Autism Information

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Optional Therapy For Children With Autism

Autism is a brain disorder that begins in early childhood and affects communication, social interaction and creative skills. Although no treatment has been found to help all people with autism, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. But the agency suggests options that may benefit many autistic people:
  • Take your child to see a speech pathologist, who can evaluate the child's ability to communicate.
  • Start therapy as early as possible, preferably during the preschool years, which are an intense period of speech and language development.
  • Music and sensory therapy may help children better respond to information they sense.
  • In the short-term, medication may help improve attention span and cut down on unusual behaviors. But long-term medication use is often difficult and not beneficial due to side effects.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Key Developmental Mechanisms Of The Amygdala Identified

For the first time, scientists at Children's National Medical Center have successfully identified a key developmental program for the amygdala—the part of the limbic system that impacts how the brain creates emotional memories and responses.

This knowledge could help scientists to better understand autism and similar disorders in which altered function of this region is known to occur.
The findings, published in the February edition of Nature Neuroscience, identify a group (otherwise known as a pool) of precursor cells of neurons that are earmarked specifically for the amygdala and comprise part of a unique system of growth and development for this portion of the brain.

"Despite its central role in normal brain function and behavior, little has been known about how neuronal cell diversity is generated during development of the amygdala," said senior author Joshua Corbin, PhD, of the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National. "It was thought that development of this region occurred similarly to other brain structures like the cerebral cortex, but our findings indicate that a specific precursor pool exists that is pre-assigned exclusively to the limbic system. It is a breakthrough to our understanding of this little studied region of the brain."

Using studies of embryonic mice, Corbin and his team located two specific pools of precursor cells marked by the transcription factor Dbx1 that migrate from both the ventral pallium and the preoptic area—a previously undiscovered pool of migratory cells—to create the requisite mix of excitatory and inhibitory neurons that ultimately comprise the amygdala. Remarkably, the preoptic area precursor cells are exclusive contributors to the development of the limbic system, and no other portion of the brain.

"Altered function of the amygdala is a hallmark characteristic of disorders such as autism," said Dr. Corbin. "A more clear understanding of the normal development of this important brain structure provides a roadmap to understand the consequences of altered brain development in neurodevelopmental disorders."

Autism-friendly showings at cinemas

The Picturehouse Cinema chain is putting on 14 showings aimed at people with autism, their families and carers.

The National Autistic Society (NAS) said going to the cinema can be a difficult experience for people with the condition.

Some find loud noises in films disturbing, and some find it difficult simply to sit in their seat for the duration of a movie.

Low lights will be left on during the Picturehouse series, cinemagoers will be free to move around and the volume will be turned down to make the experience more enjoyable.

The series begins with free launch events in Aberdeen, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Exeter next month, and includes such films as Cars, Igor and Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa.

"It's fantastic that Picturehouse Cinemas have recognised their specific needs and are giving them the opportunity to enjoy a fun family day out."

The nationwide programme follows a number of pilot autism-friendly screenings in London.

Alice Warren, community and education manager for Picturehouse Cinemas said she was delighted the scheme was being extended around the country.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Autism Videos Shown On Website

What's so unusual about a baby fascinated with spinning a cup, or a toddler flapping his hands, or a preschooler walking on her toes? Parents and even doctors sometimes miss these red flags for autism, but a new online video "glossary" makes them startlingly clear.

A new Web site offers dozens of video clips of autistic kids contrasted with unaffected children's behavior. Some of the side-by-side differences can make you gasp. Others are more subtle.

The free site also defines and depicts "stimming," "echolalia" and other confusing-sounding terms that describe autistic behavior. Stimming refers to repetitive, self-stimulating or soothing behavior including hand-flapping and rocking that autistic children sometimes do in reaction to light, sounds or excitement. Echolalia is echoing or repeating someone else's words or phrases, sometimes out of context.

The new site is sponsored by two nonprofit advocacy groups: Autism Speaks and First Signs. They hope the site will promote early diagnosis and treatment, which can help young children with autism lead more normal lives.

Pediatrician Dr. Michael Wasserman cautioned that the site might lead some parents to needlessly fret about normal behavior variations, and said they shouldn't use it to try to diagnose their own kids.

"Just as there's a spectrum in autism... there's a spectrum in normal development," said Wasserman, with Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. "Children don't necessarily develop in a straight line."

But Amy Wetherby, a Florida State University professor of communications disorders who helped create the site, noted that sometimes "parents are the first to be concerned and the doctors aren't necessarily worried. This will help give them terms to take to the doctor and say, 'I'm worried about it."

And while the children shown in the "Red Flags" video clips on the site have been diagnosed with some form of autism, the sponsors note that not all children who behave this way have something wrong. In fact, the behaviors in some of the short video clips — when viewed individually — look fairly normal.

The important thing is to seek medical help if a child does exhibit persistent unusual behavior, to either rule out autism or get an early diagnosis, said Alison Singer of Autism Speaks.

Added Wetherby, "We now know that one out of 150 children has autism, or one out of 94 boys. It's not a rare disability. We also know that early intervention is critical."


Many Children With Autistic Traits or Symptoms Go Unnoticed

UK researchers studying a large population of children concluded that many children have a measurable lack of social and communication skills that is not severe enough to meet the clinical criteria for autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), but can nevertheless affect their adjustment and behaviour at school. They also found that unlike boys, girls with above average verbal IQ were less likely to be hampered by such deficits.

The study was the work of Dr David Skuse, professor and head of the Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit at the Institute of Child Health, University College, London, and colleagues, and is published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Research has already established there are a lot more school age children with mild but measurable autistic traits or "social communicative deficits" than there are children clinically diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). But what was not yet clear was how many such children there might be and how possessing such deficits might hamper their development and adjustment.

For the study, Skuse and colleagues asked the parents of over 8,000 children to fill in a Social and Communication Disorders Checklist about their child. The parents and children were already taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The researchers then compared results from this parent-report checklist with independently diagnosed cases of ASD in the cohort, plus assessments of cognitive ability and teacher ratings of adaptation in the classroom.

The results showed that:

* Social and Communication Disorders Checklist scores were evenly spread throughout the population: boys had mean scores that were 30 per cent higher than girls (the higher the score, the higher the degree of social communication impairment).

* Impairment measured on this Checklist was linked with functional impairment at school, and particularly with hyperactivity and conduct disorders.

* Girls with higher verbal IQ appeared to be protected against such impairment, across the range of abilities, but not boys.

The authors concluded that that measurable deficits in social and communication skills in boys and girls social communicative deficits are significantly linked to behavioural adjustment at school, perhaps to the point of being predictive.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Diagnosing Autism

Parents are usually the first to notice unusual behaviors in their child. In many cases, their baby seemed "different" from birth-being unresponsive to people and toys, or focusing intently on one item for long periods of time. The first signs of autism may also appear in children who had been developing normally. When an affectionate, babbling toddler suddenly becomes silent, withdrawn, violent, or self-abusive, something is wrong.

Even so, years may go by before the family seeks a diagnosis. Well-meaning friends and relatives sometimes help parents ignore the problems with reassurances that "Every child is different," or "Janie can talk, she just doesn't want to!" Unfortunately, this only delays getting appropriate assessment and treatment for the child.

Diagnostic Procedures for Autism

To date, there are no medical tests like x-rays or blood tests that detect autism. And no two children with the disorder behave the same way. In addition, several conditions can cause symptoms that resemble those of autism. So parents and the child's pediatrician need to rule out other disorders, including hearing loss, speech problems, mental retardation, and neurological problems. But once these possibilities have been eliminated, a visit to a professional who specializes in autism is necessary. Such specialists include people with the professional titles of child psychiatrist, child psychologist, developmental pediatrician, or pediatric neurologist.

Autism specialists use a variety of methods to identify the disorder. Using a standardized rating scale, the specialist closely observes and evaluates the child's language and social behavior. A structured interview is also used to elicit information from parents about the child's behavior and early development. Reviewing family videotapes, photos, and baby albums may help parents recall when each behavior first occurred and when the child reached certain developmental milestones. The specialists may also test for certain genetic and neurological problems.

Specialists may also consider other conditions that produce many of the same behaviors and symptoms as autism, such as Rett's Disorder or Asperger's Disorder. Rett's Disorder is a progressive brain disease that only affects girls but, like autism, produces repetitive hand movements and leads to loss of language and social skills. Children with Asperger's Disorder are very like high-functioning children with autism. Although they have repetitive behaviors, severe social problems, and clumsy movements, their language and intelligence are usually intact. Unlike autism, the symptoms of Asperger's Disorder typically appear later in childhood.

Diagnostic Criteria for Autism

After assessing observations and test results, the specialist makes a diagnosis of autism only if there is clear evidence of:

  • poor or limited social relationships
  • underdeveloped communication skills
  • repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities.

People with autism generally have some impairment within each category, although the severity of each symptom may vary. The diagnostic criteria also require that these symptoms appear by age 3.

However, some specialists are reluctant to give a diagnosis of autism. They fear that it will cause parents to lose hope. As a result, they may apply a more general term that simply describes the child's behaviors or sensory deficits. "Severe communication disorder with autism-like behaviors," "multi-sensory system disorder," and "sensory integration dysfunction" are some of the terms that are used. Children with milder or fewer symptoms are often diagnosed as having Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD).

Although terms like Asperger's Disorder and PDD do not significantly change treatment options, they may keep the child from receiving the full range of specialized educational services available to children diagnosed with autism. They may also give parents false hope that their child's problems are only temporary.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Animated Series Helps Autistic Children Recognize Emotions

A new study indicates that some children with autism showed significant improvements in recognizing and understanding emotion after viewing an animated series created by British autism researchers.

Over four weeks, the children watched at least three episodes of an animated series created for autistic children called The Transporters. The series, developed by the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University in conjunction with the U.K. government, features computer-animated trains, trolleys, ferries and cable cars with the faces of real-life actors expressing emotions.

"The children with autism who'd watched the DVD not only improved on recognizing [emotion on] faces … they'd seen before but even on new faces," said study author Prof. Simon Baron Cohen, director of Cambridge centre.

"So, this suggested they hadn't just mimicked. They'd actually learned the concepts and could apply them in novel ways," added Baron Cohen, who helped to develop the DVD.

Jo-Lynn Fenton of Halifax has been waiting for The Transporters to be released in Canada for the past two years. She hopes the series will help her son, Rhys, who has autism, which makes it difficult for him to recognize and communicate emotion.

"He can identify the emotions, but he can't always put the emotions in the right context," she said.

Each short episode focuses on a specific emotion and the facial cues associated with it. After each episode, there is an interactive quiz.

Children with autism who watched the DVD for 15 minutes a day over a one-month period caught up with other children in their ability to recognize emotions, said Baron Cohen, unlike children who did not watch the series.

More research is needed to look at how long the effects may last and whether the benefits apply to all children in the autism spectrum.

The DVD will be ideal for young children with good language skills, but there is a drawback, said Dr. Susan Bryson, an autism expert at IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

"For a lot of children, what's particularly difficult is picking up emotion in faces when it’s a little more subtle, not so exaggerated," said Bryson. "But this is probably a good starting point."

The British research team isn’t making a profit from the DVD — 25 per cent of the proceeds will go to autism charities, and the rest will be used to make more episodes.

The Transporters series sells online for about $60 and is available in North America as of this week.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Saliva Test For Autism

Researchers in Italy are reporting discovery of abnormal proteins in the saliva of autism patients that could eventually provide a clue for the molecular basis of this severe developmental disorder and could be used as a biomarker for a subgroup of patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Autism involves social withdrawal, impaired emotional responses and communication skills, and other symptoms. With no laboratory test available, scientists are searching for biomarkers such as abnormal proteins that appear in the body fluids of individuals with autism that may provide a way to accurately diagnose autism and track its response to potential treatments.

Massimo Castagnola, Irene Messana, Maria Giulia Torrioli and Fiorella Gurrieri, compared proteins in the saliva of 27 children with ASD to those in a control group without ASD. They discovered that at least one of four proteins in 19 children in the ASD group had significantly lower levels of phosphorylation. That key body process activates proteins so that they can work normally.

The results suggest that these abnormal proteins might be the clue for anomalies in the phosphorylation of proteins involved in development of central nervous system in early infancy that are involved in ASD.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Rare Autism Spectrum Disorders

RETT SYNDROME

Rett syndrome is relatively rare, affecting almost exclusively females, one out of 10,000 to 15,000. After a period of normal development, sometime between 6 and 18 months, autism-like symptoms begin to appear. The little girl's mental and social development regresses - she no longer responds to her parents and pulls away from any social contact. If she has been talking, she stops; she cannot control her feet; she wrings her hands. Some of the problems associated with Rett syndrome can be treated. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy can help with problems of coordination, movement, and speech.

Scientists sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have discovered that a mutation in the sequence of a single gene can cause Rett syndrome. This discovery may help doctors slow or stop the progress of the syndrome. It may also lead to methods of screening for Rett syndrome, thus enabling doctors to start treating these children much sooner, and improving the quality of life these children experience.

CHILDHOOD DISINTEGRATIVE DISORDER

Very few children who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis meet the criteria for childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). An estimate based on four surveys of ASD found fewer than two children per 100,000 with ASD could be classified as having CDD. This suggests that CDD is a very rare form of ASD. It has a strong male preponderance. Symptoms may appear by age 2, but the average age of onset is between 3 and 4 years. Until this time, the child has age-appropriate skills in communication and social relationships. The long period of normal development before regression helps differentiate CDD from Rett syndrome.

The loss of such skills as vocabulary are more dramatic in CDD than they are in classical autism. The diagnosis requires extensive and pronounced losses involving motor, language, and social skills. CDD is also accompanied by loss of bowel and bladder control and oftentimes seizures and a very low IQ.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

A Gluten-Free Diet

A gluten-free diet is an eating plan in which gluten (a protein found in some grains) is eliminated from the diet. Foods and drinks containing wheat, barley, rye, oats, or anything made from these grains are avoided. A gluten-free diet is often used for children with autism in combination with a casein-free diet. The casein-free diet calls for the elimination of milk protein (casein). Both diets are called elimination diets because a particular type of food is eliminated from the child's meals and snacks.

Proponents of the gluten-free diet say that many children with autism have gastrointestinal difficulties that make it hard for them to digest certain grains properly. There are different possibilities for ways in which this could affect children with autism. The most studied theory is that eating gluten leads to high levels of protein by-products, called gluteomorphines, in some children with autism. These by-products may then affect behavior like a drug would. Specifically, in these children, gluteomorphines could reduce their desire for social interaction, block pain messages, and increase confusion. If gluten is taken out of the diet, the idea is that this will reduce the level of gluteomorphines, and behavior will improve as a result.

Parents who choose a gluten-free diet for their child must become aware of the ingredients of everything in their grocery cart. Products containing wheat, barley, rye, or oats in any form should not be purchased. Foods containing modified food starch also contain gluten, but modified corn starch does not. Maintaining a gluten-free diet can be hard to do at first because gluten is present in many prepared foods. However, parents can take a gluten-free cooking class or read a gluten-free cookbook to learn how to cook without gluten and still provide enough nutrition for the child.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Being Born Small, Early Raises Autism Risk

Children who are born underweight or early have more than double the risk of developing autism, new research shows.

The study, by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, helps tease out the mysterious underpinnings of this disorder but is unlikely to translate into benefits for patients anytime soon.

"This gives us more clues about autism, which we desperately need, but it's not anything clinicians can use right away," said Dr. Cindy Molloy, an autism researcher and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

The results do reinforce the importance of monitoring children who are born underweight or early for behavioral problems so they can be treated, said study author Diana Schendel, lead health scientist at the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

So-called "autism-spectrum disorders" are a group of developmental disorders characterized by social and communication problems. According to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, some three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism, while males are four times more likely to develop the disorder than girls.

Previous studies have indicated that low birth weight and being born premature are important risk factors for developmental problems generally in children. But the association between these factors and autism is less clear.

A Canadian study published earlier this year did find that premature infants who were born at a very low birth weight -- about 3.3 pounds -- were more likely to screen positive on tests of autistic behaviors, but the findings were considered preliminary.

The investigators on the current study looked at 565 children with autism born in metropolitan Atlanta between 1986 and 1993, and compared them to a set of children without autism, as well as to children with other developmental disabilities, such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing loss or vision problems.

Overall, low birth weight was associated with a twofold increased risk for autism, but the risk was higher for girls than for boys.

For all low-birth-weight children, the risk for autism accompanied by other developmental problems, such as mental retardation, was higher than the risk of developing autism alone.

There was also double the risk for developing autism in babies born prematurely, although this was primarily due to a more than fivefold increased risk in girls born early.

"This was one of the first studies that had a large enough sample to look at girls," Molloy said. "They really were able to tease out what is different about boys and girls."

Even so, the elevated risk for autism seen in low-birth-weight and preterm babies was much lower than that linked with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, hearing loss or vision impairment.

"It's not yet clear why being small or being born too soon could lead to these problems but, Schendel said, "[these factors] could be a marker for an impaired fetus, one that has a neurological problem which is retarding its growth. On the other hand, being small or being born too soon may be related to factors that could harm the neurological development of the fetus such as infection during pregnancy."

The findings support the idea that there are different kinds of autism and different mechanisms underlying those cases, Molloy said.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Younger Dad, Healthier Child?

New studies from Tel Aviv University suggest that waiting until a man can give his son “all the advantages” may have a disadvantage, too.

Tel Aviv University researchers found in several consecutive studies that older dads are more likely to have boys with autism and lower IQs. Most recently, they found that the older a father’s age, the greater the chance that his son will display poor social abilities as a teen. Dr. Mark Weiser from TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine and his team of researchers are now studying what causes this phenomenon.

“There is a growing body of data showing that an advanced age of parents puts their kids at risk for various illnesses,” says Dr. Weiser. “Some illnesses, such as schizophrenia, appear to be more common the older parents get. Doctors and psychologists are fascinated by this, but don’t really understand it. We want to know how it works.”

Dr. Weiser, who also works at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer hospital, cautions that the results are far from conclusive. “It could be that men with poorer social skills get married later in life, and therefore transmit this characteristic to their boys. But our studies attempted to control for this variable by looking at brothers from the same father,” he explains.

He also suggests that older men shouldn’t change their minds about having children since the statistical risk is relatively minor. “The effects of a father’s age on the health of his son are quite small, and many of the most dramatic effects in this study are driven by dads in their 50s,” says Dr. Weiser. “The difference in risk between someone who is 35 or 45 is so small that it’s irrelevant.”

Dr. Weiser continues, “But the findings are interesting for clinicians who are looking at the bigger picture of how parental age affects the mental functioning of offspring and what mechanisms are at play in that functioning.” And Dr. Weiser doesn’t rule out the possibility that older fathers may have better resources for getting their boys tested for autism when symptoms arise.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Balancing Autism Diets

There a­re m­­a­ny­ a­u­tistic child­ren who a­re very­ p­ick­y­ ea­ters a­nd­ ha­ve od­d­ a­u­tism­­ d­iet foibles. This is not ju­st a­nother p­roblem­­ with beha­vior, thou­g­h it m­­ig­ht seem­­ lik­e it a­t first. This is often som­­ething­ tha­t ha­p­p­ens for sim­­p­ler rea­sons, a­nd­ som­­e of them­­ a­re correcta­ble.

A­ child­ w­ho is n­ot­ ea­t­in­g­ en­oug­h of t­he rig­ht­ food­s is n­ot­ g­et­t­in­g­ t­he n­ut­rit­ion­a­l in­t­a­ke t­hey­ n­eed­ t­o rem­a­in­ hea­lt­hy­, a­n­d­ pa­ren­t­s m­ust­ d­o w­ha­t­ t­hey­ ca­n­ t­o est­a­blish a­ m­ore ba­la­n­ced­ d­iet­.

T­h­e­r­e­ ar­e­ t­ime­s wh­e­n­­ t­h­e­r­e­ is a me­dical­ r­e­ason­­ b­e­h­in­­d t­h­e­ picky­ e­at­in­­g, an­­d it­ migh­t­ me­an­­ t­al­kin­­g t­o a doct­or­ ab­out­ n­­ut­r­it­ion­­ an­­d h­ow t­o make­ sur­e­ t­h­e­ r­igh­t­ foods ar­e­ in­­ a ch­il­d?s die­t­.

S­o­me c­hi­ldren­ who­ wo­n­?t eat are s­i­mply­ n­o­t hun­gry­. S­o­meti­mes­ thi­s­ i­s­ j­us­t the way­ i­t i­s­, but mo­re o­f­ten­ than­ n­o­t, there may­ be a medi­c­ati­o­n­ to­ blame. S­o­me c­hi­ldren­ wi­th auti­s­m als­o­ have ADHD an­d they­ may­ be o­n­ medi­ati­o­n­s­ f­o­r that purpo­s­e. S­o­me o­f­ the medi­c­ati­o­n­s­ f­o­r thi­s­ c­o­n­di­ti­o­n­ wi­ll s­uppres­s­ appeti­te, alo­n­g wi­th o­thers­ drugs­ li­ke an­ti­bi­o­ti­c­s­. I­f­ thi­s­ i­s­ the s­us­pec­ted pro­blem, there may­ be altern­ati­ve medi­c­ati­o­n­s­ that c­an­ be gi­ven­ that wi­ll n­o­t have the s­ame af­f­ec­t o­n­ the c­hi­ld?s­ hun­ger. Talk to­ y­o­ur do­c­to­r abo­ut thi­s­.

T­h­e­re­ a­re­ a­lso some­ a­ut­ist­ic ch­ildre­n­­ t­h­a­t­ h­a­ve­ ve­ry se­n­­sit­ive­ dige­st­ive­ syst­e­ms. T­h­e­y ma­y h­a­ve­ p­roble­ms w­it­h­ a­cid re­flux, a­n­­d t­h­is ca­n­­ ma­k­e­ e­a­t­in­­g h­a­rd for t­h­e­m.

Th­ey may als­o­ h­ave p­ro­blems­ in­ th­e in­tes­tin­es­ th­at lead­ to­ c­o­n­s­tip­atio­n­, lo­o­s­e s­to­o­ls­, o­r gas­ an­d­ blo­atin­g. Th­ey learn­ to­ as­s­o­c­iate th­es­e feelin­gs­ with­ eatin­g, an­d­ th­at makes­ th­em n­o­t wan­t to­ eat.

I­n t­hi­s case, i­t­ mi­ght­ just­ t­ake so­­met­hi­ng as si­mpl­e as a co­­ur­se o­­f­ aci­d r­ef­l­ux­ medi­cat­i­o­­n t­o­­ get­ t­hem f­eel­i­ng b­et­t­er­ and eat­i­ng mo­­r­e. As a nat­ur­al­ al­t­er­nat­i­ve y­o­­u co­­ul­d t­r­y­ gi­nger­ t­o­­ hel­p so­­o­­t­he t­he sy­st­em, ask y­o­­ur­ do­­ct­o­­r­ f­o­­r­ mo­­r­e advi­ce.

Som­­etim­­es ea­ting­ is not som­­ething­ a­ child­ look­s forw­a­rd­ to beca­u­se they­ ha­ve poor m­­otor sk­ills a­nd­ ca­n?t g­et the food­s into their m­­ou­th w­ith ea­se, a­nd­ they­ m­­a­y­ ha­ve problem­­s w­ith chew­ing­ a­nd­ sw­a­llow­ing­. They­ m­­a­y­ g­a­g­ or chok­e a­nd­ they­ w­ill a­void­ ea­ting­ to a­void­ those thing­s. W­hen tha­t ha­ppens, thera­py­ sessions w­ith a­ ora­l-m­­otor thera­pist m­­ig­ht be the a­nsw­er to the child­?s ea­ting­ problem­­s.

S­ome­ c­h­ildr­e­n­­ s­imply c­an­­n­­ot s­tan­­d th­e­ te­xtur­e­s­ of foods­, an­­d th­e­y may be­ h­ype­r­ s­e­n­­s­itive­ to almos­t all s­e­n­­s­ation­­s­ as­s­oc­iate­d w­ith­ e­atin­­g. Fin­­din­­g a w­ay to de­s­e­n­­s­itiz­e­ th­e­ mouth­ c­an­­ h­e­lp, an­­d quite­ ofte­n­­ liquids­ c­an­­ be­ tak­e­n­­ in­­ by th­e­ us­e­ of a s­tr­aw­.

Keep r­eadi­n­g to s­i­gn­ up f­or­ the f­r­ee Auti­s­m­ n­ew­s­letter­ that addr­es­s­es­ the s­i­gn­s­ an­d s­ym­ptom­s­ of­ auti­s­m­ an­d di­s­c­over­ n­atur­al tr­eatm­en­t opti­on­s­ avai­lable, as­ w­ell as­ m­or­e i­n­f­or­m­ati­on­ on­ the li­n­k betw­een­ di­et an­d auti­s­m­.

Whe­n­ pare­n­t­s have­ co­n­ce­rn­s, t­he­y n­e­e­d t­o­ co­n­sult­ wi­t­h t­he­i­r physi­ci­an­ ab­o­ut­ what­ t­he­y sho­uld do­ fi­rst­. N­e­w me­di­cat­i­o­n­s mi­ght­ b­e­ fo­un­d t­hat­ wi­ll n­o­t­ affe­ct­ t­he­ appe­t­i­t­e­, an­d t­he­re­ may b­e­ addi­t­i­o­n­al me­di­cat­i­o­n­s t­hat­ can­ he­lp wi­t­h an­ upse­t­ di­ge­st­i­ve­ syst­e­m.

Th­ere a­re su­p­p­lem­ents th­a­t a­ d­o­cto­r m­igh­t su­ggest to­ resto­re ba­la­nce a­nd­ give im­p­o­rta­nt vita­m­ins a­nd­ m­inera­ls. So­m­etim­es little th­ings ca­n h­elp­ resto­re a­ go­o­d­ a­u­tism­ d­iet to­ h­elp­ a­ ch­ild­ rem­a­in h­ea­lth­y a­nd­ stro­ng, bu­t befo­re giving su­p­p­lem­ents, it is im­p­o­rta­nt to­ find­ o­u­t h­o­w m­u­ch­ th­ey sh­o­u­ld­ h­a­ve a­nd­ h­o­w o­ften th­ey sh­o­u­ld­ h­a­ve it.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Hormone Improves Human Ability To Recognize Faces But Not Places

Oxytocin, a hormone involved in child-birth and breast-feeding, helps people recognize familiar faces, according to new research in the January 7 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Study participants who had one dose of an oxytocin nasal spray showed improved recognition memory for faces, but not for inanimate objects.

"This is the first paper showing that a single dose of oxytocin specifically improves recognition memory for social, but not for nonsocial, stimuli," said Ernst Fehr, PhD, an economist at the University of Zurich who has studied oxytocin's effect on trust and is unaffiliated with the new study. "The results suggest an immediate, selective effect of the hormone: strengthening neuronal systems of social memory," Fehr said.

In mice, oxytocin has been shown to be important in social recognition — remembering that another mouse is familiar. Unlike humans, who use visual cues, mice use smell to recognize and distinguish other mice.

In humans, oxytocin increases social behaviors like trust, but its role in social memory has been unclear. "Recognizing a familiar face is a crucial feature of successful social interaction in humans," said Peter Klaver, PhD, at the University of Zurich, the senior author of the new study, which was led by Ulrike Rimmele, PhD, at New York University. "In this study, we investigated for the first time the systematic effect of oxytocin on social memory in humans," Klaver said.

Volunteers who used the oxytocin spray more accurately recognized the faces they had seen before than did those in the placebo group. However, the two groups did not differ in recognizing the other, nonsocial images, suggesting that oxytocin specifically improved social memory and that different mechanisms exist for social and nonsocial memory. Further analysis showed that oxytocin selectively improved the discrimination of new and familiar faces — participants with oxytocin were less likely to mistakenly characterize unfamiliar faces as familiar. "Together, our data indicate that oxytocin in humans immediately strengthens the capability to correctly recognize and discriminate faces," Klaver said.

Autism test 'could hit maths skills'

The prospect of a prenatal test for autism, allowing couples to choose whether to have a baby with the condition, is coming closer. And with it also comes the possibility of a prenatal drug treatment being developed.

But in this week's Scrubbing Up, leading autism expert Professor Simon Baron-Cohen warns caution is needed to ensure associated talents, like numerical abilities, are not lost if the test or a "cure" become available.

Males, maths and autism. On the face of it, these three things don't appear to be linked. And yet they are.

Males are much more likely to apply to university to study maths, for example.

In 2007, three quarters of applicants to read maths at Cambridge were male, as were 90% of applicants for the computer sciences degree.

Cambridge is not unique in this way. So why are males so attracted to studying maths?

And why, in over 100 years of the existence of the Fields Medal, maths' Nobel Prize, have none of the winners have ever been a woman?

Similarly, people with autism are much more likely to be male. Among those with classic autism, which includes a developmental delay in language and a risk of learning difficulties, males outnumber females by four to one.

And among those with Asperger Syndrome, males outnumber females by nine to one.

People with the condition talk at a normal age and have at least an average IQ, but share the social and communication difficulties of those with classic autism, as well as the narrow - even obsessive - interests and love of repetition.

Monday, January 05, 2009

Decreased Levels Of Binding Gene Affect Memory And Behavior

Reducing the activity of a gene called FKBP12 in the brains of mice affected neuron-to-neuron communication (synapse) and increased both fearful memory and obsessive behavior, indicating the gene could provide a target for drugs to treat diseases such as autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disease and others, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The protein FKBP12 regulates several important cell signaling pathways, and decreasing its activity enhances long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, said Dr. Susan Hamilton, chair of molecular physiology and biophysics at BCM and a senior author of the report. (Long-term potentiation means the enhancement of the synapse or communication between neurons.)

It accomplishes this by fine-tuning a particular pathway called mTOR signaling (mammalian target of rapamycin). The mice in whose brains the activity of the gene was reduced had longer memories and were more likely to exhibit repetitive behaviors than normal mice.

"These studies may offer insight into the molecular underpinnings of repetitive behaviors such as those seen in autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and other neurodegenerative disorders," said Hamilton. "Because these studies involved interrupting the mTOR signaling after birth, they challenge the idea that some aspects of these conditions are developmentally predetermined."