RE: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

February 26, 2010

If there is one thing I have learned it is not to believe most of these studies. Studies can be skewed and manipulated to serve purposes. I take each one with a grain of salt. It is just unfortunate and sad that researchers are so clueless and waste money on such nonesense when are children s' futures are at stake. I cannot believe that all this money and these guys are back to the Refrigerator Mom theory! Shameful in my opinion.*I have never known more loving and doting parents than those of children with autism.Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To:

sList Date: Friday, February 26, 2010, 3:12 PM

Don't let it, please don't! I have a story to share with you.

We decided to participate in the UM study because we've always believed that, for professionals of the health sciences to understand autism, well controlled studies must be done. We think what UM is doing is significant for autism research. The first articles I read on the early signs of autism in infants blew my mind. However, I'm really surprised over this particular one. They really missed the mark.

Our family participated in this study, although originally we were recruited for the study of early signs of autism in infants. My youngest son's development has been followed since he was four months old.

However...when I read the article I realized that data from our visits could have been used for this study also, because at 18, 24, 30 months, was asked to 'play as I would do at home', just as it details here.

And I will tell you this: as much love and connection I have with my boys, many of those sessions I did with the little one when we went to UM, I was tired. Back in those days, my oldest child could keep me up at night for days. And then I had to go about whatever the next day would bring. Most of that period of time is blurry in my mind- I was THAT exhausted.

I wonder how many mothers that participated in this study went through the same thing? I remember the researcher would ask what kind of day my child was having, whether he slept or not the night before, if he was in a good mood, etc. But they never asked what kind of day I had!!!

As you said: we're human!

How do can 'mother sensitivity' be measured by just rolling a video and not really knowing whether external factors are influencing what you're capturing on camera?

And how did they reach this conclusion without seeing the day to day in a natural setting (hint: the home), rather than in a university lab visit for a few hours? Did they visit the homes of the children in the study? Because they certainly didn't visit ours.

My children are awesome, I thank God every day for them. They have a deep emotional connection with us and other people that are part of our lives, even when I was told by doctors my oldest would not achieve that because of autism. It's been hard work, but he's blossomed. I was told not to expect him to interact with his younger brother and guess what? He does. We've done all traditional therapies, sensory integration, and floortime too. There are still many challenges, but we have a good support system. What drives us, most of all, is that we love them to pieces.

And I'm certain that is what drives you.

Don't let this particular study with a poorly reached conclusion make you feel bad about what you've done, and continue doing.

>

> But I did Attachment parenting (Dr Sears) from birth to my son's DX.

> If this study is true then why does my child have a deficit in speech

> pragmatics? Attachment parenting is the gold standard for sensitive

> parenting. When my child was DX at 5 I dropped Ap and did floortime

> for 4 years then RDI/Floortime mix for 3 more years. Both therapies

> based off of guided sensitive parent interaction with the child to

> increase social abilities. I hate this study it just make me feel

> like I did not do enough which is ridicules as what else could I of

> done? It feeds right back into parents of kids with an ASD DX have to

> be super parents. I am not a superhero just a human.

>

> http://www.eurekale rt.org/pub_ releases/ 2010-02/uom- ams022510. php

>

> Contact: Marie Guma-

> m.gumadiaz@. ..

>

> University of Miami

> A mother's sensitivity may help language growth in children with

> autism spectrum disorder

>

> Researchers at the University of Miami show that maternal

> responsiveness can predict language growth among children in the early

> stages of autism

>

> CORAL GABLES, FL (February 25, 2010)----A new study by researchers

> from the University of Miami shows that maternal sensitivity may

> influence language development among children who go on to develop

> autism. Although parenting styles are not considered as a cause for

> autism, this report examines how early parenting can promote

> resiliency in this population. The study entitled, "A Pilot Study of

> Maternal Sensitivity in the Context of Emergent Autism," is published

> online this month and will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal

> of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

>

> "Language problems are among the most important areas to address for

> children with autism, because they represent a significant impairment

> in daily living and communication, " says Messinger, associate

> professor in the department of psychology at the University of Miami

> (UM) College of Arts and Sciences and principal investigator of a

> larger study of infants at-risk for autism, which includes this study.

>

> Maternal sensitivity is defined in the study as a combination of

> warmth, responsiveness to the child's needs, respect for his or her

> emerging independence, positive regard for the child, and maternal

> structuring, which refers to the way in which a mother engages and

> teaches her child in a sensitive manner. For example, if a child is

> playing with colored rings, the mother might say, "This is the green

> ring," thus teaching the child about his environment, says Messinger.

>

> In this study, maternal sensitivity (and primarily, sensitive

> structuring) was more predictive of language growth among toddlers

> developing autism than among children who did not go on to an autism

> diagnosis. One possible explanation is that children with autism may

> be more dependent on their environment to learn certain skills that

> seem to come more naturally to other children.

>

> "Parenting may matter even more for children with developmental

> problems such as autism because certain things that tend to develop

> easily in children with typical neurological development, like social

> communication, don't come as naturally for kids with autism, so these

> skills need to be taught," says K. Baker, a postdoctoral fellow

> at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, who conducted

> the study with Messinger while at UM.

>

> For the study, 33 children were assessed in the lab at 18, 24, 30 and

> 36 months of age. Some of the children had an older sibling diagnosed

> with autism and were considered high risk for autism.

>

> At the 18-month assessment, the researchers videotaped a five minute

> period of mother and child free play in which the mothers were asked

> to play as they would at home. Aspects of maternal sensitivity were

> scored on seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive

> behavior to extremely sensitive behavior. Children's language was

> assessed at 2 and 3 years. At the 3 year visit, when the children were

> old enough to be evaluated, 12 of children from the high risk group

> received an autism-spectrum diagnosis.

>

> The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Its

> findings parallel previous treatment research indicating that when

> children with autism increase their connection to the environment they

> do much better, Baker says. Understanding the benefits of sensitive

> structuring in the development of language among young children with

> emergent autism provides scientific support for early intervention

> programs that focus on parent-child interactions. "We know that

> parenting doesn't cause autism. The message here is that parents can

> make a difference in helping their children fight against autism,"

> Baker says.

>

> ###

> The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students,

> to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and

> beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our

> University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation

> and the world. www.miami.edu.

>

February 27, 2010

These guys should be ashamed of themselves. This is not

the 1950’s and they need to get over it. I love my child so much, I

hug and kiss him everyday and tell him I love him and make sure that he knows we

are his safe place when the world gets to be too much. I know people that

are neglectful, selfish, and outright mean and their

children don’t have autism. This study is a bunch of crap.

From:

sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf

Of Sundreaming

Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 3:12 PM

To: sList

Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

Don't let it, please don't! I have a story to

share with you.

We decided to participate in the UM study because we've always believed that,

for professionals of the health sciences to understand autism, well controlled

studies must be done. We think what UM is doing is significant for autism

research. The first articles I read on the early signs of autism in infants

blew my mind. However, I'm really surprised over this particular one. They

really missed the mark.

Our family participated in this study, although originally we were recruited

for the study of early signs of autism in infants. My youngest son's

development has been followed since he was four months old.

However...when I read the article I realized that data from our visits could

have been used for this study also, because at 18, 24, 30 months, was asked to

'play as I would do at home', just as it details here.

And I will tell you this: as much love and connection I have with my boys, many

of those sessions I did with the little one when we went to UM, I was tired.

Back in those days, my oldest child could keep me up at night for days. And

then I had to go about whatever the next day would bring. Most of that period

of time is blurry in my mind- I was THAT exhausted.

I wonder how many mothers that participated in this study went through the same

thing? I remember the researcher would ask what kind of day my child was

having, whether he slept or not the night before, if he was in a good mood,

etc. But they never asked what kind of day I had!!!

As you said: we're human!

How do can 'mother sensitivity' be measured by just rolling a video and not

really knowing whether external factors are influencing what you're capturing

on camera?

And how did they reach this conclusion without seeing the day to day in a

natural setting (hint: the home), rather than in a university lab visit for a

few hours? Did they visit the homes of the children in the study? Because they

certainly didn't visit ours.

My children are awesome, I thank God every day for them. They have a deep

emotional connection with us and other people that are part of our lives, even

when I was told by doctors my oldest would not achieve that because of autism.

It's been hard work, but he's blossomed. I was told not to expect him to

interact with his younger brother and guess what? He does. We've done all

traditional therapies, sensory integration, and floortime too. There are still

many challenges, but we have a good support system. What drives us, most of

all, is that we love them to pieces.

And I'm certain that is what drives you.

Don't let this particular study with a poorly reached conclusion make you feel

bad about what you've done, and continue doing.