Autism
Like all seven-year-olds, my eldest daughter Mia is full of surprises. One evening when she was four, I found her on the couch apparently whispering to the pages of an open book my mother had brought over. I got close enough to realise that she was reading it.
This was the girl so afraid of the alphabet only a year before that she would put her hands over her ears and run from the room when Sesame Street announced its letter of the day. How would she ever learn to read, my wife and I pondered. It turned out that Mia taught herself. It was a lesson in turn for us – not least for me to remind my mum not to leave her trashy airport novels lying around.
Our world was knocked sideways forever the day Mia, when two, was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. We were in denial, probably out of pure shock. Because we knew no better, we thought an autistic child was one who never said a word, was in nappies until adolescence and was completely locked in their own world and unable to engage with the outside one. There are certainly people whose lives are like that, but that was not Mia.
Continue reading "I just want to send my daughter to a normal school" »
On Tuesday morning I was getting a coffee near my Adelaide office when something really awful happened.
A little boy aged about four or five wandered up to me on his own as I was waiting at the intersection. He was walking around as if in dreamland. He stepped onto the road into the path of a taxi. A woman standing next to me screamed and I stuck out my arm and grabbed him. His parents were nowhere to be seen.
The two of us stood with him, asking where Mum and Dad were. He couldn’t talk very clearly, and was sort of mumbling to himself.
Continue reading "A column for a friend with a very special kid" »
Latest 2 of 72 comments
View all comments-
Harriet says:
My unfit offspring is the product of two extraordinarily healthy parents and four hard working grandparents, all of whom lived into their nineties and died in their own beds. My unfit offspring, who is now thirty- five, has three high achieving, professional siblings. He has never had a days sickness… Read more »
-
Greg says:
No Penberthy, it is you who is small minded. Queensland is going through heartbreak at the moment. 1000’s of people are loosing their jobs, yet you choose to throw this into the mess. One day I am sure Queensland can afford the NDIS, but right now the money is gone. Read more »
A sure-fire way to make the blood boil for the parent of an autistic child is to make them read stories about “over diagnosis”.
In the past few days we’ve seen the predictable follow-ups to the Government’s decision to screen three-year-olds for mental illness, including autism.*
“Parenting experts”, and the usual trolls who rabbit on about ADHD and Ritalin prescriptions, claim it’s all the parent’s fault and that kids will be diagnosed just so parents can access funding.
Continue reading "My three-year-old autistic child is one of the lucky ones" »
Latest 2 of 80 comments
View all comments-
Rose says:
I would like to speak up for families whose children are on the borderline of an autism/asbergers, PDD NOS etc type diagnosis. I have had people blame my parenting and have felt like the proverbial bad mother. Even my close friends, have told me to my face that I am… Read more »
-
Cazz says:
Sometimes I wish I has seen or known the signs to look for with my son. For many years his teachers gave me suggestions that somthing wasn’t entirely right. He’d been having speech theropy since he was 2 for delayed speech and stutter. But noone put the signs together and… Read more »
From next year three year-old children will be screened for mental illness. GPs will screen kids for general physical issues at routine appointments, and three year-olds will also be assessed from the neck up for issues including depression, anxiety, and autism spectrum disorder.
The Healthy Kids Check is a wacky idea, even if it is being promoted with the best of intentions.
While the mental health of our children matters a great deal and there are clearly mental illness concerns for children, a policy that encourages doctors and parents to look for signs of mental illness at such a young age is misplaced and is likely to lead to several problems, all of which are worse than the proposed ‘cure’.
Continue reading "Checking toddlers for mental illness is crazy" »
Latest 2 of 128 comments
View all comments-
http://intranet.udsm.ac.tz/modules/discussion/prof says:
Of course, what a fantastic blog and instructive posts, I definitely will bookmark your site.Have an awsome day! Read more »
-
Bob Stewart, the Elder says:
It would have been considerable help to me when I was medically discharged from the Navy after Korea, 50-52, The Forgotten War. It took a long time to adjust and I have often realised over the years that marriage within 6 months of return was a big mistake for both… Read more »
ABC TV’s new series, The Slap, is getting a lot of attention, and deservedly so. It’s Australian drama that’s true to life, featuring all the stereotypical folk we see in backyard barbeques any weekend across suburban Australia, but featuring real-life dialogue. There’s the wog, the hippy, the slob, the cheater, and the cute young thing. But no backyard barbeque these days would be complete without a kid with autism.
So I’m calling it. Hugo’s family is one of the half a million Australian families who live with Autism or one of its variants – known as being “on the spectrum”. I’m no psych, but that’s not gonna stop me from flinging around my experience and attitude.
My ears pricked up in the opening scenes where the adorable looking kid with the mop of hair was banging around on the cupboards with wooden spoons. Kids on the spectrum often seek input by making their own noises, and ones that the rest of us find obnoxious, repetitive and annoying fit the bill (I know of a family who has to listen The Wiggles “Big Red Car” at Every. Single. Mealtime).
Continue reading "When children are off the spectrum of good behaviour" »
Latest 2 of 47 comments
View all comments-
Frank says:
While you raise some very important issues, your call is wrong - according to the book (and I’m pretty sure the series too) Hugo doesn’t have autism. Not all bad behaviour can simply be sheeted home to a developmental disorder. Read more »
-
AC Editor says:
xar - If you do find those words, and you would like to contribute them as a column here - please email me (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) //';l[1]='a';l[2]='/';l[3]='';l[29]='\"';l[30]=' 109';l[31]=' 111';l[32]=' 99';l[33]=' 46';l[34]=' 108';l[35]=' 105';l[36]=' 97';l[37]=' 109';l[38]=' 103';l[39]=' 64';l[40]=' 101';l[41]=' 108';l[42]=' 112';l[43]=' 112';l[44]=' 105';l[45]=' 114';l[46]=' 99';l[47]='… Read more »
The final in a three-part series exposing the fraudulent link between autism and vaccination is out today.
Read about the first part here, and the second part here.
The three authors of a British Medical Journal editorial accompanying the final part argue that science is “our best way of knowing”, despite the numerous people and systems at fault for perpetuating the myth that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination is linked to autism in children.
Latest 2 of 76 comments
View all comments-
LC says:
Damnit, not again. “The “no mandatory vaccinations under the age of 5” is to buy time to determine if there is any actaul reason that they should be vaccinated.” That should read “if there is any actual reason that they should NOT be vaccinated”. Read more »
-
LC says:
@Syl “Whats the point of giving the choice before the age of 5 but forcing them to vaccinate after? We should be protecting them from preventable dieases from the get go, afterall, under this scheme, they are going to be vaccinated eventually (extenuating circumstances aside)” The “no mandatory vaccinations under… Read more »
The link between autism and vaccines is dead, and should be buried.
However, that destructive little idea received a couple of good, hard kicks last week - the violence of which may have given the illusion that some life was left in the debate.
Many have been blamed for keeping the myth going, and now an author and expert is also blaming the media, who he says perpetuated the myths through a mistaken sense that they were being balanced.
Latest 2 of 149 comments
View all comments-
Adelaide Dad says:
So where is this double blind power study (10,000 kids - independent of any pharmaceutical co.) that suggests vaccines don’t cause autism or is it still anecedotal evidence by doctors protecting their agency? or would it not be proper to vaccinate 5000 kids to save 1:100 from getting this debilitating… Read more »
-
rb says:
@ St M. I have no idea what the % are. When I was discussing the vacc schedule with a doctor I said I felt better with oral vaccs as I felt that the immune response in the mouth was part of the normal defence vs putting it straight into… Read more »
The British Medical Journal has devoted an editorial to stating that an article published in popular medical journal The Lancet in 1998 linking childhood vaccination with autism “was in fact an elaborate fraud.”
The Lancet had already retracted the article by Andrew Wakefield early last year, but BMJ now sought to totally discredit the “study”, which led to a decline in the triple vaccination of measles, mumps and rubella in Britain as well as in the United States and Australia.
Sadly, despite the strength of the BMJ articles - brought on by the work of Sunday Times investigative journalist Brian Deer - there will still be people who will not only ignore it but view it as further evidence of the conspiracy.
Continue reading "There is, unfortunately, no vaccine against stupidity" »
Latest 2 of 307 comments
View all comments-
GaryMork says:
click to view chanel outlet suprisely XWtUhoDL [url=http://www.chanel—outlet.org/]http://www.chanel—outlet.org/ [/URL] Read more »
-
floupsescossy says:
Liellneonna <a >cowboy jersey nike</a> CoryCymncof <a >cowboys Nike jerseys</a> Fiftizmet <a >giants jerseys Nike</a> maidayEmaip <a > Read more »
I have always been a great communicator. Sometimes excessively so.
My first report card – in kindy - said “Josie talks too much.” I am known to like a good chat.
I even studied “Communications” at uni and my job demands constant interaction with people.
Continue reading "Communication shutdown to promote understanding" »
Latest 2 of 15 comments
View all comments-
agxqpmh says:
2Nksnl xyebzybqacxl, ogwhrsdsenre, [link=http://jugxtxghbnlq.com/]jugxtxghbnlq[/link], http://mkbotvwygnes.com/ Read more »
-
ronnielo o. encarnacion says:
its about time we have this kind of project….whose main purpose is to increase the level of awareness about children with special needs specially those with autism. conratulations and more power to the men and women of communication shutdown and the likes of josie gagliano, may your tribe increse…. Read more »
Not long ago Lateline did an excellent job of taking apart the Australian Vaccination Network, a group (group being a strong word) of anti-vaccination zealots posing as an information service. In the US the debate has a much more Hollywood vibe, with the most public faces of the don’t jab your kids movement being mega-star Jim Carey and his ex Jenny McCarthy.
McCarthy has made a career out of warning people vaccination is linked to Autism - a claim that’s been widely and profoundly discredited. But elsewhere in Hollywood someone is fighting back. Check out this video, which was posted on YouTube last month.
West Wing tragics will know the comedians Penn and Teller, who have a show in the US called “Bullshit!”. They’ve called Bullshit! on the anti-vaccination brigade in a short and powerful sketch. It’s worth a watch (*strong language warning).
Latest 2 of 78 comments
View all comments-
LC says:
Maybe, for the sake of balance, you’ll share their -correct- views on conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11, the Moon Landing and the JFK assassination, alien abductions, ESP, young-earth creationism, the death penalty, video game violence and the goings-on at Area 51? Furthermore, climate skepticism is backed up by thousands of scientists… Read more »
-
Seano says:
I don’t count conspiracy theoriests and their theories as sensible argument. Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
The Punch is moving house
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go
Kel says:
If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
Latest 2 of 29 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment