It is being announced that autism is on the rise.Apparently one out of 91-100
has some kind of autism.Although there are various descriptions of the disorder
the explanations have more to
do with probability than any attempt to exhaust all the possible explanations.
For one thing having a healthy non-autistic child is not guaranteed by
nature.Some of those syndromes could happen by chance triggered by being at the
wrong place at the wrong time.
I am not trying to revise Bruno Bettelheim,but given the sensitivity of the
human brain at different developmental stages could parental overreactions and
anxiety be detected by the developping brain? Stress factors could be involved
especially theses days with the economy
and the wars.There is evidence that stress can affect the developping foetus-
for example,more gays are born during time of war.Could it be that there is
some kind of evolutionary import to that-autism as an adaptive mechanism.
Researchers will have to look at lots of variables looking
at comparisons of parents without autistic kids.Some diasthesis stress factors
should be taken into consideration such as the structure and function of
supportive networks.One interesting factor that was pointed out is that parents
are more willing to say that they have an autistic child and with that attitude
the prognosis for therapeutic intervention could begin very early.There was no
mention if this was a universal phenomenon.Stay tuned.
Michael Sylvester,PhD
Daytona Beach,Florida
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