Overcoming Misconceptions About Autism Myths and Controversies

A must-read for parents with Autistic children who have been surrounded by a mountain of advice and research into Autism interventions

With all the Autism Myths and Controversies floating on the Internet and hearsay about Autism, it is a tough call to get your facts straight and do the best for your children.

About the Internet and hearsay about Autism, it is a tough call to get your facts straight and do the best for your children.

Having your child diagnosed with Autism in India is tough enough.

It gets even more difficult if you do not have proper and verified information about the way it all started in case of your child or the kind of intervention your kid will be put up with.

For example, hundreds of other parents are there who have autistic children in India like you and have never regretted vaccinating their kids every year to date.

Yet, there have been rumours that vaccines can be responsible for medical conditions such as autism.

As the parent of an autistic kid in India, how can you keep calm and not react to the vaccine linking theory?

Correct information about Autism

Exploring the nuanced landscape of Autism Myths and Controversies sheds light on the complexities surrounding neurodiversity.

This is where we, GodsOwnChild (GoC), as friends and partners along your journey to get the best of everything for your child, come in.

The professional whom you consult for your child’s autism therapy in India is going to be your first source of trustworthy information.

He or she is legally bound to provide you with unbiased details on the cause, condition, and treatment for your kid.

Being over-protective towards your child or being uninformed about the special condition called Autism may make you feel weak at times. And you may end up questioning the honesty and practices of the professional.

Help is always at hand, says GodsOwnChild

It’s very natural to feel lost  in India where Autism therapy and products related information are inadequate and interventions must be decided with family and parents.

Another thing that adds to your concern is the difference in the personal experience of other Autistic kids’ parents. It affects your general perceptions of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) in the educational context at the socio-behavioral level.  

The contradictory information about Autism affects parents in India who hold the hope that their child can lead an independent life with minimal support from family and are constantly trying their best to ensure this.

Your mind feels clouded with the thought of acting in the best interest of your child - improving the basic intellectual skills from managing the daily activities, understanding language/detection, or feeding/cleaning self.

Words of hope for parents of Autistic children

GodsOwnChild assures you that there is no need to be upset by the sea of contradictory information and by the controversies regarding what your autistic kid in India needs. Most of the various controversies that roam around the cause and diagnosis of autism are not even proven to be true yet.

As parents, the best thing we can do is not to spend too much time thinking about what caused Autism in your child. Most importantly, do not blame yourselves!

Rather, you should spend more time understanding the current needs of your autistic child and how you can intervene at the earliest to bring about positive changes. 

Whether it is the supposed link of Autism with vaccination, a developmental or genetic origin, and the inadvertent coincidence between intellectual disability and autism in India, they are all outcomes of present confusion and unreliable proof.

Need for introspect and research on Autism

We should try to look at the heart of the matter before it is too late. Early intervention and awareness is, after all, the best route to bring about positive developments in your child’s condition.

As parents and caregivers, we must read up, research and reach out as much as possible on Autism and related issues, so that we are not easily swayed by contradictory and confusing information.

And for this purpose, GodsOwnChild has been constantly striving a use it is worth investing in your child’s betterment. We have made it quite easier this time.

Scientific theory states that vaccines are not responsible for Autism. The claims in a well-known scientific journal were later found to be false.

Why controversies over Autism are so common

Knowledge and perception about autism origin, interventions, and therapies vary from one person to another person.

There is a whole lot of random information over the Internet and much confusion over which resources to adhere to.

The correct knowhow and proper research material can assist us to understand and make the right choice of therapy for your Autistic kid in India. 

Myths and misconceptions on the causes of Autism

• There is a connection between autism and vaccines in kids.
• Autism is hereditary.  
• There is a risk of Autism in your child if you are conceiving at an advanced age and diabetic at the time of pregnancy.
• Autism is caused by bad parenting during early childhood of the kid.

All the points mentioned above are simply myths and there is no scientific evidence to prove any of the points above. Unfortunately, points such as the above have been doing the rounds since ages and led to more distress for parents of Autistic kids.

Reasons behind contradictory information on ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

A great dilemma for children of Autistic kids is that sometimes, looking for advice for a specific problem, there might be conflicting opinions and contradictory facts.

This might happen for the following reasons:

• No solid proof of an autism intervention to make the message clear to you.
• Misinterpretation of reliable evidence available.
• Disagreement or differing advice coming from different sources, including researchers, doctors, naturopaths, parents, etc. They all have different opinions regarding what should be done in your child’s case.
• Professionals may not be updated on the latest interventions in use and prefer to stick to the old methods they have been practicing for years.
• People consider different sources of ‘evidence’. For instance, some depend on claims of scientific studies whereas others would like to go with individual anecdotes or testimony. Some may be in favor of selling or promoting autism intervention. So, the information you end up with may be influenced.

Why professionals don’t agree on Autism interventions?

There might be confusion on what therapies Autism care centers, therapists, or service might prescribe for your child at times.

This might be because:

• They follow different approaches and have different meanings of success or effectiveness. For example, psychologists and speech therapists may try in diverse areas for improvements.
• They oppose the theoretical principles of a therapy, irrespective of its success rate.  
• They use different metrics (research tools, techniques, or methods) to conclude things on their own.
• Their advice on a specific intervention might be in different words but pointing to what others say.
• They have independent ideas on how to test or assess autism therapies.

A list of the most effective interventions

GoC is one of the most reliable resources that is reputed to have brought autism interventions that are well researched and have reliable evidence of doing well.

However, whether a specific intervention will work or not in your child’s case, will need a consultation with a qualified therapist.

It is always better to take the advice of your therapist regarding the methods and interventions prescribed in our resources.

As the level of autism differs from one another, an intervention that is effective for one child might not be as effective for another kid.

For instance, a child who can’t talk and a child who slurs in between talks won’t have the same speech interventions.

Also, when we say that a particular method or intervention worked, it might mean that it has led to an improvement in the child, or it might mean that it has treated ASD successfully.

How to dispel myths, misconceptions, and contradictions on your own

Scientific studies are what can help you to ferret out and find correct information. It also helps to know which therapies could be useful for different levels and conditions of Autism.

The deeper you go into scientific studies, the better you can explore and differentiate between interventions that have been categorized as:

• Proven to show a positive impact
• Promising as they are seen to have positive/mixed effects so far but need more research
• Not known yet as there is not enough evidence available
• Ineffective or risky as it has negative or no effect at all, it might hurt your kid.

Why is the testing of autism interventions not foolproof?

The testing of autism interventions has to be done to the highest possible scientific standards. You can only take a chance with the testing when it is done with proper care and the evidence is widely acknowledged.

But the standards of testing interventions are often questioned due to the following:

• No funding is available for thorough research, which costs both money and time.
• Tests are not worth viable until they are carried out randomly with a controlled trial.  
• A proper comparison between different intervention tests can get difficult. They may have different criteria to measure results or have different descriptions of the same autistic condition.

Besides controversies, new intervention tests are performed all the time. You are advised to refer reliable resources like GoC for latest developments and consult an expert before considering any. 

We hope our insights and attempts into myths and misconceptions surrounding Autism

have helped you to achieve clarity regarding the many ideas regarding the disability.

Watch this space for more upcoming posts and research into Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

Share your views and experiences as you would with a friend and fellow traveler in the journey. Stay tuned for our next topic on God’s Own Child.