New info, what's true and what isn't
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New info, what's true and what isn't
| Wed, 08-09-2006 - 11:13am |
Hi.
I came across this article about the effects of having prenatal ultrasounds and how it affects brain function in mice. All these studies, makes you wonder if this isn't why AS and other spectrum disorders are so much more prevalent now.
Wish they'd stop scaring people, but finding the reasons behind these brain disorders is of great importance.
Just thought I'd pass it along.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14231914/wid/11915773/
Thanks, Nicole
Mom to Dominic (7.5-AS) and Nathan (4-flourescent red-head which speaks for itself!) and Step-Mom to Lauren (6)

I read that article in the newspaper this morning.
I wonder about all that stuff. But Josh ends up throwing monkey wrenches into every theory they have about why AS occurs.
1) normal pregnancy but was not conceived normally:he was Artificially inseminated to conceive him
2)Josh was a forceps delivery plus I think he might have had the cord around his neck but nobody told me I think I heard it, I was pretty out of it plus he was our 1st child.
3) I only had 1 sonogram with Josh (I had about 3 with my other 2(NT)
3)Josh spent 2 weeks in the NICU because he grunted so they felt he had an infection and was treated as such with antibiotics
4) Josh was born with 2 other birth defects. Hirschsprung's disease which was treated surgically when he was a week old, under general anesthesia. And a clubfoot which he has had so far had 3 surgeries all under the age of 2
And his foot will need more work when he gets a little bit older
So Josh had been under general anesthesia 4 times before he was 2 3x before age 1, so i have always wondered in his case and more so now if that trigger his AS
5) Josh was under general anesthesia 2x more at age 7 when he broke his leg severely and it needed surgical repair
6) I do feel genetics do play a role because I remember being very socially inadequate, very immature at times versus overly mature at times and following my own drummer as a child, but I think in my case it may have been more of an over protective mother. i also have motor tics but my FIL rest his soul as i keep remembering him and even talking to my MIL may very well have been an AS who learned to adapt. He so fits the basic profile. He was an eccentric college professor, he only became friends with people similar to himself and had no patience with others. He was a collector and never threw things out, from model planes, rockets, scifi books etc. sickly as a kid just little things makes you go hMM. But again I think he may not have been severe in his AS like Josh and he learned to adapt, just as Josh has been learning to do prior to us not knowing any better.
But I think AS is just because our population grows. It is still a fairly new diagnosis to the Autistic spectrum and thus numbers will grow because it now has a name. To sit and blame everything and everything on why My child if affected is at this point not going to help me. I may very well try the vitamin route. I probably will use Concerta during the school year but now at its highest dose because it does help. Right now my goal is to learn and try to figure out what will help Josh the most. I guess so far we haven't done that badly, but now we just have to readjust our thinking a little bit more.
Rina
Well, I have very mixed feelings on what might or might not trigger ASDs. There could be a variety of triggers and ultrasound might or might not be one of them. If I were having another child, I would probably still have one ultrasound, and I'd try to time it so it was long enough into the pregnancy that they could tell if the placenta was properly positioned and everything else. I don't personally understand the need to check to make sure the exact length of the pregnancy so early on unless there's a specific health risk. Of course, it's nice to know what the sex of the baby is, but I wouldn't have an ultrasound for that reason alone.
I don't know, I'm thinking there may be a variety of other triggers, for example antibiotics. I never remember Duncan having any kind of problem until the onset of his first ear infections. He had about 4 one year and it seems to me that's when we began noticing sensitivites to sound, crowds and such. I want to say he was about 2 1/2 or so. With Ian, I knew something was different within his first year. I really think he was somewhat AS from birth. He was extremely "high needs."
I still think there is a huge genetic factor. I think when you are a nerdy, not quite fit in person (like me) you're probably not going to pair off with someone who is extremely social and likes to go to parties, has a ton of friends, etc. You'd marry and have children with someone who understands you and probably has some of the same quirks, sensitivities, etc. because you'd have more in common and have similar (or at least complementary) interests. Then there's an even stronger mix of these genes. Since we don't have arranged marriages and we pick for love and compatibility, we may be concentrating the genetics that make for autism. Anyway, that's my thought.
Kelly