Part of the Introduction in the beginning of
It would be an understatement to say that Autism Spectrum Disorder is the fastest growing developmental disorder around the world. And since his report by Leo Kanner in 1943, doctors and researchers are still baffled as to the causes and triggers.
We are not doctors but simple parents who have spent the last year researching autism and seeking out parents, caregivers, teachers, and adults with autism to answer our questionnaires and send us their personal stories. We have compiled resources, information, and have posed ‘devil’s advocate’ questions throughout in the hopes to bring more awareness and a unified voice. Our questions are in no way a bashing of any institution but more of a plea to have our words heard.
We have kept to the matter on hand, offering you as much information we’ve compiled as possible. In some areas, our comments might hit a nerve by our straightforward manner. We do not mean any disrespect. Our intend is to highlight questions that are still unanswered and posed over and over again from parents who have contacted us.
We need to unlock the mystery surrounding ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder. The way to do this is to formulate strategic researches aimed at more than one road. What we need is a collaborated effort from all divisions – government agencies, medical and scientific research professionals, and to eliminate the debating ‘yes – no’ split that has invaded this topic.
The collaborative effort will help advance the research to the cause or causes of autism. Once this/these are discovered, we can move on to the healing process.
The “stigma” of labeling a child ‘autistic’ appears to have faded for one reason we believe there is now help, a direct therapeutic schedule available to educate these children how to communicate and interact with other typical children. The ideological belief that children became autistic due to a cold and unloving mother, “refrigerator mom” has also faded.
One stressful area many parents encounter when the diagnosis “your child is autistic” is spoken is the lack of direction on what to do next, where to go, who to call. The needs of these families to alleviate some of the unknowns create a higher anxiety level for them, where their needs should be the next priority after the diagnosis. They need information and resources, such as:
Information about autism
Workshops/Intervention programs to train parents how to help their children
Support groups for families
Resources to various therapists/centers
This is where our book will help. We have accumulated various resources along with the resources and information you will read in the personal stories.
Lea Schizas & Litsa Kamateros
