regresive autism?

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Here are two more links. Apparently there is all kinds of regression observed in all kinds of autism studies, and also observed by parents, most of which actual and quite obvious regression does not fall under the category of CDD which is a very small percentage, so when so many parents talk about their autistic children regressing at arouind age two, they are they are generally probably not talking about CDD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_ ... e_disorder

http://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-i ... regression

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 100809.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regressive_autism

The main thing is that for most of this regression that happens at around a certain age is that it probably doesn't happen as suddenly as it seems to but there is overt noticeable regression at a specific age, and I tend to not doubt these parent's general observations about this phenomena, though they are admittedly very subjective, just as are these various studies and even even the definitions of what regression even is.

The main question as posed by the OP is how a child can develop ((seemingly)) normally and then have this regression occur. These are the answers posed so far, followed by my opinion.

1.The child was already not developing normally but the parent just did not notice it: Though there may be some truth here, I would not buy this as a general explanation:-)

2.Regressive autism only occurs in 1% of autism: Probably CDD is not really what most parents are talking about when they describe what they have experienced with their children losing speech around age two.

3.Because of genetic make-up the child cannot cope with accumulative complexity of developing many new skills, and at this juncture the stress threshold goes over the edge. I think there is some kind of truth here, but imo this is in no way a complete explanation.

I am not a geneticist, but I do not see how there can be a gene or combination of genes that accounts for this regression at a certain age. It sounds to me kind of silly. Of course an individual child's genetic make-up and sensitivities play into it, but as a former pre-school teacher,a parent of two children and one grandchild, I think a lot of regression at this age can be explained by looking at the development of the child from a psychological angle. Why not? Certain children can get stuck at certain developmental stages due to psychological factors. This means, for one thing, a family dynamic can be playing into what is happening. The problem is the parent of an autistic child loves the child so much and is going through so much pain and is understandably so protective of the child that it is hard to discuss it from this angle, I have raised a child with asperger's syndrome and from day one she was bizarrely intense. It was super recognizable from the day she was born. I was a single mother over age forty and struggling to survive and also had very severe migraines completely debilitating migraines (which fortunately I no longer have)...I remember when I was keeling in the bathroom throwing up in the toilet my child when she was fifteen months standing behind me and trying to nurse on my back. Anyway, when she was maybe between one and two I took her to child observations classes run by a (so called) professional and the person told me she was hyperactive, and I was filled with rage when she told me this. Actually she wasn't even hyperactive, looking back on it, which is maybe why I got so angry, but just very single-minded and intense...and I'm sure having a sick angry mother didn't help her.....

I wonder if it is possible to regress in adulthood? Sometimes I feel like I"m losing skills, but I wonder if it's just a lack of physical and mental energy. Someone mentioned somewhere the other day that their child was struggling with utensils. I realized that I have always found them awkward, so I ate some food with my hands and it did feel more natural.

Adulthood has more stressors than childhood; dealing with more stressors making you look more autistic, that is pretty normal. More things you need to do. More change you need to deal with. More difficulty. It's just harder. Looking more autistic when faced with a world that's harder to deal with, doesn't that make sense?

There is a form of regression that is rare in adulthood, that is more than the increase in stressors, but that for is rare. I do not remember quite how rare it is.

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Wonderful message! A child may not want to make an effort because his sense of self becomes tied into asserting himself by not making a particular effort at a certain developmental stage, and this could be any age, including teen or even can happen with an adult....such as if a woman pushes her husband to mow the lawn then he will not want to, so rather she has to beguile him into it, but around eighteen months of age and also around two---there are two very well recognized developmental stages characterized by pronounced resistance in a child,

I am for sure encountering stressors. I don't know if it's about resistance, but there is an element of self-assertion in that I am choosing not to make the effort to modify my behaviour to NT standards. I'm finding less reason to bother with this as it always seemed stupid to me anyway and I don't have the resources to do it right now.

I don't understand regressive autism either. The underlying brain mechanisms are probably different than in children who developed less typically earlier.

good observation....i do not think an adult can be compared to a young child, and this is an important point, but it is possible to make a metaphor regarding how resistance works in that there is a push and pull that is taking place in oneself and also externally regarding perceived self and other, and the development of a child is in many ways shaped by how successfully he is able to reconcile the conflict around this kind of drama.

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I used to be a preschool teacher and am very interested in brain function and child development and so very observant of parents I come across on the bus and around the city interacting with their infants and young children. One thing I have noticed a lot is parents trying to force speech upon/elicit speech from their children. Though of course well intended, it is really very aggressive in some instances and could be perceived as threatening to an infant or young child

It may be just a coincidence, but it is interesting that a lot of this regression around speech happens at around the age it is natural for toddlers to resist. One way for a clever and perhaps already insecure toddler to hold his own is to resist speaking or even entirely stop speaking, especially since in certain instances it means so much to the parent for the child to speak.