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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Walk this way




 We've all heard the saying "you are what you eat", but there is research out now which appears to be telling us "you are what your grandparents, and great-grandparents ate" as well. And - it's not just what our forebears ate, but also any drugs they did, or environmental toxins they were exposed to. If you have OCD, or autism, are dyslexic or obese, have one leg shorter than the other, and are looking to blame someone for any troubles these have caused, dig out your family photo albums, brush off that grainy shot of Grandma Lydia standing in a freshly dusted cornfield, or the discolored Polaroid of dear old Dad at Woodstock, and start pointing fingers! And although there is no photographic record that I'm aware of, I vividly remember chasing the Mosquito Man down the street, laughing and squealing in a cloud of DDT. How is it so, you ask, that these things can have an effect so many generations later? Well, we've all also heard the saying "Diane sucks at science", but I will try my best to paraphrase some things I've been reading, and watching - and discussing with the hubster lately - then link a really cool You Tube video by Hank Green for further clarification and enjoyment. (Shout-out to Middle Daughter Maggie for bringing this video to my attention. And I suppose a shout should go out to Eldest Daughter Emily for introducing us to the Green brothers in the first place!)


   So. There's this thing called epigenetics. (^ check out the video up there ^) It's a science thing. What I interpret it to say is that we living creatures (as opposed to zombies, which are the living dead, and a whole other topic of conversation.), evidently have what amounts to a game show host in our cells that, at the appropriate hour, can yell up to some degenerate, yet eager gene "hey, diabetes, c'mon down!" (Or- could be a "good" gene too!) Which is to say that when all of the stars and planets align just right, this gene gets the thumbs up to switch itself to the "on" position, and is able to express itself in the best (or worst) way it sees fit. Meaning: under certain circumstances, if you are exposed to a toxin, or even ingest a certain food, your body can react to it by triggering a gene to flip from "off" to "on". Permanently. It may be a switch triggering a greater risk of diabetes. Or anxiety. Or a BUNCH of other conditions, diseases and "isms". And any or all of these lovely things could now have the potential to get passed on to the next generation, by way of that eager, activated gene. Ad infinitum. Yes, this is undoubtedly the most pedestrian explanation you will come across on the topic of epigenetics, but it is how I understand it to work. This information may garner one of several reactions: make a person involved in shady dealings feel so painfully guilty it scares them straight; cause them to shrug their shoulders and mumble something about the damage already being done, so what's the point; or prevent them from ever reproducing.


   There are zillions of theories swirling around out there in the ether on what causes autism to develop. (literally. zillions.) I see parents who are convinced they've found the culprit, and bolt off down a certain path of information, pitchfork in hand, screaming "GET IT!"- Like the witch hunt on vaccines. There are special diets that espouse to "cure" your child, therapies to train them to act "normal". I am a natural-born skeptic, however, so I never subscribed to the vaccine theory, nor the special diets. And I've never bought a celebrity-penned book on how *you too* can cure your child of autism, just like they did!


   I suppose there may be a kernel of truth in the theory that certain foods can cause certain "autistic" behaviors to magnify. But I also suppose that if you are a neurotypical person with a sensitivity, or allergy to a food, it will cause you to *not feel very well*, and you may act out by snipping at a loved one, or snarling at a cashier who is just way too perky at 7 in the morning, when all you want is for him to take your money, and hand over the damn coffee. This would merely be seen as you being "in a bad mood". For someone who has trouble with expressive language, however, this *not feeling well* feeling could result in you screaming, or throwing yourself down on the ground, or simply hiding out under your bed where it's dark and quiet, away from people asking you "what's the MATTER?!". This would be seen as you exhibiting autistic behaviors. It would probably be good to identify the culprit food, and eliminate it from your diet so that you would feel better, and not act out. This would be true for anyone, not just someone on the spectrum.

   To me this epigenetics is fascinating stuff, but I choose not to dwell too long on the implications. (Plus I have a really short attention span.) There are countless combinations of human characteristics. In my family, and Brad's, are a multitude of folks who developed cancer, heart disease, anxiety disorders, ADHD, processing problems, and addictions. There are folks who are incredibly good at reasoning, some who are terrible at spatial relationships- the list is endless. Does this mean we should not have had children? Heck no! This planet would be super boring, and scientists wouldn't have anything to study, if no one had any quirks or diseases. But in the end I figure it boils down to this: we are who we are, so let's just get on with it. Should we be trying to eat right, keep our bodies fit physically and mentally? Absolutely. At least, to the best of our ability. After all, we're only human.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Get real!

 
   I've been thinking a lot about idioms lately. Idioms, not idiots. Although I do a fair amount of thinking about them too, and how they're always either in my way when we're late for school, or asking far dumber questions than should be allowed by law. (Despite what your teacher tells you, there is such a thing as a dumb question!) Idioms. They're funny little things. Amusing. I like to use them. I've touched before on how folks on the spectrum typically take things literally. It's said that they see the world in mostly black and white. So when they come up against an idiom, it must be pretty confusing! When you sheepishly say to your autistic child, after one of those idiot drivers cuts you off -and you let loose a string of rather rough words-  "excuse my French!", and she replies, "You weren't speaking French", well - you'll be doing some pretty quick back-peddling. I recall once telling Georgia that she'd gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. She very adamantly informed me that, NO, she'd gotten up on the RIGHT side. The "right side" being the "correct side", which is to say the same damn side she always got up on. Geez, mom, you're such an idiot! Oof. Idioms are torture.


"An idiom is a natural manner of speaking, to a native speaker of a language"

   Sarcasm is another form of torture we like to employ in our house. I used to think Georgia had been done a great disservice by being born into this family of smart-asses, with a passel of pun-loving, equally as smart-assy friends. But now I've come to believe it's been a blessing in disguise. Sometimes it's a blessing that's gone under deep cover, and only emerges at brief, impromptu intervals to give darkly veiled progress reports. Like a NARC disguised as a high school student, or Johnny Depp as Donnie Brasco. Nevertheless by being exposed to so much chaos, in our conversations as well as general household goings-on, Georgia has gained a fairly substantial grasp of idioms and sarcasm. She appears to be able to take that understanding with her out into the world. Her reading teacher, Mrs. Patrick, (I'll talk more about her in another post) phoned this morning to chat about what they're covering in class right now. She said she worried about joking with Georgia, like teasing about wanting to steal her snack, or saying "everyone can go to the pep rally except Georgia" -that she might take things the wrong way and become upset. So she is relieved when G just laughs, and dishes it right back to her. One day she was drawing something on the board relating to their story, and Georgia piped up and said "Wow, that is really terrible. You can't draw, can you?" And they all had a good-natured laugh over it. Mrs. Patrick told me "it wasn't said in a mean or disrespectful way, she was totally ribbing me. It was great!" She doesn't always get what we're saying, but she senses it isn't what we mean, so she'll ask "you are being sarcastic?", and we will clarify. Yes, yes we are.



    To make a contribution to the familial purse I work as a substitute teacher. (Because at the rate I paint, art is not going to support us. And also my subject matter might be a bit too dicey for normal peoples tastes.) I take it as a challenge to try to pick out the autistic kids in the class, before I read my schedule and find out who I need to pay special attention to. While it is true that people on the spectrum don't look any different than anyone else there is always *something* that gives them away, and I can spot them pretty quickly. Well, I AM tuned in to the little behaviors that most folks might overlook. There is such a wide range of spectrum kids in every single class. It's fascinating! I was subbing for an aide in a 4th grade classroom earlier this week, and the teacher was talking about bull sharks, so she decided to show a short cartoon about a shark that a little girl keeps as a pet. In her house. The shark prances around the living room on his caudal fin, dressed in a cheap knock-off of Tony Manero's white disco suit. One of the little boys I was in charge of, who is on the spectrum, raised his hand and very sincerely said "I thought sharks lived in the water?!". This little boy is really, really smart, yet he could not wrap his head around someone taking a shark home, and letting it sit on the sofa and eat popcorn. It simply isn't right! Georgia would have recognized this premise to be just plain silly, pure imagination - and she might have laughed- but she'd still have to state to you, and then to herself multiple times, "That is not really real!"

   Ultimately we all live in our own realities. Some of us just have wackier realities than others!