23 May 2008

It's (a bit like) a Miracle!!

What follows, is a (poorly done) parody.

I have something I need to share with all you parents of children with autism. I have stumbled on a brand new treatment for autism!!! It's AMAZING!!!!!

Before I started this intervention, my son was having difficulties in all areas of development. He used to be unable to speak at all, couldn't use the toilet, was frequently having tantrums...you know the sort of terrible pressure us martyr parents have to cope with. If you have not walked in my shoes, then you can't comment. And high functioning, computer using people with autism are not like my son, so there!!

But since starting the new nutritional therapy , it's like we have a different, better child!!! Duncan is so much calmer and more articulate. He is learning better every day and is really interacting with the rest of the family. Going to the supermarket has become much easier. He just learnt to ride a bike for the first time. He can understand more complex instructions. He has started to make lovely clay art. He is better able to express himself.

His grandparents have all noticed the changes for themselves. They have remarked on how improved he is recently and none of them knew about the new treatment!!!! It's like a miracle!
I have been crying tears of joy to think that I have found a way to save my son from the grip of autism.

You will be very keen to know what this wonderful food supplement is, and I will tell you for free!!!

Astonishingly, all these things happened just because we switched the brand of tomato ketchup he uses, yes REALLY...it's all down to KETCHUP! Duncan loves his ketchup and smothers whatever he eats in the stuff so I started to buy a reduced salt and sugar version of our usual brand and that has made all the difference!!!

Or...perhaps it was the bath water in the hotel at Disneyland. He had a bath every night we were there and all the improvements seem to stem from that time too. Perhaps there were healing properties in that water, sorta like Lourdes but with better rides...

Or perhaps it's the modelling clay; manipulating it helps draw out the toxins that (as we all know) cause autism...

Or is it to do with the change in the weather? We've been outdoors much more over the past few weeks and enjoying plenty of fresh air, sunshine and exercise. That might have had an effect...

OK enough.

It's none of those things, though the better weather certainly helps us all feel better. Duncan is just one of five people living here and is sensitive to the mood and affect of all the rest of us. He's growing up and developing all the time. He honestly has been doing great these past few weeks and other people have remarked on how calm, happy and chatty he is. It made me think about correlation and causation. I have read parent testimonials similar to what I wrote above and they always made me wonder how the author could be so sure that the effect they were describing was due to the intervention (homeopathy, nutritional supplements or diet changes, HBOT, etc.) applied. People are complicated. There are good reasons why testimonials, even multiple testimonials, do not make evidence.


My children, all three of them, autistic and not, learn and develop every day, no miracles required.

7 comments:

Bonnie said...

I fell for it and delved to find out your miracle and then laughed at my own naitivity and totally got what you are saying. Everytime my son has a great stretch of behaviour, I start to wonder, what did I do different, is some supplement kicking in? Not as many frech fries this week? Must be it? Growing and maturing? Probably! Thanks for sharing, really brilliant observation!

Sharon McDaid said...

Thanks Bonnie. It's upsetting how discussions about autism so often are restricted to cause, cure and prevention. My point about ignoring the opinions of autistic people themselves also reflects an attitude I unfortunately see so often.

Good on you for seeing though all that silliness.

Ed said...

Great parody Sharon. You should write more of these.

What I thought of when I read this is how often it seems to me that people focusing on how people function or what improves their function is a sometimes a form of escapism.

Sometimes people talk like you described in this parody and it sounds like they are talking about something that goes from an inappropriate eye contacting entity that is a suffix to their otherwise perfect lifestyle (or at least the perfect lifestyle that they believe they would have if they weren't having to deal with other people's handicaps)to a computer using-leaps tall buildings in a single bound- functioning entity that must avoid the conspirist's who are putting kryptonite in the water.

Of course autistics that were using computer's before these people learned about this miracle of dehydration, couldn't possibly understand because they were born on another planet and drink something besides water to survive.

While they are planning, fixing, and changing what they believe will create what they see are the best functions in the entities they are presented with, life happens, people happen, and they are still avoiding happenings and trying to figure out what happened.

Club 166 said...

I was sitting here sipping some water and enjoying your post when I got to:

"... Perhaps there were healing properties in that water, sorta like Lourdes but with better rides... "

I almost spewed water out of my nose. I loved that!

Thanks.

Joe

Anonymous said...

Fabulous! I laughed hard, too, catching on at 'parody'. Only someone who lives the life can use humor like this. Besides the healthy laugh, you make the point so well.

One of my posts supports (one of) your point - that it's the stuff of everyday life that makes the difference in our lives. See "Increments" on my blog.

Sharing your lifestyle on this blog is a gift to everyone with a lablel/diagnosis and everyone (else) really.

RunninL8 said...

Hi from Alaska USA! I'm enjoying your blog. Hoping to make a trip to Ireland soon but for now, I'll visit your blog some more!

Sharon McDaid said...

Sorry for taking so long to respond to these comments.

Thanks Ed. You have made some fantastic points in explaining the possible reasons why people do sometimes talk about their children like that.

Even though you may not leap tall buildings in a single bound, (can you?) I think you are super, especially when you come out with writing like that this,
"While they are planning, fixing, and changing what they believe will create what they see are the best functions in the entities they are presented with, life happens, people happen, and they are still avoiding happenings and trying to figure out what happened."

Just fabulous!

Joe, oops! I'm glad you only almost spewed water!

Theextras, thanks for such a kind comment. I'm blushing!
I look forward to reading your post.

RunninL8, glad to hear you like it and hope you do get to Ireland some time.