Autism is the new ADD

I don't mean this in any sort of degrading, harsh, negative, or ignorant way so don't kill me before I explain what I mean.

I understand that autism is a legitimate condition and can affect social and mental behavior well into adulthood with some afflicted people never fully able to function on their own. I get that. I also understand that parenting a child afflicted with autism must be a grand adventure in patience.

I also believe it happens to be the new trend in childhood illness.

I've been looking through the Autism Research Institute's website, as well as the Autism Awareness website and have found that cases of autism are up 57 percent on average with some areas reporting a 95 percent increase in the last 5 years. According to CNN.com Autism is affecting 1 in 150 children.

When I was young, the childhood illness of choice was ADD. It's been said that a lot of cases of ADD when I was a child were misdiagnosed autism sufferers. Perhaps. What I know is that the doctor said I was a case of ADD and wanted to put me on Ritalin. Thankfully my mother told him that was not an option and he told her to put me on a sugar limited diet.

What I know is that I do not suffer from ADD or ADHD or autism. I do not have trouble focusing when I need to. My problem was hyperactivity and boredom. Whenever I got a report card I'd have all A's but the consistent comment that I was working below my ability. It was probably true, but illogical as my mother pointed out. She'd ask my teacher if I could earn higher than an A. When told that I couldn't she asked why I would work harder for the same result. Why, indeed? That's when my teachers started putting me in higher classes and teaching me higher curriculum. I was in the challenge program in South Carolina for gifted children from the third grade onward. http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/gcsd/depts/tandl/gifted.asp

And, on a tangent, I appreciate being in South Carolina schools from the second to sixth grade. Their 6 point scale made it harder to get that A. (I was on the honor roll the whole time) When I came back to California, I don't think the teachers knew what to do with me. In many cases I was making my own curriculum and I failed to understand why their grading scale was so lax, a full ten points between grades. Thankfully I had understanding teachers. However, this is when my grades started to slip. I was bored and getting lazy. They wanted me to show my work on problems I already knew how to solve. They were still quizzing me on basic multiplication in the seventh grade in California. I learned my times tables in the second grade in SC. At a certain point, I stopped caring. But back to the point.

There was nothing wrong with me when my mother took me to the doctor. I was hyperactive, sure, but name a six year old that isn't. The doctor recommended a steady diet of Ritalin because it was better for him to do so, not because it was better for me and I'm sure I was not the only one. The more people I talk to that are my age or a little older/younger the more I find my story isn't the only one. Lots of people I knew were "diagnosed" with ADD despite having just hyperactivity as the indication.

When schools allowed punishment of a physical kind, I doubt that many children acted out of line. I think the general hands off approach of modern parenting (in the most part) has led to the deterioration of child behavior. This could be leading to the widespread outbreak of autism, the need for parents to blame something other than themselves for the lack of parenting. Instead of seeing a child with bad behavior from lack of supervision a parent can pass it off as a disease. "It's not my fault that he colored on the wall. He's autistic." And apparently that gives you the green light to skip being a parent.

I see it everyday. Children run wild and their parents just stand there, going about their business as if there is nothing to be concerned about. Why would they when televisions and video games are there to babysit? I've even heard a parent say that she didn't feel the need to teach her child how to behave since that's what school was for. To me, in their situation, even if my child was autistic, I'd be right there supporting, nurturing, and setting limits like I would for any other child.

It used to be that families provided the morals and schools provided the knowledge. Now I'm not so sure what the foundation consists of.

Now that the major US medical authorities have linked mercury in vaccinations to autism, the time is up for change. Doctors will have to find a new disease of the generation to diagnose and get that needed lifetime prescription refilled. It even being widely suggested and confirmed by many parents that autistic children can "recover" from the disease and show no visible symptoms. It's gotta give people hope, right? Recovery is possible and widespread. So if there are no excuses left does that mean parents will pull their heads out of their asses and be parents??

My apologies to people who believe in parenting. God bless you and your integrity. Continue on your yellow brick road!

Day 16 - 349 Days to Go