Can people believe it’s actually possible for someone to forget that real medical issues occur? All I can do is tell others that I am one of them who does. Because I forget this, it tends to cause me to mislead others by what I write. I feel terrible knowing that I’m offending people unnecessarily because of not realizing what other people are thinking when they’re trying to figure out what I’m saying. It just goes to show how helpful feedback can be and it’s also a reminder of how much time and work explaining can take.
I fully agree that many children have real medical issues. Children on the autism spectrum do have comorbidities that need attention and care. I have had my share of them. As a young child, I went through a set of health-related issues. As a young adult in my early 20′s, another stage of physical ills passed my way. Upon entering my middle-aged years, I struggled through about 13-14 years of chronic insomnia. My most recent ‘bump in the road’ of physical health was from an episode of a frozen shoulder. Aside from now experiencing a cold about 2 or 3 times per decade, and (at the most) mildly being ‘caught’ by a flue bug about 15 years ago, the only other thing that ‘caught me’ was lyme disease. My several exposures to lyme however never led to the lyme borreliosis bacteria getting much of a chance to mess up my immune system.
I used to have a weaker immune system, but now it’s pretty darn tough. It has to be because it’s the only form of health insurance I’ve got and it’s the only insurance I trust, can afford, and want. Because of how pleased I am with how well my body takes care of me, I tend to get very excited about how wonderful the human body is capable of taking care of itself if its needs are met. True medicine should be a matter of knowing one’s own self very well, along with understanding how everything in life is harmoniously balanced. Handling symptoms definitely has its place, but learning the ‘whys’ is a whole lot better. Once all that information gets plugged into place, then there is wholesomeness in operation. All is at ease instead of being dis-eased. To me, dis-ease is simply having some factors stressing against one another instead of working in co-operation (unity and harmony). I have a radically different approach to health than most people do, so I apologize if and/or when I may be upsetting others because of that.
I do not look down my nose at all towards people who handle health-related issues in conventional ways. What does jerk my chain though is when people mix things that are not health issues in with things that are! Everybody has body parts that function the same way, but there is one body part that even though it does the same job for everyone, it does that job in different ways for different people. That part I’m referring to is called, “the brain.” I can see why people ignorantly call Asperger’s a disorder and how come some people even go so far as to say it’s a disease. However, just because someone can’t comprehend why something functions differently does not give him the right to label it as being something which needs a cure!
Doctors can master such things as how a stomach, liver, kidney, ear, heart, etc. work much easier than they are going to figure out how the brain works. The brain is a whole different form of matter because there are other factors involved that I doubt will ever get covered by medical science. In fact, it might be safe to say it’s impossible to even talk about those factors. I hope no one asks me what I’m talking about here, because I don’t even want to begin to explain. It’s way beyond explaining. I just accept it and I actually accept how other people handle their health issues differently.
I’m so adamant about protecting my way of living that I probably end up having people feel bad about their way. Maybe it helps to know that what I’m saying here in this post is an example of how frustration is unavoidable when wanting to help with solving complex puzzles because it takes the whole package to answer. Besides some packages being difficult to comprehend, some parts in that package will also be tough adjusting to. When I say package, I’m referring to individual people — in this case, I mean me.
It’s so interesting, because for so long I just thought of autism as, well, I guess a brain THING. Because my son was born the way he is now, and didn’t do this regressive thing that happens so frequently, I never thought of autism as a disease (but I admit to thinking of it as a disorder). But then when we discovered horrible reflux, malabsorption issues, amino acid imbalances, and a myriad of other things, I began thinking of autism as a disease because so much of what his brain was doing changed when we addressed the reflux, changed his diet, added supplements, etc. I know lots of kids like this, and know quite a few that aren’t helped by the medical interventions (conventional or not). It’s tough, and once again, I thank you for making me think about it.
D
It makes sense that treating symptoms like reflux, malabsorption issues, amino acid imbalances, etc. by a change in diet, adding supplements, etc. is going to also change the way the brain works. People don’t realize that foods are also drugs. Drugs merely cause a chemical change in the body which results in an effect.
Wholesome organic foods in the proper balance are the perfect medicines, but food is not the only thing that the body digests. How many people consider thoughts as also being an equal part of the body’s diet? What someone believes also causes chemical reactions. Take adrenalin for example. If a mother sees her child pinned under something heavy that’s about to cause more problems if that child doesn’t get out of there quick, that mother’s brain will take that new information and transform it into a chemical to use for a temporary reserve of extra power that ordinarily would not exist. Children are equally affected by what they think and believe.
I think the hardest thing for anyone to do (including myself) is to step outside of his or her self and view his or her life objectively. We are so used to seeing the world from our own perspective because of unquestioningly building our foundation of thinking patterns solely based upon what we’re told and what we’ve experienced. It now seems we have more educational regurgitation than we do the generating of novel thoughts because of the excessive information requirements in today’s world.
I also think that conformity tends to create molds that others find comfortable to gel in. We need to learn lessons from the enemy — like viruses for example. A destructive virus will mutate to become stronger. Mutations are new creations. If a virus doesn’t re-create itself on a regular basis, it will become extinct. The whole human race also needs to constantly re-create its way of thinking to match life’s rapid ongoing changes.
Marla,
I’m not at all against a cure for Autism, but can people imagine what kind of horrible attitude there will be towards those who don’t want to be ‘cured?’ At the worst, people like me could end up being locked away because of not doing what others would believe to be ‘best’ for me. It wouldn’t surprise me if society forced non-conformist thinkers to conform. They would do it behind the public’s back.
When people get disturbed over others going through such things as depression and insist upon those who are not acting like the rest to get medicated or else be shunned, then what’s to stop society from thinking that what the majority does is what the minority must also do?
If being comfortable is more important than suffering irritation just because someone else thinks radically different, then society deserves what it will get.
You love your daughter as she is, but will other people who don’t know her do that when she is an adult?
Well said. I guess I don’t get easily offended. My daughter M has had major major health problems her entire life. We are told her chromosome disorder is the main cause of her cyclical vomiting syndrome, weak immune system and days where she can barely walk. Despite everything M is so wonderfully unique that I love everything about her. yes, I do want her to be healthy so I would feel very conflicted if there was suddenly a cure for her chromosome disorder and Autism. But, reality tells me there is no cure so I don’t dwell on it. I love her for who she is.