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It’s Your Life
Joyce: At what age did you realize there was a problem with your son?
Kathleen: Stephen was born 3 ½ weeks early (I was induced because his heart rate was dropping in utero)
and had difficult time latching to breastfeed. He had jaundice and was colic for the first four months of life,
which was just the beginning of what would soon be a long list of symptoms that indicated he was struggling
more than he should. He went on to miss all of his developmental milestones and was still non-verbal by three
years of age. In fact, by the time Stephen was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD-nos),
an autism spectrum disorder, he has seven other diagnostic labels - including sensory integration disorder,
mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, motor planning disorder, articulation delay, cognitive delay
(slow processing speed), selective mutism and social phobia.
At one point, it seemed like every visit to a specialist, he was assigned a new label that described a set
of symptoms. It wasn’t long before these all added up to the complex neurodevelopmental disorder we know
as autism. I can still recall the day a well-respected neurologist told my husband and I that Stephen would
“never connect with his peers, he would
never live alone and may never get married.”
Of course, he had no right to make those
predictions and deny any family the hope that
is needed to support a child with autism.
Joyce: Was there something that
triggered it, a vaccine, food, or something
else?
Stephen 4 years old
Kathleen: We will never be sure what,
if anything, triggered Stephen’s autism.
We know there were many red flags along
the way but none that specifically can be
blamed for being the sole cause. In fact, I
have come to believe that there is no one
cause of autism and that individuals, like
Stephen, are sensitive to a number of dietary
and environmental triggers that others can tolerate without any significant health risks. I also believe that medical
treatments I received during my pregnancy played a role in Stephen’s health and overall sensitivity. This is also true
for my induced labor and the medications that I receive during labor.
For example, mothers who are low in oxytocin (like me) are often given the synthetic form, Pitocin, to help
progress labor. One study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, notes that pregnant women who have their labor started
or sped up artificially are slightly more likely to have autistic children. Studies also point to pregnancy as a critical
period in the brain changes that lead to autism and I was prescribed Tylenol with codeine for severe muscle
spasms during pregnancy. I recall asking my OB/GYN about the safety of this medication and was reassured that it
was proven safe. Of course, knowing what I know today, I would never use it or even consider it.
It’s Your Life Magazine • Issue 1