A Positive Approach to Autism by Stella Waterhouse
Forward by Donna Williams
Drawings by Cris Redman,
based on the ideas of Drucilla Brutton Blindisms- mannerisms blind people often have, and deafisms- mannerisms deaf people often have, are similiar to some autistic habits and stims. Terry Waite and Brian Keenan, who were victims of sensory deprivation as prisoners of war, described needing their days to form patterns and stimulating themselves. Many autistic people benefit from sensory treatments. Waterhouse opines that autism is caused by differences in sensory perception, caused by a host of different factors. She quotes extensively to do so. Some of what she quotes are valid sources, some are extremely out of date, and some are just plain false.
She ascribes various autistic traits and anxiety to the persistance of the Moro reflex. She claims that the Moro reflex would cause autism when it persists after birth. She claims(page 154) that in normal human development, the Moro reflex appears at 9-12 weeks gestation and goes away before birth, but the
Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics Thirteenth Edition, Behrman and Vaughan(pages 7, 1279) says that the Moro reflexbegins to appear at 25 weeks gestation and that the reflex is usually no longer obtainable at
3 monthes; Waterhouse's claims build off of a faulty foundation. Another problem with Waterhouse's speculation is that she does not take into account the existance of Sensory Integration Disorder at all, let alone as seperate from autism. If autism is caused by malfunction in sensory processing, why is there a disorder for such people seperate from autism? In her list of comorbid disorders from which Waterhouse tries to reason, SID is conspicious in its absence.
I do not know what is meant to be positive about Waterhouse's approach. Perhaps the word is comparative, or perhaps her belief in a cure is supposed to be positive. Waterhouse does quote many books written by autists who see autism as positive, and I was intrigued enough by her references that I intend to read those books. The approach part of the title may simply mean her mind set; Waterhouse does not sponsor any approach, although she does list a variety. The graphs were mostly badly done speculation, but the drawings were nice concrete and idiomatic depictions.
Cautious reading.
