Treating Autism 'Who's Fooling Who?' Campaign

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www.treatingautism.co.uk

Registered Charity No. 1113628

TreatingAutism @TweetingAutism

AUTISM. Who’s Fooling Who? Campaign Info:

AUTISM Who’s Fooling Who? Campaign Info:

Welcome

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Treating Autism is run by parents of children with Autism entirely on a voluntary basis. Registered Charity No. 1113628. Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England No. 5594787 Address: Treating Autism International House 221 Bow Road London E3 2SJ www.treatingautism.co.uk

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Contents:

01. INTRODUCTION

02. THEY SAY: Autism is a lifelong disability

03. THEY SAY: Autism rates are the result of better diagnosis

04. THEY SAY: Autism is a genetic disorder

05. THEY SAY: Autism is a mental disorder

06. THEY SAY: Children with autism are getting the help they need

07. THEY SAY: Bowel problems are just a part of autism

08. THEY SAY: People with autism have normal life expectancy

09. SUMMARY

10. ABOUT Treating Autism

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01. Introduction:

The nine hundred families of Treating Autism have many goals, with the primary

one being to improve quality of life for their children with autism, in large part by

addressing their health problems.

However, we also want to ensure that other parents and professionals have access

to good information.

Much of what people believe now is based on half-truths and misinformation

and the outcome of this is that many children aren't getting the help they need

and deserve.

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Even more sadly, the lack of accurate information is not restricted to just autism,

but any number of skyrocketing diagnoses: depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar

disorder, asthma, allergies, and virtually any acronym you can think of including

ADHD, OCD, ODD, PDA, and LD.

The number of children negatively affected is absolutely staggering.

Please take a few minutes to consider what passes for truth, and the evidence we

present that shows a much different reality.

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02. THEY SAY:

“Autism is a lifelong disability.”

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WE KNOW: Children provided with the right treatments can recover from autism.

Many parents have provided the right kind of help to their kids and have watched them recover. The fact that there are hundreds of recovered children is even more amazing if you consider that the vast majority of parents and professionals still believe that autism is by definition lifelong. If these children can recover, all of our children can hope for the same bright futures. A few examples of recoveries can be read or viewed at the following websites: http://www.generationrescue.org/recovery/stories-of-recovery/ http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/04/recovery-story-nathan-warner.html http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/12/son-to-surgeon-father-i-dont-have-autism-anymore.html http://www.recoveredfromautism.com/ourstory.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOno_2m_8LY http://www.recoveryvideos.com/autism/ethans-autism-recovery.html Please see links to scientific studies providing evidence of recovery, or ‘optimal outcomes’, in children formerly affected by autism provided in the column on the right.

Anderson DK, Liang JW, Lord C. (2013) Predicting young adult outcome among more and less cognitively able individuals with autism spectrum disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. Dec 9. Fein, D, Barton, M, Eigsti, IM, et al. (2013) Optimal outcome in individuals with a history of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54: (2): 195- 205. Ozonoff (2013)Editorial: Recovery from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the science of hope. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 54: (2). Helt, M, Kelley, E, Kinsbourne, M, et al. (2008) Can children with autism recover? If so, how? Neuropsychology review, 18: (4): 339-366. Pellicano, E (2012) Do autistic symptoms persist across time? Evidence of substantial change in symptomatology over a 3-year period in cognitively able children with autism. American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 117: (2): 156-166

Scientific Studies:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12178/abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23320807

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12045/full



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03. THEY SAY:

“Autism rates are the result of better diagnosis.”

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WE KNOW: The increase in autism diagnosis is real.

While there are certainly some children receiving diagnoses now who may have gone undiagnosed some years ago, all you need to do is speak to any teacher over the age of 50. They will tell you that the numbers are overwhelming and very real. And while some of the increase is numbers can be down to those mildly-affected children receiving diagnosis, the fact is that numbers of those on the moderate and severe end of the spectrum are also on the sharp rise. Quality research says the same thing, as the links to the right will testify. And contrary to the myth we are being bombarded with, ”majority of professionals do NOT believe that the increase in reported autism is fully explainable by changes in diagnostic practice”.

"It looks like about 24 percent of the California increase can be attributed to something like a change in diagnosis criteria. They are beginning to use multiple diagnoses. So that children before, who were listed simply as mentally retarded rather than autism - but they had both - are now logged in with both. But that really caps out at around 24 percent. There’s probably another piece of this, which globally could be attributed to ascertainment. But that caps out at around 16 percent, or something like that. And when you put all of that together, you are still well below explaining 50 percent of the increase. “ - Thomas Insel Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Chair of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee

The latest CDC report on the 1 in 68 autism estimate (March 2014) Comment on the CDC autism 2014 estimate: Autism Rising Prevalence: I see it every week Ouellette-Kuntz H, Coo H, Lam M, Breitenbach MM, Hennessey PE, et al. (2014) The changing prevalence of autism in three regions of Canada. J Autism Dev Disord. Jan;44(1):120-36. http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/features/20090218_autism_environment/index.html http://www.safeminds.org/research/library/20030401.pdf Zahorodny, W, Shenouda, J, Howell, ., et al. (2012) Increasing autism prevalence in metropolitan New Jersey. Autism, 2012 Dec 17. Davidovitch M, Hemo B, Manning-Courtney P et al. (2012) Prevalence and Incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Israeli Population. J Autism Dev Disord. 2012 Jul 27. De Sotto, DM, Hiitlan, RT (2013) Professional opinion on the question of changes in autism incidence Open Journal of Psychiatry Vol.3 No.2A(2013), Article ID:30182,7 pages

References:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6302a1.htm?s_cid=ss6302a1_w

http://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2014/03/29/autisms-rising-prevalence-i-see-it-every-week

http://file.scirp.org/Html/10-1420147_30182.htm

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/features/20090218_autism_environment/index.html

http://www.safeminds.org/research/library/20030401.pdf



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04. THEY SAY:

“Autism is a genetic disorder.”

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WE KNOW: Autism is the result of environmental insults to susceptible people.

Lazy journalists and people who have abandoned common sense will talk about how autism is a genetic disorder — In spite of the exploding numbers and sound environmental studies — yet millions of dollars in genetic research has yet to come up with anything substantial or useful for our children. The most rigorous and largest study on this topic concludes, “Susceptibility to ASD has moderate genetic heritability and a substantial shared twin environmental component.” More specifically, genetic factors "...are of substantially lower magnitude than estimates from prior twin studies of autism.” In other words, after years of claims that autism is about 90% genetic, it turns out that it’s not that way at all.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21727249 For an in-depth discussion of the study, see: http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/07/new-autism-twin-study-demolishes-decades-long-belief-in-genetic-causation.html http://cogentbenger.com/autism/interviews-and-discussions/genetics-or-environmental/

References:


http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/07/new-autism-twin-study-demolishes-decades-long-belief-in-genetic-causation.html

http://cogentbenger.com/autism/interviews-and-discussions/genetics-or-environmental/

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05. THEY SAY:

“Autism is a mental disorder.”

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WE KNOW: Autism is the surface symptom of a treatable medical condition.

The most commonly used diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders is found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; and so, in one very narrow and unhelpful sense, ASD is a mental disorder. The criteria from the DSM or any other document are applied purely through observation of behaviour. How we behave is commonly understood to be heavily influenced by our mental state; however, research is clear that our mental state--in other words, how we feel, think or perceive--is very much the result of our physical state. To provide only one example, systemic and chronic low-grade inflammation, even when it is happening outside the central nervous system, is well known to impact behaviour and mood, often resulting in profound personality changes. It is also well established that inflammation is present in autism. Autism, which is really a disorder of symptoms, is the result of treatable medical problems.

http://cogentbenger.com/autism/interviews/martha-herbert-interview/ http://www.mh.carr-jones.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Herbert-autismbrainoraffectingbrain.pdf http://discovermagazine.com/2007/apr/autism-it2019s-not-just-in-the-head

References:

http://cogentbenger.com/autism/interviews/martha-herbert-interview/

http://www.mh.carr-jones.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Herbert-autismbrainoraffectingbrain.pdf

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/apr/autism-it2019s-not-just-in-the-head

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06. THEY SAY:

“Children with autism are getting the help they need.”

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WE KNOW: Very few children are receiving any sort of appropriate medical treatments in spite of a clear need.

Recent study conducted by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that children with autism face an increased risk for many common health conditions. This detailed assessment demonstrates that children with autism had much higher than expected rates of all of the medical conditions studied including; frequent gastrointestinal problems, asthma, eczema or a skin allergy, food allergies, ear and respiratory infections, severe headaches or migraines, seizures

For an In-depth look into neglected medical needs of children and adults with autism, you can read: “Medical Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorder”

http://issuu.com/treatingautism/docs/medical_comorbidities_in_autism_spectrum_disorders

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07. THEY SAY:

“Bowel problems are just a part of autism.”

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WE KNOW: Bowel problems are very common among people with autism; however, they are not the result of an autism diagnosis and should never be dismissed as inevitable let alone untreatable.

No part of the criteria for autism diagnosis mentions bowel problems or any other physical problems commonly suffered by people with autism.

A reminder of what a diagnosis is supposed to mean:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html

And a reminder of what the CDC found:


In fact, the few studies listed on the right represent the host of bowel problems often suffered by our children and left untreated.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20683204 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21803429 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20337404 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20048083 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21949732 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19564647 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21555957 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19535465 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15870662 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15741748

References:

Treating Autism has published an up-to-date overview medical problems in autism, including bowel issues, and a list of behaviours that may indicate existence of those problems in a child or adult. Read about it here “Medical Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorder”


http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html












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08. THEY SAY:

“People with autism have a normal life expectancy.”

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WE KNOW: Studies show that children and young adults with autism have significantly higher mortality rates.

Mortality is much higher in ASD individuals, mainly because many more individuals suffer from and are killed by epilepsy and other medical problems than healthy people. There also are other reasons for increased mortality rates in ASD individuals, at rates not present in the non-affected population, such as death by drowning and accidents, due to diminished awareness of danger.

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/family/article/a-risky-pair-autism-and-epilepsy/

http://aut.sagepub.com/content/12/4/403.abstract¥


References:

See this publication for or an In-depth look into neglected medical problems and high mortality rates in autism: “Medical Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorder”


http://technorati.com/lifestyle/family/article/a-risky-pair-autism-and-epilepsy/

http://aut.sagepub.com/content/12/4/403.abstract%C2%A5


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09. SUMMARY:

So, who is fooling who? If nobody questioned the received wisdom, we'd still be

blaming autism on refrigerator mothers.

Because of the efforts of a small minority of courageous parents, researchers and

medical professionals, we already have some promising answers for our children.

Literally tens of thousands of people diagnosed with an ASD have a better quality of

life because of biomedical interventions. Clearly, though, the vast majority of work

is left to be done.

The CDC in United States just released their data on the rate of autism. Children

born in 1992 had a rate of 1 in 150.

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Those born in 1996 had a rate of 1 in 125. Children born in 2000 have a rate of 1 in

88. Children born in 2002 have a rate of 1 in 68. The latest prevalence figures show

that autism now affects 1 in 50 school age children! Clearly, if we look at these

alarming and continuously escalating rates, and if we look at the needs of each of

the thousands upon thousands of individual children that these statistics represent,

concerted and committed action is required. And it is required right now.

If you have a child with autism or any other similar diagnosis, there is much more to

be done that you probably have been led to believe. Please do consider joining us

and offering your child the very best future possible. Do the research and ask

yourself, “Who's fooling who?”

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10. About Treating Autism: Treating Autism is a membership organization that works to provide parents of children with autism updated information on biomedical treatments.

Our charity provides support to families with our website, local support groups, an extensive lending library, a Facebook page, Twitter, and significant discounts on commonly used businesses and suppliers. We hold conferences that provide delegates with cutting edge information at very low cost. Many of these delegates are professionals who can provide appropriate treatment for children with autism. Our charity also works politically to ensure a better future for our children. Learn more about all we offer at our website, including the upcoming 2014 International Autism Conference, taking place on 8 and 9th of November at Brunel University, London (tickets to go on sale soon).



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Thanks!

Help us take action at: www.treatingautism.co.uk

http://www.treatingautism.co.uk

Treating Autism 'Who's Fooling Who?' Campaign

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