Autism

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I have been reading Barry Kaufman's book The Son-Rise Program. This is a

really good book and has given me a lot to think about. Mainly, it has

changed my thinking about my son's progress and made me start to be happy

about his success's and to not compare those to other children. The really

weird thing is that the more I read it, the more I agree with Dr. Goldberg

that my son indeed does NOT have autism but is suffering from something else

entirely. I have been watching our home movies recently and have discovered

that I am not CRAZY. I had come to believe that my son was indeed autistic

from birth and that I just hadn't caught it. THAT IS JUST NOT SO! I have

video tape of my son at 2 years old coloring and using a fork--both he can

not do now--, waving, making direct eye contact, taking notice of people

coming in and going out of the room, and using pronouns correctly. My son is

considered severe on the autism spectrum. Kaufman's son was also considered

severe. Of course, they caught his autism very early. By 19 months old,

they had already been working with him for a while. In one section of the

book, he describes the first time his son cried for his mom. He had never

done that before. MY SON HAS ALWAYS PREFERRED MY COMPANY TO OTHERS AND HAS

ALWAYS MADE THAT KNOWN. Sorry to vent on this. I have just had an

incredible realization and yet, still feel so frustrated. Watching our home

videos, it is hard to believe that the child sitting with me now is even the

same child. I believe that the chicken pox vaccine my son had at 2 years and

2 months is what pushed his immune system over the top! What is my point in

all of this? I have no idea. I just need to vent to others who probably

also feel my frustration. I wish I could get some " autism expert " to watch

our home videos and then explain to me what happened. Will we ever get

other's to listen to us?