| We all owe a debt of gratitude to pioneers like | | | | learn from their errors. There is a body of scientific |
| Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., an experimental psychologist | | | | literature that describes"Institutional Autism". This work |
| who, like many of the brave ground breakers in the | | | | observes that there are some overlaps between the |
| field of understanding of autism, is the father of an | | | | symptoms of true autism (a diagnosis of one of the |
| autistic child. These pioneers have taken an | | | | ASDs having a biochemical basis) and a syndrome |
| intellectually honest look at autism, and have shown | | | | experienced by children placed at a young age in |
| their colleagues and fellow parents of autistic children | | | | neglectful institutions such as poorly operated |
| that autism is a complex set of flaws in the chemistry | | | | orphanages. |
| of life. | | | | Do not imagine this is just a casual overlap or just poor |
| These biochemical flaws affect many different organs | | | | socialization. Institutional Autism can be highly |
| and systems in our children's bodies. This is a powerful | | | | regressive and feature all of the worst symptoms of |
| sounding conclusion, but don't be fooled, there is still | | | | the disease our kids suffer from. So, what can we |
| much we do not know about autism. What we do | | | | learn from this? |
| know is there are genetic, immune system, | | | | 1) One of the roads leading to the symptoms we call |
| gastrointestinal, detoxification, and neurological aspects | | | | autism is very different from the ones we typically |
| that probably affect all autistic children. These | | | | recognize and think we understand |
| biochemical flaws are influenced by the environment | | | | 2) maybe one way of understanding the problems |
| our kids develop in to produce the varied collection of | | | | faced by our autistic children is that they do not |
| disorders we call autism and autistic spectrum | | | | experience the emotional bonding, socialization and |
| disorders (ASDs). | | | | language signals they need to develop normally. This |
| Should we relegate the "disinterested parent" cause of | | | | does not mean that we as parents are at fault. |
| autism to the junk heap of wrong science and medical | | | | The problem may be that their biochemical flaws |
| quackery? What made well educated and presumably | | | | make them unable to perceive or benefit from the |
| well intentioned practitioners even think to blame | | | | contact we give them. |
| parents? It turns out there are probably things we can | | | | |