"The Unspoken Truth About Autism" by Dr. Karen Savlov
Autism is a disorder that is not easily understood, despite its widespread presence in children. In “The Unspoken Truth About Autism: A New Look at the Etiology and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders” (ISBN 1461195004), Dr. Karen Savlov presents a new explanation for the etiology of autism that disputes commonly held views.
Although the origin is unknown, the majority of professionals working with or researching autism consider it to be a brain disorder. Due to this perspective, clinical work generally focuses on techniques such as Applied Behavioral Analysis, sensory integration and social skills development. While this work should be commended, Savlov believes that the time is right to introduce a new state-of-the-art work called Attachment Relational Therapy (ART).
Savlov believes that the cause of autism stems from an incomplete attachment, a process that extends over the first two to three years of life. She states that children who fall into this incomplete attachment are waiting for the attachment process to be completed.
Savlov hypothesizes that the child remains in this incomplete state of attachment until the caregiver can respond appropriately to help the child to complete the attachment process. From this viewpoint, the child with autism has varying degrees of dissociation and lacks a sense of self-agency, which prohibits the child from relating to others. She explains that the child can be mobilized to use him or herself in relationships with others through the use of empathy, understanding, acceptance, recognition and validation.
“A child with autism does the best he or she can to cope with this predicament,” Savlov says. “Actions typical of autism, like the flapping of arms, nonverbal communication and a general lack of responsiveness, make more sense when viewed through the lens of an incomplete attachment.”
Savlov continues to tell us that “autism can inform our understanding of typical psychological development. In fact, autism can be viewed as a window into human development. In other words, autism is not only an attachment relational disorder, but it is also a slowed-down version of typical psychological development.”
Savlov’s career has centered around autism for over 25 years, and she has seen research grow by leaps and bounds over that time. She hopes her readers consider her book a serious addition to the array of books in the field of autism, and that it can be used to provide caregivers/parents and professionals the practical knowledge that will help them in assisting children with autism.
“The Unspoken Truth About Autism: A New Look at the Etiology and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders” is available for sale online at Amazon.com and through other channels.
About the Author: Dr. Karen Savlov is a licensed marriage and family therapist with a doctorate in psychoanalysis and practices in Los Angeles. She specializes in autism spectrum disorders, depression and anxiety among other topics, and she is affiliated with the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Savlov has worked for many years with children, adolescents and adults, providing individual treatment, trainings and support groups for those affected by autism as well as groups for college-age students with developmental disabilities. She has also worked at University of California, Los Angeles as the manager of organizational development.
MEDIA CONTACT
Dr. Karen Savlov
Email: Phone: (310) 202-0114
Website: www.karensavlov.com
REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS ARE AVAILABLE
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Direct link: https://prnewschannel.com/2012/03/22/doctor-reveals-new-ideas-treatment-for-children-with-autism/SOURCE: Dr. Karen Savlov
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I nearly threw up reading this “flat world”, dark ages belief about ASD. SMH!
Good luck with that book. You are going to need it!
The “good” doctor should have been blessed with such a child. I dare say she’d see things in quite a different light. Unless of course, she has lost it completely, which would also appear to be viable answer.
More proof that the psychiatric profession is the WRONG profession to diagnose and treat “autism”. The very LAST thing a kid beset by mitochondril disorders, ruined gut, severe food allergies, visual processing problems, no speech and auditory processing delays need is someone else who comes along, IGNORES the instructions in the DSM to RULE OUT organic causes for the symptoms and come up with a completely self-centered theory that a child does not want to attach to the parent when in reality they have NO help in communicating pain & anguish. Congratulations on a 25 year career of contributing to the suffering of these children.
She appears to be trying to rewind autism research by about 50 years — it sounds like an elaborately worded return to the (long debunked) refrigerator mother theory.
This is as new as bloodletting and leeches. what BS.
So what Dr. Savlov is saying is that I’m a refrigerator mother? I thought we were past the dark ages of autism.
This statement: “autism can be viewed as a window into human development” floors me. Here she is saying autism is just the next and NATURAL step in the evolution of humans? We’re to accept an entire generation of medically ill children because it’s the next step? There is no such thing as a “genetic epidemic”.
Someone who has a doctorate in psychoanalysis; that can diagnose others with different mental disorders, should know that their diagnoses is just their OPINION and ONLY an opinion.
What a waste of time and energy to even read this.
Why doesn’t Dr. Karen Savlov come right out and say “Refrigerator Mother?”
I want to ask where she parks her time capsule. She must have just arrived from 1970.
So, it’s back to blaming the parents again, is it? Have we went around the circle already?
You had your children too close together, you had them too far apart, it’s the first child, it’s the last child, you were too old when you had your baby, you were too young when you had your baby, you didn’t take your prenatal pills on time…this list goes on. But hey, let’s NOT forget the classics: Did you work during your pregnancy? Well, no wonder your child has autism. Did you take a nap? Did you drive a car? Did you live near a freeway? OH MY GOD, DID YOU PRACTICE THE ART OF CELLULAR RESPIRATION WHILE YOU WERE PREGNANT? Well, gee, no wonder your child has *autism.*
“Doctor” (coughcough) Savlov once again only goes to show the ridiculousness of the current (coughcough) medical industry to lead people astray as to what causes autism. The refrigerator mother concept was thrown out over sixty years ago, “Doctor.” First of all, there has been NO SUCH THING AS REGRESSIVE AUTISM until the 90s, when children were beginning to regress. Children do not just DECIDE to become autistic, that ranks right up there with Eric Fombonne’s statement of it’s just coincidence that children regress into autism around the 15-18 month mark – because well, they were going to become autistic ANYWAY. ????
Leave it to a psychoanalyst (really? a family therapist? Read; NOT A REAL DOCTOR) – to come up with something as stupid as this. Your book will have some buyers, you can be sure of that…Amanda Peet needs something to read, I hear, because her show is going to tank…and that Paul Offit might have time in between his ducking of Congress looking at his non-disclosures of … you know … stuff.
Hugs and kisses “doctor” – coughcoughcough
Kelly
A NON-refrigerator mother.
This book is dangerously, ignorantly inaccurate. This is a spoken fallacy (reminiscent of “refrigerator mothers”), not an “unspoken truth” as the author claims. Clearly, this author has neither read or conducted scholarly research about Autism and causation factors.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? REALLY?????? I cannot imagine why on earth you see if necessary to start blaming mothers AGAIN for this ILLNESS….YES>>I. L. L. N. E. S. S. My son is SICK. NOT INAPPROPRIATELY ATTACHED or whatever mumbo jumbo crack pot idea you have! He has verified IMMUNE dysfunction, verified GASTROINTESTINAL dysfunction, verified PANDAS, he has inflammation caused by all of the above! This makes him feel bad, this causes behaviors. DO SOME REAL RESEARCH. There will be young mothers out there who will believe this horse crap, blame themselves and live in a world full of guilt and self hatred because of what you have said in this book. I hope someone sets them straight before any real damage is done. You can be rest assured that I will do MY part to inform them that it is NOT their fault and that this is a load of crap.
Not an unspoken truth by any means, rather a long ago debunked one. Why is it that Dr. Savlov did not give thought to asking adults on the spectrum as to the reasons behind their flapping, lack of eye contact, struggles with verbal communication and the like? Numerous are able to relay their experiences quite clearly if given the chance. I would have thought they would have been the first consideration given the doc’s 25 years of experience! Sad.
Are you f***ing kidding me?
Really?
I guess when you have a hammer, all problems look like a nail. FAMILY THERAPIST.
State of the art research is showing that autism is a NEURO BIOLOGICAL ILLNESS.
This is completely ridiculous and you do a disservice to anyone who loves, heals or works with someone on the spectrum.
PS – this was the original theory of autism etiology. It’s not new – it’s recycled. And it’s been proven to be unfounded.
Has Dr. Savlov been analyzed for her sanity? Is she for real? Does she know how long some of us tried to get pregnant, how the love of these children was overwhelming to us? Does she know that after 6 miscarriages, the amount of love and care and attachment we had to these children was immeasurable? She obviously doesn’t. What amazes me, is that she took the time to write down this trash, and editor read it, and some buffoon published it. Put it next to the Kardashian’s books, this is just a narcissist looking to have her name in the National Library
So, if your kid is smearing poop on the walls, it’s simply because he/she hasn’t attached to you. Sounds so simple. (And absolutely ridiculous!)
I appreciate all the feedback that I am getting about my new book – The Unspoken Truth About Autism. I do not believe that parents are to be blamed for autism. I know about the past and I have taken great pains to not blame and call parents refrigerator parents. I think that it is very unfortunate that parents were blamed for autism.
I am saying that autism is due to an incomplete attachment and that for every child with ASD there is a different reason why the child has not completed the attachment process. I do not know why a particular child has not completed the attachment process.
The good news is that by understanding autism from this perspective the children with ASD can develop beyond are previous expectations.
The problem, Karen, is that autism is NOT a psychological disorder. Stop pushing that idea, period. Do you have a clue about all the peer reviewed published science out there about autism and it’s medical components? Methylation? Mitochondrial disorders? Heavy metal toxicity and the inability to detox? Clinic lab results in all out kids that show all sorts of physiological processes are completely out of whack? Seizure disorders of one type or another in 80% of our kids?? New work on glutamate receptors playing a role? Do you honestly believe that that your Attachment therapy can CURE underlying biomedical disorders in ASD kids? I hug my kid and suddenly his cellular biology starts to function properly and that is how he gets well?
My son is obviously happy and well attached. He feels safe and comfortable with me and his therapists. He is still severely affected. You are so far off the mark.
Also, you say it works with all your patients… get some parent testimonials up online. Show some before and after footage.
What is this mumbo jumbo stuff about attachment?? My son was totally attached to me until his flu shot at 15 months. At no point in time before that did I question our bond! He wanted affection and to be held all the time. Nursed him until he was 2 – so don’t tell me there was an attachment issue! Ever other week a new rocket scientist is coming up with some reason I am to be blamed for my son’s imapired metabolic pathway, his PANDAS and issues with viruses and bacteria, his leaky gut (which is much better), heavy metal issues and all his food allergies. Yes – I guess it’s because he did not bond with me… What a load of you know what!! Why don’t you get your head out of the sand and find out why these kid’s bodies are so sick! I can GUARANTEE it’s not because we did not bond!! My son spoke 8 days after removing wheat from his diet – he was basically a non verbal, hand flappying, head banging half crazed child. Why was he like this – because he was in PAIN!! 4 1/2 years into special diets (organic), supplements, HBOT, Chelation and getting his PANDAS under control I have a child in regular 1st grade. So why is the body healing working for so many kids?? Stop wasting our time and do some relevant research or is your answer to put my child on ritalin?
What is this mumbo jumbo stuff about attachment?? My son was totally attached to me until his flu shot at 15 months. At no point in time before that did I question our bond! He wanted affection and to be held all the time. Nursed him until he was 2 – so don’t tell me there was an attachment issue! Ever other week a new rocket scientist is coming up with some reason I am to be blamed for my son’s imapired metabolic pathway, his PANDAS and issues with viruses and bacteria, his leaky gut (which is much better), heavy metal issues and all his food allergies. Yes – I guess it’s because he did not bond with me… What a load of you know what!! Why don’t you get your head out of the sand and find out why these kid’s bodies are so sick! I can GUARANTEE it’s not because we did not bond!! My son spoke 8 days after removing wheat from his diet – he was basically a non verbal, hand flappying, head banging half crazed child. Why was he like this – because he was in PAIN!! 4 1/2 years into special diets (organic), supplements, HBOT, Chelation and getting his PANDAS under control I have a child in regular 1st grade. So why is the body healing working for so many kids?? Stop wasting our time and do some relevant research or is your answer to put my child on ritalin like so many in the mainstream medical field?
I had an entire response typed out for you Karen. I went to post it and it said “Internal Error” and I lost the whole thing. I’m just going to say one more thing and then I’m done wasting my time and energy on you or your book.
This is NOT feedback…it’s BACK LASH.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go reevaluate myself and what I’ve been doing SO wrong for my son because according to you…I’m just not doing it right. I pray to God above that some parent, new the diagnoses, does not pick up your book and immediately think THEY are the reason their child isn’t forming an “attachment”.
I feel like I’m being called a Refrigerator Mother again. With new rates of autism at 1:83 – we need solid medical science and therapies. Not some theory about attachment disorder and a treatment that has no studies behind it.
Karen – if you don’t know why kids loose their attachment – how do you know how to treat it?
Parents need solid and scientific based treatments from the start. This ART scares me as it wastes valuable time in the early years of onset.
And shame on you NPR for allowing her on your media show and sites. For some patent of a newly diagnosed child might not understand the difference between fact and “rumor”. They may waste precious time considering Karen’s hypothesis.
This is a REAL book about autism.
http://www.autismrevolution.org/
Autism as we know it today is MEDICAL.
Karen, As a speech pathologist ABA certified I have worked directly with children who have ASD, non-verbal children and ALL their parents claim they were attached before onset. (I also have a child with an attachment disorder)
If it is related to attachment why would applied behavioral analysis and diets work at all. No aspect of ABA mirrors attachemt therapy in any way. Why would children show such attachment and then suddenly not be attached.
Here Karen, here is some information you may find useful for your next 25 yrs of RESEARCH…
437 publications examined immune dysregulation or inflammation in ASD; 416 (95%) found an association
115 publications examined oxidative stress in ASD; all 115 found an association
153 publications examined mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD; 145 (95%) reported an association
190 publications examined environmental toxicant exposures in ASD; 170 (89%) found an association
62% of the publications in these 4 areas were published in the last 5 years (2006-2010)”
Start digging, you’re a few decades behind.
Now go forth and make a difference.
As a hippie, crunchy, AP, Extended Breastfeeding, cosleeping stay-at-home mom I am highly offended by this book. Back to blaming the refrigerator mothers of the 50s? What poppycock.
This is a load of garbage. Shame on you!
This woman is seriously disturbed. God help any parent who goes to her for advise. What a complete idiot.
Isn’t this the same crap they tried to force feed Temple Grandin’s mom when her daughter was diagnosed with autism?
It was utter crap then and it is still crap.
If this is where our autism research funds are going I want a refund.
Karen,
If you want to know why autistic people flap, stim, have trouble verbalizing, become attached to routines, etc. etc. etc., I have a novel idea for you: ASK US. Really. We’re right here. We’ll tell you all about it. Talking to us will do wonders for helping you test your theories to see whether they actually make any sense.
And for the record: I’m a 53 year old woman with autism and have never had any difficulties with attachment. Ever. The issues are not psychological. They are sensory and neurological, and have to do with, among other things, difficulties with information processing, auditory processing, translating visual thinking into spoken language, sensory overload, and difficulties reading nonverbal signals in real time. If you think otherwise, you haven’t been keeping up with current events.
How embarrassing for you Karen. It doesn’t look like your book will do very well and rightfully so. Shame on you.
This is the most ignorant thing I have read in a very long time. My young son who has been diagnosed with severe regressive autism does not have any attachment issues. He is extremely attached to his family and is a very loving and caring little boy. His autism was not caused by attachment issues-HE WAS BORN WITH AN EXTRA CHROMOSOME!
Coming from an entire family of attorneys, I would highly suggest this book NOT be published. It seeks to undue years upon years of research, awareness and progress towards the REAL underlying issues with autism. This book will do nothing to improve any sort of awareness or compassion. This book is completely not scientifically or medically based. The opinions presented here have no place within the autism community and are VERY hurtful to the real people and families who struggle EVERY SINGLE DAY.
This is not only horrible, but also completely inaccurate.
Thank the Lord you were not blessed with a child with this ILLNESS-you clearly could never have handled it.