health answers:

That is a shame. He needs to be taught that his behavior is making his sister feel bad. I don’t know his level of functioning, but if he is blowing her germs away then I’ll assume the following suggestions might work.

Social Stories…these are short stories that tell a student what behavior is expected and why they need to comply. Carol Gray is the best resource for social stories.

Social Scripts… these scripts provide children with autism dialog on how to appropriately express their feelings.

Social Thinking… individuals with autism have a great difficulty understanding emotions and/or the reactions of others.

Social thinking helps to teach autistic kids how to start thinking in terms of how a person’s actions affect another. This is a really difficult thing to teach… but asking, “How do you think I feel, when you do that?” can be quite powerful. I’m new to the social thinking process, but the more I use it with my students the more socially appropriate behaviors I see. Michelle Garcia Winner is the best source for the social thinking materials.

I also recommend doing a behavior intervention to shape the behavior your are trying to achieve. If you can combine a reward system with social thinking you might be able to shape a more positive interaction with the siblings. Positive reinforcement like earning a star/money/tokens (anything that is motivating) to earn a prize or desired item for being nice to his sister can also help.

Also, ask the child’s teachers for advice. Often times kids are motivated to have good behavior at home, if the school knows what is going on in that setting.

I know I have thrown a lot of information out to you, but I’ve found that if you combine the behavioral system with social thinking, you can achieve a positive outcome.

Good luck to you.

health answers:

Autism just means a group of particular symptoms of unknown origin — at this present time. This is what the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) says, which was published several years ago and badly needs to be updated.

One could have a medical diagnosis which lead to autism symptoms, and a doctor could say, “infection induced autism”, “vaccine-induced autism”, or some other medical diagnosis and then the words autism. Saying autism is just a brief way of saying that this person also has impairments in social and communication abilities. Thus, autism is a broad term used to describe that a person has significant impairment in social and communication areas.

There are many illnesses that lead to autism symptoms that I have come across, lyme being the most prominent, Bartonella is also prominent. Some children no longer have autism, after they were treated for pathogens and infections. You can google “infections autism” or “toxins autism” to learn all about it and even find practitioners in your area that know how to treat it.

Don’t expect the average medical doctor to know much about autism treatments; it is too new. The Internet has allowed us parents to learn what to do, after our pediatricians and other specialists were offering us no help.

health answers:

Of course not. Some babies hardly ever cry; and yet are very active and happy, and just seems to think that the world is a nice and caring place – so, why cry?

If your baby is healthy, happy, and responsive, there is absolutely no reason to worry yourself – babies cry from discomfort, hunger, etc., and not crying should mean that you are simply a great mother, and able to meet her needs on the spot.

Naturally, you could try and gently pinch your baby – she certainly would cry then, but this is absolutely pointless exercise, if the baby is ok with her reactions and development.

I am sure you simply have a very happy and loved child.

Of course, you should talk this over with your pediatrician – for your own peace of mind.

health answers:

The symptoms of autism vary from person to person. One person with autism may be very verbal, bright and engaged, while another is non-verbal, intellectually challenged and almost entirely self-absorbed.

In addition, people with autism seem to be more prone to other symptoms not listed in the diagnostic criteria. These symptoms include sensory dysfunction, sleep disorders, self-abusive behavior and more. The only symptoms all people with autism do have in common, across the spectrum of this disorder, are challenges, disabilities, or delays in the area of social communication.Very early indicators that require evaluation by an expert include:

• No babbling or pointing by age 1
• No single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2
• No response to name
• Loss of language or social skills
• Poor eye contact
• Excessive lining up of toys or objects
• No smiling or social responsiveness

  Later indicators include:

• Impaired ability to make friends with peers
• Absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
• Stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
• Restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
• Preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
• Inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals

health answers:

Absolutely!!! See www.heidinotes.com and also become a member of some Yahoo Groups on autism biomed recovery and also see www.generationrescue.org There are many other good sites.

There is much to learn. It takes a while. There are children who have recovered and many have improved from autism.