Autism: To Treat, or Not To Treat

Carefully wrapped in a white blanket, a new born baby meets his mother for the first time. The baby is sleeping while the mother loving counts ten fingers and ten toes. The baby is healthy and the future of this young family looks bright. For the parents, this child is a miracle as well as a dream come true. The mother went through numerous birth complications and her health, as well as the baby's, was in jeopardy throughout labor. From that day forth, every second of their child's life would be cherished. Sadly, unknown to the parents, their child was born with autism. Autism is a developmental disability that can severely hinder communication, social interaction, and even the child's ability to play. There are currently no known cures or medical tests to diagnose autism. The only way to determine if a child has autism is by monitoring behavior changes. There are many early signs parents can use to determine if their child has autism, but what good are signs and symptoms if parents don't treat their child? For a fulfilling life with an autistic child, parents must use the treatments available today.

Currently, the best treatment for autism is early detection and immediate placement into early intervention assistance. Early detection and treatment has shown the greatest progress in an autistic child's social behavior. In doing work for the Parents for Exceptional Progress South Florida Chapter I was able to see the difference between early and late detection first hand. When comparing two autistic children with a similar degree of autism, there was a dramatic difference in social skills. While one child would look me in the eye and responded to auditory stimuli, the other seemed to be deaf and would divert his eyes from everyone. The small difference in this child's social skills made a big difference for his family. I cannot imagine what it is like for parents to have their child ignore them and lack the ability to make eye contact. Parents need to be looking for these classic signs of autism. Home programs which help teach children to communicate can literally rewire an autistic child's brain and help create a life that can be fulfilling to the family.

Some people may argue the effectiveness of treatments is not worth the economic setback most families face. There are two main programs used when treating autism. Communication and dietary approaches are expensive and require lifestyle changes to administer. Communication programs