The video you linked is a TED Talk by Dr David Eagleman titled “Can we create new senses for humans?”. In the talk, Dr Eagleman discusses the possibility of using technology to create new senses for humans. He argues that our current five senses are limiting and that we could benefit from having additional senses. He gives several examples, such as using electrical stimulation to create a sense of touch on the tongue or using implants to allow us to see infrared light. Dr Eagleman believes that creating new senses would enable us to experience the world in new and exciting ways. He also thinks it could help us better understand ourselves and our place in the universe.

Here are some of the key points from the talk:

• Our current five senses are limiting.
• We could benefit from having additional senses.
• The technology could be used to create new senses.
• Creating new senses would allow us to experience the world more excitingly.
• It could help us better to understand ourselves and our place in the universe.
• Angela apologizes for being late and discusses toilet training regression with her son Dustin, showing data and progress.

00:00 Toilet training regression resolved

00:47 Discussion about regression and handling unexpected possibilities

01:36 Success during Christmas time

02:26 Success with stalling out days

03:15 A caregiver recounts an incident with an aggressive patient.

04:05 Parent uses positive reinforcement to encourage child’s toileting habits

04:47 Stay calm and stick to the data when dealing with regression

05:40 Be patient and keep trying

00:00 Toilet training regression resolved

• Angela faced a regression problem with toilet training due to her son’s sickness
• She was able to turn things around and get back on track with success

00:47 Discussion about regression and handling unexpected possibilities

• Plan in mind to take unexpected possibilities
• Discussion about the start of the incentive program with Dustin

01:36 Success during Christmas time

• Despite having nothing going on Christmas Eve, we continued to have success
• Happy faces on the 26th meant he earned his toys arrest

02:26 Success with stalling out days

• Stalling out is normal, don’t get frustrated
• Data sharing between home and school for better communication

03:15 A caregiver recounts an incident with an aggressive patient.

• The patient needed a diaper change and was lying on the floor.
• Caregiver had success with this patient before.

04:05 Parent uses positive reinforcement to encourage child’s toileting habits

• The child is rewarded with toys r us a coupon for good toileting habits
• The parent takes away previously earned rewards when a child regresses to reinforce the importance of good habits

04:47 Stay calm and stick to the data when dealing with regression

• Don’t get frustrated if the guys revert on us
• Stick to the chart and follow through, don’t show agitation

05:40 Be patient and keep trying

• Success may not come immediately, but persistence pays off
• Contact me for further assistance and updates in March

Last week, I called my good friend, who is also a mother to an autistic child. Before I could greet her, she told me: “So good you called, I need to consult with you.”
My friend has only one son, autistic, and she now wants to expand the family and bring him a brother or sister – but her husband is very much afraid that the second child born to them will be also on the spectrum. After I recovered from this bomb thrown at me over the phone, I told her that this was indeed a very complex issue that almost any parent of an autistic child has to deal with at some stage of his life.
Although the cause of autism is not yet defined, it is known that there is a genetic factor involved. The assumption is that a number of damaged genes are causing this syndrome but the scientists have not yet identified with certainty those genes that are responsible directly.  The odds of having another child with autism in a family that already has one autistic child are 50 times higher than in a family which has no autistic child.

But troubling of all is the fact that to this date no medical examination – physical or genetic can diagnose autism before birth. Autism is a syndrome, meaning a child with autism can be diagnosed only by the existence or absence of certain behaviors, and usually only after the first year of the infant’s life. One-third of autistic children develop properly until the age of 1-1.5 years old and some of them even develop a language – but then they suffer a regression and lose some of the capabilities already acquired. I know quite a few families who are razing two children with autism, and it is a real challenge (to say the least).

On the other hand, I know families with one autistic child, who found the courage to have more children and they were born completely normal. I can attest to myself that I didn’t have the courage to get pregnant again after my son was diagnosed and this is the reason I have only two children. Quick review on the families of most of my friends reveals a similar situation: two children, the oldest is N.T (Neurotypical} and the youngest is on the autistic spectrum.

My decision not to have another child after my son was diagnosed was not an easy one. I always wanted at least three children but I realized that I don’t have enough resources to raise more than one autistic child. My friend explained to me that her situation is a little different than mine because my son has at least one sister and her son is growing up as an only child and she so wants him to have a brother or sister. As we kept talking it became clear to me that my friend wants a second child at any coast and she is ready to take the risk. She told me she has a moral problem with abortions so even if there had been a test to discover autism before birth she would have had the child anyway.  I’m glad these doubts are long behind me but suddenly I wondered: if there would have been a test for detecting autism while I was pregnant with my son, could I have really end the pregnancy and thereby losing my amazing son? I can only thank God that that did not put me to this trail.