Update on autism and divorce

by Benison O'Reilly on Thursday, August 5th, 2010

We’re moving to a bigger and better site!

Just not yet.

Seana and I are working on our new standalone blogspot for the AAH.  We’ve got it up and running, but it still needs lots of work.  We’re also planning to move all our old posts over to the new site’s archives, which will take a while, so expect it to be up and running in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime I stumbled across this report of another study on autism and divorce. Back in May I reported on a study that found that the rate of divorce between parents of kids with ASDs did not differ significantly from the divorce rate for parents of typically developing children, exploding that old 80% divorce rate mythology.

This new study,  published in the Journal of Family Psychology, and reported in the LA Times is less encouraging. Researchers investigated 391 families participating in the Adolescents and Adults with Autism study and compared them with other demographically similar families whose children were developing typically. The divorce rate among couples raising a child with an ASD was  nearly twice as high as the  rate for the control families (23.5% vs 14%).

The risk of divorce was higher for families that had one or more older siblings in addition to the child with ASD (which unfortunately exactly describes my situation, although last time I checked my husband and I were still talking!) , although interestingly not for families who had more than one child with an ASD, or a more severely affected child with autism.

This suggests that ASDs may add some additional strain to marriages-an unsurprising finding-but in this study 75% of ASD marriages remained  intact, which suggests the odds are still in our favour.

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Mother guilt and autism

by Benison O'Reilly on Saturday, July 24th, 2010

I thought Seana was back in Australia last week, but now find out it’s actually this coming week. I must say that taking four children – including one on the spectrum – on an extended overseas holiday by herself  (her husband was working) was very brave of Seana, although she may prefer to substitute another adjective for ‘brave’!  I know she has plans for a couple of blogs, so stay tuned.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our parenting skills being judged by others, those who don’t know the  sheer hard work and never flagging commitment required to raise a child with an ASD.

Thus it was timely to come across this blog  Proving You’re a Good Parent from the New York Times. It was written by Liane Kupferberg Carter, the mother of an 18 year old boy with autism. In it she describes how she found herself explaining to a representative of the court why she should retain guardianship over her son.

It is probably less upbeat that most of the posts on our blog, but it’s so beautifully written that I thought it important to share. It also goes to the heart of mother guilt. Seana and I are currently collaborating on a book  about perinatal anxiety and depression and its surprising how often mother guilt raises its ugly head. We women seem to judge ourselves so harshly. When you have a child who doesn’t live up to society’s expectations that guilt can become an even heavier burden.

Anyway, it’s impossible not to be moved by Ms Carter’s story. Please read.

On a brighter note,  we’ve had the good news that we will soon have a bright, shiny, new, standalone blog for the Australian Autism Handbook,  with enhanced features and a much-needed  search function. Watch this space for updates…

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On dancing frogs and physical clues to autism

by Benison O'Reilly on Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Some of you are probably old enough to remember the old Loony Tunes cartoons, featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the crowd.

There was one particular cartoon that used to drive me nuts. It was about a down-and-out homeless guy who discovers a box, and inside the box is a singing, dancing, high-kicking frog. Dollar signs appear before the tramp’s eyes (his luck has changed!) and he starts heading off to various casting agencies, frog and box in hand.  But the frog only performs its routine for him and when anyone else is around it simply sits in the box and says ‘ribbit, ribbit’ — as frogs tend to do.

Eventually the guy gives up in despair and tosses the box and frog away…only for it to be discovered by another down-and-outer, to repeat the process over, and presumably over again.

It’s almost unwatchable.

The dancing frog has become a metaphor in our house for the child who refuses to perform for the crowd. And of all our children, Joe is the most notorious dancing frog.

It happened again this week. Every six months we toddle off to the paediatrician’s for a check up — the same paediatrician who diagnosed Joe way back in February 2004. Back then Joe was so disabled—completely hyperactive and very autistic, with no play skills and virtually no language. His developmental assessment suggested a very low IQ.  The situation looked bleak.

Now, despite the autism, things are much better.  Academically Joe’s maths and spelling are age appropriate, and his reading and handwriting are just a bit below. His language improves on a daily basis, so much so that I sometimes wish he’d talk less.  He can ride a bike, swim and play soccer.  He loves play dates with his friends.

I took his impressive school report along to show the doctor, which is just as well because the chatty, interactive boy of five minutes earlier proceeded to ignore the doctor, avoid eye contact, and disappear into an autistic trance.

‘He’s not usually like this,’ I said, ‘Normally he never shuts up’.

Yeah, yeah, I’m sure the doctor was thinking.

Why do I have this desperate desire for people to see Joe at his best? To see that he is not so different from the rest of us?  Probably it’s just for my own pathetic gratification because— at this stage at least—he couldn’t care less.

I should let go. After all he is not a trained seal, nor a dancing frog.

Speaking of things medical, I stumbled across this interesting paper the other day. It’s entitled ‘Morphological features in children with autism spectrum disorders: a matched case-control study’. Basically a bunch of Dutch researchers got 224 children on the autism spectrum (mean age 9.7 years; 4:1 males/female ratio) and some matched controls (typically-developing kids of the same age) and looked for physical signs that distinguished the kids on the spectrum from their typical peers.  They classified these physical signs as major abnormalities and minor variants. The latter  are ’slight morphological deviations’ that have no serious medical or cosmetic significance but may be  useful indicators of disturbed development. Of these minor variants, minor anomalies have a prevalence in the normal population of ≤4% and common variants a prevalence of >4%.

The children with ASDs were statistically more likely to present with major abnormalities, minor anomalies and common variants, including:  dull facial expression and open mouth appearance  (these were the only two major abnormalities detected),brachycephaly, facial asymmetry, webbed toes,  hyperflexible joints,  prominent ears, attached earlobes, clinodactyly, flat feet, high palates and abnormal hair whorls (’cowlicks’).

What is most interesting is that none of the kids on the spectrum in this study had an intellectual disability (defined as IQ<70),  yet they still displayed physical signs of ‘difference’ – subtle, but present nonetheless. It adds further weight to the genetic basis of ASDs.

And the sixty million dollar question is: Does Joe have any of these signs?

Yes. He has both hyperflexible  joints (although his father, who is clearly not on the spectrum, also has these) and he has some degree of brachycephaly. The latter was actually commented on by a doctor when Joe was a baby, but I just assumed it was a consequence of encouraging him to sleep on his back, a precaution introduced to reduce the likelihood of SIDs.

Still he remains a very good looking boy, with a slightly odd shaped head. I just hope he doesn’t go prematurely bald.

The study is published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders as a free access article,  so you can read it yourself if you so desire.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/ck441558236×33w7/fulltext.pdf

By the way, in case you’ve been wondering about Seana’s recent silence on the blog front, she has been ferrying her brood of four around Scotland for a few weeks, visiting the relatives.  We look forward to her return next week.

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The perils of being an autism parent

by Benison O'Reilly on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

‘Unfair, unfair, unfair.’

This, apparently, was my husband’s catchcry as a child, according to his family. He was a child who railed against anything he thought unjust.

These words came to me yesterday, when I was victim of the most unfair criticism I have ever received in sixteen years of parenthood.

I was in the bank with Joe, feeling stressed and hurried. I had half an hour to  get the  banking and shopping done before I had to pick up Joe’s 16-year old brother from an appointment a couple of suburbs away. Whilst I was filling out a bank deposit slip, and simultaneously being harassed by an overzealous charity collector, Joe discovered a laminated cardboard sign that belonged to the bank. There was certainly nothing remarkable or valuable about the sign but— for reasons unknown—Joe liked the look of it and took it.  I was just about to exit the bank when I heard a middle-aged male customer call out, ‘Hey that doesn’t belong to you. Bring it back!’

Looking down, I noticed Joe had the sign and told him to put it back, which he did without protest.

And…

as we departed the bank I overhead the said customer say to the teller, ‘I’d don’t blame the kids. It’s the parents’ fault.’

Unfair, unfair, unfair!

Poor old autism parents—we can’t win. I generally prefer not to tell strangers about Joe’s diagnosis these days. It’s really none of their business. (The name ‘Joe’ is a psuedonym, by the way). He has high-functioning autism, can talk and behave himself reasonably well in most situations. However, he is impulsive, by virtue of his ADHD co-diagnosis and he has lots of obsessions that can appear odd.

However, if I don’t reveal my son’s diagnosis he gets labelled a naughty child and I get called a bad parent!

I was in too much of a hurry to confront the man about his ill-informed judgements yesterday, but when I told my 16-year old about it he said he would have happily punched him in the nose.

I wonder what the man in the bank would say if he knew that:

* when Joe was diagnosed with an ASD I gave up my career to run a 35-hour a week ABA program for him

*my husband has worked hard to earn the $150,000 + we have already spent on Joe’s therapies

* when Joe was five my husband and I flew to the US just to attend an autism conference on a new promising treatment

*five years after diagnosis, Joe still attends weekly speech therapy and fortnightly occupational therapy sessions, in addition to his swimming lessons and soccer

*my husband takes Joe camping every holidays and bike riding every weekend

*we adore our son more than words can express.

I am not asking for a medal, or even any special recognition, for this. I know autism parents who have done much more for their children, at considerable cost: sometimes with remarkable effect, other times less so.

I also know that a vast many parents would do more if they had access to the money and services their beautiful children deserve. Seana and I know how fortunate we are that we were able to afford the Rolls Royce of autism therapies—that’s why we support organisations such as Autism Awareness, which continue to lobby government for better funding and services for people with ASDs.

All autism parents love their kids and want to do the best by them, regardless of their circumstances.

Parenting is never easy. I have two typical children and often feel I don’t do enough for them, that I let them down. But parenting a child with special needs raises the bar just that much higher.

My all-time, ultimate hero parents are those who cope with the day-in-day-out slog of caring for a child (or children) with significant disabilities—whether autism or otherwise— and do it with patience and good  humour. There are no better parents than these wonderful mums and dads and they deserve our awe and respect.

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Oxytocin for autism spectrum disorders

by Benison O'Reilly on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

As reported in the latest issue of Aspects magazine from Autism Spectrum Australia, there is some interesting autism research happening in my home town, Sydney.

The Centre for Autism Research, Evaluation, and Service (CARES), at the Brain & Mind Research Institute, recently conducted a small study to determine whether oxytocin nasal spray could enhance emotion understanding in high-functioning teenage males with an ASD.

As you probably know, oxytocin is often called the ‘hormone of love’.  Although best known for its role in facilitating labour, delivery, and breast-feeding, it is also important in promoting trust, love, and social recognition.

In this double-blind*, randomised trial, oxytocin nasal spray or a placebo was administered as a single dose to each of 16 participants in a cross-over design, and their performance was assessed using a standard test of emotion recognition, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task. The researchers found oxytocin nasal spray improved emotion recognition compared with placebo, and the results were published in the April 1 2010 issue of Biological Psychiatry.¹

Inspired by this success, the researchers now wish to determine whether oxytocin nasal spray can improve long-term social function in ASD, and hence be used as a treatment for autism. Recruitment is underway for a new trial involving males aged 12 to 18 with ASDs. Participants will use oxytocin spray or a placebo twice a day for eight weeks, with social function  assessed before, immediately after, and three months following completion of the trial.

CARES is looking for males aged 12–18 years with an ASD to participate in the trial. If you know anyone who may be interested they should contact the Brain & Mind Research Institute on (02) 9351 0881 or email: autismcares@med.usyd.edu.au.

Unfortunately my little guy, Joe, is too young for the current trial, but once this study is completed—and if improvements are found—trials in different age groups and females will be conducted. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a good outcome.

*A trial in which neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving the active drug and who is receiving placebo.

1. Guastella AJ, Einfeld SL, Gray KM, Rinehart NJ, Tonge BJ, Lambert TL, Hickie IB. Intranasal oxytocin improves emotion recognition for youth with autism spectrum disorders. Biological Psychiatry 2010;67:692-694

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The gluten-free casein-free diet in autism revisited

by Benison O'Reilly on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

In the Australian Autism Handbook, published a couple of years ago now, we discuss the gluten-free casein-free (GFCF) diet and the evidence for its use in ASDs.

We include mention of an ongoing— at that time—double-blind randomised controlled trial (RCT):

Currently the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is supporting a double-blind RCT to study the effectiveness and safety of GFCF diet. Thirty children following a GFCF diet will either be challenged with snacks which contain gluten and casein or receive identical placebo snacks. All children in the study will be receiving intensive behavioural intervention so that the effects of their early intervention program cannot influence the results. Researchers will try to identify the characteristics of children who are responders and the nature of that response. You can read about this trial at: http://clinicaltrials-nccs.nlm.nih.gov

Well, the preliminary results of that trial are now in and were presented at the recent International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), held last month in Philadelphia. Unfortunately we only have an abstract to go on, and should probably reserve complete judgement until the full published paper is available for review, but this is a summary of  the research:

Children aged 30-54 months, receiving at least 10 hours/week of early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) were recruited. They were screened for milk/wheat allergies, coeliac disease, and anaemia prior to starting treatment.

After a strict GFCF diet for at least 4 weeks, they received weekly randomised, double-blind challenges (snacks) containing either 20 g wheat flour, 20 g evaporated milk, both, or neither on three separate occasions over 12 weeks . The snacks appeared identical and were similar in taste and texture.  Behavioural and other data was collected at baseline and at regular intervals throughout the 30-week trial; as well as prior to, and two and 24 hours after, the snack challenges.

In the end twenty one children were recruited. Of these, seven were eventually excluded from the analysis for medical or other reasons, leaving only 14 participants (12 male), with an average age of just over three and half years.

The researchers found no statistical change in frequency or quality of stools, sleep, activity measured by actigraphy*, or parent/teacher/observer scores of attention or activity when children’s baseline (before diet) measures were compared with treatment (during diet) measures. Nor did they detect any changes pre/post the gluten and/or casein challenges. In fact, one group measure of behaviour** actually improved 2 hours-post gluten &/or casein challenge, although in light of the small patient numbers this might be a chance finding.

The authors concluded:

This is the first study to examine the behavioral effects of a nutritionally monitored GFCF diet on attention, sleep, stool pattern, and core symptoms of ASD. While no favorable effects of the GFCF diet on attention, sleep and stool patterns were identified in group analyses, such effects may occur for individuals or for subgroups of children   (e.g. with significant GI disease), providing the basis for positive anecdotal reports.  Future studies need to address the potential effects of nutrition on behavior in children with ASD and be powered to evaluate subtle changes in core symptoms.

The abstract is available below:

http://imfar.confex.com/imfar/2010/webprogram/Paper6183.html

This is the second double-blind study to find no effect for the GFCF diet in young children with ASD. It may be, as the authors say, that there is a subgroup of children—possibly those with significant gastrointestinal symptoms—who do benefit dramatically from the diet, and more trials with greater patient numbers are clearly needed.  Nonetheless this adds to the body of evidence that not all kids on the autism spectrum will respond to the GFCF diet.

Those who are interested might also want to check out the latest Cochrane Review of the GFCF diet, updated in 2009 but prior to presentation of this latest study:

www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD003498/frame.html

*According to Wikepedia, actigraphy is a relatively non-invasive method of monitoring human rest/activity cycles, commonly using a wrist-watch-like package. The unit continually records movements, which are later analysed by computer.

** The Ritvo Freeman Real Life Rating Scales (RFRLRS). This scale was developed to assess effects of treatment on 47 recognised behaviours of patients with autism. It is applicable in natural settings & can be used by nonprofessional raters.

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A window into autism?

by Benison O'Reilly on Thursday, June 10th, 2010

On Tuesday night, after the homework was done and the dinner eaten, and I was washing up before sitting down to write my next blog (which I planned to be about the latest research on the gluten-free casein-free diet)—kapow!—our electricity went off.  There were howls of protest from eldest son, who was on Facebook, and middle son, who was playing his new X-Box 360, and Joe, who was just about to have a bath.

It turned out to be a blackout.

Fortunately we were well equipped with lanterns, torches and candles. Joe and his dad are used to these situations, being experienced campers. We also had our wonderful gas fire to keep us warm, but no electronic games, TV or Internet.

It went on for almost three hours in the end.  We all sat by the fire, me sipping a consoling glass of red wine. Joe played with his ever-expanding Super Mario collection & talked about his toys with his brothers. Then, we he went to bed, big brothers sat down & had a proper conversation with me (although by this stage the biggest one was dreadfully missing his Facebook).

I was telling big boys that they may as well go to bed – that clearly we weren’t going to have any electricity restored that night, when—bang!—everything came back on:  lights, computers, clocks, the lot.

And I developed a sensory processing disorder.   All the noise and light were completely overwhelming after hours of candles and conversation and warm fires. I retreated to the calm of my bedroom.

So, for a brief few minutes, I think I experienced what it is like for many people on the autism spectrum all the time. I’m not saying everyone with an ASD has sensory processing issues–I refuse to generalise to that extent—but from my reading of books by adults with ASD it seems to be an extremely common experience.   It also makes sense that it would be common, if we believe the latest theories that autism is a largely a disorder of neural connectivity.

Anyway— just possibly, maybe—I was granted a small window of enlightenment into what many people with ASD have to endure every day and I’m telling you it wasn’t fun.  These people deserve our respect for just exiting the front door each morning.

I will write about the GFCF diet in my next blog, by the way, but in the meantime thought some of you might want to check out a new blog, written by a mum, Suz, whose little boy was only recently diagnosed with an ASD. Best wishes to Suz and her family and particularly Batsman – he sounds a real cutey.

http://www.theiloveyousong.blogspot.com/

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Divorce – another autism myth exposed

by Benison O'Reilly on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

An 80% divorce rate for parents of kids with autism—that is, roughly double the normal rate—is often quoted as folklore.  It’s a good disaster story which garners sympathy and media attention. But is it true?

No, if you believe the researchers at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.  And I’m inclined to believe them.

In a study unveiled at the recent International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in Philadelphia, researchers examined data from the (US) 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, including a nationally representative sample of 77,911 children aged 3 to 17 years. They found 64% of children with ASD were living in a traditional family structure (two-parent biological or adoptive) compared with 65%  of children without an ASD -that’s pretty much on par.

These findings held even when the researchers statistically controlled for other factors that could have affected family structure, such as socioeconomic status or demographics, and the reported severity of a child’s autism.   Only when researchers considered co-existing psychiatric and other problems (such as ADHD or serious behavioural problems) in children with ASD, did they find the likelihood of living in a non-traditional family structure (a two parent household with step-parents, a single mother or father, other relatives, or other family types) increased slightly.

The lead researcher, Brian Freedman, reported that he was motivated to conduct this research after hearing the oft-quoted 80% split-up rate among parents of children with autism. However, when Freedman searched for the study behind the mythical 80% figure he never found one—it appears to have originated from pure speculation and then been resurrected again and again, with no evidence to back it up.

As Seana said when I sent her the link to this study, ‘I always thought that 80% figure was bunkum.’

Certainly my experience has been that the majority of autism marriages remain intact. Sure, I’m aware of a few divorces, but nothing to suggest that autism diagnosis = matrimonial train wreck.  And in some  cases I’m aware of there have been extenuating circumstances, such as psychiatric diagnoses (bipolar disorder or, unsurprisingly, Asperger’s) affecting one of the parents.

This is good news for all ASD parents and, of course, for their children. It is far easier to face the challenges of raising a child with autism if there is another parent alongside you to assist.

The study abstract is available below:

http://imfar.confex.com/imfar/2010/webprogram/Paper6087.html

Or for more commentary at WebMD see:

www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20100519/autism-famlies-high-divorce-rate-is-a-myth?src=RSS_PUBLIC

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Is autism contagious?

by Benison O'Reilly on Friday, May 14th, 2010

In the introduction to the Australian Autism Handbook I write that having Joe has made me ‘a kinder and wiser person’, one who no longer ’sweats on the small stuff’.  Two years later I can confirm that still rings true.  I remain more tolerant of life’s vicissitudes and my fellow human beings and their failings. Not much upsets me.

However, there is one aspect of life where I remain less tolerant and that concerns my children.  If anyone seriously slights one of my boys I feel it keenly. This particularly applies if anyone slights Joe.

Anyway, without giving too much away, there was once a woman of my acquaintance — a woman with neurotypical children— who made it clear that— despite my gestures of friendship— she wanted as little to do with Joe and me as possible.  Was it me? Or was it Joe? I’m not sure. I can rationalise the former, but the latter…not so easily.

I once said to my husband, ‘Perhaps she thinks autism is contagious’.

Thus, I was surprised to find that a recent study suggests that it is.

Okay, I’m bending the truth a bit.  But hopefully I’ve caught your attention.

What the study, by researchers from Columbia University, did find is that children living near a child who has been previously diagnosed with autism have a much higher chance of being diagnosed themselves in the following year.

However, the researchers do not believe this is because autism is contagious. Nor do they think it’s due to an environmental agent.  They believe it is because parents are learning about autism from other parents who have a child on the spectrum; they are being educated about symptoms, and the process of obtaining a diagnosis and treatment, from people who have already been through the process with their own child.

In the study, entitled Social Influence and the Autism Epidemic, researchers looked at data on over 304,000 children born in California between 1997 and 2003. They found that children who live within 250 metres of a child with autism have a 42% higher chance of being diagnosed with an ASD in the following year compared with children who do not live near a child with autism. Children who live between 250 metres and 500 metres from a child with autism were 22% more likely to be diagnosed. As we would predict, the study showed the proximity effect to be strongest amongst children with high functioning autism, the sort of kids whose symptoms and behaviours might have been explained away as ‘oddness’ in earlier times.

The researchers eliminated competing explanations, such as environmental toxins or viral transmission through a series of statistical tests. They also considered other social factors that could be driving the autism ‘epidemic’, such as maternal age and education standards (some studies have found that older parents are more likely to have a child with an ASD, whilst others suggest that better educated parents are more likely to obtain a diagnosis for their child). Whilst the Columbia University team found that each of these social factors appears to play a role in the rising prevalence of autism, the so-called ‘social influence’ phenomenon exerted the most powerful effect.

The researchers conclude:

One does not “catch” autism from someone else, yet a social diffusion process contributes significantly to the increased prevalence of autism.

Looks like we might have found another piece in intriguing puzzle of why autism diagnoses are on the increase.

The paper, published in the American Journal of Sociology, is available free to download on the link below.

Ka‐Yuet Liu, Marissa King, and Peter S. Bearman. Social influence and the autism epidemic.

American Journal of Sociology 2010 115:5, 1387-1434

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/651448

Or read more commentary on the study at Science Daily:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100408161017.htm

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Autism travels to Hong Kong and Rockhampton

by Benison O'Reilly on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

We recently arrived back from a family holiday in Hong Kong, and passed a few important hurdles in the process.  A couple of years ago Joe had a bad flight back from Fiji, which he claimed ‘hurt my ears’. He decided then and there he was through with flying. As you can imagine this limited our holiday options somewhat, just at a time the rest of the family was keen to spread its wings.

We consulted our RDI® consultant, who suggested a combination of noise-cancelling headphones (available at electronic/ music stores, unfortunately with a hefty price tag) and a social story. My husband and I took Joe on a weekend trip to Melbourne (total disaster —a story in itself) but the headphones came through with flying colours (pun unintentional).

An eight and a half hour trip to Hong Kong was another matter altogether, of course.  We elected to do an overnighter, which ultimately worked well for Joe, if not the rest of the family. Joe played a few games on the in-flight entertainment system and then fell asleep for most of both flights—there and back— although the rest of us arrived at our destination bedraggled and grumpy.

How did Joe cope with busy, chaotic Hong Kong?  Pretty well in fact, although he was out of sorts the first 24 hours and developed a nasty rash on his face which he couldn’t stop himself rubbing. (Thus the photos aren’t pretty.) He enjoyed Disneyland, especially Space Mountain. He coped with train, tram, ferry, taxi and cable car rides admirably. He found enough foods he liked, despite his notoriously fussy appetite.  He was disappointed that Super Mario Bros toys (his current obsession) weren’t as ubiquitous as he’d supposed, but that was the main downside.

A visit to The Peak on the second last day was a highlight. The magnificent view was obscured by haze but we found a store that sold a huge range of Super Mario toys! I don’t know who was more thrilled, Joe or I.

Overall, despite some fractious moments involving sleep-deprived teenagers, the trip was fun.

Today Joe said,’ I want to go back to Hong Kong.’

‘Why?’ we asked.

‘Because I like it,’ he said.   Duh—obvious really.

In two weeks’ home my husband and I are off on another trip, although Joe is remaining at home this time. We are heading to Rockhampton, Queensland on Saturday May 15^th to present at an Autism Info Day, being sponsored by Autism Awareness and Aussie Helpers Children’s Fund.  Hopefully our regional cousins, so often neglected by ASD services, will get something out of the day.  If you know anyone from the region who might benefit please send them the link below.  It should be a good day and it’s free of charge.

www.autismawareness.com.au/autisminfoday2010

These days are one of the payoffs that have come to Seana and me from writing the Australian Autism Handbook—a chance to meet other ASD parents, especially those just starting out on their autism journey. A lot of these people are still shell-shocked, in the worst stages of grief, so it’s a good feeling to go out and talk to them, and reassure them that the majority of kids will get better if their parents  are prepared to stand up to help them.

Not cured— just better—I stress. Our little trip to Hong Kong may have had its ups and down but ultimately proves that point.

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