">Temple Grandin on DSM-5: “Sounds like diagnosis by committee”

My son is currently doing some vision therapy.  Some of it has had an interesting effect.

One of the first things noticeable from my son's vaccine injury was a change in his gate. His walking became clumsy and he would fall and run into things. His coordination is a little better but he still will not walk in straight lines, I kind of wish I would have video taped the first time response compared to his "normal". When he wears these prism glasses in a certain orientation he will walk in a straight line. The first time he did it he had a look of amazement on his face. 

Part of the therapy involves him wearing these glasses and forcing his brain to make new associations, After he stops wearing them he is disoriented again for a certain amount of time. The doc says that is part of the process. I liken it to wearing a pair of skates, for someone who doesn't wear them that much, for several hours and then taking off the skates. For a short time your brain still "thinks" the skates are on.

We are really just starting this therapy. We did so because of several issues, such as the gate and reading "habits". In the past I have noticed that when he wears yellow colored sunglasses he becomes calm. He actually likes having them on. If you put on the regular grey/blue tint glasses it has no effect. In fact he immediately takes them off. I don't know if that really means much more than the world has more interest in the yellow shade but it really helps in the cars to calm him down and stop the echolalia  - which can be really annoying on long trips.

On facebook, our friends in California (we were in their wedding, they were in ours) posted:
 
 
 
This is my son and he has autism. He is making sukiyaki donburi for our dinner tonight, dogs freak him out, he knows over 20 alphabets, he needs extra supervision, he can multiply numbers faster than you can type them in a calculator, he is also very snugly . I never thought I'd have a kid with autism and I had no idea what autism actually was. Also the biggest gift in his life is his younger sister. A big thanks to everyone who has contributed to his progress. 

My son is currently doing some vision therapy.  Some of it has had an interesting effect.

One of the first things noticeable from my son's vaccine injury was a change in his gate. His walking became clumsy and he would fall and run into things. His coordination is a little better but he still will not walk in straight lines, I kind of wish I would have video taped the first time response compared to his "normal". When he wears these prism glasses in a certain orientation he will walk in a straight line. The first time he did it he had a look of amazement on his face. 

Part of the therapy involves him wearing these glasses and forcing his brain to make new associations, After he stops wearing them he is disoriented again for a certain amount of time. The doc says that is part of the process. I liken it to wearing a pair of skates, for someone who doesn't wear them that much, for several hours and then taking off the skates. For a short time your brain still "thinks" the skates are on.

We are really just starting this therapy. We did so because of several issues, such as the gate and reading "habits". In the past I have noticed that when he wears yellow colored sunglasses he becomes calm. He actually likes having them on. If you put on the regular grey/blue tint glasses it has no effect. In fact he immediately takes them off. I don't know if that really means much more than the world has more interest in the yellow shade but it really helps in the cars to calm him down and stop the echolalia  - which can be really annoying on long trips.

wow. Very interested in hearing more about this.

My son is currently doing some vision therapy.  Some of it has had an interesting effect.

One of the first things noticeable from my son's vaccine injury was a change in his gate. His walking became clumsy and he would fall and run into things. His coordination is a little better but he still will not walk in straight lines, I kind of wish I would have video taped the first time response compared to his "normal". When he wears these prism glasses in a certain orientation he will walk in a straight line. The first time he did it he had a look of amazement on his face. 

Part of the therapy involves him wearing these glasses and forcing his brain to make new associations, After he stops wearing them he is disoriented again for a certain amount of time. The doc says that is part of the process. I liken it to wearing a pair of skates, for someone who doesn't wear them that much, for several hours and then taking off the skates. For a short time your brain still "thinks" the skates are on.

We are really just starting this therapy. We did so because of several issues, such as the gate and reading "habits". In the past I have noticed that when he wears yellow colored sunglasses he becomes calm. He actually likes having them on. If you put on the regular grey/blue tint glasses it has no effect. In fact he immediately takes them off. I don't know if that really means much more than the world has more interest in the yellow shade but it really helps in the cars to calm him down and stop the echolalia  - which can be really annoying on long trips.

Are you eyeballing me?

Every month should be neurotypical awareness month. 
   

I've dealt with this frequently with Ben.  At first, I didn't have the guts to confront people who were cruel to him.  But at a certain point I stood up for him. We were at a pizza shop -we got there early and there weren't many people there.  A family came in & sat next to us & ben was rocking & he bumped the woman's chair.  she kept shooting him dirty looks.  We left and walked about a block away & I turned around & went back & I told her that I noticed he seemed to be bothering her & that he was autistic —he wasn't just being a nudge.  She told me her neice has Down's Syndrome ( and I suppose her best friend is black too...)  Adults are the meanest to him.  He's also bipolar so things used to get pretty wacky for him at times (he's much more stable now.)  One time we were in a bakery & he bumped into a grown man who said something nasty to him so Ben went and stood in the corner of the place rocking & letting loose a litany of profanity one would expect of a person leaving on the street.  The guy continued to make comments about ben to the cashier (ie-there's something wrong with that kid...) what a f*ckin genius.  you figured out maybe he wasn't just a bad kid??  anyway its really tough because you can't live in a bubble & you try to be respectful of other people but often they are just mean right off the bat.  I think it would be helpful if we could move from a place where "tolerance" is what is expected of neurotypicals when they run across the rest of us to a place where compassion is what is expected.  Some compassion and understanding on both sides of the issue would go far I think.

   
Interesting article. The author took a lot of flak for her
previous writing on autism but this article brings up
some interesting and disturbing issues.

Where Should Special Needs Kids Be Special?
   
   

   
Interesting article. The author took a lot of flak for her
previous writing on autism but this article brings up
some interesting and disturbing issues.

Where Should Special Needs Kids Be Special?
   
   

She's great. Her book are awesome too.

Sounds great - glad you guys were able to see her.

FULL auditorium at our high school. She was brought here by our local community college. We took both kids. She gave her talk dealing with her autism and how different minds work. She also has a talk she gives on animal production, but she was to give that earlier today at the college.

I don't know what to say about it. I could have occupied her time for an hour but she was mobbed, signing books, so we didn't even try. The principal from our children's school sat across the aisle from us. I hope he 'got' more than a few things said by Dr. Grandin in regards to Charlie and some of the difficulties he's experienced, is experiencing. I didn't see his classroom teacher there and I can say she lost out if she wasn't there. She has a number of those quirky kids in her class and seems to struggle in managing and inspiring them. It's her first time teaching second grade in 28 years.

Anyway, I don't think that the approaches Scott and I take with our children are wrong. We're not coddling, but we're advocating. We remind them daily of manners, ethics and value of work. Dr. Grandin focused on those areas as well. I appreciate hearing that from her. She is certainly fascinating and I admire her tenacity. I also greatly respect her mother and her teachers that inspired her.