As we unravel the complex tapestry of Autism Spectrum Disorder, we promise an enlightening journey into its intricate world, highlighting the message that autism is no one’s fault. Our conversation sheds light on the perplexing gender disparities in diagnosis, the invaluable role of early intervention, and the remarkable growth potential within the autism community. Every child with ASD embarks on a unique path, and we'll navigate through the nuances of this diversity, sharing innovative technologies and therapies, and celebrating the incredible strengths and possibilities these children possess.
This episode is an invitation to walk alongside me in the ongoing adventure of parenting a child with autism, where I share the heartfelt stories and the fulfilling moments that punctuate our lives. Stay tuned as we explore the bittersweet challenges, the joyous victories, and the unflagging spirit of optimism that defines the autism community. Your feedback and experiences are the lifeblood of our show, and we warmly encourage you to join this supportive network. Together, we'll continue to foster hope and understanding, uplifting every family touched by the spectrum of autism.
As we unravel the complex tapestry of Autism Spectrum Disorder, we promise an enlightening journey into its intricate world, highlighting the message that autism is no one’s fault. Our conversation sheds light on the perplexing gender disparities in diagnosis, the invaluable role of early intervention, and the remarkable growth potential within the autism community. Every child with ASD embarks on a unique path, and we'll navigate through the nuances of this diversity, sharing innovative technologies and therapies, and celebrating the incredible strengths and possibilities these children possess.
This episode is an invitation to walk alongside me in the ongoing adventure of parenting a child with autism, where I share the heartfelt stories and the fulfilling moments that punctuate our lives. Stay tuned as we explore the bittersweet challenges, the joyous victories, and the unflagging spirit of optimism that defines the autism community. Your feedback and experiences are the lifeblood of our show, and we warmly encourage you to join this supportive network. Together, we'll continue to foster hope and understanding, uplifting every family touched by the spectrum of autism.
Hi everyone. I hope you're having a blessed day. Today I'm going to talk about some things that you should know about autism. It was an article I read on the internet and they had 20 things, but I'm going to combine some of them, because to me they're kind of just talking about the same thing, and add a few things to this. So the first one they had on there was it's not anyone's fault and we know that it's not anybody's fault that you have a child that is on the spectrum. It just happens. And they I don't think they really know 100% why it happens, but it is on the rise. We do know that either you have somebody in the family or you know somebody that has a child that is on the spectrum.
Speaker 1:
The second thing they had was a lot of kids are misdiagnosed, especially girls, because girls learn better social cues so they don't suspect it as soon. The other thing is is that sometimes girls are delayed until they're in their teens before they get diagnosed. That's why usually if you're a teacher, you know you have more boys than you have girls usually, and that's one thing. The other thing is is that every child is different. You cannot compare your child with another child because everybody's different. It, just like every other child, is different. If they're not on the spectrum, and so is your child. Equal opportunity. More common than cancer is diabetes and AIDS combined that's how many people have are on the spectrum. More common than cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined to have a child that's on the spectrum, that's something, isn't it Political correct? So you know, nowadays we have to be careful how we address people. So do you say that your child is autistic or a person with autism? They don't like to be called low or high functioning, which I didn't know that, but so they don't like that, but we do use that term. He's, yes, he's, on the spectrum, but he's high functioning.
Speaker 1:
And early diagnosis is very helpful. The more extra time you have, the better, and I've seen that. I've seen where parents, you know, learn early, usually by two or three. They know, and then they start working with them right away and they start getting the resources right away, and that's that makes the difference. I live in a in a community that don't really have the early diagnosis. I guess they used to, but since I moved here, I it's nothing I have seen before. When I was in California they did, you know, or zero to three and then at three they could go into school. The cost for autism and this was 2014, the lifetime cost is $1.4 million support for an individual. And even though they talk about the cost and I mentioned it and stuff you know, to me that's low man on the totem pole. You know, we need our kids to have the support that they need. That's to me, the most important thing. Who cares about the cost? It's just money, intervention.
Speaker 1:
Everyone can grow. It doesn't matter what age you are adult or anything. Just like, if you seen one of my podcasts, a short one I did uh drawings by Trent. He does uh shirts and cups and all kinds of stuff and he came up with some of the ideas. Uh, right now he's got one where it's a man and a bear bear with me, you know kind of thing. So he does some cute, uh cute things. So, and everybody can grow.
Speaker 1:
I, when I was a teacher, I didn't care how low you were, you were going to learn. It wasn't an option, it was a requirement and you were going to learn and everybody did. And then think outside the box, there's no cure, okay, but they can continue to grow and learn and function and hold jobs and things like that. Don't ever give up, even if they I hear I'm going to use that term are they very low? And I don't mean that. Everybody can learn something. And the other thing with no cure, I have people that have come into my room the parents I'm talking about and think that I'm going to be able to cure them, and there's I can't. I wish I could, I wish I was capable of doing something like that. That'd be fantastic, but I can't. I can't cure autism. I can help your child to grow and become better than they were yesterday, and that's how I always looked at it.
Speaker 1:
Spoken language. A lot of people get nervous about this when their kids are three and four and they're still not speaking. But that doesn't mean they won't speak. And there's a lot of new technology out there. There's laser treatments now that they do on the back of the brain and they are able to, you know, start talking. They may start parroting. First, you know, repeating after what you said, and that's okay, that's a good sign. And then, after a while, you're going to start hearing them on their own, not with you repeating something, but on their own start to say words and sentences. Just have to give them extra time, and they need love too. Now I know that kids that are on the spectrum are hypersensitive to everything, and so this is no different, but they still need to be loved. You know, you get that shoulder hug from an autistic kid and they just need that hug. Maybe not the way we normally hug, but they need to be showed some type of praise and love and concern. They're no different than anybody else and they need to have showed some type of praise and love and concern. They're no different than anybody else and they need to have that.
Speaker 1:
And then there was a study. The other thing was a family, what they called family affair a study in Denmark where 7% are more likely to have another autistic. Now, identical twins were 60%, that both would be autistic and fraternal twins was only 24%, which is kind of high. Still, food, digestion, sleeping, sensory, and usually most of them. It only said 10% and I think it's higher. I don't think it's just 10%.
Speaker 1:
I've never seen an autistic kid and I've been with a lot of them that didn't have something else, been with a lot of them that didn't have something else. One of them like sleeping or picky with their food or something like that. The other one is called and I hadn't heard this one, this was kind of new to me it's called hyperlexic anxiety and I think I'm pronouncing it right. It's when you're reading above one's age, like usually. They say it's between two years or at least under four years, and fluent in two languages, which I see, that I have seen kids. One of the boys I'm working with, he speaks both Spanish and English and sometimes he's singing a song and I know what the song is, but he's singing it in Spanish and I don't speak Spanish. Unfortunately I didn't learn it, and we have to remember that autistic children are still children. They still need to be able to play and have that time of being a kid. They may not have the skills to communicate, but they still need to be able to play and be a little kid.
Speaker 1:
Creative geniuses, a talent in music, theater, dance or putting I put putting things together. Sometimes they're very mechanically inclined too. So sometimes they have another, another super power that I want to kind of call it Beyond high school. What happens to them beyond high school? They can go to college. They they can also be at, go to trade, get a trade school, or they can also. Just, you know, it was no more than working at a grocery store stocking. They're capable of doing things. Many of them and I know that there are some on the spectrum that may not they're maybe, you know, in a wheelchair or the mobility or something that's going on but a lot of them do. And even if your child right now is very young, don't think that they can't grow and become productive. They can.
Speaker 1:
The other thing is is that we need more research. We definitely need to be able to have more research and we need more treatments and better support for our kids that are on the spectrum. There just isn't enough, and I'm seeing a lot of parents choosing homeschool, which is not a bad thing. I think it could be a very good thing, but it's also a very hard thing, you know, because a lot of parents choosing homeschool, which is not a bad thing. I think it could be a very good thing, but it's also a very hard thing, you know, because a lot of times parents have to work or, you know, they have to sacrifice going down to one parent, or they have to hire somebody to come in. There's a lot of, you know, drawbacks to homeschooling too, not that I don't think they can get a good education. I do believe they can get a good education at home.
Speaker 1:
And please, stay positive. You know many things will be working out, will work out. They will thrive. Just try to be positive and help your child to grow and be stronger than they are today. Well, I hope that you enjoyed today's little podcast and I hope you will share it. I enjoy doing my podcast and I'm enjoying doing this about autism. Since I've been doing it, I've just been flooded with all kinds of stuff, so I'm trying to decide what to put on and what not to put on. But anyway, I hope you have enjoyed today and I hope you have a blessed weekend, or not weekend. It's Monday. I'm doing this on Monday, but I think I'm going to release it today. I was thinking about that and I have one that will be released tomorrow. I try to put two to three out every day or every week. I'm sorry but I don't know. We'll see how it goes and if you have any comments, let me know and I'll be happy to answer them. My email is gdebradebra at 055 at gmailcom. Thank you.