The Same Story

The other day at therapy, and a new mom was there with her 3 year old son. Once her son was taken to the back for therapy, we started talking and sharing our stories. As I listened to her tell her son’s story, it was like I was reliving ours. Our stories were exactly the same. Like my son, her son was excelling and ahead of all milestones. He was very verbal and was even putting two words together. He was making great eye contact and was social. She said that she doesn’t know what happened between 13 and 16 months, but her son began to withdraw. By 16 months, he was non-verbal and just made sounds. She couldn’t get him to respond to his name, and he didn’t want to be around anyone but her. She talked about the hard time her son has with transitions, eating, and bedtime.

As she talked, I tried to encourage her since our children had the same story, and my son was older. I gave her tips and told her that therapy has made a HUGE difference in my child. I also reassured her that it does get easier. Right before she left, I gave her a hug and told her to hang in there.

Over the years, I have met several moms in the waiting room that share the same story. Most of the moms will tell me that this happened to their child between one and two years old. In the past 15 years there has been a dramatic increase of children with autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder. It really makes you wonder what is causing this.

They are investigating the following:

Ø  the environment that babies and fetuses are exposed to like:

o   pesticides

o   house hold products

o   food (GMO’s- genetically modified organisms and special diets)

o    viruses

o   medication/ supplement intake

o    vaccines (MMR – which doctors are saying they have disproven, but continue to run tests)

Ø  genetics

So far a proven cause has not been found. With this being said, before coming to your own conclusions about a cause, it is very important to research it yourself.

 

There are also studies being done to find a cure. CBR (Cord Bank Registry) is in clinical trials of using a child’s cord blood to cure Autism. This is a controlled study where they are hoping that by infusing cord blood stem cells, a child with autism will improve in language and behavior.

 

I hope one day that they find the cause or a cure. But until then, another mom in the waiting room who has been there and understands will help you on the hard days, and a great therapy team working with your child several times a week, will make a big difference.