Is Your Child Autistic?

As many of you know, I'm the mom of two autistic kids. While I've been blessed that they are high-functioning, it has been and continues to be something we struggle with. It can be exhausting.

The last statistics I had read about the prevelance of autism spectrum disorders placed the number at 1 in every 100 kids. That's staggering. Could you imagine the outcry from the gay community if this was AIDS we were talking about? But yet the Washington DC voices remain silent.

I got the idea for this post after reading an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (PLEASE READ IT) about this boy and his service dog. It's a heartwarming story on a frigid day here in 'da burgh (and the ousting of the Stillers; but that's another story). Thinking of my own kids and what we may have overlooked initially, I decided to look for a checklist of common autistic symptoms.

While the following things DO NOT necessarily mean that autism is definitely the diagnosis (only a professional who deals with the disorder can make that diagnosis), they are common indicators. And, no, not all autistic people are savants like Rain Man. Just saying...

• Sustained odd play -- While kids are imagination geniuses, playing with objects inappropriately for extended periods of time could be a sign of a problem.
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills -- Usually the skills swing one way or the other. Their skills are either extremely good or extremely poor. Rarely is there middle ground.
• Not responsive to verbal cues -- Your child may not be ignoring you. We used to scream Noah's name for a response to no avail. After having a battery of hearing tests run (all normal), we now realize that this is a sign of autism.
• Little or no eye contact -- We still have issues with this, especially with Cheyenne.
• Insistance on sameness of routine -- Ever try to change an autistic person's routine?? Not a pretty sight. Usually a meltdown ensues.
  
• Tantrums for no apparent reason -- In the mind of an autistic, the smallest change or thing out of place can result in a full-blown hissy fit. We may not see the significance, but to them it is a catastrophe.
• Speech delays/absence -- Noah didn't talk until he was about 4. While there are other causes for speech delays, this is almost a classic sign of the disorder. Echolalia (parroting lines from movies or repeating what has been said to them) is also very common.
  
• A reluctance for social interaction -- This is the toughest to handle as a parent. When your child resists your hugs, it hurts. Trust me, it can be overcome. Not easy, but it can be done.
• Spins or lines up objects -- This is all about sensory stimulation. Heaven knows why, but it is.

Like I said, one or two of these symptoms are not necessarily proof of autism. If five or more fit, please seek the advice of a professional.

Autistic people are capable of making great strides. Don't give up hope. There's lots of it. :-)

Autism and Our Food

These two gems came from Steve the Lightning Man. With recent studies putting the autism rate at 1 in every 100 children, these could very possibly be a couple of reasons why. Make sure you're not drinking anything when you read the first piece. You'll blow it through your nose.

ADD, ADHD, HFCS, Preservatives, Autism...A Repost or 2

A couple weeks ago there was an article I read that said that something like 1 in 100 adults has some form of autism. I was blown away. That's up from the numbers I saw last spring on a billboard here in town that said 1 in 400 kids had autism.

I keep hearing talk of connections between those wonderful vaccines we got as kids for measles, mumps, & rubella (frikkin' University of Maine made me get a booster shot at age 24 to get into the school. What a scam.) This on top of the vaccines I'd already received courtesy of Uncle Sugar for things like, oh, say...typhoid, typhus, scarlet fever, yellow fever, cholera, dengue fever, and plague series I.

I decided to dust off a couple of old posts of mine from 2007 that ya'll might find interesting.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Will Be The End of Our Species Saturday, May 12, 2007


I recently got back in touch with a friend from high school whom I’ve only seen once in the past 20 years, and that was briefly at our ten-year reunion. She and her husband, another classmate of mine, live a fairly simple, unfettered life in rural Vermont. She was worried that I’d poke fun at her “crunchy” lifestyle of tofu & veggies, but the more I think about it, Anne and Greg & their two kids will probably still be nibbling granola well after the rest of us are nibbling dirt. Why? Preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup, dummy.

The way I look at it, the last generation of healthy Americans was the generation that fought WW2. They grew up on farm-fresh perishable foods and stuff that didn’t have artificial colors and sweeteners. They canned and smoked their own foods. They got meat at the butcher shop and produce at the farmer’s markets. The milk didn’t have artificial growth hormones and came fresh to your door.

Then after WW2 when technologies changed, came the "miracles" of modern science, like TV dinners and sugary snacks and preservatives. The chemicals and shit everywhere were gobbled up by the Baby Boomers, who are the parents of my generation. My generation of kids, who were born in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I'm convinced our DNA was subtly altered by those chemicals, as well as all the drugs our parents took. I know I grew up on sugar-frosted everything, with chemicals and preservatives and unpronounceable words on the ingredient list, and USDA-approved artificial colors that don’t occur in nature. Now take a look at our kids…

As a school-aged student, I’d only vaguely heard the term “ADD” and I was in my early 20’s before I’d ever heard of Ritalin. Our DNA has changed enough to where the children spawned by my generation have so many chemical imbalances that they get diagnosed with an alphabet of syndromes and disorders before they make it past third grade. My generation grew up eating Twinkies, which have a shelf life longer than that of most nuclear waste. You could bury a Twinkie in the ground and dig it up 5 years from now, and it’ll still be edible. You can’t kill a Twinkie. They’re the Rasputin of snack foods. Whereas our parents’ generation smoked pot and dropped acid, and sometimes did heroin, my generation added cocaine, crack, paint huffing, Ecstasy, and crystal meth to the mix. I’m surprised our kids don’t have tentacles and scales. I’m beginning to think that Ritalin is part of the school lunch program these days, since so many kids are on it. But hell, Ritalin is just the Gateway Drug now. We’re building up immunity to it. Throw in Adderal, Clonadine, Tenex, Strattera, and Concerta to the stew. It’s shocking how many kids today need all these chemicals to correct imbalances in the genetic code.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) will be the death of the human race. I defy you to go an entire week without eating or drinking something without HFCS as an ingredient. It’s damn near impossible anymore. When something is “sugar-free”, it usually means that instead of refined & processed white sugar, it’s instead loaded with enough HFCS to embalm a corpse, or some other even more insidious sweetening agent, like Aspartame or Splenda or some other chemically-enhanced concoction. Studies are showing that HFCS has a negative effect on metabolism and is a contributor to the pandemic obesity in the western world. Take a minute and walk over to your fridge. Start reading the labels and I guarantee you’ll find HFCS in more than you thought. I work at a dairy, and in a span of less than 45 seconds I found 3 products with HFCS in them in my storage cooler, and that was before I opened the ice cream cooler. There’s ketchup, BBQ sauce, pretty much every soda on the market, Thomas’ English Muffins, 9 outta 10 breakfast cereals, Miracle Whip, many cough syrups, all those Lunchables we stuff in our kids’ lunchboxes, Ocean Spray Cranberry drinks, even Wonderbread; all have HFCS as ingredients somewhere. The mesquite marinade I used at dinner had it listed as the first ingredient.

When I was a kid in the 70’s they pulled Saccharin off the shelves as a sweetener because it caused cancer, and yanked the drug Thalidomide, which was supposed to help with morning sickness but instead caused massive birth defects like missing limbs. The FDA approved both products and then had to recant, so who’s to say what the latest round of government-sanctioned yummies will do? The chemicals very well may be harmless when alone flying solo, but what happens when they all start to combine? Exposure to multiple layers of chemicals can cause myriad issues.

I read a book a few years ago that was written by Michael Donnelly, a former USAF fighter pilot who was suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He thought that his ALS, which cripples the nervous system, was brought about by exposure to multiple chemicals while in the first Gulf War. Prior to deployment, he was exposed to pesticides on his base as they sprayed for mosquitoes, then the military had him take pills that were anti-malarials and others that guarded supposedly against chemical-warfare agents, plus he had to fly through clouds of burning oil smoke. That smoke was chock full of burning petroleum residues, and who knows if there were various chemical weapons burning into the air too? If you think Gulf War Syndrome isn’t real, then why is the rate of birth defects, miscarriages, and other unexplainable health maladies so high in Gulf War veterans? In his book, Donnelly stated that the rate of ALS amongst Gulf War vets was 37 times the national average. Major Donnelly died in 2005 from his disease.

Oh yeah, our DNA is changing as a result of preservatives and chemical exposure and shitty lifestyle choices. Won’t it be ironic when intelligent life from some other galaxy lands on Earth and finds that humans went extinct as a result of the wondrous crap they created to prolong their lives? Oh well, at least they’ll have Twinkies to eat.


ADHD and PreservativesMonday, September 7, 2007

I swear I’m a freakin’ clairvoyant sometimes. At least three months ago I told you guys that preservatives and HFCS were messing with the DNA of the world’s kids.
(http://mojosteve.blogspot.com/2007/05/high-fructose-corn-syrup-will-be-end-of.html)

Now there’s all this hullabaloo and hubris over a study that just came out that links preservatives to ADHD.

A carefully designed study released Thursday in The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, shows that a variety of common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate, an ingredient in many soft drinks, fruit juices, and other foods, causes some kids to become more hyperactive and distracted than usual. You don’t say?

The research, led by Jim Stevenson, a professor of psychology at England's University of Southampton, involved about 300 children in two age groups. There were 153 3-year-olds and 144 8- and 9-year-olds from the general population. In all, 267 of the 297 children completed the study and were evaluated by teachers and parents for behavior changes. Over three one-week periods, the children were randomly assigned to consume one of three fruit drinks daily: one contained the amount of dye and sodium benzoate typically found in a British child's diet, a second drink had a lower concentration of the additives, and a third was additive-free. All the children spent a week drinking each of the three mixtures, which looked and tasted alike. During each week-long period, teachers and parents (who didn’t know which drink the kids were getting) used a variety of standardized behavior-evaluation tools — some observational and one computer-based — to size up restlessness, lack of concentration, fidgeting, and talking or interrupting too much.

Stevenson found that children in both age groups were significantly more hyperactive when drinking the stuff containing additives. Three-year-olds had a bigger response than the older kids to the lower dose of additives — roughly the same amount of food coloring as in two 2-oz. bags of candy. And, there were big individual differences in sensitivity. While the effects were not nearly so great as to cause full-blown ADHD, Stevenson nonetheless warns that "these adverse effects could affect the child's ability to benefit from the experience of school."

In response to the study, some pediatricians cautioned that a diet without artificial colors and preservatives might cause other problems for children.

“Even if it shows some increase in hyperactivity, is it clinically significant and does it impact the child’s life?” said Dr. Thomas Spencer, a specialist in Pediatric Psychopharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Is it powerful enough that you want to ostracize your kid? It is very socially impacting if children can’t eat the things that their friends do.”

True. It’s much better to have an obese hyperactive kid that’s loved by everyone than a healthy kid without a skewed sense of self-worth wrapped up in a Twinkie wrapper. To quote blogger Brett Levy: “What kind of insane society do we live in where we keep toxic chemicals in food all for the benefit of our children’s “socialization?” “

Besides, unless these kids get hooked on Ritalin, Adderal, and all that other yummy stuff, the doctors don’t get any kickbacks from drug manufacturers.

The Human Camera: Autism Hope

I found this video at Wollf's site. As a mom of two kids on the autism spectrum, I wanted to post it here in order to show that "autistic" doesn't mean "Rainman." This is absolutely amazing and well worth the view.



h/t to Wollf!

Living With Autism: Hope

This article from townhall.com really hit home as my younger son is a teenager living with autism. It's hard enough being a "normal" teenager in today's world; these brave kids face even bigger challenges. The article is long, but very much well worth the read, especially if you know anyone dealing with autistic teenagers.

Autistic teens master social cues, find friends

By ALICIA CHANG

Thirteen-year-old Andrea Levy ticked off a mental list of rules to follow when her guest arrived: Greet her at the door. Introduce her to the family. Offer a cold drink.

Above all, make her feel welcome by letting her choose what to do.

"Do you want to make pizza now or do you want to make it later?" the lanky, raven-haired teen rehearsed in the kitchen, as her mother spread out dough and toppings.

This was a pivotal moment for Andrea, a girl who invited just one acquaintance to her bat mitzvah.

Andrea has autism, and socializing doesn't come naturally. For the past several weeks, she's gone to classes that teach the delicate ins and outs of making friends _ an Emily Post rules of etiquette for autistic teens.

For Andrea, this pizza date is the ultimate test.

The bell rings. The door opens. Can she remember what she needs to do?

More important, will she make a friend?

Even for socially adept kids, the teen years, full of angst and peer pressure, can be a challenge. It's an especially difficult time for kids with autism spectrum disorders, a catchall term for a range of poorly understood brain conditions _ from the milder Asperger's syndrome to more severe autism marked by lack of eye contact, poor communication and repetitive behavior such as head-banging.

An estimated 1 in 150 American children has some form of autism. There's no known cure. Some research suggests autistic kids who get help early can overcome some of their deficits. But the social skills they learn as a toddler may not be so useful to a teen.

"A lot of our kids need a tune-up. They need new skills to help them survive in their new social world," said clinical psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson of the University of California, Los Angeles, who runs a 3 1/2-month friendship program for high-functioning autistic teens like Andrea.

Growing up, Andrea hardly had friends at all. They either moved away or grew tired by her inability to emotionally connect.

When she was 18 months old, her parents noticed something was amiss. Instead of babbling, she would cry or scream to get attention. She had no desire to play, even with her older brother.

Some doctors said not to worry; others thought she had a speech impairment.

None of the answers made sense to Andrea's parents until two medical experts, including a pediatrician who specialized in developmental disorders, diagnosed her as autistic.

The family soon enrolled Andrea in special play therapy.

"We try and help her make friends, but she's always a step behind her peers," said her mother, Gina Levy.

In some respects, Andrea is a typical teenage girl who is crazed about celebrity gossip magazines, romance novels, drama and chorus. But she can be withdrawn and doesn't always get the subtleties of body language and other nonverbal signs.

Whenever she gets stuck in a conversation, she tends to stare, making people around her uncomfortable. She doesn't mean to be impolite _ it's just her way of watching and learning.

"I know I'm weird and I know I'm not normal," said Andrea, who looks like a young Anne Hathaway with braces. "I've always known I'm not normal."

Andrea found company from nine other high-functioning autistic teens who enrolled in a 14-week friendship boot camp earlier this year. More than 100 teens have graduated from the UCLA Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills, or PEERS for short, which costs $100 a session and is covered by many insurers.

Unlike other autism interventions, parents also must participate. They learn to become social coaches for their children so that their new skills can be retained when the program is over.

Every week, Laugeson, a peppy clinical psychologist known as "Dr. Liz," leads the students through a maze of social survival skills: how to have a two-way conversation, how to trade information to find common interests, how to gracefully enter a conversation and how to be a good host. In class, the teens role-play with one another and also must practice what they've learned outside of class in weekly homework assignments.

Laugeson peppers the lessons with friendly reminders about proper etiquette:

"Don't be a conversation hog."

"Give a cover story for why you are calling."

"Don't be an interviewer."

"Say you're sorry when you make someone angry, sad or upset."

"You need to trade information at least 50 percent of the time during the get-togethers."

Earlier this year, Laugeson published a study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders on how the parent-involved training has worked so far. In a study of 33 autistic teens, those who went through the program had more friends come to their houses than those who did not.

"There isn't much research on social group training that incorporates parents. That's a key factor for success," said Barbara Becker-Cottrill, who heads the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University. She has no connection with PEERS, but has reviewed Laugeson's research. "Parents are children's first and probably best teachers."

Despite the gains, Laugeson said the program is not a cure-all. Parents know this and don't expect their children to blossom into social butterflies overnight.

Andrea's mother has two goals: "I hope she becomes a better conversationalist and feels more comfortable around her peers."

Andrea's journey through an unfamiliar social world has been filled with some stumbles.

During a role-playing exercise, she was paired with a classmate to talk about their favorite book. Andrea was so eager to share her love of "Gone with the Wind" that she lapsed into a two-minute monologue about the plot. A counselor stepped in and reminded her not to be a "conversation hog."

One of Andrea's early attempts to inject herself into an existing conversation revealed some awkwardness. As a group of classmates chatted away about an animated movie, Andrea stood aloof, avoiding eye contact and unsure of what to do. Laugeson pulled her aside, advised her to listen and find a pause.

By the time Andrea rejoined the group, the discussion had switched to macadamia nuts. Andrea saw an opening and chimed in: "Well, I've tried macadamia nuts and they're pretty good. When I was little, I would eat a lot."

As time went on, Andrea's confidence improved. Through practice, she has let go of her tendency to be an interviewer during phone calls. On her own, she came up with the idea of asking the kids who were signing her yearbook to jot down their phone numbers too, a ploy that won her praise from the counselors and gave her a pool of potential friends to call.

Other teens in the class also progressed, but at a slower pace.

A fellow 13-year-old, Elias Cazares Jr., was diagnosed with autism two years ago. He displays more outward signs of the disorder _ rocking back and forth, constantly blinking, fidgeting with his face. Elias is obsessed with video games and talks of nothing else.

Unlike Andrea who got therapy growing up, this is the first time Elias has had professional help.

At times the pressure is too much. One day after class, Elias had a meltdown and refused to do the following week's homework _ calling someone outside of the group. Elias confided to Laugeson that he was teased at school and did not want to befriend the bullies. She calmed him down and said he could dial a cousin instead.

Despite the struggles, Elias' father is proud of the small steps he's taken: He recently called his neighbor to schedule a get-together. He also started making small talk with a younger kid in his hip-hop class, but he's been too afraid to ask for his phone number.

"What I want for him is a more normal life, to have at least one or two friends," said Elias Cazares Sr.

As the teens hone their bonding skills, parents gather separately for their own lesson.

UCLA postdoctoral fellow Alex Gantman, "Dr. Alex," runs the parent session. It is a chance for them to talk about their kids' problems and progress and for Gantman to give pointers on helping the teens navigate their social surroundings.

One hard truth to face: There's a 50-50 chance that a kid will be rejected by peers, Gantman said, and it's OK to let them know that.

He points out that follow-up phone calls are critical in a budding friendship.

"Teens move on really quickly. Somebody else gets their attention and boom, they're gone unless you really develop a strong friendship bond," he said.

Gantman is working to expand the training to young autistic adults. They often struggle with dating skills as portrayed in the summer romance movie, "Adam," about a young man with Asperger's who falls in love with his neighbor.

The PEERS program deals only with friendships, and teens must use the skills they learn in class in the real world. As part of their homework during the last month of the training, they had to play host to potential friends outside of the group.

Andrea invited over a fellow drama classmate with something in common. Both had a digestive problem that meant they couldn't eat foods containing wheat. So the two girls were going to make a gluten-free pizza.

Before the guest arrived, Andrea, dressed in a denim skirt and blouse, went over the steps of being a good host. The door bell buzzed. Her ponytailed guest was five minutes early and wearing a shy smile.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two gathered in the kitchen. Andrea got off to a slow start, standing at times with her arms crossed in front while her mother chatted away.

Then, she remembered her hosting duties and asked if the classmate wanted to add the pizza toppings first.

The guest deferred. "You can go first."

Andrea demonstrated: "So you put a little bit of sauce ... and sprinkle on the cheese."

"Perfect," the classmate replied.

After pizza, Andrea, with some prompting from her mother, asked what to do next.

The guest was indifferent so the two migrated to Andrea's room to watch a movie. After they got bored, they headed to the living room to play video games where Andrea got a chance to practice good sportsmanship.

Despite beating her guest in almost every round, Andrea threw out words of praise: "Good job" and "Come on. You can do this."

"You did well," Andrea said after winning the last round.

The two haven't hung out since the culinary experience. It's been an up-and-down time. But Andrea managed to have four get-togethers with a girl she met in chorus. And she's felt those familiar teen pangs of loss when she was stood up by another girl.

The older, wiser Andrea shook it off. She focused on a new set of possible friends she met while awaiting her turn to dive at the local swimming pool.

After overhearing that her schoolmates were on Facebook, she persuaded her mother to let her create a profile. She sent out "a gazillion friend requests" hoping a few will bite.

She has 33 friends and counting.

The Entitlement Crowd: Take Two

Image via Wikipedia

I have a feeling this post is going to do one of two things: get people angry at the system or get people really hacked off at me. It's kind of a double-edged sword. After yesterday's post on the welfare entitlement crowd, I decided to jump into another group of the same crowd: those who claim disability under false pretenses.

I am not so insensitive that I can't understand what people with disabilities endure. I have watched my two autistic kids struggle with coping in what can be a very cruel world. There are those who are truly disabled, and they deserve all the care and support we as Christians and human beings can give. They aren't the problem.

The problem lies in the people who decide that for whatever reason, they don't want to work, but they know they don't qualify for welfare. So, let's work the system: claim disability and collect Social Security Disability benefits. I don't know which group I find more offensive.

I did a little digging last night in preparation for this post. I found a partial list of qualifying disabilities under Social Security. As you read it, don't be surprised if some of the challenges you face in this life qualify. These are some of the things that I don't think should truly qualify as a disability.

• Loss of speech -- Yes, this could be a secondary symptom of a serious disorder of another class, but come on. Sign language...ever hear of that??
• Asthma -- My daughter has dealt with asthma. There are many great medications out there to deal with an attack and also as a preventative.
• Sleep-related Breathing Disorders -- Do you snore or suffer from sleep apnea? Well, then come on down and get a share of other people's money.
• Persistent and chronic skin lesions -- What exactly is the criteria for a lesion, and how does that affect one's ability to work? If anyone has an answer, please let me know.
• Diabetes -- A growing problem in this society, diabetes CAN be managed. My husband is Type 2 and works 60-80 hours a week. If your diabetes is so far gone that they have amputated body parts, disregard this.
• Anxiety -- I suffer from panic attacks and severe anxiety. I can control these with medication, and blogging has become my therapy. So if you're tense and anxious and have no desire to work, there's a check for you.
• This one really gets me....SUBSTANCE ABUSE -- Since when did not taking repsponsibility for your vices become a disability??? Do you smoke? Get a check. Do you drink? Get a check. Do you enjoy crack and other illegal drugs? Get a check. What a boffo idea! Let's give people money because they have a crack problem! They would NEVER think of buying more crack with it, right?

Along with getting cash for a qualifying disability, you automatically qualify for Medicaid. The public teat is going dry, but there are those who will continue to say they're disabled to avoid working. What a crock!!!

In years past, the advocates for rights of the handicapped have said that they are "handicapable". Wonderful programs are out there to help people learn to live with whatever crappy hand they have been dealt. What happened to using a "disability" to prove you can conquer it and be a productive member of society? My kids are high-functioning (Thanks to God) and have proven that it is possible to make it through challenges we all face. Yes, autism qualifies as a disability.

The people who make me the most mad are those who tell their kids to go to school and act out to be diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Yep...both disabilities. While my son was doing in-home therapy to learn to communicate and reason, welfare reform had been passed. In Pennsylvania, that meant you got two years of benefits in your lifetime. That's it. I asked the therapist what her thoughts were about the people who have come to expect someone else to give them money every month. All of a sudden, they gotta work. Heaven forbid!!! She told me that having their kids act out to collect disability was the new welfare scheme being perpetrated by the non-workers of the time. Doesn't that just make you sick?

I think it's high time that people start attaching shame to what these people are doing. It takes away from those who truly need disability benefits and jades the rest of us.

Is that Tweedledee and Tweedledum I see coming? Think I better go find the Mad Hatter.

Letterman Disses Palin; Palin: 'Pathetic'

On Monday night's "Late Night With David Letterman", Dave's Top Ten list was "highlights of Sarah Palin's trip to New York". Sarah was in town over the weekend to speak at and participate in a walk for the group Autism Speaks, a group advocating support and research into autism, a developmental disorder with no cure. On his list? The number two slot was “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant’ look.” How classy, you twit. Let's just forget about the true reason she was there. Hey! The president made his "Special Olympics" comment on Leno, so it must be ok to poke fun at and ignore those who face challenges in this life.

In an interview she gave Tuesday to John Ziegler, a conservative LA-based radio host, Palin said, “That’s pretty pathetic, good ole David Letterman.”

Sarah has shown that she is quite capable of being humorous without Davey-boy's help. Her "Hockey Mom/Pit Bull" comment became one of the things that helped endear her to so many people. And do I need to mention her appearance on Saturday Night Live? My personal favorite part of that show was her appearance on "Weekend Update", SNL's news satire segment.

Sarah's ability to make light of what is a grueling ordeal (political campaign) proves she can be down to earth. Unlike Barry who prefers up in the clouds.

Sarah Palin to Speak on Autism

On Sunday, Sarah Palin is expected to speak at and participate in a fundraising walk for the group Autism Speaks in New York. Walks for autism awareness and research are usually held all summer long across the country. While Sarah's youngest child, Trig, has Down's Syndrome, she understands the emotions and needs of families with a special needs child.

My family has gotten a double dose of autism. My two youngest children were diagnosed on the autism spectrum as toddlers. My husband and I ran the gamut of emotions: despair, denial, anger, and acceptance. Through hard work, intensive therapy, and the Grace of God, they have blossomed into high-functioning autistic children. They are happy, health, and, most importantly, loved.

I always asked myself the question all special needs parents do: "Why did this happen to me?"
I have a theory.

As I grew up, I was one of the few children who didn't tease the mentally challenged kids in our school. My mother had always told us that this was never acceptable, and woe to us if she had ever heard that we had behaved that way. After my children's diagnoses, I came to the conclusion that God gave us these wonderful angels knowing that they would be loved and not belittled or berated.

Autism has caused me to look at the world in a different light. When I hear a child screaming bloody murder in Wal-Mart, I consider the possibility that this child could have communication and sensory issues. I've walked that path. Before my daughter could communicate, I was kicked, scratched, bitten, and punched when her aggression flared. To see her today, you would never guess it is the same child.

I thank God every day for these cherubs. They have taught this family patience, understanding, and unconditional love.

May we all learn the lessons they teach.