09/23/2025
Double Breathing: Stimulates the vagus nerve (associated with regulation).
💨 Short inhale, long inhale
💨 Short exhale, long exhale
Did you know that the best way to have productive conversations is by staying open-minded, regulated, and by practicing active listening skills? This does not mean that you must allow someone else to attack you, but instead a way to advocate for self or other non-defensively.
Not surprisingly, I have a lot to say. It’s your choice whether you want to accept what I offer as your truth or not - but it is mine and I have a right to it.
This is not a political post. I’m not going to pretend like I heard the speech about the causes of autism but I have seen the aftermath. My apprehension in viewership was not out of ignorance, more so out of self-preservation. Like most mothers, you become quite skilled at researching information and decifering between someone standing on their soapbox vs those who share info without agenda.
What I will say is that this information is not new. From the empirically reviewed meta-analysis linked below “The potential etiological role of early acetaminophen exposure on Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is inconclusive.”
I do not believe there is a single cause to neurodivergent disorders… or any mental disorder, for that matter
I remember struggling to figure out why Ronin was having such a hard time in preschool and gyms’ children centers. The pediatric tests came back “negative” for signs of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). It was an exhausting struggle (one you have heard about from me many times before). Knowing this, we tried to get him evaluated before entering Kindergarten, which was denied. After having issues in school (mostly behavioral referrals 🙄) we had him evaluated by an outside specialist who confirmed his diagnosis. Though his symptoms presented vastly differently, because of this experience, we knew what to do when Ryder started struggling also.
Dr. Leslie Rubin has been working with children with disabilities for over 40 years. After their diagnosis, I remember sitting in his office (both times) crying, thinking I had done something to cause this. He assured me that I had not.
We discussed epigenetis (which I was coincidentally learning about in school) and how it plays a role in the development of all sorts of disorders. It can be seen as a gene that has a predisposition to either be activated or not based off of intergenerational factors. Tylenol, vaccines, heavy metals in water, do not “cause” these disorders, though they may not help if there is a predisposition.
This is a good time to share what Dr. Michelle Au said earlier, “It’s good once in a while to discuss the difference between correlation and causation. 85% of people who get into car crashes may have had cereal for breakfast. This does not mean, however, that car crashes are caused by cereal. I mention this today… for no reason whatsoever.” 🙂
Autism is not a linear disorder. Sure there are levels of severity but it’s called a spectrum for a reason. There’s no clean, clear cut symptom mapping or causation tracing.
Another reason for the increase in diagnosis has been the shifting of disorder symptomology classification. For instance, Oppositional Defiant Disorder now falls under Autism Spectrum Disorder due to the stigma it caused being seperate. Additionally, adults are being diagnosed later in life, especially perimenopausal and menopausal women, for many reasons, including that we’re learning about the consequences of masking (a story for another day.)
Though Dr. Rubin’s research is currently looking into ways of preventing the epigenetic activation of Autism through prenatal health, he assured me there was nothing I did to cause this and I, in fact, did not once use Tylenol while pregnant or breastfeeding.
He did, however, mention that the reason they were undiagnosed, at first, was because of the way we’re raising them. This, this is what I want to focus on and part of what I will be focusing on professionally
These boys have learned emotional intelligence from day 1. Their feelings are validated, though their behaviors are not always accepted. They have two parents who love them very much and who coparent as well as we possibly can. Though it is not easy, we always put our childrens’ needs first. These boys know that they are loved unconditionally and love just as intensely.
I accept them and have advocated for them in every sense of the word, in every environment they have and will step foot in.
🙏 All this to say, I pray that this attention brings more research, more support, more acceptance, more advocacy, and truly believe that uncomfortable conversations, like this if done productively, can be the pathway towards healing.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34046850/
