What is Autism, Anyway? DISCLAIMER - THIS IS ALL OPINION!

This morning, as I was wondering what to write about, I stumbled upon an NPR article entitled, "'Cutting edge' program for children with autism and ADHD rests on razor-thin evidence." Oh boy. Talk about a headline to suck me into reading the full article!! Talk about autism and programming? I'm there!

I read through the entire article. It concerns a franchise treatment program that purports to "cure" ADHD and autism. The franchise program is called Brain Balance. There is a franchise that is close to the movie theater near my parents' home - I noticed it last December when we went to see The Last Jedi, and the claims made on the windows (the only thing that was available to see) were astonishing! Curing autism? Hmm.

Just so you know, I personally don't think that autism is something that needs to be cured. I think that persons with autism deserve to be celebrated the way that they are, but the world isn't ready to shift for them yet.

So, the article goes on to discuss the lack of evidence for this particular type of treatment. As a music therapist raised in music therapy by gold-standard researchers, my radar goes up, but as a music therapist who believes in some of the information that seems to be the foundation of this treatment, I also see some benefit in the ideas being set forth.

I do not believe that autism has to be cured.

I do not believe that autism is simply a motor issue. I believe there is more to autism than simply some motor patterning difficulties. I believe that persons with autism can benefit from motor activities, but I believe that all persons can do the same thing. I do not believe that autism is caused by vaccinations. I do not believe that autism is a bad thing for the persons who are labelled in that manner - it is not something wrong, it just is.

I think that my kids who have autism deserve to be engaged in an educational program that supports each one of them and develops the skills that they have as unique human beings. If one student seems to be able to focus on reading after spinning, then why not spin? If one student seems to be able to complete math while on a trampoline, why not support that as well? 

When I am approaching music therapy treatment for a child with any type of diagnosis, I tend to go into the session with an attitude of exploration. "Let's see who this kid is - what he'll do - how he responds to me." I do not feel that any treatment is "one size fits all." If it were, then all of us would be skinny, brilliant, and we would have no problems at all. As a therapist who believes herself to be more on the humanistic side of treatment philosophy, I want to know the person. The diagnosis is somewhat irrelevant.

I am also suspicious of anyone or any type of treatment that offers claims that one way of treatment will fix all the problems of a certain group of people. I think this is my major issue with the treatment franchises being spoken about in the article. Not every person will respond to the types of sensory, academic tutoring, and dietary changes purported as "cures" for certain diagnoses the same way. That's the human condition - we are all different.

At the same time, I have seen some clients really respond to some of the techniques that are demonstrated in the films presented in the article. I don't believe that those techniques "cured" autism. (SIDE NOTE: Cure is not a word that I like to associate with autism - I don't believe it needs to be cured. I believe in acceptance of all human beings and in shaping the environment to the uniqueness of each and every one of us. Difficult to do in this time of majority rules and wanting to put us all in a "perfect citizen" mold. Yipes - not where I want to go this morning.) I believe that those clients either enjoyed the sensory stimulation and responded or went through the experiences to please me because they trusted me to provide them with situations that would keep them safe.

Here's what this all boils down to, in my head.
  1. Autism is. It is not a deficit unless you want it to be. It is not something that needs to be cured. 
  2. Therapeutic interaction should never be based on a script or program that is the same regardless of the individual receiving the therapy. All therapy should be customized for the client.
  3. Making claims that your way is the only way must be supported by gold standard research. It has to be able to be replicated by persons (not you or people you pay) and see repeated results. If you don't have that research, then just be quiet.
  4. Promising things that you cannot deliver is wrong.
  5. Every person deserves a place to live, grow, and learn in the way that is best for that person.
  6. This is way too opinionated for me to continue, so I am going to stop here and go take my shower.

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