ASL - Useful to Autism/Asperger's?

but it is not widely accepted that because one is autistic one must or will more likely be intolerant of gluten or dairy or that one will "behave less autistic" by not consuming those things.
Click to expand...
On the other hand, there is evidence that autism may be an autoimmune disorder. Being intolerant of gluten or dairy can be also classifed as an autoimmune disorder. Not all autism is due to gluten or dairy issues, but there are some cases where it is the case.
 
deafdyke said:
On the other hand, there is evidence that autism may be an autoimmune disorder. Being intolerant of gluten or dairy can be also classifed as an autoimmune disorder. Not all autism is due to gluten or dairy issues, but there are some cases where it is the case.
Click to expand...

uh.. yeah, the day you provide reputable widely agreed upon as true scientific evidence of that... is pretty much the day pigs fly.
 
Thank you Aleser.

Autism is not an autoimmune disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a spectrum of behavioral anomalies characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, often accompanied by repetitive and stereotyped behavior. The condition manifests within the first 3 years of life and persists into adulthood. There are numerous hypotheses regarding the etiology and pathology of ASD, including a suggested role for immune dysfunction. However, to date, the evidence for involvement of the immune system in autism has been inconclusive. While immune system abnormalities have been reported in children with autistic disorder, there is little consensus regarding the nature of these differences which include both enhanced autoimmunity and reduced immune function. In this review, we discuss current findings with respect to immune function and the spectrum of autoimmune phenomena described in children with ASD.
Click to expand...
NCBI
 
The condition manifests within the first 3 years of life and persists into adulthood. There are numerous hypotheses regarding the etiology and pathology of ASD, including a suggested role for immune dysfunction. However, to date, the evidence for involvement of the immune system in autism has been inconclusive. While immune system abnormalities have been reported in children with autistic disorder, there is little consensus regarding the nature of these differences which include both enhanced autoimmunity and reduced immune function
Click to expand...
Mrs. Bucket, actually it's still up in the air as to the cause of it. I doubt there's gonna be a magic bullet as to the etoilogy of it. In the end, the causes of autism are gonna be like the causes of mental retardation, many and varied.
But some doctors think that some cases of autism might be due to autoimmune issues.
Not nessarily along the lines of having an enhanced or reduced immune system. Or even diabetes or arthritis
More like Alizheimer's (research has found that there may be a huge autoimmune factor) or schieziophernia (same in some cases) or even ADD.
 
deafdyke said:
Mrs. Bucket, actually it's still up in the air as to the cause of it. I doubt there's gonna be a magic bullet as to the etoilogy of it. In the end, the causes of autism are gonna be like the causes of mental retardation, many and varied.
But some doctors think that some cases of autism might be due to autoimmune issues.
Not nessarily along the lines of having an enhanced or reduced immune system. Or even diabetes or arthritis
More like Alizheimer's (research has found that there may be a huge autoimmune factor) or schieziophernia (same in some cases) or even ADD.
Click to expand...

Deafdyke,

You need to stop with the generalisations about the autism.

You need to back up your claims too as well.

You will find me backing up my claims with sources because I make sure I do my research first before I make a sweeping generalisation.

Autism is a serious matter & not something to be taken lightly.

Although they are not yet known, there are strong indications that the causes of autism spectrum disorders are biological. It is likely that autism is not caused by a single factor. The evidence includes the following observations.

Autism is often accompanied by other neurological symptoms and associated with other learning difficulties.
By adulthood, about one in three persons with autism will have had at least two epileptic seizures.
Most autistic children show unusual responses to sensory stimuli of any kind and have what have been called movement differences.
Brain autopsies have shown abnormalities in the frontal lobes, limbic system, brain stem and cerebellum.
Some 30 to 50 per cent of autistic children have abnormally high levels of serotonin, the chemical that transmits signals in nerve cells.
The higher incidence of autism in families points to a genetic aspect.
There is evidence that at least one type of autism is an immune-system dysfunction, its onset triggered by viral infections, or by antibiotics and vaccines.
Some autistic children are unable properly to digest certain foods, notably casein and gluten, so that toxins called opioids enter the bloodstream and reach the brain to cause havoc in many sensory and cognitive functions.
Click to expand...
source

How Autism is diagnosed- source

Autistic disorder, as defined by the World Health Organization in the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (1992) is distinguished into two types. Autistic Disorder: European Description

Childhood Autism, a pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of impaired development before the age of 3 years, with abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour.
Atypical Autism, which differs from Childhood Autism in later age of onset or in insufficient clear evidence of abnormalities in one or two of the areas of impaired development.
North American professionals follow the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), with the 4th edition (DSM IV, 1994) being the current authority. www.autism-biomed.org/dsm-iv.htm

DSM IV distinguishes five subtypes within the broader category it calls Pervasive Developmental Disorders, and prescribes the diagnostic criteria and associated features for each type:

Autistic Disorder or classic autism, for children with severe qualitative deficits in all three areas
Rett’s Syndrome (see section below)
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (or Heller’s Syndrome) which affects previously normal children who undergo massive regression between 2 and 10 years, resulting in severe acquired autism, usually with loss of cognitive skills—but not because of schizophrenia or degenerative disease of the brain
Asperger’s Disorder (see section below)
PDDNOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorders Not Otherwise Specified) including Atypical Autism—the label for children with autistic behaviour who do not fit any of the other specific types in the spectrum.
Click to expand...

Deafdyke, do your research first before you post.
 
ecause I make sure I do my research first before I make a sweeping generalisation.

Autism is a serious matter & not something to be taken lightly.
Click to expand...
Um I know it's a serious matter. I'm just pointing out that your research does back me up.
I said SOME cases, and that the docs think that it's caused by a lot of different factors
It is likely that autism is not caused by a single factor
Click to expand...

There is evidence that at least one type of autism is an immune-system dysfunction, its onset triggered by viral infections, or by antibiotics and vaccines.
Some autistic children are unable properly to digest certain foods, notably casein and gluten, so that toxins called opioids enter the bloodstream and reach the brain to cause havoc in many sensory and cognitive functions.
Click to expand...
 
Aleser said:
uh.. yeah, the day you provide reputable widely agreed upon as true scientific evidence of that... is pretty much the day pigs fly.
Click to expand...

Right. There is no evidence what so ever to indicate that autism is an autoimmune disorder. It is currently classified as a pervasive developmental disorder. While there have been some cases of reduced autoimmune function in some individuals with autism, it is not to say that one is the cause of the other. It is simply that the two conditions are co-morbid. More likely than not, the presence of one is not related to the presence of the other at all.
 
MoniDew said:
I know ASL has gone mainstream to a certain extent, now that hearing families have discovered teaching sign to infants demonstrates the capacity for language at much younger ages than previously thought.

Keeping that in mind, what about the usefulness of ASl in assisting people with other conditions?

For myself - I have celiac disease. This means that various grains and their products, all dairy products, and all soy products form toxic compounds in my body that destroy my tissues. These toxins cross the blood/brain barrier and poison my brain. When this happens, I find it difficult to access my speech center (I am a speaking person) which is located in the left hemisphere of the brain. I am virtually locked into right brain and take on characteristics that are identified as Asperger's or mild autism. (Much notoriety in the media has been given lately advocating the use of celiac diet to treat autism spectrum diseases. The connection has been established.)

Because I am locked into right brain - I am able to use gestural language (ASL) just fine! I am able to communicate 3-dimensionally and pictorially. I wondered if it should become recommended to mothers of Autism spectrum children to learn ASL and teach it to their children? These children have such difficulty connecting with others, socializing, forming bonds, etc. I think ALL of that could be overcome through the use of ASL. ASL taps into the correct part of their brains!

I realize that we already face an uphill battle getting our society, our medical establishment, our educational system etc. to accept ASL as a "full" language, equal to spoken language. Perhaps perceiving it as useful for "treating" (BAD WORD USAGE, I know! Sorry about that!) useful for other conditions, would help broaden its acceptance.

What do you all think?
Click to expand...

I've recently discovered I have Asperger's. This happened after many, many years of intense personal development which caused the majority of my compensating behaviors to integrate/go away.

Because of this I now experience moments of overwhelm which occassionally lead to me being non-verbal.

During these times I find myself able to function cognitively but am unable to communicate verbally. Because of this I've decided, along with carrying an Autism Alert card, to learn ASL.
 
kdejarnet said:
I've recently discovered I have Asperger's. This happened after many, many years of intense personal development which caused the majority of my compensating behaviors to integrate/go away.

Because of this I now experience moments of overwhelm which occassionally lead to me being non-verbal.

During these times I find myself able to function cognitively but am unable to communicate verbally. Because of this I've decided, along with carrying an Autism Alert card, to learn ASL.
Click to expand...

Hey kdejarnet-

I would love to have a conversation about this on PM. If you eventually get 5 posts up, would you drop me a line? (You need 5 posts to use the private messaging system.)

Thanks!
 
it is interesting topic comments serious!

edit research!
 
Hello, I just found this thread. I have Asperger's and I am on the gluten free diet. It did help me a lot. I used to have chronic exhaustion and my memory was very spotty. I also could not understand what was happening in my environment properly, everything was very fragmented and I could not put things together.

Now, my mind has cleared up a lot and I can understand my surroundings quite well.

However, this is very individualized and does not work for everyone. For example, eliminating casein (dairy) had no effect on me, while eliminating gluten did. Also, most of my friends are also on the autism spectrum and many of them tried the diet but it did not do anything for them.

I think there is a higher incidence of gastro-intestinal problems and food sensitivity in people with autism, but not everyone has it and those who have it have different sensitivities. It's not an all-or-nothing thing and it's not a magic cure. I'm still quite autistic, albeit a lot of the more impairing symptoms have been lessened for me as a result of being on the GF diet.
 
I think they do use sign or makerton...when my daughter was little makerton was popular with autism not sure now.
 
Back
Top