At first glance you might not notice anything odd on meeting a young boy with autism. But if you try to talk to him, it will quickly become obvious that something is seriously wrong. He may not make eye contact with you; instead he may avoid your gaze and fidget, rock his body to and fro, or bang his head against the wall. More disconcerting, he may not be able to conduct anything remotely resembling a normal conversation. Even though he can experience emotions such as fear, rage and pleasure, he may lack genuine empathy for other people and be oblivious to subtle social cues that most children would pick up effortlessly.
In the 1940s two physicians--American psychiatrist Leo Kanner and Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger--independently discovered this developmental disorder, which afflicts about 0.5 percent of American children. Neither researcher had any knowledge of the other's work, and yet by an uncanny coincidence each gave the syndrome the same name: autism, which derives from the Greek word autos, meaning "self." The name is apt, because the most conspicuous feature of the disorder is a withdrawal from social interaction. More recently, doctors have adopted the term "autism spectrum disorder" to make it clear that the illness has many related variants that range widely in severity but share some characteristic symptoms.
Continued on Page 49
Jus read about a supposed linkage between the increasing viewing of television and the increased number of afflicted. Who knows?
Posted by: Captain America ||
10/22/2006 19:33 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Dunno, AC, tv is dumbing down kids (watched in excess), but I would doubt any direct linkage, since autism appear very early in the development of a child.
As for the causes, the jury is still out there. The somatic symptoms described in the article may be not the cause of autism but rather its after effect. It is difficult to say where is the cart and where is the horse here.
#3
CA - my sympathies and empathies - I've never had to intyeract much with Autistics (God Bless in my children's case) but it sounds horrifically frustrating. I totally honor parents and friends who have to deal with this.... just as I do my friends with relatives with Bi-Polar tendencies (my best/girl friend). I can only hope the understanding and remedies are soon. My hat's off to you
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2006 20:09 Comments ||
Top||
#4
There's a very good book by a high-functioning autistic woman called Nobody Nowhere that I recommend to anyone interested in the subject. Cap't America, you may find it particularly interesting.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/22/2006 21:04 Comments ||
Top||
As an example, Grandin made a "squeeze box" for herself decades ago, well before the "squeeze vest" mentioned in this article.
Not all of her comments on animals hold IMO ... as she herself says, she thinks in very concrete terms and sometimes she overgeneralizes her experience in areas where I have some knowledge. But by and large, the book is filled with a lot of recent neuroscience made accessible, and some fascinating speculations about autism and the gifts it masks.
#6
I worked in a State mental health department in the early 70s and had occasion to observe autistic kids. Some were fairly high functioning while others had no language that was obvious, were self-mutilative, and it was difficult to determine what their behaviors were tied to in the environment. Some had to wear helmets to protect them from head-banging. I doubt that TV watching has any link to autism. I can recall one kid that did not respond to anything that anyone could determine until one day he responded to bright shiny nails being used by a maintenance worker. People working with this child began to have some success in shaping his behaviors by paying him off with nails when responses were made. I can recall two autistic siblings (twins) who invented their own language. They appeared to understand each other but no one else could. Often it is difficult to shape the behavior of autistics because one doesn't know what the "behavioral handles" are. I have not observed autism in adults but I believe that autism continues into adulthood--however, one does not hear of adult autistics that exhibit the destructive behaviors that are often observed in youngsters. They might--I just have not heard of it. I wish you the best CA in raising your daughter. Most of the parents of the autistic children that I knew had a great deal of patience and loved their children. Sometimes they were challenged because of not knowing what to do.
#9
We have two boys with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of Autism. Everyday is different and full of new challenges. Lots of frustration, lots of hope. We face challenges from the education system in that they don't know about Asperger's or they believe they are right and without fault. Misdiagnosis is common and often we hear of various causes (lead-based paint, childhood vaccinations, flouride, etc.) The new one is from an economist (what does he know about child psychology?) that the cause is too much TV in places that have alot of rain. I really don't care what the cause may be, the fact for us is we have to do our best to help our boys get ready for life. It is a hard road. We have to push the schools (we have to deal with two different school districts which adds additional challenges) to do their job. CA, I definitely empathize with your challenges. Fred and the mods thanks for everything you do.
#3
There's a substantial amount of truth in the article. But I suspect the claimed undefeatable weapons systems are by no means undefeatable - but are likely not perfectly defeatable either, for instance. Also, I can't imagine either China or Russia having a whole lot of trust in the other - but Hitler & Stalin managed to work together for a while, despite their mutual distrust and hatred.
#4
There is enough here to make the hairs on my neck stand up; while our offensive and defensive systems are top notch, the comments about old fighter aircraft laden with fuel and ordnance strike me as a real threat. We have put all our eggs for many years in high tech (read: expensive) weapons systems, at the expense of numbers. And the odds makers will tell you that it only takes one lucky hit to kill a ship / tank/ plane, etc. A war of attrition is not one that we would come out of in good shape. So that leave the only option to be one of decapitating the enemy. But that requires knowing when he intends to strike and be there before that. I can only hope the guys that have access to all the good information have that point on their radar.
Groucho Marx is famously said to have turned down the membership of a club with a characteristic putdown, "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Last week, Muhammad Yunus and his creation the Grameen Bank must have felt the same way after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Snide remarks apart, the prize recognizes that to win any war on terror, the focus must be on nipping the sources of terrorism in the bud. The war is far from won for Bangladesh, with forthcoming elections presenting a keen battle between modernist forces and regressive forces that wish to radicalize the population and produce more cannon-fodder for battling the West. It is my keen hope that countries around the world, and particularly around South Asia, learn from the Grameen experience and perhaps even make the experience self-sustainable.
A prize not worth having?
For the first time in a long while, I believe that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to an entity that actually prevents the creation of new violence, rather than rewarding photogenic politicians for work that is quickly forgotten or even reversed. Unlike in the case of prizes in various subjects including the sciences, the Nobel Peace Prize does not examine either the sustainability or stability of achievements that lead to the awards. That is no vile characterization, as a select list of recent winners shows us:
#2
I've come to trust Mr. Yon as a serious commentator on the war. What I found most disturbing in this artilce is Mr. Yon's prediction of a NATO bloodbath in the spring of 2007. Chilling.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
10/22/2006 9:05 Comments ||
Top||
#3
To clarify my post above, Mr. Yon is predicting a NATO bloodbath in Afghanistan in the srping of 2007.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
10/22/2006 9:17 Comments ||
Top||
#4
While the whole article was interesting, I read it for Yon's bloodbath prediction:
Early this spring, when I reported from Afghan farms about this year's bumper opium crop, people thought I was using that opium. Now it is common knowledge that the opium trade is fueling a Taliban comeback. Mark this on your calendar: Spring of 2007 will be a bloodbath in Afghanistan for NATO forces. Our British, Canadian, Australian, Dutch, and other allies will be slaughtered in Afghanistan if they dare step off base in the southern provinces, and nobody is screaming at the tops of their media-lungs about the impending disaster. I would not be surprised to see a NATO base overrun in Afghanistan in 2007 with all the soldiers killed or captured. And when it happens, how many will claim they had no idea it was so bad and blame the media for failing to raise the alarm? Here it is: WARNING! Troops in Afghanistan are facing slaughter in 2007!
Obviously this is serious stuff. Does anyone know why Yon believes this to be the case? He warns but does not elaborate on his reasons for believing the situation is going to be so dire in spring 2007.
#5
Well, thanks to Pervy, it seems they have the fodder, a perfectly safe haven to plan it, Spring gives them time to accumulate sufficient numbers, and an open border. So a mass attack on some small base should be workable. If they don't care about casualties (why start now), then they could pull it off.
#8
Yes, indeed, those with a higher calling and infinitely more sophistication... "We're here to rebuild this country for the poor little brown people... They will love us for it, of course."
#9
This shit-for-brains has undoubtedly been talking to village "elders." The conspirants. Over the winter months, when they hole up, they round up a whole new mob of simpletons willing to venture forth in "mass attacks " in the springtime. This may have worked a couple hundred years ago. With airpower and abundant firepower on call this ain't gonna happen. Just have to wipe out the entire village, along with conspirants. It's really time to start taking the gloves off. Who better to use as an example than these dupes ?
#10
I've followed Yon's reporting. He seems to be a credible guy. He wants more access to the military and isn't getting it. He says censorship exists and that is not good. However...
The military has been burned by the press too many times. The reporting by the press (MSM) is very slanted and often untruthful, e.g. New York Times, Associated Press, etc.
Moreover, where does Yon get the idea that the news coming from a hot zone isn't censored? During WW II, the news was screened and censored. It has only been recently that censorship has been lessened. That has been a disaster. Cronkite torpedoed American efforts in Vietnam to support the agenda of a leftish press. Recently, CNN published "snuff" videos of an American soldier being killed by terrorist snipers and for what purpose other than attract viewers and to support an agenda? Yon should not be so naive. What does he want to report that he isn't reporting now?
The expression of mans belief and reverence for a superhuman power recognized as the creator and governor of the universe.
By this definition Islam qualifies as religion, and so do numberless other faiths. A definition this broad is ambiguous and must be further defined with the specific tenets and practices of the belief.
Simply because someone or some people say that they believe in a superhuman deity and revere him, the belief is accorded the privileged status of religion?
Christ emphatically proclaimed, Render to Caesar what is Caesars, and to God what is Gods. But to this day, there are those who still believe that the Christ was a mere social revolutionary.
In the case of Islam there is no ambiguity at all. The mosque and the state were one and the same from the very start. During his lifetime, Muhammad embodied in his person all three branches of worldly secular governancethe legislative, the judiciary and the executiveas well as the religious domain.
Sadly enough, instead of Muslims marching out of the suffocating swamps of submission to the meadow of liberty, Allahs faithful aim to drag the rest of humanity into the deadly Islamic quagmire. Islam may have been an improvement to the life of the savages that roamed the Arabian desserts some 1400 years ago. The 21st century world, in spite of all its problems and challenges, is not willing to surrender to the clearly failed and failing Islamic experiment.
#2
...instead of Muslims marching out of the suffocating swamps of submission to the meadow of liberty, Allahs faithful aim to drag the rest of humanity into the deadly Islamic quagmire.
So long as Islam embraces submission, there is no separation of church and state, and basic human freedoms are ignored there will always be a clash between Islam and Western democracies.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
