Did you read the Daily Mail story 'Can some children simply 'grow out of autism?' http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2103940/Autism-Can-children-simply-grow-One-mother-tells-sons-life-transformed.html I was irritated and perplexed by it, not least because it wasn't made clear whether Josh, the nine-year old in the story, who was diagnosed at three, still had a diagnosis of autism!
I was interested to see a piece on the NHS Choices website describing the Mail's claim as 'misleading' and offering a 'false impression to the parents of children with autism:' http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/02February/Pages/children-grow-out-of-autism-claim.aspx
I suspect most cases of a child 'growing out' of autism are in fact initial misdiagnosis, perhaps made too early before the picture becomes clearer. Other overlapping conditions, such as developmental delay, can cause similar symptoms and diagnostic overshadowing. I'm not convinced by the early interventions argument. Although early interventions can improve problems associated with autism they can't cure it. In our experience identifying signs of autism can be open to interpretation and its diagnostic criteria has widened over the years. Is it being diagnosed too readily these days?
Far from growing out of autism, Chrissy appeared to grow into it! Autism was first mentioned by her speech therapist when she was four, who said that although she had very few words that she used 'parrot-fashion' like someone with autism, she used imagination when playing with a doll. (I think she brushed the doll's hair or spoke to it.) Another doctor described Chrissy as 'unautistic' because she was social and affectionate - the very opposite of the withdrawn and isolated child in a world of her own that used to be considered 'classic' autism. In fact, a paediatrician told us: 'Your daughter can't be autistic because autistic children don't speak.'
As I've explained here before, years later when Chrissy was 22, her psychologist diagnosed her with a form of autism classified as 'active but odd,' a diagnosis confirmed by Lorna Wing, MD, Psychiatric Consultant at the National Autistic Society, who checked the psychologist's extensive report. In 2010, a consultant psychiatrist from The Maudsley Hopsital's Autism Assessment Clinic confirmed the presence of autism from an early age after reviewing old videos of Chrissy. He noted her odd postures and facial expressions, and how she flapped her hands in front of her face even at six.
Looking back, Chrissy's autistic traits have waxed and waned over the years. When she was little she often appeared to ignore us when we spoke to her, but we put it down to her severe glue ear, then everything was attributed to her developmental delay. She's always had obsessive/compulsive traits - lots of verbal repetition and switching lights on and off - but taken alone they didn't signify an autism spectrum disorder. Her severe outbursts weren't triggered by changes in routine or anything else that seemed particularly autistic, but her problems with small daily transitions appeared to get worse as she grew older.
Around the time the photo on here was taken, she was going through a phase of turning everything round the wrong way and upside down in her bedroom but that's long since passed. Her over-friendliness has confused the picture in the past but it's now on the wide spectrum of socially inappropriate behaviour that people with autism display. I remember watching Rain Man for the first time back in the eighties when it first came out. I enjoyed the film then but didn't associate Raymond's problems with Chrissy's but each time I've seen it since the parallels are so obvious I keep gasping: 'Oh my God - that's Chrissy!'
These days, Chrissy has frequent spells of very autistic jumping up and down, flapping and screeching but not all the time thank God! Maybe some of these behaviours were always there but less noticeable in a small person but I do think Chrissy is less able to adapt to her environment than when she was little. She was more flexible and reslient then. Maybe she had to be because we didn't know what was wrong and expected her to fit in with the rest of the family. As she grew bigger the tables slowly turned and she either grew into autism or we were no longer able to resist its awesome power!
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Thanks for writing about this. As a mum of two ASD children (13 year old son with ASD, 10 year old daughter with aspergers), I was really irritated with the DM article. Articles like that are likely to offer unrealistic hope and expectation to families like mine. The reality is, certainly for my family, that both my children's difficulties are becoming more pronounced as they are getting older. Deb from aspieinthefamily.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your views on this article too, Deb. Glad I'm not the only one that found it irritating & facile. It's interesting that your children's difficulties are becoming more pronounced, as Chrissy's did. If the initial diagnosis of autism is correct I would think that signs would become more pronounced in most children as they grow.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the original article but having looked at it now, it seems they could be giving some parents of autistic children false hope, which could just lead to further heartbreak. Such a shame.
ReplyDeleteI agree Sharon. So many myths about autism around. On a mission to dispel them!
DeleteI would say, in our case, that my 11 yr old son is 'growing out of autism'. As a baby he didn't babble, no eye contact, stimmed constantly, echolaia, and meltdowns were a nightmare. At 11 he has great eye contact,talking with advanced vocabulary, loving, still bad stimming and will only eat 5 different things. He does have a normal IQ though he seems to be stuck with a 6 yr olds mentality. He's come a long way baby! My 33 yr old son, was 'odd' too at a young age but the inexperienced counceling center we took him to said there was nothing wrong with him after observing him for 15 min. He now believes he has a ASD also. Something I've thought for yrs. In our case I think it's genetic.
DeleteIt's fascinating to hear that your son is 'growing out of autism.' I wonder if this occasionally happens with higher functioning people with autism, as they learn to adapt better to their environment.
DeleteI am a mother with a 7 year old boy diagnosed with autism aged about 3 and a half. I dont think anyone grows out of autism as such but they develop and become better equipped to deal within a world which is very confusing to them.They adapt and get taught to adapt to situations including their social activities and interactions and their environment.The challenges may always manifest themselves.Early intervention is the key. Autism is a devlopmental and social disorder and children are born with it rather than aquired after birth.Autistic children grow into autistic adults.Sounds really hard to accept but I have had to get on with supporting my son.
ReplyDeleteHi there, thanks for your comment. I agree that early intervention is key. Chrissy wasn't diagnosed with autism until she was 22 & I believe it really held her back. The diagnostic criteria for autism is much wider now & children are getting diagnosed earlier, but still not early enough in my view.
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