If I was young and pregnant.

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If I was young and pregnant there are many things I would do differently. I would be relaxed as much as possible during my pregnancy. When I was full term I would do whatever I could to have my baby by c-section in a dark room where all medical personell were wearing infra-red gear to see. If I were unable to make that an option, I would have my baby at home, in the dark with a [quiet]midwife in attendance.

My baby would be wiped, cleared out, and swaddled[something I used to object to] and placed on my chest. I would feel a little guilty about it but all of the people who were waiting to meet the new baby would have to wait. The beautiful crocheted or knitted in love would never touch my babys skin. They would be hung on the wall in the dim room that my baby and I slept in, together, in one bed.

My baby would be slowly introduced to lights, different sounds, and odors. I would not be pushing my baby to reach milestones ahead of most babies. I would talk softly and soothingly to my baby, just as I did before he was born and I would remove the tags from his clothing, I wouldn't wait until he was grabbing at the back of his neck in frustration.

I am not a Christian,but there is some solid wisdom in many of the pages [insanity in others] There is one verse that is usually interpreted as "Raise up a child in the way he should go and in his old age he will not depart from it." My understanding is that a more precise interpretation would be 'Raise up a child in the way he is BENT and in his old age he will not depart from it."

I would follow that advice more, and worry about how he is doing compared to the other kids less.

I would worry less about if his quirkiness would not be accepted and spend more time finding like-minded families to share significant time with. I would also focus almost all of my "save the world' obsession on educating NTs' and gaining acceptance and accomodations for my baby.

Mostly I would raise my baby similar to how I actually raised my kids. But these things I would do differently. I believe that making these changes would be good for my baby, particularly if was autistic, but if he were NT as well.

So, what would you as a parent to a young autistic child do that differs from the standard to ensure that your baby can be the most succesful ausome, happy person possible?

Please share your thoughts. Maybe we, as a group, can make changes for the next generation.

And for more changes for all of us, please think about attending AutHaven in Colorado in February. it is only $100 for 3 nights lodging, food, workshops, a chance to make new friends, discussions, goody bags and workshops. there will be entertainment and fun in this beautiful location in the mountains. [ a mostly seasonally abandoned nudist resort] Strongly consider attending. WE NEED YOU TO HELP CHANGE THE WORLD.

when I worked in labor & deliver/ob-gyn maternal health a few decades back, they already were doing the subdued lighting and noise thing. but on the exam table they had to have lights and heat on in order to do the physical assessment of the newborn as well as other medical procedures. anyways, if I were a parent it would be a quiet household 'cept for music. homeschooling would be the order of the day.

all cool except co-sleeping. many baby deaths result from co-sleeping.

Yeah, that's the problem with human babies' big brains; they have to be born underdeveloped just to fit through Mom's pelvis, so when they're born they can't lift their big heads up... Add to that, modern bedding, which is a bunch of fluff you can just sink into... that doesn't mix well with a baby-sized person who still considers lifting their head off the mattress to be a good workout.

Co-sleeping can be done safely, though. There are little cribs that can be clamped to the side of the adult's bed--the baby can have a safe, non-fluffy place to sleep, while still being within arm's length of mom. Seems to be a good compromise to me.