Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

[Guest guest]

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.eurekalert.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.

>

[Guest guest]

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.eurekalert.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.

>

[Guest guest]

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.eurekalert.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.

>

[Guest guest]

God Bless You for that advice. We should always keep our faith. Most studies of habitual behavior indicate that a habit can be broken in six weeks; some studies tell us that you can break a habit in as little as twenty-one days. It does not matter if we take a little longer with our children we all deserve the oportunity to try.

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.>

[Guest guest]

God Bless You for that advice. We should always keep our faith. Most studies of habitual behavior indicate that a habit can be broken in six weeks; some studies tell us that you can break a habit in as little as twenty-one days. It does not matter if we take a little longer with our children we all deserve the oportunity to try.

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.>

[Guest guest]

God Bless You for that advice. We should always keep our faith. Most studies of habitual behavior indicate that a habit can be broken in six weeks; some studies tell us that you can break a habit in as little as twenty-one days. It does not matter if we take a little longer with our children we all deserve the oportunity to try.

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.>

[Guest guest]

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

[Guest guest]

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

[Guest guest]

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

[Guest guest]

http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/Bakeretal%20JADDinpress.pdfHere's the paper, haven't read it yet but know that it was part of a larger study, apparently more professional than the load of cr@p we've been reading about. Such nonsense, it amazes me that UM would publish it..they should have tossed it and moved on...too bad they didn't see it.GabiSent from my iPhone

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

[Guest guest]

http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/Bakeretal%20JADDinpress.pdfHere's the paper, haven't read it yet but know that it was part of a larger study, apparently more professional than the load of cr@p we've been reading about. Such nonsense, it amazes me that UM would publish it..they should have tossed it and moved on...too bad they didn't see it.GabiSent from my iPhone

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

[Guest guest]

I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not cause autism as the "refrigerator mother" theory implies but rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language skills.

Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis. That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence language development in those kids who do go on to get the diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will get the dx of autism.

I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is ongoing at UM.

I think that "AU" parents are the most hardworking and caring parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study set out to accuse us of not being that way.

I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece of pizza.

Carroll

To: sList From: JLACP@...Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500Subject: Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not cause autism as the "refrigerator mother" theory implies but rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language skills.

Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis. That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence language development in those kids who do go on to get the diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will get the dx of autism.

I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is ongoing at UM.

I think that "AU" parents are the most hardworking and caring parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study set out to accuse us of not being that way.

I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece of pizza.

Carroll

To: sList From: JLACP@...Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500Subject: Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

This sounds like a 21st century explanation of the

" frigid " mother syndrome. And it sounds just as valid.

From: sList

[mailto:sList ] On Behalf Of Yahoo

Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 10:28 PM

To: sList

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

http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/Bakeretal%20JADDinpress.pdf

Here's the paper, haven't read it yet but know that it was

part of a larger study, apparently more professional than the load of cr@p

we've been reading about. Such nonsense, it amazes me that UM would publish

it..they should have tossed it and moved on...too bad they didn't see it.

Gabi

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 2, 2010, at 8:01 PM, JLACP@...

wrote:

Does anyone have the link to the " actual "

study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the " maternal sensitivity "

scale, the

seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely

sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who

presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we

observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an

artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the

usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies

beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually

supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it

was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money

and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24ow

A friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>

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

To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

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.

>

[Guest guest]

I'm so glad you said all of this, . It's important that when we read and interpret research that we know what we are interpreting. I'm wondering which son was later diagnosed , the older or the younger one. I say this simply because you have two boys on the spectrum. Had the older one not already been identified, you may have never even thought to participate in this study. This is if it was in fact your younger child who was later identified. Therefore, note the potential for a skewed study because those that may have participated had to get picked somehow. And my guess is that some were picked because an older sibling was already on the spectrum and the parents or therapists or teachers got notification of the study and signed on. Just one of the many facets we need to be aware of when dissecting and interpreting research. I could likely point out other correlations/coincidences and or factors of the study but am typing on a phone... :-)Another important thing to consider is that parents have a special connection with their children and often can and do meet their kids needs without having vocal or spoken language. There is research on this. If we as parents sensed on an unconscious level our kids had communication challenges, we likley met their needs on their level... It's a sense we have for them... Over time, this connection is fostered and we can be trained just as much as them to not require them to talk to get their needs met. That's parenting on an unconscious level... And should be considered in research such as this study. Sent from my iPhone

I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not cause autism as the "refrigerator mother" theory implies but rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language skills.

Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis. That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence language development in those kids who do go on to get the diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will get the dx of autism.

I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is ongoing at UM.

I think that "AU" parents are the most hardworking and caring parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study set out to accuse us of not being that way.

I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece of pizza.

Carroll

To: sList From: JLACP@...Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500Subject: Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

I'm so glad you said all of this, . It's important that when we read and interpret research that we know what we are interpreting. I'm wondering which son was later diagnosed , the older or the younger one. I say this simply because you have two boys on the spectrum. Had the older one not already been identified, you may have never even thought to participate in this study. This is if it was in fact your younger child who was later identified. Therefore, note the potential for a skewed study because those that may have participated had to get picked somehow. And my guess is that some were picked because an older sibling was already on the spectrum and the parents or therapists or teachers got notification of the study and signed on. Just one of the many facets we need to be aware of when dissecting and interpreting research. I could likely point out other correlations/coincidences and or factors of the study but am typing on a phone... :-)Another important thing to consider is that parents have a special connection with their children and often can and do meet their kids needs without having vocal or spoken language. There is research on this. If we as parents sensed on an unconscious level our kids had communication challenges, we likley met their needs on their level... It's a sense we have for them... Over time, this connection is fostered and we can be trained just as much as them to not require them to talk to get their needs met. That's parenting on an unconscious level... And should be considered in research such as this study. Sent from my iPhone

I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not cause autism as the "refrigerator mother" theory implies but rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language skills.

Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis. That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence language development in those kids who do go on to get the diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will get the dx of autism.

I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is ongoing at UM.

I think that "AU" parents are the most hardworking and caring parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study set out to accuse us of not being that way.

I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece of pizza.

Carroll

To: sList From: JLACP@...Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500Subject: Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

I'm so glad you said all of this, . It's important that when we read and interpret research that we know what we are interpreting. I'm wondering which son was later diagnosed , the older or the younger one. I say this simply because you have two boys on the spectrum. Had the older one not already been identified, you may have never even thought to participate in this study. This is if it was in fact your younger child who was later identified. Therefore, note the potential for a skewed study because those that may have participated had to get picked somehow. And my guess is that some were picked because an older sibling was already on the spectrum and the parents or therapists or teachers got notification of the study and signed on. Just one of the many facets we need to be aware of when dissecting and interpreting research. I could likely point out other correlations/coincidences and or factors of the study but am typing on a phone... :-)Another important thing to consider is that parents have a special connection with their children and often can and do meet their kids needs without having vocal or spoken language. There is research on this. If we as parents sensed on an unconscious level our kids had communication challenges, we likley met their needs on their level... It's a sense we have for them... Over time, this connection is fostered and we can be trained just as much as them to not require them to talk to get their needs met. That's parenting on an unconscious level... And should be considered in research such as this study. Sent from my iPhone

I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not cause autism as the "refrigerator mother" theory implies but rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language skills.

Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis. That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence language development in those kids who do go on to get the diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will get the dx of autism.

I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is ongoing at UM.

I think that "AU" parents are the most hardworking and caring parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study set out to accuse us of not being that way.

I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece of pizza.

Carroll

To: sList From: JLACP@...Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500Subject: Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

Does anyone have the link to the "actual" study? I would like to read it.

I wonder who designed the "maternal sensitivity" scale, the seven-point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to extremely sensitive behavior.

How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we observed...........between another mother and her child.........and in such an artificial setting?

33 kids in a lab setting?

I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies beget more studies.................

How much did this study cost?

I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time and money and brainpower.

Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

My 2 cents.

Lucille

In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, cammarata01 writes:

http://tinyurl.com/yeg24owA friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.To: sList@ yahoogroups. comDate: 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.>

Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

--the reason for the anger is because one of the problems with

our kids is that many are non verbal or impaired in this arena. The

study says if you are a sensitive and caring enough mom, you can

improve your child's language acquisition. But there are so many kids

that are still low functioning in verbal skills. Which implies that

those moms are not sensitive or caring enough, or their kid would not

be so low functioning in verbal skills. It is partly the study,

partly hypersensitivity on our parts. It does not say the kids would

be normal in verbal skills, just better than they otherwise would have

been. So you could look at it as " wow, my kid has benefitted, and

however low functioning he is, he would be worse if I didn't care so

much " . But tired stressed and overwhelmed reaction is " if only I was

loving enough, my kid would speak normally " I guarantee you that some

boneheaded " helpful " person in the grocery store or a relative will

hurl this soundbite at one of our parents. The newspapers will report

this, and relatives will be clipping out the article and mailing it to

our families, because they now have proof this is why our kids are

impaired. If we only tried harder...This is indeed similar to the

refrigerator mother theorem. Hence the anger.

>

> I'm so glad you said all of this, . It's important that when

> we read and interpret research that we know what we are

> interpreting. I'm wondering which son was later diagnosed , the

> older or the younger one. I say this simply because you have two

> boys on the spectrum. Had the older one not already been identified,

> you may have never even thought to participate in this study. This

> is if it was in fact your younger child who was later identified.

> Therefore, note the potential for a skewed study because those that

> may have participated had to get picked somehow. And my guess is

> that some were picked because an older sibling was already on the

> spectrum and the parents or therapists or teachers got notification

> of the study and signed on. Just one of the many facets we need to

> be aware of when dissecting and interpreting research. I could

> likely point out other correlations/coincidences and or factors of

> the study but am typing on a phone... :-)

>

> Another important thing to consider is that parents have a special

> connection with their children and often can and do meet their kids

> needs without having vocal or spoken language. There is research on

> this. If we as parents sensed on an unconscious level our kids had

> communication challenges, we likley met their needs on their

> level... It's a sense we have for them... Over time, this connection

> is fostered and we can be trained just as much as them to not

> require them to talk to get their needs met. That's parenting on an

> unconscious level... And should be considered in research such as

> this study.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

> On Mar 2, 2010, at 11:11 PM, Carroll

> wrote:

>

>>

>> I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am

>> wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not

>> cause autism as the " refrigerator mother " theory implies but

>> rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language

>> skills.

>>

>> Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis.

>> That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the

>> control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

>>

>> The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence

>> language development in those kids who do go on to get the

>> diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard

>> work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I

>> don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will

>> get the dx of autism.

>>

>> I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about

>> it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the

>> press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see

>> the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

>>

>> I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular

>> study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is

>> ongoing at UM.

>>

>> I think that " AU " parents are the most hardworking and caring

>> parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to

>> celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study

>> set out to accuse us of not being that way.

>>

>> I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece

>> of pizza.

>>

>> Carroll

>>

>>

>> To: sList

>> From: JLACP@...

>> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500

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

>>

>>

>> Does anyone have the link to the " actual " study? I would like to

>> read it.

>> I wonder who designed the " maternal sensitivity " scale, the seven-

>> point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to

>> extremely sensitive behavior.

>> How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who

>> presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

>> Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we

>> observed...........between another mother and her child.........and

>> in such an artificial setting?

>> 33 kids in a lab setting?

>> I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the

>> usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies

>> beget more studies.................

>> How much did this study cost?

>> I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually

>> supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like

>> it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time

>> and money and brainpower.

>> Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

>> In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

>> My 2 cents.

>> Lucille

>>

>>

>> In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

cammarata01@...

>> writes:

>>

>>

>>

>> http://tinyurl.com/yeg24ow

>> A friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>

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

>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

>> 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.

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign

>> up now.

>>

>

>

[Guest guest]

--the reason for the anger is because one of the problems with

our kids is that many are non verbal or impaired in this arena. The

study says if you are a sensitive and caring enough mom, you can

improve your child's language acquisition. But there are so many kids

that are still low functioning in verbal skills. Which implies that

those moms are not sensitive or caring enough, or their kid would not

be so low functioning in verbal skills. It is partly the study,

partly hypersensitivity on our parts. It does not say the kids would

be normal in verbal skills, just better than they otherwise would have

been. So you could look at it as " wow, my kid has benefitted, and

however low functioning he is, he would be worse if I didn't care so

much " . But tired stressed and overwhelmed reaction is " if only I was

loving enough, my kid would speak normally " I guarantee you that some

boneheaded " helpful " person in the grocery store or a relative will

hurl this soundbite at one of our parents. The newspapers will report

this, and relatives will be clipping out the article and mailing it to

our families, because they now have proof this is why our kids are

impaired. If we only tried harder...This is indeed similar to the

refrigerator mother theorem. Hence the anger.

>

> I'm so glad you said all of this, . It's important that when

> we read and interpret research that we know what we are

> interpreting. I'm wondering which son was later diagnosed , the

> older or the younger one. I say this simply because you have two

> boys on the spectrum. Had the older one not already been identified,

> you may have never even thought to participate in this study. This

> is if it was in fact your younger child who was later identified.

> Therefore, note the potential for a skewed study because those that

> may have participated had to get picked somehow. And my guess is

> that some were picked because an older sibling was already on the

> spectrum and the parents or therapists or teachers got notification

> of the study and signed on. Just one of the many facets we need to

> be aware of when dissecting and interpreting research. I could

> likely point out other correlations/coincidences and or factors of

> the study but am typing on a phone... :-)

>

> Another important thing to consider is that parents have a special

> connection with their children and often can and do meet their kids

> needs without having vocal or spoken language. There is research on

> this. If we as parents sensed on an unconscious level our kids had

> communication challenges, we likley met their needs on their

> level... It's a sense we have for them... Over time, this connection

> is fostered and we can be trained just as much as them to not

> require them to talk to get their needs met. That's parenting on an

> unconscious level... And should be considered in research such as

> this study.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

> On Mar 2, 2010, at 11:11 PM, Carroll

> wrote:

>

>>

>> I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am

>> wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not

>> cause autism as the " refrigerator mother " theory implies but

>> rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language

>> skills.

>>

>> Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis.

>> That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the

>> control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

>>

>> The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence

>> language development in those kids who do go on to get the

>> diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard

>> work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I

>> don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will

>> get the dx of autism.

>>

>> I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about

>> it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the

>> press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see

>> the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

>>

>> I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular

>> study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is

>> ongoing at UM.

>>

>> I think that " AU " parents are the most hardworking and caring

>> parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to

>> celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study

>> set out to accuse us of not being that way.

>>

>> I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece

>> of pizza.

>>

>> Carroll

>>

>>

>> To: sList

>> From: JLACP@...

>> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500

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

>>

>>

>> Does anyone have the link to the " actual " study? I would like to

>> read it.

>> I wonder who designed the " maternal sensitivity " scale, the seven-

>> point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to

>> extremely sensitive behavior.

>> How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who

>> presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

>> Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we

>> observed...........between another mother and her child.........and

>> in such an artificial setting?

>> 33 kids in a lab setting?

>> I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the

>> usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies

>> beget more studies.................

>> How much did this study cost?

>> I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually

>> supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like

>> it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time

>> and money and brainpower.

>> Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

>> In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

>> My 2 cents.

>> Lucille

>>

>>

>> In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

cammarata01@...

>> writes:

>>

>>

>>

>> http://tinyurl.com/yeg24ow

>> A friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>

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

>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

>> 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.

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign

>> up now.

>>

>

>

[Guest guest]

--the reason for the anger is because one of the problems with

our kids is that many are non verbal or impaired in this arena. The

study says if you are a sensitive and caring enough mom, you can

improve your child's language acquisition. But there are so many kids

that are still low functioning in verbal skills. Which implies that

those moms are not sensitive or caring enough, or their kid would not

be so low functioning in verbal skills. It is partly the study,

partly hypersensitivity on our parts. It does not say the kids would

be normal in verbal skills, just better than they otherwise would have

been. So you could look at it as " wow, my kid has benefitted, and

however low functioning he is, he would be worse if I didn't care so

much " . But tired stressed and overwhelmed reaction is " if only I was

loving enough, my kid would speak normally " I guarantee you that some

boneheaded " helpful " person in the grocery store or a relative will

hurl this soundbite at one of our parents. The newspapers will report

this, and relatives will be clipping out the article and mailing it to

our families, because they now have proof this is why our kids are

impaired. If we only tried harder...This is indeed similar to the

refrigerator mother theorem. Hence the anger.

>

> I'm so glad you said all of this, . It's important that when

> we read and interpret research that we know what we are

> interpreting. I'm wondering which son was later diagnosed , the

> older or the younger one. I say this simply because you have two

> boys on the spectrum. Had the older one not already been identified,

> you may have never even thought to participate in this study. This

> is if it was in fact your younger child who was later identified.

> Therefore, note the potential for a skewed study because those that

> may have participated had to get picked somehow. And my guess is

> that some were picked because an older sibling was already on the

> spectrum and the parents or therapists or teachers got notification

> of the study and signed on. Just one of the many facets we need to

> be aware of when dissecting and interpreting research. I could

> likely point out other correlations/coincidences and or factors of

> the study but am typing on a phone... :-)

>

> Another important thing to consider is that parents have a special

> connection with their children and often can and do meet their kids

> needs without having vocal or spoken language. There is research on

> this. If we as parents sensed on an unconscious level our kids had

> communication challenges, we likley met their needs on their

> level... It's a sense we have for them... Over time, this connection

> is fostered and we can be trained just as much as them to not

> require them to talk to get their needs met. That's parenting on an

> unconscious level... And should be considered in research such as

> this study.

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

> On Mar 2, 2010, at 11:11 PM, Carroll

> wrote:

>

>>

>> I have read a lot of negative comments about this study. I am

>> wondering why? The press release states that parenting does not

>> cause autism as the " refrigerator mother " theory implies but

>> rather, in many instances, can help a child improve their language

>> skills.

>>

>> Of the 33 kids in the study, 12 went on to get the ASD diagnosis.

>> That means that 21 did not. Some of the 21 were most likely in the

>> control group where neither sibling has or went on to have the dx.

>>

>> The study says that sensitive parenting MAY positively influence

>> language development in those kids who do go on to get the

>> diagnosis. To me that means that we as parents through our hard

>> work are helping our kids better their language capabilities. I

>> don't think it is saying that unless we are sensitive our kids will

>> get the dx of autism.

>>

>> I particpiated in the study and was interviewed in the media about

>> it. You can disregard my opinion if you want but really read the

>> press release. I so agree with the post below- I would like to see

>> the actual study. My son was one of the 12 who got the dx.

>>

>> I know that it did not cost extra to undertake this particular

>> study because it was part of a larger group of studies that is

>> ongoing at UM.

>>

>> I think that " AU " parents are the most hardworking and caring

>> parents on the planet and we should all have a block party to

>> celebrate each other's efforts. I really don't think this study

>> set out to accuse us of not being that way.

>>

>> I was once accused of failing my child because I gave him a piece

>> of pizza.

>>

>> Carroll

>>

>>

>> To: sList

>> From: JLACP@...

>> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 20:01:35 -0500

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

>>

>>

>> Does anyone have the link to the " actual " study? I would like to

>> read it.

>> I wonder who designed the " maternal sensitivity " scale, the seven-

>> point scales ranging from absence of sensitive behavior to

>> extremely sensitive behavior.

>> How exactly is maternal sensitivity objectively defined? Who

>> presumes to define it for us, the mothers.

>> Would we all even agree on rating an interaction we

>> observed...........between another mother and her child.........and

>> in such an artificial setting?

>> 33 kids in a lab setting?

>> I bet the study is peppered with assumptions, caveats, and the

>> usual of course: we need more studies. Studies beget more studies

>> beget more studies.................

>> How much did this study cost?

>> I am in no way anti-research........actually, I am usually

>> supportive of getting actionable facts, but this study sounds like

>> it was destined from the start to be one meaningless waste of time

>> and money and brainpower.

>> Seriously,I would like to read the source documents.

>> In the meantime, moms, try not to let this bother you.

>> My 2 cents.

>> Lucille

>>

>>

>> In a message dated 3/2/2010 2:55:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

cammarata01@...

>> writes:

>>

>>

>>

>> http://tinyurl.com/yeg24ow

>> A friend sent this to me about the ridiculous study.

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> From: Sundreaming <amazonapr2000@ yahoo.com>

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

>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

>> 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.

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign

>> up now.

>>

>

>

[Guest guest]

duly noted. I feel the same way every time Mcarthy opens her

mouth. My older son is severly autistic and can not speak well at all. I was

told time and again that if I just gave him 75 supplements he would improve and

if not then shame on me.

I think parents will be under this burden as long as autism remains in the

spotlight.

That said, I totally understand the anger I really do. I just find it

unfortunate. It was not a garbage study.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

>> 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 <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 <http://www.miami.edu> .

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign 

>> up now.

>>

>

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

duly noted. I feel the same way every time Mcarthy opens her

mouth. My older son is severly autistic and can not speak well at all. I was

told time and again that if I just gave him 75 supplements he would improve and

if not then shame on me.

I think parents will be under this burden as long as autism remains in the

spotlight.

That said, I totally understand the anger I really do. I just find it

unfortunate. It was not a garbage study.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

>> 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 <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 <http://www.miami.edu> .

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign 

>> up now.

>>

>

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

we'v do attachment parenting and floortime, hippotherapy, swimming with

dolphins, and supplements and DAN protocols, and our child is still

severely autistic and completely non verbal so it hits us alot when

articles like these come out. because we DID try everything with very

little effect for our efforts. i've quit my job as a dog groomer and

have a full time nurse and our lives are made up of orbitting 24/7

around her, we are at her beck and call and even then we're still

doggedly at her. she is only better in the face that she became more

interactive which compared to others isn't visibly much at all, just

that we are a little less invisible some of the time than COMPLETELY

invisible ALL of the time.

puberty struck and it seems like the years of investment we spent were

for the crumbs tossed our way was nothing more than a tease as she's

gone back to an unreachable stage in another regression and just to add

on to all of that; frightful aggressions. any how we're off to shave

her head as she's spent this week ripping out bloody clumps of hair

from her head. i've suffered black eyes and a misscarriage from a kick

from her so i have nothing else but her to wrap my life around, which i

do. i breathe and live every waking moment for her and for her alone.

so this article and study hit us very hard, because no matter what we

did we can barely move through the surface. and people don't have the

time and energy to do what we do. i don't even sleep with my husband.

haven't in more than ten years. He even left us due to the neglect he

suffered because i was so wrapped up 24/7 with her and i have not slept

a full night EVER in the past thirteen years, so i barely noticed he

was gone for two years that he left. there isn't more that we could

have done. at least i suffered a breakdown from caregiver burnout and

due to a misscarriage and depression and have help now. Our therapist

stated we needed a date night as we hadn't had any such thing in over

five years. so we planned on it but a day of back to back seizures and

our date night was spent in ER with Diastat for the recurrent seizures.

so much for our date night... we fired our therapist when she suggested

to keep trying because we can't even have time for her even and my

husband may leave again and i'll understand but i will continue to do

whatever else comes up to try to make things better for her even though

evrything else we tried in the past thirteen years has failed. so

whatever the article says was beyond hurtful. as everyone who knows us

knows that my sensitivity to my child is as if we were one person

connected as if still an umbilical cord were still attached.

this has been a very pressing months of dealing with puberty which left

us feeling like being stuck in an episode of the Exorcist and having

had to cancel therapies because of her issues and sleeping 2 hour

nights and napping whenever possible and then this article was just too

much to bare. so i just deleted it and would rather not hear of folks

attempting to justify the study unless they include my family in the

study. my sister also has quite her job, her marriage failed, and she

is raising her kids alone and on public assistance, cosleeps with them

and is devoted and sensitive to her kids as she devotes her days and

nights to her kids and only one has shown progress and even then it

seems he would have gotten there anyhow but no matter what she has done

the other two (which btw her last autistic child is also completely

vaccine free and organic fed and gf and cf free and is still autistic,

the whole vaccine controversy leaves little comfort to those who have

vaccine free kids who are still autistic) and they are still lost to

her and no matter how many years or whatever she tried (before she went

bankrupt and lost everything, home, money, savings, and husband and

live in a tiny mobile home now) things have not gotten much better for

her either. her other child with PDD-Nos has also been recently

labeled as MR instead of the former learning disabled label because

she's just stagnanted in the same place for years now, the youngest

(vaccine free is HFA and Bipolar. the only thing she got from her

efforts was one child going from classic autism to higher functioning

autism. so we recoil at such studies because we've also seen folks who

have not done what we have done and still their kids emerge in ways our

kids could not. my sister doesn't even flich when folks recommend stuff

to her she just answers 'been there and done ALL of that.'

Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.

>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com

>> 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 <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 <http://www.miami.edu> .

>> >

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.

Sign 

>> up now.

>>

>

>

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

From:autisticcrystal@...Subject:Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.Date:March 4, 2010 11:12:37 AM ESTTo:deniseslist we'v do attachment parenting and floortime, hippotherapy, swimming with dolphins, and supplements and DAN protocols, and our child is still severely autistic and completely non verbal so it hits us alot when articles like these come out. because we DID try everything with very little effect for our efforts. i've quit my job as a dog groomer and have a full time nurse and our lives are made up of orbitting 24/7 around her, we are at her beck and call and even then we're still doggedly at her. she is only better in the face that she became more interactive which compared to others isn't visibly much at all, just that we are a little less invisible some of the time than COMPLETELY invisible ALL of the time.puberty struck and it seems like the years of investment we spent were for the crumbs tossed our way was nothing more than a tease as she's gone back to an unreachable stage in another regression and just to add on to all of that; frightful aggressions. any how we're off to shave her head as she's spent this week ripping out bloody clumps of hair from her head. i've suffered black eyes and a misscarriage from a kick from her so i have nothing else but her to wrap my life around, which i do. i breathe and live every waking moment for her and for her alone.so this article and study hit us very hard, because no matter what we did we can barely move through the surface. and people don't have the time and energy to do what we do. i don't even sleep with my husband. haven't in more than ten years. He even left us due to the neglect he suffered because i was so wrapped up 24/7 with her and i have not slept a full night EVER in the past thirteen years, so i barely noticed he was gone for two years that he left. there isn't more that we could have done. at least i suffered a breakdown from caregiver burnout and due to a misscarriage and depression and have help now. Our therapist stated we needed a date night as we hadn't had any such thing in over five years. so we planned on it but a day of back to back seizures and our date night was spent in ER with Diastat for the recurrent seizures. so much for our date night... we fired our therapist when she suggested to keep trying because we can't even have time for her even and my husband may leave again and i'll understand but i will continue to do whatever else comes up to try to make things better for her even though evrything else we tried in the past thirteen years has failed. so whatever the article says was beyond hurtful. as everyone who knows us knows that my sensitivity to my child is as if we were one person connected as if still an umbilical cord were still attached.this has been a very pressing months of dealing with puberty which left us feeling like being stuck in an episode of the Exorcist and having had to cancel therapies because of her issues and sleeping 2 hour nights and napping whenever possible and then this article was just too much to bare. so i just deleted it and would rather not hear of folks attempting to justify the study unless they include my family in the study. my sister also has quite her job, her marriage failed, and she is raising her kids alone and on public assistance, cosleeps with them and is devoted and sensitive to her kids as she devotes her days and nights to her kids and only one has shown progress and even then it seems he would have gotten there anyhow but no matter what she has done the other two (which btw her last autistic child is also completely vaccine free and organic fed and gf and cf free and is still autistic, the whole vaccine controversy leaves little comfort to those who have vaccine free kids who are still autistic) and they are still lost to her and no matter how many years or whatever she tried (before she went bankrupt and lost everything, home, money, savings, and husband and live in a tiny mobile home now) things have not gotten much better for her either. her other child with PDD-Nos has also been recently labeled as MR instead of the former learning disabled label because she's just stagnanted in the same place for years now, the youngest (vaccine free is HFA and Bipolar. the only thing she got from her efforts was one child going from classic autism to higher functioning autism. so we recoil at such studies because we've also seen folks who have not done what we have done and still their kids emerge in ways our kids could not. my sister doesn't even flich when folks recommend stuff to her she just answers 'been there and done ALL of that.' Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com>> 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 <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 <http://www.miami.edu> .>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign >> up now.>>>>------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

From:autisticcrystal@...Subject:Re: Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.Date:March 4, 2010 11:12:37 AM ESTTo:deniseslist we'v do attachment parenting and floortime, hippotherapy, swimming with dolphins, and supplements and DAN protocols, and our child is still severely autistic and completely non verbal so it hits us alot when articles like these come out. because we DID try everything with very little effect for our efforts. i've quit my job as a dog groomer and have a full time nurse and our lives are made up of orbitting 24/7 around her, we are at her beck and call and even then we're still doggedly at her. she is only better in the face that she became more interactive which compared to others isn't visibly much at all, just that we are a little less invisible some of the time than COMPLETELY invisible ALL of the time.puberty struck and it seems like the years of investment we spent were for the crumbs tossed our way was nothing more than a tease as she's gone back to an unreachable stage in another regression and just to add on to all of that; frightful aggressions. any how we're off to shave her head as she's spent this week ripping out bloody clumps of hair from her head. i've suffered black eyes and a misscarriage from a kick from her so i have nothing else but her to wrap my life around, which i do. i breathe and live every waking moment for her and for her alone.so this article and study hit us very hard, because no matter what we did we can barely move through the surface. and people don't have the time and energy to do what we do. i don't even sleep with my husband. haven't in more than ten years. He even left us due to the neglect he suffered because i was so wrapped up 24/7 with her and i have not slept a full night EVER in the past thirteen years, so i barely noticed he was gone for two years that he left. there isn't more that we could have done. at least i suffered a breakdown from caregiver burnout and due to a misscarriage and depression and have help now. Our therapist stated we needed a date night as we hadn't had any such thing in over five years. so we planned on it but a day of back to back seizures and our date night was spent in ER with Diastat for the recurrent seizures. so much for our date night... we fired our therapist when she suggested to keep trying because we can't even have time for her even and my husband may leave again and i'll understand but i will continue to do whatever else comes up to try to make things better for her even though evrything else we tried in the past thirteen years has failed. so whatever the article says was beyond hurtful. as everyone who knows us knows that my sensitivity to my child is as if we were one person connected as if still an umbilical cord were still attached.this has been a very pressing months of dealing with puberty which left us feeling like being stuck in an episode of the Exorcist and having had to cancel therapies because of her issues and sleeping 2 hour nights and napping whenever possible and then this article was just too much to bare. so i just deleted it and would rather not hear of folks attempting to justify the study unless they include my family in the study. my sister also has quite her job, her marriage failed, and she is raising her kids alone and on public assistance, cosleeps with them and is devoted and sensitive to her kids as she devotes her days and nights to her kids and only one has shown progress and even then it seems he would have gotten there anyhow but no matter what she has done the other two (which btw her last autistic child is also completely vaccine free and organic fed and gf and cf free and is still autistic, the whole vaccine controversy leaves little comfort to those who have vaccine free kids who are still autistic) and they are still lost to her and no matter how many years or whatever she tried (before she went bankrupt and lost everything, home, money, savings, and husband and live in a tiny mobile home now) things have not gotten much better for her either. her other child with PDD-Nos has also been recently labeled as MR instead of the former learning disabled label because she's just stagnanted in the same place for years now, the youngest (vaccine free is HFA and Bipolar. the only thing she got from her efforts was one child going from classic autism to higher functioning autism. so we recoil at such studies because we've also seen folks who have not done what we have done and still their kids emerge in ways our kids could not. my sister doesn't even flich when folks recommend stuff to her she just answers 'been there and done ALL of that.' Re: Some AU studies make you feel bad.>> To: sList@ yahoogroups. com>> 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 <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. 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