Reader’s Questions: Answers Sought!
Back on July 18th, Victoria Elizaga left a comment on the post Autism Consciousness Week in the Philippines. Victoria, I regret it has taken me so long to respond—-here is the comment:
“Hello everyone! I’m marrid to a Phillipeno and our youngest has just been diagnosed with ADHA. My mother and I both have dyslexia to some some exent, and I know it is all related. I work with children and know them with ADHA, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Autism’s of all sorts. My problem is…my husband says there’s no such thing. When he grew up in the Phillipeans no-one had them…it’s all in the head…they are just lazy! Everyone can spell, and our child ’s just a bit naughty…How can I convince him that this does not mean our child is unitelligent…far from it, or that he has a “disease”. He says the whole thing is made up by the western world…..HELP!”
What arguments would you use to suggest that autism is not a “disease” that has been “made up by the western world”? What evidence would you offer?
A number of readers have left questions with specific requests in comments to some older posts: If anyone has ideas or suggestions, it would be more than appreciated! You can leave a comment on this post or on the original post (about the Philippines). Or, send me an email at kristina [AT] b5media [DOT] com and I’ll send your idea/suggestion on.
Many many thanks in advance!
From the January 12th post, Autism Consciousness Week in the Philippines:
- Beej: “I am wondering if anyone can supply me with the percentage of autism cases in the Philippines from 1970 to present. As well as developments, if there are any, provided by the caregivers and medical practitioners in the Philippines.”
- Louie Capuso: ” i am currently studying at PUP taking up BS Clinical Psychology. We are having our thesis with the topic “Family Attitude towards Autism”.could somebody help us? it is sad to know that there are little researches done about the Autism in the Philippines. aniweiz my contact no is 09065754664.”
- Hanan: “could you pleas helpe me to find some on had experence working withe autism kids a sped teacher or speeche therapy i need some one can worke with my doter she is autism and i’m from doha - qatar and if ther is some one entrest to worked with her could you pleas send me the cv.”
- Elizabeth: “We are looking for a shadow and therapist for our very verbal 3 year old daughter in Tokyo. We need someone with a great understanding of social communication (in English) and with verbal behavior training. We will offer a great educational opportunity with a lot of program support, and also a generous compensation package. Where can I find such a candidate in the Philippines? Thanks! (eiino [AT] hotmail [DOT] com”
When my son Charlie was first diagnosed, the internet was a readily accessible source not only of information, but of support; over the years, emails with parents of autistic children, Charlie’s former and current therapists, and autistic adults have sustained me. Certainly I would like much to meet a friend over coffee or a meal but it is never too easy to arrange for babysitting for Charlie. I for one have been more than grateful to be able to stay in touch thanks to a laptop I can carry wherever Charlie needs to roam and be.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Asia, Diagnosis, Philippines, Psychology, Race & Ethnicity
14 opinions for Reader’s Questions: Answers Sought!
Chuck
Aug 14, 2007 at 11:51 am
Kristina,
Questions #1 and #2 are probably impossible to answer due to what I affectionately call, for lack of a better term, a “Grinker” issue. At what point, if at all, did the Philippians culturally accept the DSM or ICD criteria for diagnosis? If they only recently started using the criteria, post DSM-III or ICD equivalent, then these people will have to extrapolate the culturally acceptable diagnosis/treatment back to 1970, just like we have to do here in the USA.
The questions they are asking haven’t been answered here in the US. I would say to them the same I say to anyone else, “Good luck and I hope you find the answers you are looking for, and welcome to the club”
Maria
Aug 14, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Has a link been found between dyslexia and autism?
Maria
Aug 14, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Elizabeth,
Contact Autism Partnership’s Tokyo office, they may know of someone: http://www.autismpartnershiptokyo.com/english.shtml
AP is an outstanding ABA agency based in Seal Beach, CA, with offices worldwide.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 14, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Learning about how different cultures have talked about and understood autism is of much interest to me, as are the different words for autism in different cultures and how these affect understanding.
Beej
Sep 18, 2007 at 9:45 pm
This is a response to Vitoria Elizaga:
I know that it might prove hard to make him understand things about ASD but you have to try. I came from the Philippines and I know for a fact that most, if not all, are brought up to think that way. At the same time, traditional Filipino upbringing is mostly uptight, usually uses PUNISHMENT instead of reinforcements. They think that when you reinforce the kid, you are condoning the wrong action when in fact there IS a certain way of doing it correctly (e.g. ABA).
My advice to you is to tell him that ASD is NOT a “made up” sickness developed by the western world. I for a fact, am Filipino, brought up in the Philippines, but I know that ASD is in FACT not made up. Even the former president, Fidel Ramos, somewhat advocated for the awareness and research of the said disorder. However, there is no cure for it, and they are still researching for the exact causes in the chromosomes or in other aspects but it is as true as not having sight(just a very rough comparison) or other things.
You could also tell him that people have only begun to understand and take note of it in the Philippines around 1970 and there is not much study in our country(Phils.) towards it, thats why there is lack of awareness and understanding. There are certain reports of it in the Philippines and he could check the data himself.
Its also good to ask him to at least give support in your child’s development and if you’re giving your child some ABA lessons or therapy, for you to take note of the program and show results to your husband.
I hope things will be fine for you. Take care. :)
Beej
Sep 18, 2007 at 9:56 pm
OH, and a follow up on why it’s not made up by the western world.
If someone thinks that it is made up by the western world, I am just curious to know why there are ASD reports from all over the globe… asia, europe, americas…??? All the different “races” (am I allowed to say that word?) have ASD cases. I think that itself proves that it is in fact, not made up. Why would it even be classified in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems(ICD-10)??? Besides being described in DSM-IV.
:)
Victoria Elizaga
Sep 25, 2007 at 7:01 am
To Gianina Griffin and Beej, Thank you so much for your words of support and guidence. Here’s to making a better world for our children! All of them. XX
Jo Hondrade
Oct 9, 2007 at 12:10 am
It is so easy to deny autism when kids are young because
the parents or other people could easily make excuses for the unpleasant behaviors of the little ones afflicted with the
disorder. My son was diagnosed with ASD at 2 1/2 years old. When he had long meltdowns, someone would attribute such to terrible twos. When he was not talking at
two, everyone told us not to worry because boys are usually
late talkers or someone would tell us about the Einstein
Syndrome. He had odd behaviors…and someone else
reasoned that he was just being a kid. But at the back of
my mind, I knew there was something wrong with my kid.
My husband and I are both nurses. One would think that
people from the medical field would understand this
diagnosis easily. No…because it took my husband a few
months to gather an ounce of courage to accept that autism hit home. I think the hardest thing is that kids with
autism looks just like any other normal kid. When they
act out especially in public, people would give you these
judgmental looks as if to say “Why can’t you control your
kid?”…as if to say “Bad parenting in progress!!!” Parents
could only try to continue ignoring the symptoms for a
limited amount of time…because when the kids get older,
you run out of excuses. By then, you will be in deep trouble. Early intervention is the key to recovering kids
in the spectrum. My son is already 5. If you see him now,
you could not tell that he has been diagnosed with ASD. But intensive therapies (both conventional and nonconventional) and parental involvement and education has played an important role in his recovery. Not to forget
divine intervention. In the past 21/2 years, my son has made leaps and bounds. And my husband? He is now a
parent advocate. Men have a different way of coping with
accepting the diagnosis. They either rationalize to deny it or just pretend that it does not exist by not talking about
it .I educated myself intensively once my son received the
diagnosis. I did not want to lose any time. I felt that it
was a race against time.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Oct 9, 2007 at 1:22 am
Great to hear how well he is doing—sometimes one wants to say, Einstein, Schmeinstein…… Is your son in kindergarten now?
Jo Hondrade
Oct 9, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Hi, Kristina! My son is in kindergarten now. His therapy
has not stopped. At this point, he attends a social
skills group twice a week, an upper body strengthening
program to improve small muscle group tone to help
with fine motor, handwriting-without-tears program,
and reading with phonics. At school, he has a resource
teacher to assist him with reading, language and arts
and math. Lance is verbal now (too verbal) that I could
hardly believe where we started off. He was diagnosed
with verbal apraxia together with ASD. And to top it
all, he had multiple sensory issues. Our neurologist
told us just to send him to school and do speech
therapy. I believed otherwise, I knew there was more
to be done than just schooling and speech therapy.
I became my child’s case manager. I did what I thought
was beneficial for my kid. We did speech initially at 6
sessions a week, sensory integration 4 hours a week,
music therapy, cognitive therapy, floortime, occupational
therapy, dietary intervention, EFA supplementation and
homeopathy.He initially attended a school where there was a toddler stimulation program. And at home, I was my son’s therapist/behaviorist. I had to stop working
because we believed that it was crucial for the consistency
to be sustained at home. Outside of therapy which is
more or less 16-18 hours, I’m “it”. We learned sign
language initially so he could have a way to commu-
nicate because his frustration was just building up.
The tantrums were escalating. I still find myself teary
eyed when I remember his evaluation at 33 months
because his expressive language at that time was
that of a 9-month old. When I look back, I could not
believe how the turnaround has been. Even the
therapists are asking me what else have we been
doing. Lance still has a lot of challenges, he is a very
concrete/literal thinker. We need to work more
on flexible thinking. He has a very sharp memory.
At one point, the therapists thought he already
knew how to read. I told them he could memorize
a book by listening. The next time, he would be
looking at the pictures and saying the lines but
he is not actually reading the words. Two weeks
ago, out of the blue, he told me…”Mom, I don’t
have a problem. You are my problem.” I had
to laugh hard…this was the same kid 2 1/2 years
ago whose expressive language gave me
sleepless nights. Until next time! More power
to you!
docmench
Oct 14, 2007 at 11:31 pm
hi. i read jo’s comments. i’m a pediatrician with a 7 year old who has autism. he’s now in first grade mainstream school. how i wish parents with kids like ours would realize how important it is to be the one to be their child’s case manager instead of just hiring therapists and expect getting results for the fees they pay! being hands-on is a sure way of getting improvements. My son too now talks too much!
tj
Jan 17, 2008 at 1:50 am
hi. i have read jo’s and docmench’s comments.im happy their kids are doing well now.i have TWIN autistic boys aged 12 going 13.one is hi func mainstreamed in grade I SPED and the other is low func in a special class.how i wish we have support entities who also offer therapy for our kids.the only kind that we have is a government school who offer special classes for them. its a bit difficult for us in the family, juggling between our jobs and taking care of two boys with special needs.im just glad there are families who have children like ours.but its SAD
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jan 17, 2008 at 2:26 am
My son is 10 1/2 and we too juggle jobs and child-raising and a lot more—–things can be sad but it is very good to hear from you and about your family. Thank you and warmest wishes from our family to yours.
Jo Hondrade
Jan 18, 2008 at 9:09 am
Hi, TJ!
It is difficult but I’m only giving myself one choice: NOT to let my kid down. I want him to look back knowing that Mommy did everything possible so he could reach his full potential. Someone said that the best gift that we could give our kids is TIME….even 15 minutes of undivided attention will make a difference….and I believe it! Please send my warmest regards to your family !
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: