Some question therapy for autism: Your Say

A pilot study run by the University of California-Davis' MIND Institute indicates that therapy with babies as young as 6 months may erase signs of autism. Facebook comments edited for clarity and grammar:

We started therapy with a very young baby, three years ago when he was showing signs. When he turned 3 years old, he was officially diagnosed with autism. He is noticeably autistic. He also seemed to develop normally, then he regressed at about 15 months old. When he was a baby he did make eye contact.

He did other things as an infant that were only slightly noticeable: He slept very lightly, he closed his hands when holding a bottle, he had no protective reflexes. But he smiled, he made eye contact and he met most milestones on time or early. His language was progressing, then it slowly started to fade. He stopped making eye contact, he didn't respond to his name and he played in his own little world as if no one was around. Therapy never stopped from infancy to today. Speech was incorporated at age 2.

—Granny Moo

I am in agreement with this study. It's accessible to parents without costing an arm, a leg and a vital organ. It's about positive engagement without forcing out "bad" behaviors. It's about listening to what your child enjoys doing (even if it's tapping shampoo bottles on the floor) and using that to engage him or her in ways that will build on communication, behavioral and social skills.

—Speaking Autism

I am an autistic adult. The Paste BN article on the study about erasing signs of autism is promoting an attitude that is kind of against people like me who are neurologically different. The negative symptoms are caused by my sensitivities to the environment. Autism is not a disease; it's a way of being.

—Mitch Christian