Wee!- Translation: Wii!

PHOTOGRAPH FOR TIME BY STEVE LISS

I was going through my blog feeds and stumbled across a very interesting article from a lady that goes by McEwen. She is the mother of two austistic boys, as well as two normal children. Her blog was entitled "Get with the programme mother." It discusses the physical and emotional issues of raising autistic children. In this blog's case, potty training. Her article focues on how as a mother of both normal and autistic children, the emotional factors of understanding her autistic children can be trying. She tries to understand them, and always wonders if they will have the motivation to do certain things. She describes how she translates certain things so wrongly sometimes and it makes her seem like an impatient old bat. Her children both had issues potty training. They would seem like they got far and then would regress. She wants to do everything for them but knows that she mustn't or else it would reverse everything that she has worked for in achieving a new skill.

My cousin is autistic. He is around 7 years old now but I remember it took forever for him to start potty training. When he did start, it took him forever to get it right. My aunt and uncle were patient though, and they did pretty well in raising an austistic kid. Some of the things that McEwen was talking about though, with the mistranslations, I saw with my aunt and uncle. I can only imagine how discouraging it could be for any parent. Just as a bystander with my cousin, I witnessed a lot of the same things.

In the end of the article, McEwen tells how her son started saying " I need Wee!" She eventually got him into the bathroom and he got his trousers off, but then walked into the living room pointing at the t.v. He said again "I need Wee!" Translation: I need Wii... the video game. It is amazing how even autistic children are affected knowlingly by technology.

It's In The Genes!!

Image from www.boywonderkyle.com

Until recently, bipolar disorder was just another behavioral problem kids and adults had. According to an article written by Dr. Deb, called Genes and Bipolar Disorder on a study which can be referenced from Molecular Psychiatry, bipolar disorder may be in the genes.

I found this article to be quite intriguing because for one, this hasn't been a known disorder for very long. Secondly, the disorder has recently been thought to be triggered by a chemical disorder as found on Genesis Health. Dr. Deb goes to state, "The National Institute of Mental Health conducted the first genome-wide association study of bipolar disorder and discovered that not one specific gene appears to be necessary or sufficient for disease. Instead, several genes were shown to contribute to the risk of bipolar disorder." This seems to me like a breakthrough on mental health research.

My mom used to tell me all the time that she thought I had bipolar disorder. I would be sitting in her bedroom with her talking or watching t.v. and would just freak out and start saying I needed to move around or do something. Then, I would go work out for three hours in my room and be okay afterwards. It would usually put me in a weird mood if I didn't or couldn't do something. Mom would always tell me I needed to get medicated. She even thought it was a chemical imbalance.

So here we have two different "research projects on bipolar disorder." One says it's in the genes, one says it's a chemical imbalance. Who knows? Maybe it's both. Dr. Deb seems to support the "in the genes" method. She proves this by closing her blog with..."Maybe I should get Tom Cruise a subscription," in reference to the Molecular Psychiatry articles. From his latest actions as I am sure we have all seen in the media, he needs it.

The Cell-Phone Revolution

Picture courtesy of www.wirelessfundraiser.com

A recent post made by Dr. Deb entitled "Cell Phones and Pagers, Stop the Madness," completely caught my attention. First of all, the title itself made me reflect on ten years ago when cell phones and pagers didn't really exist. It was a pain in the rear end to get ahold of someone however, the age of the cell phone has began. Nowadays, it seems like noone can get by without one. The people that have one can't stay off of them. Pagers kind of wore out and aren't really used anymore; but cell phones haven't. You can't drive a single block without seeing three quarters of people paying more attention to who they are yacking at than the road.

In Dr. Deb's blog, there was a statement about research done that followed over 1,300 adults over a process of two years "found that those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life -- and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life." This is a huge statement. However, I completely agree. Now it isn't just cell phones. It is also internet that is causing problems. They are all addictive. Myspace is a huge addictive internet site. I personally have an account on it, as well as do most of the people I know. They have to check it every day and spend hours on it. Those same people also carry a cell-phone everywhere they go and God forbid if someone can't get ahold of them. I again am a willing victim to this over-accessability. This brings me to a halting question from Dr. Deb: "What happened to quiet and stillness?"

When you think about it, what did happen to it? Dr. Deb believes that this over-accessibility has been caused by the availability of these technologies. She also believes that research being an example, along with her own personal thoughts, that this revolution is jeapordizing family life because of the constant "addiction" people of today have to cell phones, and ten years ago pagers. She also states her belief that it has taken away some of our values such as patience. It also in her opinion causes massive amounts of stress to the psyche and body for the burden over accessibility, because of the constant need of that "fix of gratification." I completely agree as I feel victim to this exact point myself that she is trying to make.

Today's revolution of cell phones boomed from pagers in just a 10 year time. I can't imagine how bad it is going to be in another 10 years. What are they going to come up with next?