with some children (including non autistic and non adhd children) it is blindingly obvious that a change in diet could help calm a hyperactive temperament. My autistic son is on a strict diet but the slightest over indulgance of sugars or any other infringement changes his mood massively and affects his concentraction and eye contact. Do other people not find this with their children???? I see it in my friends children all the time. A lot of us are aware of these things all ready, but if this article makes any one re-think thier childs diet and elimate some of the cr*p going into them and look at ways of improving concentration with brian stimulating exercises (a perfectly logical theory)is not such a bad thing. It may not cure everything but it could help.

 

This is a common misunderstanding. Often when people like me take offince at what the 'Cure Autism' brigade are saying, it gets taken as menaing that we are anti-intervention.

 

I have no objections whatsoever to people putting forward interventions that may help out children, where I do take offence is when it is implied that Autism and related conditions are curable conditions that only persist because of parents failure to do the right thing, be that in terms of diet , medication or behaviour. There is simply no need to state that our children's difficulties are learned behaviours that can be cured, it makes a judgement that does not need to be made, and it 'aint true either.

 

Simon

[Canopus]

I think that's a bit harsh on people from Essex

 

Essex Man was a colloquial term coined during the 1980s to refer to a generic middle aged lower middle class person. It is now an official part of British English. There was also the very short lived concept of Worcester Woman from around 1997 but that term never caught on.

[on the edge]

This is a common misunderstanding. Often when people like me take offince at what the 'Cure Autism' brigade are saying, it gets taken as menaing that we are anti-intervention.

 

I have no objections whatsoever to people putting forward interventions that may help out children, where I do take offence is when it is implied that Autism and related conditions are curable conditions that only persist because of parents failure to do the right thing, be that in terms of diet , medication or behaviour. There is simply no need to state that our children's difficulties are learned behaviours that can be cured, it makes a judgement that does not need to be made, and it 'aint true either.

 

Simon

 

A-ha - I understand why everyone is offended now. I honestly do not see it as a judgement on our parenting skills. I feel more that is an evolutionary fault of mankind in that we are getting more removed from our natural state regarding food and natural development. Besides, how could we know that these things could affect our children so badly, as they do not affect the majority of kids in the same way. As a parent with a child on a strict diet it is almost impossible to find good clean wholesome food, and that is no fault of mine.

 

Call me an optimist, but I find it encouraging when people talk of some children being cured and like to look into all possible interventions. They used to think the earth was flat (and that you couldn't cure autism?? you never know)

 

xxxx

[bid]

I know that a change in diet can be very beneficial for some children, although it didn't make any difference to my son. I also know that he benefitted from regular physio when he was little, and he still has OT now at his special school, which is great.

 

But, I think it is too simplistic to say that a change in diet and any specific exercise regime will 'cure' Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, etc, etc...

 

Possibly irrelevant, but perhaps interesting...my dad is in his late 70s, and has a dx of AS. As a child during WW2, he had very little sugar, no processed food and loads of codliver oil because of food rationing...but he was and still is Autistic!

 

And thinking about it, I've been referred to see if I have AS too...as a child we never ate any processed food, and again very little sugar, although to be fair no codliver oil! When I think about the things I struggle with, for me I know that diet plays no part in that.

 

I agree with Simon on this one, being 'anti-curbie' is not the same as being against intervention, help and support.

 

Bid

[PinkSapphireAngel]

What worried me is as mentioned this is sort of thing ignorant or already ill informed people will see/use to back up the idea that its bad parenting etc and not an actual condition causing our childrens problems,

not just friends, family, general public either, but LEA fools and teachers, gps etc.

 

Yes this is just one persons theory in a book, but there are people out there who will take it as gospel.

[madme]

What is of concern is that Dr Pauc has been inundated with parents contacting him. I did and was told to buy his book. Of course he isnt in it for the profit is he? And does he have any medical qualifications? Is he a neurologist? Yes we all need hope but if there is no scientific basis why waste money? If there is a scientfic basis then why hasnt he published papers to be reviwed by his peers?

[Canopus]

The Da Vinci Code springs to mind. A friend read the book and concludes that it is very badly written piece of rubbish and a complete waste of money. The thing is, anybody can write a book on anything. Unless the book is first reviewed by knowledgeable people then it shouldn't be trusted.

[mossgrove]

A-ha - I understand why everyone is offended now. I honestly do not see it as a judgement on our parenting skills. I feel more that is an evolutionary fault of mankind in that we are getting more removed from our natural state regarding food and natural development. Besides, how could we know that these things could affect our children so badly, as they do not affect the majority of kids in the same way. As a parent with a child on a strict diet it is almost impossible to find good clean wholesome food, and that is no fault of mine.

 

Call me an optimist, but I find it encouraging when people talk of some children being cured and like to look into all possible interventions. They used to think the earth was flat (and that you couldn't cure autism?? you never know)

 

xxxx

 

We're not quite out of the woods yet!

 

The next thing to do is to take a step back from all this and think how you would answer this question:

 

When you say 'Cure Autism', what exactly do you mean?

 

If a child has sensory issues that make going out in public extremely difficult, or an inability to concerntrate or persistent bowel problems, then it could easily be said that there is a condition that needs to be dealt with and strategies put in place that may take the form of a 'cure' for these issues.

 

Where it gets harder is when Autism presents, for example, as an ability to hyperfocus on one area of interest and achieve results that a so-called NT person cannot, or takes the form of not 'needing' the company of other human beings then it is far less clear that what we are looking at is an 'illness' that needs to be 'cured'. Many Autistic people see themselves as different not ill, and find the notion that they must conform to an NT-based perception of how someone should think and behave to be highly offensive, and rightly so.

 

This may sound like political correctness, but I think it is fine to talk about coping strategies/interventions that help with the issues that Autistic people and their families have to deal with on a day to day basis, but I personally do not feel it is OK to talk in terms of a cure, because that says to me that people who are Autistic are not fully valued members of society until they conform to a mainstream perception of how people should be.

 

 

Simon

[call me jaded]

What is of concern is that Dr Pauc has been inundated with parents contacting him. I did and was told to buy his book. Of course he isnt in it for the profit is he? And does he have any medical qualifications? Is he a neurologist? Yes we all need hope but if there is no scientific basis why waste money? If there is a scientfic basis then why hasnt he published papers to be reviwed by his peers?

 

Well yes he is a neurologist and a chiropractor: the Daily Mail excels at dumbing down. But not 'published'.

 

The autism I live with is extremely disabling and I believe it is my parental duty to ease those difficulties in any way I can. But I won't be buying the book.

[bid]

Well said, Simon!!

 

Bid

[curra]

The real tradgedy about this is that there are probably teachers, LSA's and LEA employees and all kind of other people one step removed from living with our children reding the article and thinking 'I told you so' before explaining to parents how they have cased the problem via inaction, poor parenting and bad diet.

 

Simon

This is so true and I had already a first reaction to this irresponsible article from my son's counsellor.She commented the article saying that she had read on a newspaper that pharmaceutical companies are inventing all kinds of "syndromes" in order to sell new medicines and she asked me whether I have tried a wheat-free diet with my son. Since he eats only carbohydrates and meat products, I asked her what food would be left to feed him on if I took away the wheat things from his diet? Her answer, "well just give him fruits, vegetables and he'll HAVE to eat them". As if that was so simple!!. It's obvious that she thinks I've not been firm enough, but I have, for 12 years tried different ways to make him eat a healthy diet and I only got from him meltdowns, vomits, stomachaches etc. As a baby he would spit out violently fruit purees and vegetable meals. He has tried many times to eat them and starts to retch even if he is starving. I don't approve of letting a child starve to " teach him to eat" when it's obvious that there's more to it than just being fussy . The GP said some years ago, "Just give him what he likes to eat". I don't give him sweets though and that's OK with him, but since he stopped eating them a year ago I haven't noticed any change in him (except in his weight ). I'm not saying that diets don't work at all, and I think that they might have positive effects for some people with ASD, only that in my son's case they are very hard to implement and a sugar-free diet had no changes in his AS.

 

Curra

[Pippin]

He may call himself a neurologist but he is not one in the generally accepted use of the word. He is clearly attempting to make people think he is medically qualified....He is not!!!!!

[Flora]

We're not quite out of the woods yet!

 

The next thing to do is to take a step back from all this and think how you would answer this question:

 

When you say 'Cure Autism', what exactly do you mean?

 

If a child has sensory issues that make going out in public extremely difficult, or an inability to concerntrate or persistent bowel problems, then it could easily be said that there is a condition that needs to be dealt with and strategies put in place that may take the form of a 'cure' for these issues.

 

Where it gets harder is when Autism presents, for example, as an ability to hyperfocus on one area of interest and achieve results that a so-called NT person cannot, or takes the form of not 'needing' the company of other human beings then it is far less clear that what we are looking at is an 'illness' that needs to be 'cured'. Many Autistic people see themselves as different not ill, and find the notion that they must conform to an NT-based perception of how someone should think and behave to be highly offensive, and rightly so.

 

This may sound like political correctness, but I think it is fine to talk about coping strategies/interventions that help with the issues that Autistic people and their families have to deal with on a day to day basis, but I personally do not feel it is OK to talk in terms of a cure, because that says to me that people who are Autistic are not fully valued members of society until they conform to a mainstream perception of how people should be.

Simon

 

Very well put.

 

Lauren

[madme]

Well said Pippin. Have a look at his Tinsleyhouseclinic website. Doesnt look like a "neurologist" to me. Just because a paper says he is and he calls himself one doesnt mean his is. I dont know if he is but his qualifications on that webiste look like non medical ones - a chiropracter. He calls himself doctor - presumbaly doctorate but in what? He talks about nutrtion but what qualifications does he have to do this?

[Lucas]

I am mostly in agreement with Mossgroves last post, where I differ:

 

Political Correctness: This changes depending on the political climate, it does not neccessarily mean ultra-tolerance and liberalism, it often works in the opposite way. The politically correct version of Autism at the moment is of a disease worse than Cancer, Autistic people are not valuable except as non-Autistic people and Autistic people have no right to talk about Autism unless their view of Autism is of their own self-destruction. This has been the politically correct view for many other people in different groups throughout history, some have had the politics change for them, others haven't.

 

I disagree that the worth of an Autistic person is decided by their abilities. When people say "Don't cure Autism because that child might be the next Temple Grandin" I cringe, because it's like saying "Black people are fine because any one of them might be the next Denzel Washington". It completely eliminates an individual person's rights and human value, it is instead accorded wholesale to the group they belong to based on a probability- a utilitarian calculation of a person's worth.

 

I sometimes wonder if one hundred years from now, every baby in the womb will somehow have it's 'future' predicted using scientific means and it will only be allowed to grow if it contributes vastly more resources than it drains from the pool of society.

 

What should vindicate the right of Autistic people to exist is the accurate information about Autism that is available, but drowned out by the emotive and heart-rending hyperbole put out by charities wanting money and 'doctors' pushing products. Autism has always been a magnet for idiots because it's complexity makes straightforward answers for parents of newly diagnosed children difficult. They don't know that when they are being told 'there is no cure' it also means 'none is neccessary'. Their guilt is being manipulated.

[bridie]

He has tried many times to eat them and starts to retch even if he is starving. I don't approve of letting a child starve to " teach him to eat" when it's obvious that there's more to it than just being fussy .

Curra

 

Curra, Our children sound very much alike and I can remember asking Lorna Wing when she diagnosed my son if starving him would make him eat, she really did not think it would. I had no intention of starving him but asked as I was sick of being told that starving him would make him eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by the way everyone, it's alibali here having to use a new name

[call me jaded]

This was interesting:

 

http://www.dendrites.com/carrick_interview.html

 

My dad went to a chiropractor as a 'last resort' about 30 years ago. They sorted him out in one visit.

Edited April 15, 2006 by call me jaded

[florrie]

Thanks for interesting info jaded, I can remember Quentin Letts saying his child problems were "cured" ( sorry to those who are offended, their words not mine,) by a chiropractor apparently his child was born with cord round neck, and was always terribly distressed and had behaviour problems etc and cried all the time as a baby, the cord around the neck apparently misaligned things which can also affect neuro transmission, which when corrected cured problem, I presume the distress, however upon seeing the child I still thought he was definitely asd probably aspergers, MY son was also born with cord round neck and was very distressed as a baby, i now wonder whether that was sensory problems seeing what he is like now, and the distress caused by sensory problems, but the reality is i don't know what is what for certain, MY father is a typical aspergers and my nephew too and myself but i am compelled to find out more as researching stuff has always been something I can do, and which interests me, it is my "obssessive interest " but I can only interpret it into what makes sense to me and it may not to other people and in our case I also think there is a genetic predisposition but there are other things that can compound things, eg mmr chemicals food etc and including correct environment for that person and that will be different for every individual, and things can definitely help some people and different things help different people, because there may be a different root cause and different perceptions on what helps, it is very complex. All of us with asd in our family present constellation of symptoms completely differently from another, but the root stuff and what gives rise to symptoms is almost identical, As I'm female i think my symptoms present in a less obvious form, but I have had a great deal of distress anyway.

 

I also like what you say too Lucas, it makes so much sense

Edited April 16, 2006 by florrie

[Bullet]

I took Ds1 to a different town on the train yesterday. Apart from screaming the place down because his fruitbar had crumbled and because we had to backtrack on ourselves at one point he was as good as gold. He was actually complimented on his behaviour by two old women at different times of the day. It would be easy to presume he was coping fine and he had no problems, because he wasn't making a noise or running away from me. However, by the way he clung onto me when normally he loves exploring and the way he spent two hours switching his toy radio on and off at night and looking at the light on it showed me that he did need to settle himself after all. But I would be reluctant to stop this, he has found a quiet, calm way of calming himself and insisting he stops would, I feel, be detrimental.

[call me jaded]

Bullet I used to worry abot my son heading straight for the shower until I worked out that the sensory input was calming him

Edited April 16, 2006 by call me jaded

[Lucas]

I have trouble getting out of the shower.The sudden change in temperature and pressure as I step out is too much so I find myself waiting until the water cools and I can turn it slowly down before moving out.