Discussing Autism

Researchers state that the number of children with autism is up to three to six in every 1,000 children and that males are 4 times as likely to have autism as females. HOWEVER, it is estimated that one in every 750 children in the United States is born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and one in every 40,000 is born with Fetal Alcohol Effects. Unfortunately, FAS and FAE are entirely preventable.

What is equally interesting is that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome symptoms often overlap with autism, thus mimicking autism. …
# poor coordination/fine motor skills
# developmental delay
# poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and maintaining friendships and relating to groups
# lack of imagination or curiosity
# learning difficulties, including poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor language comprehension, poor problem-solving skills
# behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety

It has been stated that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Autism can possibly coexist (why not if a child was predispositioned for having autism and then a birth mother drank?). Of those individuals with diagnosable FASD, only 15% have an IQ under 70 that would qualify them for DD services under the category of mental retardation. However, the other 85% have symptoms that would qualify them under the category of Autism. They all have characteristics described in the ARS definition for Autism (above). In fact, many psychologists write in their reports that individuals with FASD have symptoms of Autism, and many actually receive that diagnosis. It is believed that many of those individuals diagnosed with high functioning Autism or with Asperger’s Syndrome actually have an invisible form of FASD.

There are many days, like today, that I look at my son and think…does he really have autism, does he have a coexisting neurological disorder? With all the testing he has had are doctors simply ignoring/bypassing an underlying diagnosis of autism because of his birth mother and his birth country?

Or, are we simply dealing with what we have known all along? That even moderate drinking during the first few weeks of pregnancy can cause FAS and even autistic behaviors? If 1 in 100 babies born in the United States is born with ARND (Alcohol Related Neurodevelopment) then perhaps we should be taking a closer look at how much alcohol we consume as well as the research and money we put into autism?