Learning about Autism

Abstract

A medical essay written in 1923 pointed out the fallacy of blaming a chronic illness on the name of a disease. The focus of treatment should be the individual, not the disease. With a focus on options based on the individuality of each patient, I ask a simple two-part question: Does my patient need to avoid or be rid of substances and/or to be provided with substances that would favor nature's impulse toward healing?In my academic training as a physician, I learned that a clinically effective stance favored an optimistic intent combined with the objective application of my skills—refined though the practice of listening, prescribing, and observing outcome. My understanding of autism has rested on a foundation of the individuality of every living thing, the rhythmicity of life, and the balance that characterizes healthy systems. The first autistic child I examined struck me with a nonverbal message: “I am in here; see me.”The recognition of the role of bacterial toxins amplified my notion that a general disorder of the microbiome underlies the loss of immune tolerance that accompanies the global state of sensitivity found in individuals in the autism spectrum. Depletion of organisms that have populated the human gut since before the dawn of our species arises as the most recent elevation of my learning curve.

Autism Awareness Scale for Security Officers Working in Hospitals: A Study of Validity and Reliability

“…Factor 1 emphasizes the events which can be experienced by the security officers when they come across with an individual having autism. In a previous narrative, the importance of nonverbal communication in first contact and the desire of the individuals to be recognized, were emphasized (20). If the security officers establish communication with the individual having autism, they may experience the communication challenges defined by the items loaded to factor 2.…”