24 October, 2012 3:08PM AEDT

When your baby has Autism

Autism is what's called a developmental condition that starts to show before a child is three years old. Many parents start to notice small differences in their child from around six months but the formal diagnosis can still be a blow. Suddenly you are thrust into a world that requires super human patience, resilience and ability to tackle complex medical and educational systems. Unexpectedly you can find yourself the parent of an autistic child wondering what on earth comes next. If you want to know what it's like, meet the guest mother in this week's podcast.

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The guest this week is not a medical or educational expert but a real life mother. Her baby boy was born not long after mine and at six months she began to worry about small differences between her child and the other babies she could see developing along more predictable pathways. It was not long afterwards that her child was diagnosed with autism and she began to learn what it was going to be like as the mother of an autistic child.

Meeting her for this interview was very inspirational. Although she asked to remain anonymous, her care and concern for her three year old was just like any other mother and while we all have a pretty steep learning curve as new parents, coming to terms with autism is hard. Her enthusiasm, and preparedness to adapt to her child's needs was an inspiration and knowing how hard I try to keep it together in the face of an ordinary explainable tantrum, I was incredibly impressed with her excitement at finding new ways to communicate and support her boy. Just as an example, she explained that by taking a small detour on the regular drive to childcare was enough to cause a huge cascade of anxiety in her child that took a long time to calm down.

If you know a family that has had an autism diagnosis, or you're wondering if your own baby might be showing some signs that could be pointing towards autism you will want to hear this story.

So much has changed in the last few years in the understanding of autism and it's possible origins. The experts don't yet know exactly what causes autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In fact, it's suspected that there may be several reasons. Among these are brain development and genetic factors. Autism is not caused by anything that parents do or don't do while raising their child.

The Raising Childrens Network tells us that in children with Autism the brain develops differently from typically developing children:



Autism Spectrum Disorders affect 1 in every 160 people and they affect about 4 times as many boys as girls. Autism will be with you for life and there is no cure but on the positive side, early intervention can have tremendous results in helping those affected to live to their full potential.

This is a really interesting podcast not because it has all the answers, but because it shows that if your child has autism it's not the end of the world, it's just the start of a slightly different adventure. This story is worth listening to because it can give you some insight into what it's like to have a child with autism in the family and how you might be able to be a better friend to someone who is coping with this disorder.

Autism Victoria

Autism Help
The Raising Children Network has great resources for parents of children with autism.
Four Corners broadcast a fascinating program about Autism which highlighted some of the latest research into possible causes.