WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.....

....no parent truly knows. Whether your child is born with Autism or born neurotypically.
We all have a vision of our child's future. While our children are growing inside our wombs, we only hope that their futures are going to be bright.
This dream should not die just because your child received a diagnosis of Autism. What should happen is that we, as parents, begin to map their journey starting at a very young age.
Caitlin will be a Senior in high school this year. She will graduate with her class, and possibly continue her education with job training. Caitlin wants to work in an art gallery or a library. There is no reason she cannot....except...the school does not have a clue as to begin her journey to her goal.

As I read AoA today....yes, I read it every day...
Mr. Kirby writes about the "devastating" number of children with Autism in California,
who will be adults with Autism and how this will affect the tax payers.

We could be so ahead of the game if not for wasting the last 10 years on focusing on
"curing" our children through the misguided advice from politicians and journalists.
We could have used all of the resources if we, as parent's, had not listened to the
snake-oil salesmen and women who promised us "neuro-typical" children if we
chelate, B12, Hbot, supplement, and give a diet rich in GF/CF foods.
Right when I thought parent's were coming to their senses...in walks Jenny McCarthy...
back to square one, thanks to her.

One of the comments on AoA was " Everyone in government and medicine should be getting behind us parents working to recover our children.
Thanks to biomedical treatment, many who would grow into governmental depends will be productive, contributing members of society instead."

My answer to the above opine is...
Everyone in government and medicine should be behind EVERY parent with a child or children with Autism. Thanks to the amazing efforts of educators and therapists who are teaching our children coping skills (instead of snake oil promises), our children will grow up and be productive, contributing members of society....

There are many parents out here in Autism Land that have seen our seriously disabled autistic children grow and blossom into productive children. All without having to buy into the hype that is being sold as a "cure"...

So, what does the future hold for any of our children....only the future will tell...for any child. But, why do we feel that our children will fare any less, because they have autism. I expect nothing less from my children with Autism, than I expect from our Neuro-typical daughter. The skies the limit for all of them....

SAME OL'...SAME OL'...

I have been reading Autism forums since we bought our first
computer in 1997. Caitlin was 6 years old.
So, for 12 years, I have sought out information, from other parents
of children with Autism. I was seeking people who had the same experiences
we had, more experience than we had and different experiences we had
in raising our children with Autism.

After a few years of being involved in the "witty" banter (and let's face it...if
you do not agree with the biomedical community, there is nothing witty about it)..
I decided a year ago, to take a break.

The last 2 weeks, I have decided to revisit the two forums that I frequented...
AutismSpeaks and AutismWeb....
To my surprise....well, not really....I see the same old ranters ranting the same old
rantings...
The same unhappy and unpleasant people who want those around them to be as
miserable as they are. The same name-calling and hatefulness that sent me away
from these forums still exists.
Returning to the forums is very much like returning to watch a soap opera you used
to watch in college and being able to catch up in minutes.
Mrs. Davis is spewing the same lies about the same people and unable to back up her
inaccuracies....
while her cronies keep egging her on...
I truly believe they set her up to look so ignorant (but, that is just my opinion).

Yet, at the same time..not one of these people are helping any parent or child with
autism!!!!

These people with autistic children swore 4 to 5 years ago that they are going to
cure their children by chelating them, changing their diets, supplementing them
with untested drugs, enclosing them in Hbot machines, injecting them with B12 and
lupron shots, slapping nicotine patches on their very small bodies, etc....
Here we are 4 to 5 years later and they still have children with Autism...only older.

Instead of mellowing and finding peace with their children..they are still very angry
and in turn...take the anger out on other parents.
They have continued to try any new cure that comes along...including the OSR crap
being sold by the heads of biomedical.
They have continued to take digs at other parents who go onto these forums to help
parent's of newly diagnosed children...just like they have.

They take every piece of propaganda they can get their hands on and twist and turn
the information to fit their purposes.
So, for this very reason...I will remain off of the forums that are so negatively portraying
autism.

BUT....
I will not stop at trying to help those who are open to a clearer, more logical approach.
I have found many parent's, such as myself and my family, who are willing to
stop this insanity of Jenny McCarthy and Age of Autism....we will be heard and we
welcome to hear from you....
We will not call you names...we will not talk about you behind your backs on "private
forums". We will not demean you for not thinking the way you do. We will not stalk or
torment you like others feel the need to.
We also will not sell you false hopes....just truthful and honest advice that we has been
working for our children with Autism for the past decade and more....

I wish those on the forums luck...I wish them peace....
Mostly...I wish their children happiness in the worlds that are so full
of hate and bitterness....

LAYING IT OUT....

After I posted my blog today..I received a phone call from a person who thought they were anonymous.
This "anonymous" caller told me..

1. I had no idea what autism was.

2. I did not have autistic children to begin with.

3. I am doing a disservice to people with autistic children who are trying to
help their children...

Let me lay out my feelings...

Let me get this out on the table...

I do not believe in this autism hype of recovery or curedom...
I do not believe the GF/CF diet will cure your child with Autism...yes,
the diet will alleviete symptoms of distress in your child with bowel problems
but....bowel problems are not autism...

I do not believe a B12 lollipop is worth crap.

I do not believe a B12 shot is worth crap.

I think you are doing more harm to your child if you do chelation.

I think you are doing more harm to your child if you do Hbot.

I believe Jenny McCarthy is a joke...and I do not mean she is funny !!!!

I believe a whole lot of physicians are making a whole lot of money off of a
whole lot of parents with children with Autism.

I feel badly for parents who log on to the computer looking for answers find
scare tactics and propaganda.

I feel badly for the parents who buy into the hype that they can cure their child.

What I do know...
I know that kids with Autism grow up and get better with traditional therapies.
I know through inclusion...kids with autism will be educated better than those
without inclusion.

I know that parenting a child with autism is hard...but not impossible.

I do feel sorry for the parents of children who have autism and truly believe their
has been a "conspiracy" from the government. Really gifted journalists have started
this theory and have had a really hard time holding up their end of the conspiracy.

The saddest part is, these really gifted journalists have sold their bill of goods to some
parents who sold everything they own to buy into their crap.

And, in the end....these people have made a butt-load of money and the parents
have lost the same amount.

I have said my peace for the time being, but believe me, I am not done....

I am ticked off.....

I am sick of the media spewing this propaganda crap and the sane one's of us
have to sit back and listen....

Our time has come....
As Jenny McCarthy said on the View a couple of years ago.....
"I am going to use my big mouth to educate the people about Autism".....

ON HIS WAY...

Kiernan has always been a man of little...well...no words.
Lately, Kiernan has decided it is time for him to communicate with
his voice, not just his Vanguard system or spelling out the words..

I knew this day would come. We have been raising a child with autism
for over 18 years. Believe it or not....Autistic children do get better without
the need of expensive biomedical interventions.

How do I know ????

Because, we have 5 children with Autism.
3 of them are non-distinguishable from their peers....but, they are autistic.
They went from severe autism, and all that entails (poop-smearing, screaming,
running away, lack of sleeping, non-verbal)...to functional, productive people.
All of this while ingesting a gluten-filled, casein-filled diet.

These children have remained in speech and occupational therapies. They did not
participate in the dangerous practices of Hbot and chelation....

Caitlin remained non-verbal....between the ages of 8 and 9, she decided it was time
for her to talk. She has remained verbal and can answer most of your questions about
her autism. She will tell you what bothers her and why she does the things she does...
like cover her ears and humming. Her mind is quite fascinating....as is she.

So, now that Kiernan is discovering his voice....I want to share with the parents of
children with Autism who are told without spending their life-savings on unproven
treatments that....YES....your child will mature and get better.
Unlike the sites that promote the despair of Autism and all the propaganda that
goes along with this despair, I want to share the joy of my children and all the
joy they have brought us.

So...I believe Kiernan is well on his way to talking to us....
It may be soon, it may not...but....
he is on his way..

EXAMINER.COM.....

I have been hired to be an Examiner...
I am beyond excited...

Here is my first article...


EXAMINER

OPENING A BLIND EYE....

.....TO AUTISM....!!!

Well, specifically to Autistic Adults....

I have read, continually, that a certain group (and we all know who
this group is...so I will not dignify them with a link) want so be shown
the Autistic Adults....
I believe the question is...
"If Autism is not new, then where are all of the Adults with Autism"???

OPEN YOUR EYES.....they are right in front of you....

They are at the grocery store..
They are at the Walmart and the Target....
They are at the malls....
They are living under my roof....and soon to be living under yours....
They are working in factories, computer companies, shopping malls, retail stores,
and local businesses.
They are living on their own..or in group homes...or some, remain in their homes with
their parents.

While shopping with my 18-year-old daughter, Caitlin, yesterday....a woman
gave Cady a sneer as she walked by humming and buzzing.
I approached the woman and sneered back at her...okay, the Texas Mama in
me came out....it was a moment.
She asked me, "Do you have a problem"...??
I answered, "As a matter of fact, I do"!! "What would possess you to look at my
beautiful daughter with such disgust"?
This woman answered, "In my day, she would have been put away in one of them
hospitals".....
I told this woman, "Thank God we have come so far from "your day"!!
I then explained that Caitlin had Autism...she then told me how you didn't see
those folks when they were growing up...."they either lived with their folks or
were put away in one of them places".....

If you type in the words "State institutions" or "State Hospitals" and read about
these places where they put the "mentally disabled" or "Mentally Fragile" patients...
you would see where they started out to be nice replacements for home living, but
soon became so over-crowded with the "mentally unstable"...they became "horror
houses" for the disabled.
Wall-to-wall children and young adults....most labeled "mentally retarded", because
the diagnosis of Autism was not yet discovered. I truly believe these non-verbal, non-toilet
trained, rocking and head-banging children would have been labeled autistic now.. They
would have the wonders of an education and therapies that were non-existent then.
They would now be able to be functioning adults, instead of the majority of them
dying young in a place where no one could see them....hidden behind large brick buildings
with very high stone gates.....

Every time I go out, I see these amazing humans and thank God were are walking and
working amongst them...This gives me great hope for the future of our children with Autism....
because, believe me....they will become adults, just like the Autistic children that have come
before them. Luckily for them, they are no longer hidden by blind eyes!!!!