ISO - Best info on high functioning autism

[minicooper]

Hi there,

I was getting my hair cut last week and the woman who cut my hair and I were talking about our kids. She mentioned that her 10 year old daughter was just diagnosed with high functioning autism. After much debating in my head I asked her if her daugher had been vaccinated and she asked with GREAT interest "why do you think that's what causes it?" then she mentioned that 'they' said she was born with it. I asked her if she had a computer with internet access and she doesn't. She is a single mom to her daughter and a son. I can't get her or our conversation out of my head, it's eating at me. There was a picture of her kids on her station and they are so adorable.

I want to print out some stuff for her but I have no idea where to begin. I don't want to overwhelm her but feel like she would appreciate some information. I mentioned she should go to the library and use the computer there but I'm sure she doesn't have much time for things like that.

I don't really have time to research the whole thing, sift through all the information and then pick the best stuff to print out and deliver to her - I work full time and at my new job there is no time for slacking (all my breaks are spent pumping lol). So could some of you great mamas link me to what you think is the best couple of sites, books, articles or whatever so that I can get some information together for her. At least get her started on researching this issue.

I would really appreciate it and I'm hoping will she too. It's frustrating to see someone so interested and without the resources or time end up trusting or blindly following the 'experts' advice without really knowing what's going on or even knowing what kind of questions to ask. I dunno I guess I'm just hoping that she can at least know what is happening with her daughter and want help her understand her situation better and why the doctors and therapists say what they say about her daughter/autism.

Knowledge is power right?

TIA

[lilskid]

Hi!

I highly recommend any books written by Temple Grandin. Her three most popular books are: Thinking in Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life With Autism, Emergence : Labeled Autistic, and Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. Her webpage is http://www.templegrandin.com/ She is a remarkable person.
Here are some other links you may find helpful:
http://www.isn.net/~jypsy/spectrum.htm This link will take you to the Diagnostic Criteria/Description of 31 different diagnoses, on the Autistic Spectrum or related,from ADD-ADHD to Williams Syndrome. On each page you'll also find Links to relevant sites and Books on the subject.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/P...r?pagename=FAQ Autism Society of America
http://www.aspergersyndrome.org/ Online Asperger Syndrome Information and Support
http://www.momsonamissionforautism.org/ Moms On A Mission For Autism
http://www.taap.info/ TAAP (The Autism Autoimmunity Project)

[thoesly]

Also check out the Autism Research Institute site (go to www.autism.com and click on the link). They added a page not long ago that speaks directly to parents just starting on the journey.

Also, there are a couple of types of autism -- some kids are born with it (infantile autism) and others develop normally until around 18 months and then regress. When they say kids are born with it, they could be referring to the former type, but they could also be referring to the widely held belief that autism consists of a genetic predisposition (and then an environmental trigger). There are different things to consider for each type -- like the vaccination link may be more obvious with regressive autism, but the assaults on mom during pregnancy (rhoGam shot, flu vaccine, amalgams in teeth, etc) shouldn't be discounted regardless of the type of autism.

Good luck -- you're really nice to be doing this,

Tara

[minicooper]

Thank you so much!!!

It's the least I can do

[lauren]

The recent articles in Mothering on autism and thimerosol in vaccines should be of help to her.