When I took Miller to Seattle Children's Autism Clinic for his screening, I had the opportunity to sign up for research studies. The clinic would call us whenever there was a study being done that we qualified for. Terry and I are all about research studies. I feel like so many parents of children with autism try to point fingers and place blame. It may make things feel better for a little while, but like any other medical condition, research needs to be done to find a solution.
Last week I got a call from the research department telling me that we qualified for a autism genetics study. Doctors doing the study have isolated several genomes that may have a link to autism. The researchers will test both parents (if available) and compare the DNA to that of their autistic child. If matches in the genome appear, further diagnostic testing will be done. What does all this mean? In the future, parents would be able to test for an autistic gene before becoming pregnant.
This is a monumental study and could change the lives of so many families, and that is good enough for me. I don't expect there to be a "cure" for autism anytime soon, but I hope that what is being done helps.
And we in the research community thank you for that! Often it is so hard to find people willing to place themselves or their children into studies, which only hampers any progress that can be made in understanding, treating or even curing any disease.
ReplyDeleteSo thank you and keep on being the awesome mom that you are!