The Autism Thread

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:37 pm

I wonder how Tatum came to do this interview?

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:16 pm

When I train police, fire, EMS, hospital staff, etc. I tell them that "people with autism may speak in blunt or tactless ways".

Family went to the ocean over New Year's this year. As we are driving back to our hotel from the Boardwalk my son likes to read off the names of the different stores/bars/restaurants as we pass them. We pass a bar/restaurant called Fat Daddy's. From the back of the van I hear "Fat Daddy's, That's you Daddy"! Gotta laugh.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 8:00 pm

Great story even if they weren't donating proceeds to the org I work for.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 9:55 pm

People can be sweet.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 11:31 am

Cross posting this from the Premiership thread, most as a question to BFJ who may not look in that one. Do US pro or college teams offer something similar? I could see Towson's Pat Skerry making something like this happen at their arena
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/ ... d-children

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:19 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote:Cross posting this from the Premiership thread, most as a question to BFJ who may not look in that one. Do US pro or college teams offer something similar? I could see Towson's Pat Skerry making something like this happen at their arena
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/ ... d-children

That's very cool. I don't know of any teams that have a dedicated area for fans with sensory issues. Towson had one at the Autism Acceptance game last week, but I don't know if they have one at all the games. When Coach Skerry's kid gets overwhelmed, his mom takes him up to one of the suites at the arena to get himself together. It would be easy for any franchise with a large stadium to accommodate.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 12:13 pm

This feels like procedural bureaucracy getting ahead of common sense. Most folks seem to be trying to do the right thing across the board without understanding the impact of their actions because they were missing some information. I get the mother advocating for her child because of the situation. Feels like in this case, media coverage is going to cause more problems then letting everyone work together for the kid (on the other hand I have heard enough stories from my Aunt and others to know that working with the system is often insane).

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/21/health/au ... ended_pool

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:31 pm

Cuffs? On a 10 year old?

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Fri May 05, 2017 5:37 pm

So....just throwing this out there....thoughts on a small dose (like a 1/4 of a gummy edible) to see if it helps "take the edge off/lower the amplitude"?

The GF has been discussing trying this with her daughter, going as far as trying a 1/2 of a gummy a few weekends ago just to see what the effect felt like (she said she didn't really notice anything, but she laughed pretty hard while watching "Shawn of The Dead").

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri May 05, 2017 6:20 pm

Shaun of the dead is hilarious.

rass · Post by **rass** » Sat May 06, 2017 9:11 am

Yeah boooyyeeeeeee.

DiS, I would guess there are decent amount of people in your GF's exact position but afraid to ask the question. Will probably make googling a reputable source more difficult than usual, but I've got to imagine someone has some experience with this if you can find them.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Sat May 06, 2017 11:29 am

rass wrote:Yeah boooyyeeeeeee.

DiS, I would guess there are decent amount of people in your GF's exact position but afraid to ask the question. Will probably make googling a reputable source more difficult than usual, but I've got to imagine someone has some experience with this if you can find them.

I've heard of it for controlling seizures, but not for calming/taking the edge off. I would ask her doctor. I know they treat co-morbid conditions with the same rx they give neuro-typicals so maybe it would be considered.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Nov 28, 2017 10:43 am

Almost put this in the Dusty thread.

Post by **Shirley** » Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:42 pm

What a great kid.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Wed Nov 29, 2017 11:56 pm

bfj wrote:
rass wrote:Yeah boooyyeeeeeee.

DiS, I would guess there are decent amount of people in your GF's exact position but afraid to ask the question. Will probably make googling a reputable source more difficult than usual, but I've got to imagine someone has some experience with this if you can find them.

I've heard of it for controlling seizures, but not for calming/taking the edge off. I would ask her doctor. I know they treat co-morbid conditions with the same rx they give neuro-typicals so maybe it would be considered.

I've been considering trying medical marijuana as an addition to what I use to deal with chronic neuropathic pain. Now my mind is blown with the idea that it might be something my autistic teen daughter would benefit from. She suffers at times from out-of-control anxiety. I can barely get my mind around trying this myself, despite favorable research and strains that apparently involve no psychoactive effects. But it's beyond me right now to seriously consider it for my daughter. Could be I become her guinea pig.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:02 am

DC47 wrote:
bfj wrote:
rass wrote:Yeah boooyyeeeeeee.

DiS, I would guess there are decent amount of people in your GF's exact position but afraid to ask the question. Will probably make googling a reputable source more difficult than usual, but I've got to imagine someone has some experience with this if you can find them.

I've heard of it for controlling seizures, but not for calming/taking the edge off. I would ask her doctor. I know they treat co-morbid conditions with the same rx they give neuro-typicals so maybe it would be considered.

I've been considering trying medical marijuana as an addition to what I use to deal with chronic neuropathic pain. Now my mind is blown with the idea that it might be something my autistic teen daughter would benefit from. She suffers at times from out-of-control anxiety. I can barely get my mind around trying this myself, despite favorable research and strains that apparently involve no psychoactive effects. But it's beyond me right now to seriously consider it for my daughter. Could be I become her guinea pig.

Just realize the stigma against marijuana is all manufactured out of racism from the 1930s, Nixon wanting to disenfranchise hippies and minorities in the 1970s, the pharmaceutical industry, the cotton industry... There are a lot of medicinal components in marijuana, most of which have no psychoactive effects, and you can separate those compounds from the psychoactive components. As far as being a guinea pig, my non-medical opinion is that you and your daughter would likely benefit from different components of marijuana, so you would probably benefit from different treatment.

Not that you care what I think, but I would strongly recommend exploring options for your daughter. Unfortunately, we are 100 years behind where we could have been with medical marijuana research because of the political bullshit, but we should feel safer using marijuana products than pharma products. Marijuana is natural and processed by our bodies, as opposed to the chemical monstrosities pushed for profits, it's just a century of propaganda and state of the art PR by Big Pharma that has us trusting pills and not natural plants.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:12 am

I'm quite interested in your view.

I've got no stigma regarding dope. I came up in the '70s in Northern California with both small to big grows quite nearby. Not to mention my run-ins with armed meth dealers. I don't think I had a friend who didn't smoke, throughout that time. I was on the light side, but enjoyed it.

Today though I've got too much to do to try to overcome the usual enjoyable psychoactive effects. So their alleged absence is a big factor to me. I just want some additional pain relief, on top of what I get with my current set of meds.

If the lack of "high" is established, then I'd much rather experiment with canniboids than something like the latest round of powerful anti-depressants with their potentially devastating side effects. However, this is what my doctor recommends due to their secondary effect on neuropathic pain.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Fri Dec 01, 2017 6:49 am

Better hurry on marijuana - Sessions is reportedly getting ready to go to war on it. But that’s ok, I guess, because no difference between trump and what HRC would have been on that issue...

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:53 pm

This young man comes with me when I train hospital staff all around the state. He is a huge help to the org I work for.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:20 pm

Man, I had a hard time finishing that article. I know how close that is to my son. I know how fortunate we are that my son's spot on the spectrum is such that he can still thrive, as long as the environment is right. He visited Davidson College today and loved it. We think it's the right mix of small and challenging to keep him engaged, but hopefully not overwhelmed. It's a tricky balance.

Reading that article, I just had this gripping fear for that young man. I can tell from reading it that he's a smart, engaging guy capable of a lot of things in life. But a few key social deficiencies keep him at constant risk. It was a terrifying read.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:52 pm

Man, my heart goes out to you guys and all the others who fight every day to help out good people who've got a tough road ahead of them.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 3:31 pm

sancarlos wrote: Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:52 pm Man, my heart goes out to you guys and all the others who fight every day to help out good people who've got a tough road ahead of them.

I’m hoping this hospital training program we do will double again this year. That way I can give him more time and $ for talking to docs and nurses.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:08 pm

KC signs first baseball player with autism, (that they know of)... Mike Mussina might of had some of the tiz. that guy made no eye contact

Post by **Shirley** » Wed Apr 04, 2018 10:48 pm

bfj wrote: Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:08 pm KC signs first baseball player with autism, (that they know of)... Mike Mussina might of had some of the tiz. that guy made no eye contact

Wow. That's very cool.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:04 am

NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Winner is on the spectrum.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:38 am

New autism prevalence rates were released yesterday. It went from 1 in 68 children to 1 in 59 children has ASD. 1 in 42 boys to 1 in 38 boys. These are national numbers. MD’s #’s are worse than the national avg.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:47 am

bfj wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:38 am New autism prevalence rates were released yesterday. It went from 1 in 68 children to 1 in 59 children has ASD. 1 in 42 boys to 1 in 38 boys. These are national numbers. MD’s #’s are worse than the national avg.

Any thoughts on why it appears to becoming more prevalent?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 12:13 pm

Pretty sure it's due to greater awareness, both in the general population and with health care professionals. So, parents and teachers now know what some of the key indicators are and want to get them tested so they can get an IEP going. Doctors and others now include questions probing kids and parents earlier on to see if the kid is indicating.

It's similar to ADD/ADHD, where when I was a kid VERY FEW classmates got treated for it, but I know for a fact I'm ADHD and could point to half a dozen other kids in my 6th grade class that struggled with what we now know are pretty clear signs.

(The one kid that was on Ritalin, or whatever it was called back then, was probably suffering from much more severe neurological issues. He was constantly fighting and shouting in the middle of class work. He bit a teacher and that's the last we saw of him.)

Post by **Shirley** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:17 pm

Yeah, I agree. It's predominantly higher diagnosis rates. I'm sure that the bulk of that are high-functioning kids who can mostly get by, but struggle with certain things, particularly social interactions, noise, etc. These are kids that would have been thought of as weird or loners just a decade or two ago.

duff · Post by **duff** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:48 pm

There was also a rise in diagnosis in Hispanic and African-American communities. That is probably because of greater awareness in general, but also in those communities.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:49 pm

Could it also be related to more people getting healthcare there for a bit?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:10 pm

Always wonder about environmental issues that may be a factor too. Just no way to really do good science to prove it out because of the number of variables.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:13 pm

This particular study is based on 8 year old kids who have a diagnosis of Autism in their IEP (Individualized Education Plan). They use 8 year olds on the assumption that most kids have been diagnosed by then. These are also numbers that were collected in 2014.

More awareness, changes in the diagnosis criteria puts more under the ASD umbrella. For example, Asperger’s Syndrome is no longer diagnosed. It is considered autism now.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:29 pm

Whatever it is. It’s kicking my ass this week.

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Fri Apr 27, 2018 3:00 pm

If anyone cares to see the report.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/addm- ... index.html

TT2.0 · Post by **TT2.0** » Sun Apr 29, 2018 11:13 am

could the higher rates in maryland be due to sexual misuse of old bay seasoning?

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:05 pm

Littlest BFJ vs. Baltimore County Schools-Round 3 has been filed. I've spent around 15k on attorneys fees this year. Killing me.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:20 pm

Damn. Good luck.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:31 pm

Fuck that shit. Give them hell.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:46 pm

Fuck schools. Good luck man.