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Snake oil and Autism

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  • Snake oil and Autism

    So, my daughter was diagnosed as autistic (mild case, thankfully) and ever since, I've been 'victim' to the charade so many people fall for every day.
    Do I want the best for my child? Of course I do, who doesn't?
    Would I save money I could've spent to make my child's life better and easier? Probably not..
    And here come the scammers... Dum, dum, dum-dum!!! (added for dramatic effect)
    Apparently, they have it all lined up for your child and your wallet, from Bioresonance in the form om Bicom 2000 to all sorts of treatment programs, such as the Son-Rise program to the local form of the Option institute.

    Now to be honest, I'd love to believe them, I'd love.. erm, I'd hate spending over 10,000 USD but I'd love knowing this sum will somehow 'fix' my child and she'll be perfectly normal. Really, I want to be a believer. I want to believe in snake oil, in pixie dust or whatever those charlatans are trying to shove down my throat while they perform all kinds of pseudo scientific experiments on my child. But then again, apparently I'm that bloke that even though he still enjoys RPG, he doesn't believe in magic anymore. And as much as I'd want to follow all those people's 'advices' and 'give it a chance', I just can't bring myself to do that, because I feel it's an insult to my intelligence and to my daughter. I don't think she can be 'fixed', I do strongly believe she can be helped, helped to reach her potential, helped to somewhat subdue or hide her condition, but, and with all due respect to the difference, autism like homosexuality is a condition and not a disease.
    So I keep reading online about new spooky methods and I keep turning them down, but in the end of the day, I still feel bad about the what-if, what if magic still exists.
    It's a silly notion and the money I don't have is kept safe from me and those charlatans, but it doesn't really make me feel any better.
    "For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism."

  • #2
    Sorry to hear about your daughters condition, though relieved its only a mild one. I too have the same views on "magic" potions that are supposed make a huge difference. My pet peeve is Homeopathy and how a drop of material diluted by a factor of a billion or trillion can help an ill person by the sheer memory of water itself.

    I would be weary of all non conventional treatment unless proven absolutely by those who were healed, and even then you have to ask yourself...were these people literally brain washed to believe the treatment actually worked.

    The way I see Autism is a difficulty for the brain to perform certain functions normally. (Again what is normal right?) I think all we can do is help the person learn workarounds, stimulating other parts of the brain to pickup the slack.

    All the best to your daughter, hope there is a way to recover fully.

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    • #3
      Thanks, there's no 'full recovery' that I know of, but there's the way of going closer to normality. My current guru, so to speak is Temple Grandin.
      "For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism."

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      • #4
        Originally posted by TransformX View Post
        Thanks, there's no 'full recovery' that I know of, but there's the way of going closer to normality. My current guru, so to speak is Temple Grandin.
        to quote a site I just dug up
        There are many famous people with autism or autistic characteristics. Some of them are Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Edison.
        They also mention Temple Grandin.
        I have 2 friends who both teach primary school children with special needs. With out knowing the full diagnosis, I suspect the main difficulty she will have as she grows up is socialization and for want of a better phrase 'playing well with others', if you can keep on top of the school work, and her social and emotional development, there is nothing (well no more then anyone else) stopping your daughter becoming whatever she wants to be.
        Juu nin to iro


        English doesn't borrow from other languages. It follows them down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.

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        • #5
          Currently, the world most known character with Asperger syndrom is.. Dilbert
          "For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism."

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          • #6
            lol yes, see above about keeping on top of those socilization issues
            Juu nin to iro


            English doesn't borrow from other languages. It follows them down dark alleys, knocks them over, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.

            Comment


            • #7
              Sorry to hear Unfortunately the world is full of people who is willing to take your money...

              I work with a guy here with asbergers. He is fully functional, just the memory of a goldfish, which I don't think is necessarily asbergers fault.


              Originally posted by Elie View Post
              My pet peeve is Homeopathy and how a drop of material diluted by a factor of a billion or trillion can help an ill person by the sheer memory of water itself.
              I discovered recently that the "medicine" that my wife had been feeding out babies for teething was this crap, and she got highly offended when I called it a scam, as she had seen it work first hand since it is just water, I guess we are just draining our wallets, rather than causing harm.
              We have enough youth - What we need is a fountain of smart!


              i7-920, 6GB DDR3-1600, HD4870X2, Dell 27" LCD

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