On biomedical treatments and the need to teach

This post is a companion piece to the previous one on medical treatments and the need to teach.

This is the world of autism, a mix of hard science and conspiracy theories, sensible therapeutic aides interspersed with what may well be modern-day snake oils. It’s to be expected with a disorder that has neither an agreed-upon cause nor anything close to a cure.

So the May 27th Chicago Tribune reports about Road to Recovery, the AutismOne conference that started on Wednesday, May 23 and concludes today, May 27th. Others among the “dizzying array of treatments” mentioned include “portable hyperbaric chambers, omega oils and potent vitamin supplements to acupuncture and infrared saunas aimed at sweating out toxins,” along with ” sailing therapy, auditory integration training and tips on gluten-free cooking.” We have tried some of that “dizzying array” in the past eight years, including the sailing via the organization Heart of Sailing, the gluten-free casein-free diet (though we’ve been veering away from the gluten-free part of it), and a few vitamin supplements (probably not the most “potent”).

There are panels on “behavior/communication/education” therapies at AutismOne, but I’d like to put in a more of a word for one thing that the Chicago Tribune article does not so specifically mention, education, which is a, if not the, major component of “the world of autism” that we live in. By “education” I do not only mean my son Charlie’s more formal education in school. Education for Charlie happens all the time. This Sunday morning Charlie had his weekly piano lesson; reading music is helping him to learn to read. Right now he is at a going-away party for the daughter of one of Jim’s friends (she is moving out of state): It is a time for him to practice his language skills (lots of “hi” ’s, handshakes, and “I’m fine” ’s), to be social, to be in a strange setting.

Autism might have “neither an agreed-upon cause nor anything close to a cure” but there is a lot we can do right now without buying any interesting supplements or considering the latest of a possible 1030 treatment options. It’s a simple answer but consider: In order to get any of those supplements into a child, the child (if they are like my child) has to learn to take pills……..