>>>”It started with hand flapping,”
>>>”foam was coming out of his mouth, (and) and after a few minutes, I felt his heart stop,”
>>>neurologists believed Evan had epilepsy, by McCarthy’s “mommy instinct,” as she called it, thought that not to be the case. Finally, a doctor said to her, “’I’m sorry, but your son has autism.’
None of this fit my understanding of autism. Looking it up on WebMD:
all people with autism have some core symptoms in the areas of:
* Social interactions and relationships. Symptoms may include:
o Significant problems developing nonverbal communication skills, such as eye-to-eye gazing, facial expressions, and body posture.
o Failure to establish friendships with children the same age.
o Lack of interest in sharing enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people.
o Lack of empathy. People with autism may have difficulty understanding another person’s feelings, such as pain or sorrow.
* Verbal and nonverbal communication. Symptoms may include:
o Delay in, or lack of, learning to talk. As many as 50% of people with autism never speak.2
o Problems taking steps to start a conversation. Also, people with autism have difficulties continuing a conversation once it has begun.
o Stereotyped and repetitive use of language. People with autism often repeat over and over a phrase they have heard previously (echolalia).
o Difficulty understanding their listener’s perspective. For example, a person with autism may not understand that someone is using humor. They may interpret the communication word for word and fail to catch the implied meaning.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/Autism/Autism-Symptoms
I don’t see a thing there about convulsions, cardiac episodes, or foaming of the mouth.
I agree. Something is seriously wrong with this boy but it is not autism. And I wonder about the “heart stopping”...her description doens’t sound as if he should have survived it.
She sounded like an airhead in the article. Autism is trendy, and more and more illnesses are getting diagnosed as such.
I work with Autistic kids on a limited bases and some do have seizure disorders along with other physical problems ....Autism seems to be diagnosis to cover a wide range of problems....
I hope the best for Jenny and her son. The biggest joy I get in working with some of the kids is seeing the changes they make from the beginning of the school year to the end. Our school system is blessed with some wonderful teachers and aids and of course some very involved parents. It really takes a team effort in helping these kids.
The People Magazine article indicates he did not respond to his mom’s affection, never responded to his name, did not sustain eye contact, lined things up to track, engaged in numerous stereotypies. All are indicative of autism.
Every child with autism presents differently than the next.
This child suffered from all the stuff on this list.
Unfortunately autism has become a catch-all term for any and all mental issues.
The hand flapping is almost a prime indicator for me.
The seizures, while not uncommon among Autistic children, can stem from a wide variety of ailments.
The hand flapping is quite typical. Some will have seizures but not all. Autistic kids do not follow a specific pattern.
Sounds like those are seizure related. She was very vocal in Oprah about these changes occuring after his series of immunizations, a common story among parents with autistic children.
Yep.
All of the cardiac and seizure things that happened with her son have NOTHING to do with autism. This article was not very clear. He must have some other conditions as well.