First I must say I am so excited about the Emmys. Temple Grandin kicked butt! If you have not see it you must it was a great Movie. Anyways what a week. I signed up for a workshop at Autism Partnership to learn how to teach children with Autism. I learned so much and got to work with a fabulous team of ladies and a wonderful bunch of children. The most important thing I learned was not to react when you are hit yes that is right ignore it and it will stop (it did)! I also learned their are so many myths around Autism for example:Myth:A child with autism never gives eye contact.
There are children with autism who make eye contact. Others take years to learn how to make eye contact.
Myth: Autistic people are usually geniuses or have a savant ability (Rain Man).
Autism is characterized by an uneven development of skills. That means that people with autism generally have some skills that are very well-developed and others that lag far behind. An autistic child, for instance, may have an amazing capacity to memorize facts, but be unable to relate those facts to each other.
Myth: Autistic people are incapable of giving affection.
Autism causes a dysfunction in the ability of a person to communicate and interact with others. Their expressions of affection may be unusual, or not fit the norm, but autistic people are certainly capable of feeling and showing affection.
Myth: Autistic people can not function in society.
There are many people who are diagnosed with autism who hold jobs, maintain their own apartments, have relationships with other people and do everything that people without autism can do. Autism is a broad spectrum of symptoms of varying degrees of severity.
Myth: Most children with autism never learn to talk.
With early identification and intensive intervention, as many as three-quarters of children with autism are able to talk. Those children with autism who never acquire spoken language often have severe mental retardation in addition to their autism, making the learning of language especially difficult. With training, however, even these children can often learn to communicate non-verbally
Myth: Autism can be caused by vaccinations.
At least two large studies have looked for a link between vaccinations and autism and did not find any evidence for it. Autism usually first appears within the first two years of life, at a time when children are receiving many immunizations. The appearance of autistic symptoms shortly after an immunization is bound to happen some of the time solely by chance.
Myth: Autism is caused by chemical imbalances or allergies that can be cured by special diets or nutritional supplements.
While these theories have undeniable appeal, no credible scientific evidence exists that diet or nutritional supplements can cure autism. Children with autism certainly can have allergies and nutritional deficiencies, and correcting these problems can help such a child to be healthier. This, in turn, may improve the child's behavior and general outlook, but special diets or vitamins are very unlikely to cure the autism itself, no matter what testimonials say.
Myth:Autism is caused by a lack of maternal affection
Professor Bruno Bettelheim believed that autism was caused by a lack of maternal affection. This led to the concept of the ‘refrigerator mother’ i.e. a mother who was emotionally distant. This theory has since been disproved.
We now beleive that autism has nothing to do with lack of affection from parents. Most mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorders are extremely caring and loving parents.
These are just a few that I have been asked time and time again. I hope you pass it along. As Harry S. Truman said "it's what you learn after you know that counts."
