A Broad Spectrum
I've been reading a little lately on speech pathology and early language intervention in toddlers, due to O's delayed language skills. The reading always brings you around to discussions of Autism, and its spectrum conditions, and other PDDs...
Close friends of ours have a young daughter who's been diagnosed with Autism - the extent of which won't be clear for a few years, I think, since they've caught it young, and she'll be exposed to treatments and therapies in due course. Since Mark and I have come to the point in our relationship where children are the next logical step, it gives me pause. The spectrum conditions that are so evident to experts now went largely undiagnosed up until quite recently, and apparently a genetic predisposition to these conditions is more than likely. I wonder, then, if, in either of our family trees, there are mildly autistic members? or those presenting only one symptom, which is possible, but still carrying the genetic material, which could be true, too...
As if there aren't enough things to worry about, with food allergies, terrorism, sexual predators, the phenomenon of celebrity baby names, and a tough college market, Autism is like a lurking shadow, especially when it comes into your life on a personal level.
I promise, I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill - it's not like this musing is going to stop me from having children... It's just been on my mind while I've been researching O's options, which are far, far less scary.
Close friends of ours have a young daughter who's been diagnosed with Autism - the extent of which won't be clear for a few years, I think, since they've caught it young, and she'll be exposed to treatments and therapies in due course. Since Mark and I have come to the point in our relationship where children are the next logical step, it gives me pause. The spectrum conditions that are so evident to experts now went largely undiagnosed up until quite recently, and apparently a genetic predisposition to these conditions is more than likely. I wonder, then, if, in either of our family trees, there are mildly autistic members? or those presenting only one symptom, which is possible, but still carrying the genetic material, which could be true, too...
As if there aren't enough things to worry about, with food allergies, terrorism, sexual predators, the phenomenon of celebrity baby names, and a tough college market, Autism is like a lurking shadow, especially when it comes into your life on a personal level.
I promise, I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill - it's not like this musing is going to stop me from having children... It's just been on my mind while I've been researching O's options, which are far, far less scary.
Labels: Friends and Family, Ramblings, The Carpet Bag
posted by Cameron | 8:36 AM
1 Comments:
One thing to watch for is the type of vaccine used. There appears to be some correlation between autism and the use of mercury as a preservative in vaccines. Causality hasn't been proven but the correlation is strong enough that Jack and I plan to insist on a mercury-free vaccine when we vaccinate our kids.
Post a Comment
<< Home