The Road to Curing Autistic Symptoms

Pycnogenol could soothe ADHD symptoms

2007-09-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

A soon-to-be published study has linked French maritime pine bark ingredient Pycnogenol to balancing stress hormones, in turn diminishing symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.The research, set to be published in an upcoming issue of Nutritional Neuroscience, builds on previous studies linking the antioxidant ingredient to abating a host of conditions.

The present study showed Pycnogenol lowered adrenaline by 26.2 percent and the neurostimulant dopamine by 10.8 percent.These hormones and stimulants affect processes and actions such as learning, cognition, attention and behaviour. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have difficulty controlling their behavior and paying attention in the classroom. "The findings of this study demonstrate a significant stress hormone lowering effect for a nutritional supplement for the first time," said Dr. Peter Rohdewald from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Germany's University of Munster and one of the authors of the study.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that between three and five percent of children have ADHD, or approximately two million children in the US."Pycnogenol's ability to naturally treat symptoms of ADHD is what makes this extract exceptionally pleasing to parents who may be uneasy about medicating their children with stimulant medications," said Dr. Rohdewald.The study sampled 57 ADHD outpatients at an average age of 9.5 years, at the Department of Child Psychology in Slovakia's Children's University Hospital. Researchers measured the children's urine and blood samples.Forty-one patients received branded Pycnogenol and 16 received placebo. The participants were not given any other drugs or dietary supplements. The Pycnogenol group received one mg of the pine bark substance or placebo for every kilogram of their body weight, on a daily basis each morning, for one month. Stress hormones levels were extrapolated from urine samples taken before and after administering Pycnogenol or the placebo for a one-month period.

After a one-month discontinuation of treatment, a third urine sample was taken - revealing ADHD symptoms had recurred and stress hormone levels had again increased. Pycnogenol has been the pioneer branded ingredient in the pine bark category and is made exclusively by Horphag Research in France. The product is extracted from the bark of the Maritime pine that grows on the southern coast of France, and is currently used in over 400 dietary supplements, multi-vitamins and health products.Natural Health Science in Hoboken, New Jersey, is the North American distributor for Pycnogenol.The list of health conditions with symptoms that could be diminished by the pine bark extract includes hypertension, menopause, asthma, chronic venous insufficiency, osteoarthtitis, deep vein thrombosis, diabetes management and diabetic leg ulcers.

New study shows half of children with autism can be accurately diagnosed at close to 1 year of age

2007-09-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

In a study published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland found that autism can be diagnosed at close to one year of age, which is the earliest the disorder has ever been diagnosed. The study, which evaluated social and communication development in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from 14 to 36 months of age, revealed that approximately half of all children with autism can be diagnosed around the first birthday.

The remaining half will be diagnosed later, and their development may unfold very differently than children whose ASD is diagnosable around the first birthday. Early diagnosis of the disorder allows for early intervention, which can make a major difference in helping children with autism reach their full potential.

Researchers examined social and communication development in infants at high and low risk for ASD starting at 14 months of age and ending at 30 or 36 months (a small minority of the children exited the study at 30 months). Half of the children with a final diagnosis of ASD made at 30 or 36 months of age had been diagnosed with the disorder at 14 months, and the other half were diagnosed after 14 months. Through repeated observation and the use of standardized tests of development, researchers identified, for the first time, disruptions in social, communication and play development that were indicative of ASD in 14-month olds. Multiple signs indicating these developmental disruptions appear simultaneously in children with the disorder.

Dr. Rebecca Landa, lead study author and director of Kennedy Krieger's Center for Autism and Related Disorders, and her colleagues identified the following signs of developmental disruptions for which parents and pediatricians should be watching:

-Abnormalities in initiating communication with others: Rather than requesting help to open a jar of bubbles through gestures and vocalizations paired with eye contact, a child with ASD may struggle to open it themselves or fuss, often without looking at the nearby person.

-Compromised ability to initiate and respond to opportunities to share experiences with others: Children with ASD infrequently monitor other people's focus of attention. Therefore, a child with ASD will miss cues that are important for shared engagement with others, and miss opportunities for learning as well as for initiating communication about a shared topic of interest. For example, if a parent looks at a stuffed animal across the room, the child with ASD often does not follow the gaze and also look at the stuffed animal. Nor does this child often initiate communication with others. In contrast, children with typical development would observe the parent's shift in gaze, look at the same object, and share in an exchange with the parent about the object of mutual focus. During engagement, children have many prolonged opportunities to learn new words and new ways to play with toys while having an emotionally satisfying experience with their parent.

-Irregularities when playing with toys: Instead of using a toy as it is meant to be used, such as picking up a toy fork and pretending to eat with it, children with ASD may repeatedly pick the fork up and drop it down, tap it on the table, or perform another unusual act with the toy.

-Significantly reduced variety of sounds, words and gestures used to communicate: Compared to typically developing children, children with ASD have a much smaller inventory of sounds, words and gestures that they use to communicate with others.

"For a toddler with autism, only a limited set of circumstances - like when they see a favorite toy, or when they are tossed in the air - will lead to fleeting social engagement," said Landa. "The fact that we can identify this at such a young age is extremely exciting, because it gives us an opportunity to diagnose children with ASD very early on when intervention may have a great impact on development."

The current study reveals that autism often involves a progression, with the disorder claiming or presenting itself between 14 and 24 months of age. Some children with only mild delays at 14 months of age could go on to be diagnosed with ASD. Landa and her colleagues observed distinct differences in the developmental paths, or trajectories, of children with early versus later diagnosis of ASD. While some children developed very slowly and displayed social and communication abnormalities associated with ASD at 14 months of age, others showed only mild delays with a gradual onset of autism symptoms, culminating in the diagnosis of ASD by 36 months.

If parents suspect something is wrong with their child's development, or that their child is losing skills during their first few years of life, they should talk to their pediatrician or another developmental expert. This and other autism studies suggest that the "wait and see" method, which is often recommended to concerned parents, could lead to missed opportunities for early intervention during this time period.

"What's most exciting about these important advancements in autism diagnosis is that ongoing intervention research leads us to believe it is most effective and least costly when provided to younger children," said Dr. Gary Goldstein, President and CEO of the Kennedy Krieger Institute. "When a child goes undiagnosed until five or six years old, there is a tremendous loss of potential for intervention that can make a marked difference in that child's outcome."

While there are currently no standardized, published criteria for diagnosing children with autism at or around one year of age, Landa's goal is to develop these criteria based on this and other autism studies currently underway at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Landa and her colleagues at the Institute plan on releasing preliminary diagnostic criteria for very young children with autism in an upcoming report.

Participants in the current study included infants at high risk for ASD (siblings of children with autism, n=107) and low risk for ASD (no family history of autism, n=18). Standardized tests of development and play-based assessment tools were used to evaluate social interaction, communication and play behaviors in both groups at 14, 18 and 24 months of age. Researchers assigned diagnostic impressions at every age, indicating whether there were clinically significant signs of delay or impairment. After their last evaluation at 30 or 36 months, each participant was then given a final diagnostic classification of ASD, non-ASD impairment, or no impairment. The ASD group was further divided into an Early ASD diagnosis group and a Later ASD diagnosis group based on whether they were given a diagnosis of.

Autism: It's Not Just in the Head

2007-04-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

The devastating derangements of autism also show up in the gut and in the immune system. That unexpected discovery is sparking new treatments that target the body in addition to the brain.by Jill Neimark -->
“There were days I considered shutting the garage door and letting the car run until I was dead,” says Colorado mom Erin Griffin, of the time nine years ago when she learned that both her boys—not just her firstborn—suffered from autism. Brendan, her angular, dark-haired older child, was diagnosed in 1996 at age 4. Kyle, her round-faced, hazel-eyed younger son, was diagnosed in 1998 at age 2½.

But Kyle and Brendan’s story does not have a tragic ending. After interventions that included occupational and speech therapy, as well as dietary change and nutritional supplements, both boys improved significantly. Their tale of slow, steady recovery reflects the changing landscape of autism today. The condition, traditionally seen as genetic and originating in the brain, is starting to be viewed in a broader and very different light, as a possible immune and neuroinflammatory disorder. As a result, autism is beginning to look like a condition that can, in some and perhaps many cases, be successfully treated.

That is astonishing news about a disorder that usually makes headlines because it seems to be growing rapidly more widespread. In the United States, the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders has increased about tenfold over the past two decades, and a 2003 report by the Centers for Disease Control suggests that as many as one in every 166 children is now on the autism spectrum, while another one in six suffers from a neurodevelopmental delay. This explosion of cases has raised countless questions: Is the increase real, is it the result of increased awareness and expanding diagnostic categories, is it due to environmental changes, or all of the above? There may be no single answer. But the public concern about autism has caught the ear of federal lawmakers. The Combating Autism Act, approved last December, authorized nearly $1 billion over the next four years for autism-related research and intervention.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of that confusing discussion, a disparate group—immunologists, naturopaths, neuroscientists, and toxicologists—is turning up clues that are yielding novel strategies to help autistic patients. New studies are examining contributing factors ranging from vaccine reactions to atypical growth in the placenta, abnormal tissue in the gut, inflamed tissue in the brain, food allergies, and disturbed brain wave synchrony. Some clinicians are using genetic test results to recommend unconventional nutritional therapies, and others employ drugs to fight viruses and quell inflammation.

Above all, there is a new emphasis on the interaction between vulnerable genes and environmental triggers, along with a growing sense that low-dose, multiple toxic and infectious exposures may be a major contributing factor to autism and its related disorders. A vivid analogy is that genes load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger. “Like cancer, autism is a very complex disease,” says Craig Newschaffer, chairman of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University School of Public Health, “and it’s exciting to start asking questions about the interaction between genes and environment. There’s really a very rich array of potential exposure variables.”

In one way, the field seems like a free-for-all, staggeringly disordered because it is littered with so many possibilities. But one can distill a few revolutionary insights. First, autism may not be rigidly determined but instead may be related to common gene variants, called polymorphisms, that may be derailed by environmental triggers. Second, affected genes may disturb fundamental pathways in the body and lead to chronic inflammation across the brain, immune system, and digestive system. Third, inflammation is treatable.

“I can’t think of it as a coincidence anymore that so many autistic kids have a history of allergies, eczema, or chronic diarrhea.”

“In spite of so many years of assumptions that a brain disorder like this is not treatable, we’re helping kids get better. So it can’t just be genetic, prenatal, hardwired, and hopeless,” says Harvard pediatric neurologist Martha Herbert, author of a 14,000-word paper in the journal Clinical Neuropsychiatry that reconceptualizes the universe of autism, pulling the brain down from its privileged perch as an organ isolated from the rest of the body. Herbert is well suited to this task, a synthetic thinker who wrote her dissertation on the developmental psychologist Jean Piaget and who then went to medical school late, in her early thirties.

“I no longer see autism as a disorder of the brain but as a disorder that affects the brain,” Herbert says. “It also affects the immune system and the gut. One very striking piece of evidence many of us have noticed is that when autistic children go in for certain diagnostic tests and are told not to eat or drink anything ahead of time, parents often report their child’s symptoms improve—until they start eating again after the procedure. If symptoms can improve in such a short time frame simply by avoiding exposure to foods, then we’re looking at some kind of chemically driven ‘software’—perhaps immune system signals—that can change fast. This means that at least some of autism probably comes from a kind of metabolic encephalopathy—a systemwide process that affects the brain, just like cirrhosis of the liver affects the brain.”

In 1943 Johns Hopkins University psychiatrist Leo Kanner first described autism as a now-famous collection of symptoms: poor social engagement, limited verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. Back then, autism was considered rare; Kanner first reported on just 11 patients, and Johns Hopkins still has records of about 150 patients he examined in total. Even within this small group of patients, other, less visible symptoms were evident. In his 1943 paper, “Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact,” Kanner noted immune and digestive problems but did not include them in the diagnosis. One reads with a shiver sentences lifted out of various case histories: “large and ragged tonsils . . . she was tube-fed five times daily . . . he vomited all food from birth through the third month . . . he suffered from repeated colds and otitis media. . . .”

Former Marine struggles to find a helpful hand for her gifted autistic son

2007-02-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

By Chris Munzing

When you're a child, you often have no other advocate but Mom and Dad. They stick up for you when no one else will and make your fights their own. For a child with special needs, these struggles can seem so insurmountable that it appears that no amount of fighting will right a wrong. Luckily for James Cucek, a 22-year-old autistic man, he has a very special mother: a former U.S. Marine.

Linda Cucek lives with her husband, Stan, and her two sons, James and Brian, 23 in Mission, British Columbia. James' was diagnosed at the age of 13. Linda says she's been fighting for her son since he was misdiagnosed as having dyslexia after troubles in school. "As a mother, I was asking myself what I was doing wrong," Linda says. Having grown up in the United States, Linda assumed that the government of her adopted country would step in and provide assistance for her son. Unfortunately, she soon found out that she would be the lone soldier in the struggle to help her son and would have to take on an entire government. Once James turned 19, the Canadian government cut off his provincially funded Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) treatment, as it does when children with autism reach adulthood. Linda felt that the progress her son was making under the treatment was too valuable to just stop and that cutting it off would do irreparable harm.

The struggle against the government has often been an uphill one. In July 2005, the Cucek family received a letter from a social worker from the Ministry of Children and Families, according to an article in the Abbotsford Times. The letter told Linda that it was time to give up on getting any treatment for James that he hadn't already received. What surprised Linda was the letter's suggestion that if she was unsatisfied with the services in Canada, she should go to the United States. "When I read that letter, I said to myself, 'I'm not going to give up on my son.' This is not just for James, but for everyone," Cucek says. "I'm fighting for all of the adults and all of the kids out there. I'm just so frustrated because the government is not giving us what we were promised. And a promise is a promise."

Cucek is concerned that James' story is not a unique one. Despite the progress made in recent years, she believes that Canada is not yet up to speed on the options available to people with autism. "The teachers here in Canada aren't trained to deal with an autistic child, so it can be a problem," she said. Children with autism "don't learn anything in school because their teachers don't know how to teach them. James' teachers thought he had dyslexia." Her struggle has captured national media attention-something she hopes will eventually annoy enough people that progress is made. "They kind of want me to shut up," she laughed. "They think everything's hunky dory, but it's not. At least now, people are starting to pay attention."

Cucek also felt that, despite the progress her son had made as a teenager, ABA wasn't going to cut it for her son as he got older. She has fought with the government ever since to have her son transitioned to Lovaas therapy, an intensive, 40-hour a week treatment plan that can cost up to $60,000 per year. ABA, she said, is a "watered-down version" of Lovaas. "I think he needs more intensive therapy," Linda said. Cucek won a small victory, however, when James was granted continued ABA treatment and modified Lovaas with an independent firm, CBI Consultants. Linda thought that this might be the answer she was looking for after years of making phone calls, writing letters, and scheduling meetings to speak with government officials. Her momentary joy was quickly replaced with skepticism for CBI.

She felt that many of the people at CBI weren't qualified to deal with her son, a charge that CBI Director Dr. Paul Malette calls "categorically untrue."CBI felt that straight Lovaas treatment would not benefit James, as it is aimed at younger children looking to catch up with their peers. In a report written by Malette, he calls Linda and Stan Cucek "pioneers seeking and advocating for innovative effective support for James," but maintains that modified ABA therapy that incorporates a few Lovaas elements would help James. "We know what we're doing; we've been doing it for 25 years," Malette says. "We've talked to Linda about what she's looking for James." Linda, however, doesn't think that CBI is in the position to be making assessments for her son. "They're not scientifically approved," Cucek said of CBI. "They're more like babysitters most of the time, to be honest. They're trying to put the burden onto Brian without giving him the proper training that he needs.

They gave him the title 'behavioral interventionist.' He works extremely well with his brother, but he needs the training. They're just not giving it to him, because they don't have the ability to." "We're working with Linda to develop an intervention model to focus on his needs as an adult," Malette says. "We're still hoping she's going to go for it. We have a high commitment to James and his entire family." James' care is currently the responsibility of his older brother, Brian, whom CBI contracted to provide James with the government-approved therapy. Brian recently received a certificate from the Gateway Society Autism Training Program, which gives Brian the necessary skills to work with his brother, something he is excited about. "I want to see my brother grow and become a better person," Brian said in an email. "By me working with him, I feel it will help James in social skills, behavior, and help him interact with people."For Linda Cucek, having Brian work with James in a professional capacity and not just as siblings is the best of both worlds.

The two brothers are only 18 months apart, and despite James' autism, the two are usually on the same page, Linda said. "Brian is very excited, he feels that he can really help his brother," she says. "Being so close in age, they've been together for a long time. Finally there will be somebody with the knowledge James' needs." When the film Rain Man was released in 1988, most people associated autism with the ability to count toothpicks, cheat at blackjack and walk around with Tom Cruise. For the vast majority of those with autism, however, the affliction came with no earth-shattering abilities. James is one of the lucky ones. In a world where people with autism can be trapped in their own worlds without the ability to communicate with others, James is verbal ("extremely verbal" his mother laughs).

He is also uniquely blessed on the piano. Since first sitting down at a piano at age 4, James has progressed light years beyond the normal pianist, often playing back compositions by ear. "He's never even had a lesson," his mother said. "He started when he was four with a toy piano we got him for Christmas. "I remember thinking, 'How could he play like this?'" Today, James composes his own music. Linda said that it is the one thing that makes her son forget that has a disability and allows him to express himself. "That's his world," she said.

The inspiration for Rain Man Kim Peek, befriended James after hearing about his story. Since they first met several years ago, Peek and his father, Fran, have encouraged the Cuceks to never stop fighting for their son. Fran encouraged them in a letter to remember his son's message: Learn to recognize and respect differences in others and treat them as you want them to treat you. With a former U.S. Marine, a loving brother, and the inspiration for an Oscar-winning movie in his corner, James Cucek has some powerful advocates in his corner. Whether he receives the treatment his family has fought so hard for or not, James is in the position to succeed. Linda hopes her training as a soldier rubs off on her son, because of the lessons it taught her. "They put you through a lot, but they teach you to never give up," she says.

Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now Applaud Presidential Signing of the Combating Autism Act

2007-01-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Dec. 19, 2006) – Leadership of Cure Autism Now and Autism Speaks, nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research, today applauded President Bush’s signing of the landmark Combating Autism Act of 2006 (S. 843). The bill – which has the support of all major autism advocacy groups -- authorizes nearly $1 billion over the next five years to combat autism through research, screening, early detection and early intervention. The new legislation will increase federal spending on autism by at least fifty percent. It includes provisions relating to the diagnosis and treatment of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and expands and intensifies biomedical research on autism, including an essential focus on possible environmental causes. Autism is now diagnosed in 1 in 166 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“The Combating Autism Act represents a critical and hard-fought victory for the autism community, and yet much of the toughest work is still to come during next year’s appropriations process,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks and Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal. “We must continue to be collaborative and relentless in our efforts to ensure that this historic commitment is fulfilled.”

“The campaign to enact the Combating Autism Act worked because it was bipartisan in the truest sense of the word, as our political leaders put the interests of individuals and families impacted by autism above all else,” said Jon Shestack, co-founder of Cure Autism Now. “As the prevalence of autism grows, the odds are that every American will know a family who will directly benefit from the programs and research made possible by this legislation.”

The Combating Autism Act was signed into law by President Bush this morning. The bill was sponsored by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT). The House version was brought to the House floor by Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A companion bill was originally introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswomen Mary Bono (R-CA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO).

About Autism
Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by extreme behavioral challenges. Autism Spectrum Disorders are diagnosed in one in 166 children in the United States, affecting four times as many boys as girls. The diagnosis of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.

About Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now
Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now are dedicated to increasing awareness of the growing autism epidemic and to raising money to fund scientists who are searching for a cure. Cure Autism Now was founded in 1995 by Jonathan Shestack and Portia Iversen, parents of a child with autism. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Bob Wright is Vice Chairman and Executive Officer, General Electric, and Chairman and CEO, NBC Universal. Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now (CAN) recently announced plans to combine operations, bringing together the two leading organizations dedicated to accelerating and funding biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for Autism Spectrum Disorders; to increasing awareness of the nation’s fastest-growing developmental disorder; and to advocating for the needs of affected families. Together the organizations have awarded autism research grants valued at more than 50 million dollars. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit www.autismspeaks.org. To learn more about Cure Autism Now, please visit www.cureautismnow.org.

Learn and understand the basic autism symptoms

2006-10-29T15:34:00.000-08:00

Autism is a condition that affects perception, attention, interaction with others, thought, and many other vital abilities. Unfortunately, because we know so little about how the brain functions, we can't explain why autism appears or how can it be treated. The only thing we can do for autistic people is to try to help them integrate and fit in as much as possible, and to make them feel good about themselves.

The first thing that can be done in order to help an autistic person is need to discover if he/she is suffering from autism or not by checking the symptoms, because it's up to the ones around those with autism disorders to discover them due to the fact that they are not aware of their own condition and will never visit a doctor on their own. In the children's case it's up to the parents or the family to see if their son or daughter have the autism condition.

Autism is a term that covers a wide-range of disabilities, from mild to severe ones, so there aren't some specific symptoms of this so-called illness, but it is known that it affects behavior, interaction with others and communication skills, so those with problems of this kind and that present some other signs that seem to be common in autism cases are diagnosed with the autism disorder.

Here follows a list of the most encountered symptoms and signs of autism, but as mentioned before this affection does not follow a certain pattern, so don't jump to any conclusions on your own. Only a certified doctor can put an accurate diagnosis.

The first autism symptoms can be detected during the childhood, and until the child reaches the age of 3 or 4 years old the disorder is usually very visible. Adults and children that suffer from autism disorders are completely ignoring other people, they are indifferent to whatever is happening around them, they like to be alone, they reject contact and communication with others and they stare for hours at a single thing sometimes. They are living in a world of their own and they are very sensitive to sensations such as strong smells or loud noises.

Austists cannot speak right, they have problems with the language skills, so they express their needs through gestures rather than through words. Young children with autism don't like to be cuddled, tickled, or touched at all. The way they play is very different from other children's play.

The world is a strange place that they don't understand, so autistic persons need special treatment and special care, they need to be loved and protected because they are in danger all the time. For them it does not seem dangerous to cross the street when the traffic lights are red for example.

Therefore, discovering and properly diagnosing and treating autism is the first and most important step in helping those that suffer from it. So seek advice from a specialized doctor if you suspect your child or anyone else to be an autistic.

Take care
Jeff Casmer

Introduction to Symptoms of Autism

2006-08-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

The hallmark feature of autism is impaired social interaction. Children with autism may fail to respond to their names and often avoid looking at other people. They often have difficulty interpreting tone of voice or facial expressions and do not respond to others' emotions or watch other people's faces for cues about appropriate behavior. They appear unaware of others' feelings toward them and of the negative impact of their behavior on other people.

Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and hair twirling, or in self-injurious behavior such as biting or head-banging. They also tend to start speaking later than other children and may refer to themselves by name instead of "I" or "me." Some speak in a sing-song voice about a narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the person to whom they are speaking.

People with autism often have abnormal responses to sounds, touch, or other sensory stimulation. Many show reduced sensitivity to pain. They also may be extraordinarily sensitive to other sensations. These unusual sensitivities may contribute to behavioral symptoms such as resistance to being cuddled. (Source: excerpt from Autism Fact Sheet: NINDS)

People with classical autism show three types of symptoms: impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual or severely limited activities and interests. These symptoms can vary in severity. In addition, people with autism often have abnormal responses to sounds, touch, or other sensory stimulation. Symptoms usually appear during the first three years of childhood and continue through life. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Autism Information Page: NINDS)

People with autism represent a broad spectrum of impairment, with great variability in clinical symptoms and levels of functioning. Some people with autism have normal intelligence and develop good basic language skills, while others lag intellectually and develop little or no language. (Source: excerpt from Autism Research: NIMH)

Children with autism do not follow the typical patterns of child development. In some children, hints of future problems may be apparent from birth. In most cases, the problems become more noticeable as the child slips farther behind other children the same age. Other children start off well enough. But between 18 and 36 months old, they suddenly reject people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had already acquired. (Source: excerpt from Autism: NIMH)

From the start, most infants are social beings. Early in life, they gaze at people, turn toward voices, endearingly grasp a finger, and even smile.

In contrast, most children with autism seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in the give-and-take of everyday human interaction. Even in the first few months of life, many do not interact and they avoid eye contact. They seem to prefer being alone. They may resist attention and affection or passively accept hugs and cuddling. Later, they seldom seek comfort or respond to anger or affection. Unlike other children, they rarely become upset when the parent leaves or show pleasure when the parent returns. Parents who looked forward to the joys of cuddling, teaching, and playing with their child may feel crushed by this lack of response.

Children with autism also take longer to learn to interpret what others are thinking and feeling. Subtle social cues-whether a smile, a wink, or a grimace-may have little meaning. To a child who misses these cues, "Come here," always means the same thing, whether the speaker is smiling and extending her arms for a hug or squinting and planting her fists on her hips. Without the ability to interpret gestures and facial expressions, the social world may seem bewildering.

To compound the problem, people with autism have problems seeing things from another person's perspective. Most 5-year-olds understand that other people have different information, feelings, and goals than they have. A person with autism may lack such understanding. This inability leaves them unable to predict or understand other people's actions.

Some people with autism also tend to be physically aggressive at times, making social relationships still more difficult. Some lose control, particularly when they're in a strange or overwhelming environment, or when angry and frustrated. They are capable at times of breaking things, attacking others, or harming themselves. Alan, for example, may fall into a rage, biting and kicking when he is frustrated or angry. Paul, when tense or overwhelmed, may break a window or throw things. Others are self-destructive, banging their heads, pulling their hair, or biting their arms. (Source: excerpt from Autism: NIMH)

By age 3, most children have passed several predictable milestones on the path to learning language. One of the earliest is babbling. By the first birthday, a typical toddler says words, turns when he hears his name, points when he wants a toy, and when offered something distasteful, makes it very clear that his answer is no. By age 2, most children begin to put together sentences like "See doggie," or "More cookie," and can follow simple directions.

Research shows that about half of the children diagnosed with autism remain mute throughout their lives. Some infants who later show signs of autism do coo and babble during the first 6 months of life. But they soon stop. Although they may learn to communicate using sign language or special electronic equipment, they may never speak. Others may be delayed, developing language as late as age 5 to 8.

Those who do speak often use language in unusual ways. Some seem unable to combine words into meaningful sentences. Some speak only single words. Others repeat the same phrase no matter what the situation.

Some children with autism are only able to parrot what they hear, a condition called echolalia. Without persistent training, echoing other people's phrases may be the only language that people with autism ever acquire. What they repeat might be a question they were just asked, or an advertisement on television. Or out of the blue, a child may shout, "Stay on your own side of the road!"-something he heard his father say weeks before. Although children without autism go through a stage where they repeat what they hear, it normally passes by the time they are 3.

People with autism also tend to confuse pronouns. They fail to grasp that words like "my," "I," and "you," change meaning depending on who is speaking. When Alan's teacher asks, "What is my name?" he answers, "My name is Alan."

Some children say the same phrase in a variety of different situations. One child, for example, says "Get in the car," at random times throughout the day. While on the surface, her statement seems bizarre, there may be a meaningful pattern in what the child says. The child may be saying, "Get in the car," whenever she wants to go outdoors. In her own mind, she's associated "Get in the car," with leaving the house. Another child, who says "Milk and cookies" whenever he is pleased, may be associating his good feelings around this treat with other things that give him pleasure.

It can be equally difficult to understand the body language of a person with autism. Most of us smile when we talk about things we enjoy, or shrug when we can't answer a question. But for children with autism, facial expressions, movements, and gestures rarely match what they are saying. Their tone of voice also fails to reflect their feelings. A high-pitched, sing-song, or flat, robot-like voice is common.

Without meaningful gestures or the language to ask for things, people with autism are at a loss to let others know what they need. As a result, children with autism may simply scream or grab what they want. Temple Grandin, an exceptional woman with autism who has written two books about her disorder, admits, "Not being able to speak was utter frustration. Screaming was the only way I could communicate." Often she would logically think to herself, "I am going to scream now because I want to tell somebody I don't want to do something." Until they are taught better means of expressing their needs, people with autism do whatever they can to get through to others. (Source: excerpt from Autism: NIMH)

Although children with autism usually appear physically normal and have good muscle control, odd repetitive motions may set them off from other children. A child might spend hours repeatedly flicking or flapping her fingers or rocking back and forth. Many flail their arms or walk on their toes. Some suddenly freeze in position. Experts call such behaviors stereotypies or self-stimulation.

Some people with autism also tend to repeat certain actions over and over. A child might spend hours lining up pretzel sticks. Or, like Alan, run from room to room turning lights on and off.

Some children with autism develop troublesome fixations with specific objects, which can lead to unhealthy or dangerous behaviors. For example, one child insists on carrying feces from the bathroom into her classroom. Other behaviors are simply startling, humorous, or embarrassing to those around them. One girl, obsessed with digital watches, grabs the arms of strangers to look at their wrists.

For unexplained reasons, people with autism demand consistency in their environment. Many insist on eating the same foods, at the same time, sitting at precisely the same place at the table every day. They may get furious if a picture is tilted on the wall, or wildly upset if their toothbrush has been moved even slightly. A minor change in their routine, like taking a different route to school, may be tremendously upsetting.

Scientists are exploring several possible explanations for such repetitive, obsessive behavior. Perhaps the order and sameness lends some stability in a world of sensory confusion. Perhaps focused behaviors help them to block out painful stimuli. Yet another theory is that these behaviors are linked to the senses that work well or poorly. A child who sniffs everything in sight may be using a stable sense of smell to explore his environment. Or perhaps the reverse is true: he may be trying to stimulate a sense that is dim.

Imaginative play, too, is limited by these repetitive behaviors and obsessions. Most children, as early as age 2, use their imagination to pretend. They create new uses for an object, perhaps using a bowl for a hat. Or they pretend to be someone else, like a mother cooking dinner for her "family" of dolls. In contrast, children with autism rarely pretend. Rather than rocking a doll or rolling a toy car, they may simply hold it, smell it, or spin it for hours on end. (Source: excerpt from Autism: NIMH)

When children's perceptions are accurate, they can learn from what they see, feel, or hear. On the other hand, if sensory information is faulty or if the input from the various senses fails to merge into a coherent picture, the child's experiences of the world can be confusing. People with autism seem to have one or both of these problems. There may be problems in the sensory signals that reach the brain or in the integration of the sensory signals-and quite possibly, both.

Apparently, as a result of a brain malfunction, many children with autism are highly attuned or even painfully sensitive to certain sounds, textures, tastes, and smells. Some children find the feel of clothes touching their skin so disturbing that they can't focus on anything else. For others, a gentle hug may be overwhelming. Some children cover their ears and scream at the sound of a vacuum cleaner, a distant airplane, a telephone ring, or even the wind. Temple Grandin says, "It was like having a hearing aid that picks up everything, with the volume control stuck on super loud." Because any noise was so painful, she often chose to withdraw and tuned out sounds to the point of seeming deaf.

In autism, the brain also seems unable to balance the senses appropriately. Some children with autism seem oblivious to extreme cold or pain, but react hysterically to things that wouldn't bother other children. A child with autism may break her arm in a fall and never cry. Another child might bash his head on the wall without a wince. On the other hand, a light touch may make the child scream with alarm.

In some people, the senses are even scrambled. One child gags when she feels a certain texture. A man with autism hears a sound when someone touches a point on his chin. Another experiences certain sounds as colors. (Source: excerpt from Autism: NIMH)

Some people with autism display remarkable abilities. A few demonstrate skills far out of the ordinary. At a young age, when other children are drawing straight lines and scribbling, some children with autism are able to draw detailed, realistic pictures in three-dimensional perspective. Some toddlers who are autistic are so visually skilled that they can put complex jigsaw puzzles together. Many begin to read exceptionally early-sometimes even before they begin to speak. Some who have a keenly developed sense of hearing can play musical instruments they have never been taught, play a song accurately after hearing it once, or name any note they hear. Like the person played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man, some people with autism can memorize entire television shows, pages of the phone book, or the scores of every major league baseball game for the past 20 years. However, such skills, known as islets of intelligence or savant skills are rare. (Source: excerpt from Autism: NIMH)

Divorce, Autism, and kids.....

2006-06-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

A personal note.....

I often wonder why people in divorce cant separate their differences to put the kids first.....for example: my autistic son's birthday was recently and it wasnt my day for visitation so I tried to reach my ex 3 different times to wish my son a Happy Birthday and once I spoke to her and my son was out at the pool. I think thats great that on his birthday he was having fun but what kind of person doesnt let my son call me on his birthday after repeated attempts? Can you be this angry? Cant you just let the kids be kids without the hassles of divorce, anger, bitterness. People can be so self centered and selfish that the desire to put the kids first often takes a backseat to people's low self esteem and desire for revenge. Its quite sad. Parents let their issues take center stage and the kids are often the price...........the price of divorce...

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The broken American male, and how to fix him

The craven gubernatorial race in my home state of New Jersey, with its nasty allegations of marital infidelity on the part of both candidates, the public pain of Jon Corzine's ex-wife who lashed out at him as having abandoned his family, and the spectacle of men being prepared to humiliate each other – and themselves – in the quest for power, has reinforced for me the contemporary brokenness of the American male, and how it is undermining the American family, which is rotting from the head down.

The American male is broken, and in his own brokenness, he is compromising his marriage and crippling his children. Immersed in a culture which is obsessed with success through competition, he is trained to forever feel like a failure. Rather than peering inside himself to discover his own unique gifts, he stares in front to see who has surpassed him, and behind, to see who is gaining on him.

The modern American male has little self-esteem and is a muddle of broken dreams. He lives in a society resembling not a circle, in which all are treated more or less as equals, but a pyramid, in which only a tiny few are perched at the top and the overwhelming majority are made to feel that they are at various stations of the bottom.

He is painfully aware that the recognition and respect of his peers will not come from assisting his kids with homework, or remaining faithful to his wife. All around him, the culture glorifies men who have built businesses even as they have abandoned wives, like Jack Welch and Donald Trump. Treating his co-workers with dignity will never bring him into the Forbes 400. Reading his children a bedtime story will not get him an invitation to the White House.

He is painfully aware that only money brings prestige and power brings respect. Since he has limited amounts of each, his tragedy is to look upon himself as the inferior of men who may be far less moral. His children do not make him feel heroic, and his wife struggles, but fails, to massage his macerated ego. For if he is a big zero, then, to his mind, the woman dumb enough to marry him is a zero squared.

In his distress, he turns to various forms of escape, designed to make him feel better about himself and numb his pain. Becoming a sports fanatic allows him to live vicariously through his favorite team and feel heroic. Through workaholism he convinces himself that one more hour at the office will bring him the success for which he is desperate. The attentions of another woman makes him feel like a winner. Alcohol numbs his heart even as it poisons his soul. And pornographic addiction, which is becoming an epidemic among American men, allows him to experience a similar numbness, the non-feeling of emotionlessness, which is the real reason so many men masturbate, for the bliss that follows sexual climax. He wishes not to feel because when he does feel, all he feels is pain.

He comes home a shell of a man, a defeated creature whose modest surroundings reinforces his permanent feeling of failure. Because he doesn't love himself, he cannot love his wife. His marriage is coldly functional, bereft of warmth and intimacy. Since he doesn't believe in himself, he treats the comfort his wife offers him as patronizing. Later he will complain that his wife does not lift him up when he is down, even as he has pushed her away on countless occasions. He wants sex with his wife – not because he loves sex, but because it relieves him of tension and helps him fall asleep. And in his lifelessness, he further alienates the wife who feels used and discarded.

Bereft of inspiration, he fails to inspire his children. He does not parent them so much as admonish them. So they are reduced to searching for substitute heroes, and like him, they become TV addicts. The company of friends soon becomes far more fulfilling than their father's company, further isolating parent from child.

The great tragedy of this daily scenario is the fact that all along this man was a hero, only he never saw it. He got up every day to feed his children. He struggles with temptation, yet came home to his wife. But that never made him feel good about himself, because he bought the lie that a man is only important if he is rich or famous.

Such are the consequences of the current epidemic of soul-lessness in America, an epidemic so widespread that the greatest heroes of all – our brave soldiers who risk their lives for our freedom – have some of the highest rates of depression and spousal abuse. It is said that this is so because of the horrors of war, and no doubt this contributes. But the real reason is that no one treats them like heroes. They come home to their small houses and piles of bills and they feel like failures, too.

The brokenness of the American male is what is most responsible for the unhappiness of women, the delinquency of children, and the high rate of divorce. The family doesn't have a functional head. The ancients regarded the man as the sun and the woman as the moon. He shone his light which she reflected, and together they illuminated their children's night. Daddy came home and lifted everyone's mood. But it is not happening any more.

Unless we can create a culture that makes men feel like they are not merely achievement machines, measured solely by how much money they make, we risk a generation of broken men married to lonely women raising insecure children. The self-esteem of each successive American generation seems to be diminishing, such that each becomes more dependent on external accoutrements to make them feel valuable.

Capitalism and competition must be complimented by the religious message that, whatever a man's assets, his real greatness is acquired through moral choices rather than friends in high places. We must drill it into the hearts and minds of today's men that what makes them special is being a child of God rather than the governor of a state.

by Rabbie Shmuley Boteach

Does Divorce Make People Happy?
Findings from a Study of Unhappy Marriages

Call it the "divorce assumption." Most people assume that a person stuck in a bad marriage has two choices: stay married and miserable or get a divorce and become happier.1 But now come the findings from the first scholarly study ever to test that assumption, and these findings challenge conventional wisdom. Conducted by a team of leading family scholars headed by University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, the study found no evidence that unhappily married adults who divorced were typically any happier than unhappily married people who stayed married.

Even more dramatically, the researchers also found that two-thirds of unhappily married spouses who stayed married reported that their marriages were happy five years later. In addition, the most unhappy marriages reported the most dramatic turnarounds: among those who rated their marriages as very unhappy, almost eight out of 10 who avoided divorce were happily married five years later.2

The research team used data collected by the National Survey of Family and Households, a nationally representative survey that extensively measures personal and marital happiness. Out of 5,232 married adults interviewed in the late Eighties, 645 reported being unhappily married. Five years later, these same adults were interviewed again. Some had divorced or separated and some had stayed married.

The study found that on average unhappily married adults who divorced were no happier than unhappily married adults who stayed married when rated on any of 12 separate measures of psychological well-being. Divorce did not typically reduce symptoms of depression, raise self-esteem, or increase a sense of mastery. This was true even after controlling for race, age, gender, and income. Even unhappy spouses who had divorced and remarried were no happier on average than those who stayed married. "Staying married is not just for the childrens' sake. Some divorce is necessary, but results like these suggest the benefits of divorce have been oversold," says Linda J. Waite.

Why doesn't divorce typically make adults happier? The authors of the study suggest that while eliminating some stresses and sources of potential harm, divorce may create others as well. The decision to divorce sets in motion a large number of processes and events over which an individual has little control that are likely to deeply affect his or her emotional well-being. These include the response of one's spouse to divorce; the reactions of children; potential disappointments and aggravation in custody, child support, and visitation orders; new financial or health stresses for one or both parents; and new relationships or marriages.

The team of family experts that conducted the study included Linda J. Waite, Lucy Flower Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago and coauthor of The Case for Marriage; Don Browning, Professor Emeritus of the University of Chicago Divinity School; William J. Doherty, Professor of Family Social Science and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at the University of Minnesota; Maggie Gallagher, affiliate scholar at the Institute for American Values and coauthor of The Case for Marriage; Ye Luo, a research associate at the Sloan Center on Parents, Children and Work at the University of Chicago; and Scott Stanley, Co-Director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver.

How Can We Help Our Autistic Child Cope With Our Divorce?

I'm looking for information on how to help my son deal with my divorce. I've been lucky enough to finally find a counselor who understands autism, however I'm looking for day to day strategies, how to answer the tough questions, what are the most common concerns of kids on the spectrum during divorce, how to ease the emotional inconsistencies, the schedule changes, changing roles, and self-esteem.

A. From Cindy Ariel:
Divorce is a very difficult transition for everyone in the family. Children often bear the brunt of the upheaval that usually accompanies this difficult stage of family change. Feelings of anger, disappointment, fear, shame, grief, relief all permeate the family members. Children feel it and are often caught in the middle feeling responsible for events and feelings between their parents and themselves. It’s important to acknowledge what you are feeling and recognize that these emotions are running high for everyone. The main goal in this regard is to minimize the intensity and negative affects of any emotional ups and downs on your child.

The way to answer the tough questions is carefully, sensitively, and one at a time. This is often best done with help and guidance from a professional who knows both your child and the situation though there are some generalities that can be made.

If your child asks, he is ready for an answer. The answer should be geared to the level of your child and as honest and objective as possible under the difficult circumstances. While facts are important to children, they do not need to know every detail of why parents have decided it is best not to live together anymore. It is important not to split your child’s loyalties in two by disrespecting or speaking negatively about the other parent. They do need to be informed about schedule changes and have a clear idea of when they will see their other parent again. Emotional inconsistencies are eased individually; keep in mind the things your child needs to feel warm and safe and comfortable and loved.
It may feel as though the family is being literally torn apart, and in many ways it certainly is. But over time, everyone will grow and feelings and roles will slowly change. There will be less fear and emotional upheaval as time goes on. Self-esteem will continue, in part, to be tied in with both mom and dad so your child needs to feel as good as possible about each parent and his relationship with them.

From Bob Naseef:

Finding a mental health professional with a background in autism is certainly a blessing. The questions you raise are really better answered by a professional who knows you and knows your child. How a parent who is divorced handles these issues really begins at your child’s developmental level in terms of language and cognitive understanding. What’s missing from your list is how to take care of your own needs and the grief that inevitably accompanies any major loss and certainly divorce is such a loss. Many readers of this column may be worried about their own marriages while others are in your position.

As Josh Greenfeld wrote in A Child Called Noah (1970), “There is a strain on any marriage whenever a baby is sick. And we always have a sick baby.” The kind of chronic stress that raising a child with special needs entails can affect relationships at their weakest points. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2000), 47% of first marriages fail and 57% of all marriages end in divorce. Although the findings are inconsistent, there is general consensus among experts that while the divorce rates are comparable, there appears to be more reported marital distress among families of children with special needs (Seligman and Darling, Ordinary Families, Special Children, 1997).

The needs of the children with autism are complex and elusive. Getting wrapped up in the stresses and strains of everyday life, relationships inevitably suffer from lack of attention. When a disability or chronic illness is discovered, powerful emotions surface and may put relationships on trial. In the wake of such devastating pain, some couples are drawn closer together, but for others in a relationship that is fragile or unstable disability can be “the last straw.” Some families break up while others thrive despite their hardships. People can emerge from crisis revitalized and enriched. Some people feel relieved when a marriage full of unrelenting problems finally ends.

For a child to thrive, she needs energetic, committed parents. So taking care of your needs is important for your family as it is now constituted. Hopefully you have support for yourself in terms of friendship and compassion. Debriefing from a divorce can take time. Often I see people who are divorced but not emotionally separated from what they have been through. Help with child care, so that you can get some time for yourself is also wonderful when you can find it. If not, just finding and taking some short enjoyable time for yourself can be wonderfully refreshing.

Robert Naseef, Ph.D., and Cindy Ariel, Ph.D., are the co-editors of "Voices from the Spectrum: Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, People with Autism, and Professionals Share Their Wisdom" (2006). On the web at www.alternativechoices.com

A Whole New Life

2006-05-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Testimonial from Gregge Sandusky

I would like to introduce myself to you. My name is Gregge and I'm 13 years old (1999) with Autism. When I was around 2 years old I became weird acting. Something began to change in me according to my parents. I became a stranger to my family and had a lot of symptoms such as I quit talking, cried a lot of the time and threw tantrums if I was disturbed or made to leave the house. I was non-social and I didn't understand what people said to me. Words didn't sound then like they do now. At times I would repeat an activity over and over again. Sometimes I would hold something and examine it for the longest time. I was echolaic. If my parents asked if I was hungry I would either ignore them or repeat, "Are you hungry?" back at them if I was hungry. The hungrier I was the louder I yelled it at them. During that time I couldn't respond to questions. I was in my own world. There were other things I did, like I walked awkward and on my toes, constantly flapped my hands, rocked back and forth, made a constant groaning noise and banged my head on things to relax. Loud noises really upset me and I would become scared and scream or plug my ears. Some odors bothered me so much that I would pull my shirt up over my face so I wouldn't have to smell them. My parents said it was difficult to find something I would eat. That was because tastes and textures were offensive to me, but they didn't know that. They saw I had geographic tongue, but the doctors couldn't help. Another thing that was different about me was that I was very sensitive to temperatures. Something that was lukewarm to anyone else was scalding hot to me no matter if it was a bowl of soup or the bath water. I liked to be cuddled, but I didn't really cuddle back. Sometimes I lined my toys up, but didn't play with them as they were meant to be played with. I didn't understand how to play make-believe games. Instead I wanted things to be in order. Also, I washed my hands a lot because I was afraid of germs, and in preschool I would run around the room waving my arms screaming. I was told I always played alone and did my own thing. If any kids bothered me I would bite them. It's obvious I had "NO FRIENDS"! I didn't realize friends were something good. I didn't understand a lot of things. I knew my colors, alphabet, shapes, and numbers 1-100, but if anyone other than my family asked me anything about them I would not answer correctly because I didn't want them to intrude into my world. I was in preschool for 2 years before the teachers knew I had learned those things at home. There are many more things that I didn't list that describe my symptoms. I needed a whole new life.

My parents said they were devastated in the beginning because they didn't know where to find answers and were unable to help me. I was first misdiagnosed as severely mentally retarded with an I.Q. in the low 70's. Then later I was misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder. The school district wanted me bused to a school far away from home for the severely challenged. It was suggested by a panel of "experts" that I be institutionalized for the rest of my life. My parents were furious when they heard that! Sometimes moms and dads know more about their children then the experts do and tests don't always show the truth. So they decided to search for answers somewhere else. That's when they found NACD and got me on the program right away. In a matter of three weeks they were already noticing a difference in me! Our lives became better as we dared to hope again! Of course I wasn't aware of most of this, but I do have memories from my "autistic days".

Ever since those first days with NACD, I have become a successful person. I can do anything I try because I am not disabled anymore. Because I have come so far in my life, when I tell people I am autistic they do not believe me. That's a good thing! I'm not ashamed to be autistic, but I like the fact that I can turn something bad into something good. What this means to me is that now I can help other people.

I was lucky to have my parents who stood by me the whole way through and I bet you want your kids to feel the same way about you. Some of these kids can't speak for themselves, but I can speak up and I want them to have the same opportunity that I have had. All of us kids with disabilities don't need your money, what we need is your time. Sometimes that is harder to come by. We need you to spend whatever time you can on giving us a chance to have a normal life with friends, laughter and happiness. I think of us as beautiful little birds stuck in our eggs. We can't get out. We are stuck. That's where you come into our lives! All you need to do is gently help us open the shell so we can emerge out into the world. Once out we can spread our wings and show everyone our true beautiful colors! With this little bit of help, we will give you ten-fold back for what you have done for us. Never stop believing and don't ever listen to those who say things aren't possible. My parents didn't listen and I have a whole new life because of it.

My life now is filled with so much happiness and completion. There are so many things I do now and I love my life. I play very well at goalkeeper and defender in soccer. The kids like me and I am very popular with many friends. My favorite interests are computer and electronic games that require complex strategies and codes. It is easy for me to memorize codes, maps, floor plans, hints and other things from these games. There are many other things I like to do that are normal for boys my age, too.

Currently I am at least one year above grade level in all school subjects and over that in some. I like learning. Someday I want to go to college so I can become an electronic game maker and programmer. I would also like to help others by giving public speeches about Autism to give hope to families like mine.

My parents worked on emotions with me and now I feel all emotions, which wasn't always the case. I had to be taught how to feel emotions and then what other people feel in different situations. My dog Joey also helped me with this. There has been a lot I have learned from him. I've come a long way in a few years. Someday I want to get married and love my children like my parents love me.

The quality of life can be improved for everyone by taking the time help us kids out of our shells. What this did for me is real and it can happen for you too. Never give up. I'm not going to. My life is great. I thank NACD and their loving supporters who gave me A Whole New Life.

I Don’t Hate What Autism Has Done to My Life

2006-04-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

I Don’t Hate What Autism Has Done to My Life
by Tammy Rodriguez, parent

You heard me right; I don’t hate what autism has done to my life.

If you would have told me six years ago that I would ever utter those words, I would have called you crazy, insane, or worse.

In 1998, almost eight months pregnant with my second child, our pediatrician whispered to himself out loud: "Oh my God, I think we have another case of autism here." The pediatrician knew he was supposed to wait for the team to diagnose my 3-year-old son Jack, which was months away, but his disbelief overcame his protocol simply because Jack was his sixth diagnosis of autism that week.

Being the movie buffs that we are, my husband and I immediately thought of Rainman.

How could our precious 3-year-old boy turn into Rainman? Surely Jack wasn’t speaking in 2-3 word phrases or following simple 2-step directions because I was a working mom and he and his grandmother watched too many Barney and Thomas videos during the day. Surely he was just another kind of brilliant, something that the pediatrician obviously did not see in his 30 minute physical exam. This 3-year-old child knew his ABC’s and numbers. He was reading license plates. He turned the letter Z sideways and knew it was an N. There must be some mistake.

Oh, the many faces of autism we were about to embark on.

I don’t hate what autism has done to my life. Autism, quite simply, has made me a better person.

It has forced me to slow down. It sounds trite, but I truly do appreciate the little things now. I don’t take much for granted.

I listen to people, I mean really listen to people.

I try to understand the cause and effect in not just the behavior of my children, but in most every person and every obstacle I encounter. I have more patience than I ever thought possible.

I try everyday to concentrate on the present, not too much on the past or too much on the future. And I certainly do not sweat the small stuff.

I don’t hate what autism has done to my life. Yes, autism has made me a better person.

I do, however, hate what autism has done to the lives of my children.

I hate that they may never develop friendships like I have. I hate that there exists the real possibility that my boys may never know the joy of a base hit, a game winning soccer goal or a touchdown.

I hate that my children may never experience butterflies in their stomach when driving their first car or asking a girl out for a first date.

There are some days that I hate thinking my children may never get a high school diploma, let alone go on to college, or have a fulfilling career because our test crazy society has yet to develop any kind of test that can truly gauge the intelligence of my boys.

I hate that my boys may never know the consuming feeling of falling in love, getting married, and the incredible joy of having children of their own.

I may not hate what autism has done to my life, but I despise what it has done to the lives of my children.

When I first started dealing with all of these new emotions six years ago when Jack was diagnosed, and again three years ago when my second son, Joe, was diagnosed, I thought autism could change the lives of our family, friends and acquaintances just as it had changed our lives. I thought that Jack and Joe would teach them to slow down and feel truly blessed for what they had.

I thought our friends would cease to worry so much if Bobbie was not the star of the soccer team or if Susie was not the head cheerleader and honor roll student. I believed that they all would realize that every child has his or her own strengths—that every child has a gift and an ability to make his or her own contributions to our society.

Well, I soon learned how naive that thinking was. Let’s face it, most people are so busy with their own lives that they simply cannot or choose now to slow down and learn what Jack and Joe can teach them.

But all is not lost …

Just because people can’t allow Jack and Joe to truly change their lives, does not mean they do not want to help Jack and Joe. They are more than happy to contribute to our many causes and for that I am touched and grateful.

Living from the Heart Brings Children and Dolphins Together

2006-04-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Dolphins love children -- especially children with special needs. When even the smallest and youngest of these special kids enter the dolphins' world, they are fearless. They smile and squeal with delight. It's magic.

Most of the children we see at Living from the Heart, receive more than their share of therapy and our intention is that they have a great time while benefiting from their dolphin experiences. Dolphins plus kids equals fun.

To introduce the children to the dolphins, we watch the baby and Mom dolphins swim by the large underwater viewing window. The turquoise background for these beautiful babies is spectacular. While at the viewing window each child receives a stuffed dolphin.

Now it's time for our special dolphin encounter. Three kids and their parent(s) enter the shallow encounter pool with their dolphin friend, dolphin trainer and Macy (founder and director of Living from the Heart).

The magic truly begins as our dolphin "healer" connects with each child. Dolphin and child touch foreheads as their personal introduction. This is an important moment when the dolphin-child bond begins.

This incredible time continues as the dolphin sonars the child's head, heart and feet as Macy and the parent comfortably cradle the child. The time in the water is about 45 minutes, depending upon the attention span of the child. Feeding the dolphin is something most kids really enjoy and they will have the opportunity to do that. Dolphin rides around the small pool are a favorite of everyone. We laugh --cry --share --and smile. The joy felt by everyone present is almost overwhelming.

After each dolphin encounter, we'll share ice cream and dolphin stories in the lovely picnic area at the dolphin center. We have formed a strong bond and just shared amazing experiences, and it's important to share our feelings.

It is imperative that each child feel as safe and comfortable as possible. For this reason we encourage parents and other close family members to be in the water or "poolside". Everyone is drawn in and a huge part of this wonderful sight.

Some of the positive changes we have seen take place after autistic children experience dolphin assisted therapy are they begin speaking --sometimes for the first time, sometimes after years of not speaking. 7 year old Kyle said "Mom" after his time with the dolphins. Needless to day Mom was elated to hear that word. Hunter spoke before her time with the dolphins, but she didn't converse --she quoted Dr. Seuss or "parrotted back" what she heard someone else say. During her time in Mexico with the dolphins, Hunter's parents told her not to go outside without them. One day she put her hand on the door knob, looked at her Mom and asked "can I go outside?" Not only was this conversing --she thought through what her parents had said --formulated and spoke a question. When Mom said no, she responded by not going outside.

Children learn 2 to 10 times faster when they have been in the presence of dolphins and they retain what they have learned. Mark graduated to a higher level school immediately following his dolphin therapy, and his teachers and family members give all the credit to the dolphins!! For the first time ever, Jeremy began working on grade level after his dolphin interaction.

Their focus increases. Kyle began watching t.v. while in Mexico for his dolphin therapy. This may not sound like a good thing but before he could not focus enough to even stop in front of the t.v.

Many of these children become calmer, and their social skills improve. Immediately following Jeremy's first swim, he was much calmer, spoke more softly and didn't chew his fingers. He began having normal conversations with others and making eye contact.

Scientifically, dolphin sonar positively changes the soft tissue in humans --much like ultrasound. We go to hospitals to have an area of our body receive ultrasound to see what is going on and/or to heal that particular area. That's what dolphins do! They can "see" what's going on inside of us --emotions --physical pain --pins in hips --pacemakers in hearts --and they can tell if a woman is pregnant, by picking up the heartbeat of the baby.

Not-as-scientifically, being in the presence of dolphins puts humans in a very relaxed state. Dolphins must think about each breath they take and because of that they live constantly in an alpha (relaxed) brainwave. When we humans are in their presence, our brainwaves become synchronized with theirs. Our brainwaves go from "beta" (active, more stressed) to "alpha". Our minds and bodies become much more relaxed.

The late Dr. Steve Jozsef, M.D., co-founder of Living From The Heart, measured the brainwaves of dolphin trip participants. He found that 100% of the time peoples' brainwaves dropped to alpha from beta. What this means to us is that when our bodies and minds are not stressed, we can heal --we can learn more easily --our immune systems are stronger.

The not-scientific-at-all theory is that when children and dolphins come together "magic" happens --"miracles" happen. They're gifts from God --they're inexplicable.

For more information on dolphin assisted therapy please contact us at:

Living From The Heart
(303)499-3034 --Betty Boon's phone number in Coloradobkboon@msn.com
011-52-329-2982098 --Macy's and Living From The Heart number in Mexico
macyjozsef@yahoo.com or visit us at www.livingfromtheheart.org
and www.vallarta-adventures.com

2006-03-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Is There More Than One Type of Autism?

Several related disorders are grouped under the broad heading "Pervasive Developmental Disorder" or PDD-a general category of disorders which are characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development (American Psychiatric Association 1994). A standard reference is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), a diagnostic handbook now in its fourth edition. The DSM-IV lists criteria to be met for a specific diagnosis under the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

Diagnosis is made when a specified number of characteristics listed in the DSM-IV are present. Diagnostic evaluations are based on the presence of specific behaviors indicated by observation and through parent consultation, and should be made by an experienced, highly trained team. Thus, when professionals or parents are referring to different types of autism, often they are distinguishing autism from one of the other pervasive developmental disorders.

Individuals who fall under the Pervasive Developmental Disorder category in the DSM-IV exhibit commonalties in communication and social deficits, but differ in terms of severity. We have outlined some major points that help distinguish the differences between the specific diagnoses used:

Autistic Disorder
Impairments in social interaction, communication, and imaginative play prior to age 3 years. Stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities.

Asperger's Disorder
Characterized by impairments in social interactions and the presence of restricted interests and activities, with no clinically significant general delay in language, and testing in the range of average to above average intelligence.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified
(Commonly referred to as atypical autism) a diagnosis of PDD-NOS may be made when a child does not meet the criteria for a specific diagnosis, but there is a severe and pervasive impairment in specified behaviors.

Rett's Disorder
A progressive disorder which, to date, has occurred only in girls. Period of normal development and then loss of previously acquired skills, loss of purposeful use of the hands replaced with repetitive hand movements beginning at the age of 1-4 years.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Characterized by normal development for at least the first 2 years, significant loss of previously acquired skills. (American Psychiatric Association 1994)

Autism is a spectrum disorder. In other words, the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity. Two children, both with the same diagnosis, can act very differently from one another and have varying skills. Therefore, there is no standard "type" or "typical" person with autism.

Parents may hear different terms used to describe children within this spectrum, such as: autistic-like, autistic tendencies, autism spectrum, high-functioning or low-functioning autism, more-abled or less-abled. More important to understand is, whatever the diagnosis, children can learn and function productively and show gains from appropriate education and treatment.

The Autism Society of America provides information to serve the needs of all individuals within the spectrum. Diagnostic categories have changed over the years as research progresses and as new editions of the DSM have been issued. For that reason, we will use the term "autism" to refer to the above disorders.

Understanding Behavior Through Social-Emotional Development

2006-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

Written by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.
Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon

One helpful way to understand the behavior of autistic individuals is to consider their social-emotional age. Specifically, one should ask: How do individuals with autism act in social and emotional situations? and At what age level are these behaviors consistent? The age at which one acts socially is typically the same age he/she acts emotionally. Once the person’s social-emotional age is determined, it may be easier to understand why the person acts the way he/she does and then determine the best ways to intervene with the individual.

At first, it may be difficult to decide the person’s social-emotional age. Basically, one should consider how the person responds to social situations (e.g., if and how the person plays with others) and how the person responds to emotional situations (e.g., how he/she acts when told ‘no’). For example, at a social-emotional age of 2 years, one would expect behavior such as refusing to do simple requests, stubbornness, and self-centeredness. A person who is socially-emotionally like a 5-year old would be very concrete in his/her thinking, would engage primarily in parallel play with peers, and would still be quite egocentric. A person who is socially-emotionally like an 8-year old is often characterized as trying to model older peers and adults and following rules to the letter (and may have difficulty understanding exceptions to the rules). Moreover, an 8-year old child is typically trying to accomplish things in the social and academic realms.

Sometimes, caretakers have unrealistic expectations for an individual’s behavior; and this can lead to frustration for both the caregiver and the person with autism. This can occur when the caretaker’s expectations are based on the person’s intellectual functioning level rather than his/her social-emotional functioning level. That is, sometimes it is assumed that a person’s intellectual level is the same as his/her social-emotional level. This is not necessarily the case. An example may be found in a workplace scenario. An autistic adult who may be very good at performing office tasks, such as filing and photo-copying, may have temper tantrums when a minor problem occurs, similar to the behavior of a 5-year old child. Another example might be seen in a high school student with Asperger Syndrome who is in an integrated classroom. One might expect this person to interact normally with same aged peers in a classroom setting. Instead, the other students might tease and not interact much with him/her since he/she is functioning socially-emotionally as a younger child.

Margaret Bauman, M.D. has found neurological evidence that indirectly supports the relationship between brain functioning and social-emotional age. Dr. Bauman has conducted numerous autopsies on the brains of autistic children and adults. She has consistently found immaturities in the amygdala and hippocampus; both are parts of the limbic system. The amygdala is responsible for many aspects of one’s behavior including emotions, aggression, and sensory processing. The hippocampus is also responsible for things including learning, memory, and the integration of sensory information. According to Dr. Bauman, the amygdala and hippocampus are functioning in autistic individuals; but they are less developed. For example, a 10-year old child may have an amygdala similar to a 3-year old. Interestingly, those with Asperger Syndrome and high functioning autism have abnormalities in their amygdala, but they have little or no abnormalities in their hippocampus. In other words, intellectual functioning (associated with the hippocampus) is only mildly impaired or not impaired at all; however, emotional functioning (associated with the amygdala) is impaired and may be responsible for immature emotional reactions in social situations.

By taking into account one’s social-emotional age, and not intellectual age, it may be much easier to understand why the individual acts the way he/she does. Additionally, it may be much easier to develop ways to help individuals who have discrepancies between their social-emotional level and their intellectual level. By being aware of possible differences, one can teach these individuals how to behave appropriately in different social-emotional situations.

Auditory Processing Problems in Autism

2005-12-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

Autistic individuals typically have problems processing auditory information. One auditory processing problem occurs when a person hears speech sounds but he/she does not perceive the meaning of the sounds. For example, if someone says the word ‘shoe,’ the person may hear the speech sound, but he/she does not understand the meaning of the sound. Sometimes the lack of speech comprehension is interpreted by others as an unwillingness to comply. However, the person may not be able to retrieve the meaning of the sound at that particular time.

Eric Courchesne of the University of California at San Diego has found significant impairments in auditory processing in autistic individuals using P300 brain wave technology (see Courchesne, 1987 for a review). The P300 brain wave occurs 300 milli-seconds after the presentation of a stimulus. (The ‘P’ refers to the positive polarity of the brain wave.) The P300 is associated with cognitive processing, and this brain wave is considered an indication of long-term memory retrieval (Donchin, Ritter, & McCallum, 1978). Edelson et al. (1999) examined auditory P300 activity prior to and three months following auditory integration training (AIT). Three autistic individuals participated in the experimental AIT group and two autistic individuals participated in a placebo group. Prior to AIT, all five individuals had abnormal auditory P300 activity, indicating an auditory processing problem. Three months following AIT, the results showed dramatic improvement in P300 activity for those who received AIT (i.e., a normalization of P300 activity) and found no change in those who received the placebo.

We do not know the underlying reason for auditory processing problems in autism; however, autopsy research by Drs. Bauman and Kemper have shown that an area in the limbic system, the hippocampus, is neurologically immature in autistic individuals (Bauman & Kemper, 1994). The hippocampus is responsible for sensory input as well as learning and memory. Basically, information is transferred from the senses to the hippocampus, where it is processed and then transferred to areas of the cerebral cortex for long-term storage. Since auditory information is processed in the hippocampus, the information may not be properly transferred to long-term memory in autistic individuals.

Auditory processing problems may also be linked to several autistic characteristics. Autism is sometimes described as a social-communication problem. Processing auditory information is a critical component of social-communication. Other characteristics that may be associated with auditory processing problems include: anxiety or confusion in social situations, inattentiveness, and poor speech comprehension.

Interestingly, those individuals who do not have auditory processing problems are often ‘auditory learners.’ These children do very well using the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) approach, whereas those who are visual learners do not do as well with this approach (McEachin, Smith and Lovaas, 1993). Given this, one might suspect that many visual learners have auditory processing problems and that visual learners will do quite well with a visual communication/instruction approach. It is also possible to provide visual support with ABA programs that have an auditory component. In this way, the visual learner can process the auditory information more easily.

The better autistic children understand auditory information, the better they can comprehend their environment, both socially and academically. The better we understand the autistic child, the better we can develop ways to intervene in an effective manner.

References
Bauman, M.L., & Kemper, T.L. (1994). Neuroanatomic observations of the brain in autism. In M.L. Bauman & T.L. Kemper (Eds.), The neurobiology of autism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP.

Courchesne, E. (1987). A neurophysiological view of autism. In E. Schopler & G.B. Mesibov (Eds.), Neurological issues in autism. New York: Plenum Press.

Donchin, E., Ritter, W., & McCallum, W.C. (1978). Cognitive psychophysiology: The endogenous components of the ERP. In E. Callaway, P. Tueting, & S. Koslow (Eds.), Event-related brain potentials in man. New York: Academic Press.

Edelson, S.M., Arin, D., Bauman, M., Lukas, S.E., Rudy, J.H., Sholar, M., & Rimland, B. (1999). Auditory integration training: A double-blind study of behavioral, electrophysiological, and audiometric effects in autistic subjects. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 14, 73-81.

McEachin, J.J., Smith, T., & Lovaas, O.I. (1993). Long-term outcome for children with autism who received early intensive behavioral treatment. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 97, 359-372.

Author
Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.
Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon
Copyright Autism.org

Chronicles in Autism/A Boy Recovers: Can children be cured?

2005-12-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Katherine Seligman

Sunday, November 13, 2005

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On a sunny morning in early fall, six fourth- graders hold hands in a Mill Valley school yard, playing a new generation of PE game called Swamp Trail. They stand with their feet on small green plastic squares, inches from a scattering of blue beanbags. The object is for the children to pick up the beanbags cooperatively, one at a time as they stand in line. They giggle collectively, their sneakers wobbling as they try to avoid collapsing in a heap.

What's most notable is what you can't see. One of the children, though you can't tell which, was diagnosed with autism when he was 2. He couldn't speak. He'd rock back and forth and wouldn't make eye contact or look up when anyone called his name. But now Humza Iqbal twists around to get his beanbag, gives a leap of joy and grabs his teammates' hands. He has grown into an articulate child who excels in school and has friends and play dates and all the ordinary trappings of a 9-year-old life. He comes home from school, does his homework ("I don't like to procrastinate," he says the first time I meet him), then might read, pop in a video game or play with his sisters who, he admits, sometimes bug him.

None of this happened overnight. Soon after her son's diagnosis, Sara Iqbal embarked on a quest that eventually occupied most of her waking hours. It evolved into a seven-year odyssey to find interventions for his behavioral, developmental and medical problems. It's remarkable partly because of the tremendous energy, patience and untold funds she and her husband, Javaid, devoted to helping their son -- what they say any parents would do -- but also because Humza appears, by all available measures, to have recovered.

This story is not about the question of what caused his autism. There is no official answer to that. His parents say his problems emerged a few days after vaccinations in the first months of life and flared following subsequent ones. That is a link the nation's top public health agencies -- including the National Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- have investigated and say is not supported by scientific evidence, but one that continues to polarize families and researchers. Instead, this story is about one little boy among a group that scientists are increasingly interested in -- those who seem to get better. There is still no agreement about why he got better. That remains controversial and raises fundamental questions about the nature of the disorder. Is autism purely a brain disorder? Is what is being diagnosed as autism more than one disease?

There are plenty of stories about children who don't make as much progress, regardless of the time and effort their parents invest. Some experts warn that it's impossible to extrapolate from Humza's experience -- that the conglomeration of treatments he received wouldn't necessarily work for other children, or that he might have gotten better without them. And yet, there he is, a kid who once didn't answer to his name but who recently told his mother that he is like both Bill Gates and Lance Armstrong. "I'm like Bill Gates,'' Sara Iqbal said he told her, "because I'm smart, and I'm like Lance Armstrong because I had a disease and I got better."

She worries how he will look back and digest everything that happened to him. She said she's heard of parents who put their children in new schools or call them by different names once they recover enough to shed the autism label. It's something she struggled with, but said she wanted to make her family's story public because it is a hopeful one and also because she wants to remove the stigma. "If your kid had leukemia, would you feel stigmatized? No," said Sara Iqbal. "The word autism scares people. ... I feel if we don't talk, then people will say these kids can't recover and we have no rebuttal."

Humza Iqbal came into the world on a May afternoon in Marin County, weighing a modest but healthy 6 1/2 pounds. He had a thatch of brown baby hair and his mother's large brown eyes. His birth was uncomplicated, and after one night in the hospital, he went home with his parents to join his 2-year-old sister. He was a happy and easy baby who thrived in the beginning, nursing well and bulking up to about 10 pounds by the time he was 6 weeks old.

What happened next was neither happy nor easy, but is part of an unexplained phenomenon unfolding across the world. Somewhere around 2 months, Humza started having trouble. He spiked a fever and developed diarrhea that turned bloody. It persisted on and off for a year. His parents tried different strategies and formulas. Nothing helped. After the first year, he no longer clapped his hands or mimicked expressions. He stopped hitting normal milestones. While he was undemanding during the day -- in fact he didn't seek out attention -- he was often cranky at night. By 14 months he was flapping his hands. He would fixate on one cartoon videotape, although a test revealed Humza was deaf. At 2, he had no words.

That is when his increasingly worried parents took him for evaluation in San Francisco at UCSF Stanford Health Care (a partnership between the two prestigious medical institutions that has since ended). Another test showed that his hearing was normal. He was referred to a team of behavioral and developmental experts. They studied him over three weeks and finally reached a conclusion: Humza had autism, the fastest growing developmental disability in the nation. Federal agencies estimate that autism -- a disorder characterized by impaired social skills, stereotypical or rigid repetitive behaviors and communication problems -- occurs in 1 in 166 births.

"When he said, 'Your child has autism,' the doctor was so serious and I still had a smile on my face," said Sara Iqbal. "I didn't know what it was. Then he explained and my face fell. I thought there must be some medicine or surgery, but he said there was no cure.''

All these years later, her eyes fill with tears as sits on the sofa in her Mill Valley living room and recalls hearing the test results, one after one, each like a hammer on her heart -- adaptive behavior, 2nd percentile; daily living skills, 1st percentile; socialization, 6th percentile. She had never heard of autism. What was this thing that had stolen away her child, she wondered?

By the time he got his diagnosis at age 2, Humza's parents were already exhausted. A typical day consisted of Sara Iqbal trying to interact with, comfort and calm her son. Noises like the tea kettle or doorbell set him off. It seemed the only thing that could soothe him was a favorite video of the children's program "Blue's Clues." He could sit and watch that, but if it was taken away, he screamed. His parents began bringing it when they went to friends' houses. The family often socialized with a tightknit group of relatives and friends, but going anywhere became an ordeal. They never knew what would happen. Sara Iqbal was so tired at night when Humza woke up crying that she would take him into her bed. During the day, she had to watch him every minute.

Feeding him presented other problems. When he was just a few months old, the doctor suspected his digestive problems might be due to food allergies -- even though he was exclusively drinking breast milk -- and suggested soy, then dairy formula. At 2, he had trouble chewing. Food sat in his mouth until it dissolved -- when he would eat. Mostly he drank milk, up to eight bottles a day.

The Iqbals returned home with their son's diagnosis, anguished at its severity. They turned to their strong Muslim faith, they said, as they contemplated how to help him. They prayed. And they started to plan.

"His diagnosis was a long and nerve-racking thing," said Javaid Iqbal, a mechanical engineer who now works in information technology for a discount brokerage firm. "It was a roller coaster. I still remember the winter evening when we got the diagnosis. I cried and cried."

Sara Iqbal cried also. She was, by nature and experience, a determined woman. She'd learned after losing her mother at age 14 to a sudden heart attack that she would have to stand up for herself. "I never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me," said Iqbal. She feels the same way, she said, about Humza, whom she named -- before she knew how much it fit -- after a warrior known for bravery.

She was always interested in medicine and took some premed classes at college in her native Pakistan, where she met and married her husband. But she found she loved literature and decided to make it her major. She always had the notion, she said, that she wanted to make a difference. "I used to pray for that, that I don't just spend my life on myself," she said.

In 1998, she took a look at the recommendations from Humza's specialists and set out to educate herself. The evaluators from UCSF Stanford Health Care suggested language, speech and behavioral therapy. They said Humza would need help with sensory-motor integration and oral-motor difficulties. There was mention of specific techniques with names she'd never encountered before -- ABA and "floor time." And there was a recommendation for blood and neurological tests.

"I would get up early and then spend all night researching treatments," Sara Iqbal said. "I'd be at the computer at 4 a.m."

She sifted through myriad programs and approaches and looked up support groups and organizations. One of the first forays she made was to the Option Institute's Son-Rise Program, developed by a couple with an autistic son who recovered. She knew little about the program, but it had a hallmark that appealed to Sara Iqbal. "You're not giving up on your child. Neither are we," it promised.

She traveled to Massachusetts for a Son-Rise course where she learned some basics of play therapy, such as how to encourage eye contact. Someone there suggested making a list of hopes for her son. At the top of a piece of lined notebook paper, she wrote that she hoped he would be able to say Mama and Daddy, to play with his sister and, finally, to speak the words, "Mama, I love you." Then she wrote him a letter, one of course she never knew if he'd ever be able to read, in which she told him how much she loved him and had learned from him. "Mama will always be there for you," she wrote. "You can always count on Mama."

When she returned, she immersed herself in more research. She used the Options approach at first (paying $1,800 for a two-day consultation, she said), but found, for her, it wasn't very helpful. "There was a learning curve for me in all of this," she said. What everyone told her -- the evaluation team and every other source she could find -- was that early intervention was crucial. But getting help from public agencies took time. They had waiting lists for therapy and refused to pay for most treatments, Sara Iqbal said.

So she went out on her own and took classes on specific behavioral techniques. She hired a team of four to five people to work with Humza using a combination of methods she eventually called "My Program." She studied Applied Behavioral Analysis, which involves behavior modification and rewards to master skills, which are then monitored in extensive notes. Then there was something called "floor time," where therapists engage kids in play -- sometimes just joining them in kicking a wall -- to establish two-way communication. She created a therapy room in her house, complete with a door that had an observation window.

The Iqbals say they lost track of how much they spent on Humza's treatment, but estimate it cost "thousands and thousands of dollars." They say they got "little cooperation" from the state Department of Developmental Services, whose regional centers dispense referrals and treatment funds for a growing number of autistic kids. "They paid for a little," said Javaid Iqbal. "But if they spent $1, we spent $1,000. ... I said I'd be willing to sell the house."

When the team wasn't there, the Iqbals worked with Humza, borrowing from all therapies. Sara Iqbal liked the technique of one behavioral program, for instance, that set goals of learning specific small tasks but didn't like the reward system. Instead of giving her son treats for his successes, she wanted the promise of satisfaction and more fun to be the reward. So she created her own games. She made him a pretend driver's license, for which he'd have to state his name and address. At night, the Iqbals turned their living room into a drive-in restaurant or played their own version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" to work on language skills.

When Humza turned 3, the local schools became financially responsible for intervention. Initially, the county wanted Humza placed in a special- education class, his mother said. His parents fought to get him a plan that included individual therapy. Eventually, the city school district agreed to speech and occupational therapy and a home program during his preschool years.

Aside from behavioral interventions, Sara Iqbal also looked for solutions to Humza's medical problems. She took him to doctors for the diarrhea and asked for tests that often weren't covered by insurance. A petite woman with a disarming smile, she had no trouble pushing for blood work if she thought it was necessary. "I could be a pain," she admits.

She found information on the Internet about diets that were free of gluten -- wheat protein -- and casein -- dairy protein. Other parents said they'd found these diets alleviated gastrointestinal symptoms and resulted in behavior and learning improvements. She ordered videotapes about the dairy- and wheat-free diet and started Humza on one. She began attending conferences run by Defeat Autism Now, an education and advocacy group that believed autism could be treated biomedically.

In the first days of the diet, she agonized as he refused foods she offered him. But then, slowly, he started to eat pureed food. Within about three weeks, she said, she noticed a difference in his digestion problems and his behavior. After a month and a half on the diet -- and receiving behavioral therapy at the same time -- Humza began looking at his parents.

Based on protocols developed by various organizations and doctors, who ordered blood tests, she started giving him vitamin and mineral supplements -- particularly B vitamins and magnesium. Eventually, he started babbling and making vowel sounds. She added vitamin A in the form of cod liver oil and essential fatty acids. He gained words and began putting them together in sentences, she said. For several months, he received weekly doses of intravenous glutathione, a naturally occurring antioxidant that helps flush toxins from the body. At least one major study has shown low glutathione levels in some autistic children. A double-blind study is now taking place in conjunction with the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) to show if administering glutathione improves autistic symptoms. In Humza's case, his mother said that gradually after the glutathione he began making social connections.

"Had we stayed with the conventional therapies, I don't think we would have made the initial headway we made in the first month (with biomedical treatments)," said Sara Iqbal. "We'd add another supplement and boom, we saw a change. ... We looked at it as a disease. The more we started fixing, the more he improved."

The transformation happened by degree, each milestone noted, with the small changes beginning to amount to larger ones. She dismantled the therapy room a few years ago and uses much of her time now helping other families with autistic kids find resources and treatments. She talks to parents from her community and as far away as India. Humza still follows a gluten- and casein-free diet -- although now he can cheat occasionally -- and takes some supplements. In addition, he gets occupational therapy to build upper-body strength and ongoing evaluations to make sure he continues to do well. But now he also leaps up when his father comes home and then begs him to play a game. In January, Sara Iqbal returned from a trip and was annoyed to find the house in such a mess and not one of her three kids willing to help clean up. Humza went upstairs to finish his homework, but came down later, handed her a letter and hugged her. "I thank you for everything not just now but always," he'd written. "I fully thank you I can't even write how much I thank you because it is way, way, way, way (x10) too long. Love, Humza."

"In December of 1998, I was just wishing he could say Mama," said Sara Iqbal. "If anyone had told me this was the kid I had, I would have been so surprised I would have jumped off a roof."

Humza is one of an unknown number of children diagnosed with autism who appear to have recovered -- or significantly improved, even though the cause of the skyrocketing number of diagnoses of the disease is still a mystery.

Perceptions of the disorder continue to change, just as they have since it was first described in a 1943 paper by Leo Kanner, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Psychiatrists jettisoned the 1950s notion that autism was caused by "refrigerator mothers" who interacted with children in a cold, stilted manner. Now, autism is considered a spectrum disorder, one that varies in severity and symptoms. Some research has shown that autistic children can have atypical immune-system reactions and brain patterns. New technology has made it possible to get a more precise look at the brain -- where scientists have observed inflammation or altered connectivity in some kids with autism -- but diagnosis is still made by clinical observation.

Researchers and parents continue to debate the cause of all of this. Most believe genes play a role. Beyond that, they don't agree whether the increase in cases is due to new diagnostic criteria, more awareness of the condition, exposure to pesticides, pollution, a mercury-based preservative in childhood vaccinations or immunological reaction to childhood shots. Some think it's a combination of all of these or that autism is not simply one disease, that it's many, with subgroups.

"We now say there are different types of autism," said Dr. Robert Hendren, executive director of the M.I.N.D. Institute. "There are regressive and non-regressive types, those with seizures and those without. New research and technology allow us to look at the brain and study genetic development. It will let us subtype autism."

Stories like Humza's provide anecdotal evidence of treatments that seem to work. In the absence of controlled studies, said Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the lead federal agency for research on mental and behavioral disorders, parents are left with "trial and error with your own child."

"The bottom line," he said, "is that we need a lot of better science to test out some of these things to see what is helpful and what is not. As it is, every parent is left to do their own clinical trial."

He and others say they worry about parents trying treatments that carry risks -- such as potential liver or kidney damage from chelation therapy some are using to rid the body of heavy metals -- or paying huge amounts of money for ones that don't end up working. Studies have already shown, Insel said, that extensive behavioral intervention with children as young as 2 or 3 results in substantial improvements in 20 to 25 percent of autistic kids.

But studies on biomedical treatments are slower to happen. "We've just been looking at behavioral cures," said Hendren of the M.I.N.D. Institute. "There are some families who feel that biomedical treatments do help the core symptoms. Good studies just haven't been done."

Scientists at some of the nation's leading research institutions are now studying dairy- and wheat-free diets and the use of supplements. Some parents feel they can't wait years for the results. Hendren said he sees families who say diet interventions made a big difference and others who report they didn't.

"The government now, because of our work, is saying that parents have lapped us on this," said Dave Humphrey, one of the founders of the Autism Treatment Network, a group of parents, advocates and researchers formed to set a "gold standard" for medical treatments and make them available to scientists, doctors, parents and policymakers.

"The most common thing we hear (from parents) is that after the diagnosis of autism, that's the last time a doctor sees my child," said Humphrey. "Usually, they are seen by a psychiatrist. Insurance won't cover medical intervention."

If there are medical treatments that help, say some scientists, perhaps autism is not -- as prevailing scientific thought now goes -- purely a brain disorder. Perhaps, said Dr. Martha Herbert, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard University medical school and a pediatric neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, autism is best described by a model that includes brain, behavior and medical problems.

"It's important to remember that we're still trying to understand what this is all about," said Insel. "We're looking at it as a brain illness, but it can have to do with gastrointestinal illness. If we could just get a handle on what is wrong in the brain.''

Pain from chronic gut problems, many scientists say, may be motivating the outbursts associated with autistic behavior in children who don't yet have language. But there is no agreement about what causes the gut irritation. Some believe it's an allergic reaction. Others think wheat and dairy proteins are converted into a product -- which has similarities to drugs in the opium family -- that passes into the bloodstream and causes problems in brain function. Either way, said the M.I.N.D. Institute's Hendren, "the brain-gut connection (in autism) is not proven or disproven."

The argument over whether autism is a brain disorder may seem academic, but is intrinsic to finding a path to recovery, said Harvard's Herbert, whose research is funded by Cure Autism Now, a group that raises money for biomedical research and has remained neutral on the vaccine issue. She spoke recently at a meeting of the newly founded Autism Recovery Consortium, which she described as a "speedboat" compared with the Autism Treatment Network's larger, more conventional vessel.

But both are sailing toward a hopeful term used with more frequency these days -- cure. "You won't get any of the research you need if you assume autism is not curable," said Herbert.

A genetically determined brain disease might not be curable, she said. If it happens prenatally and is hardwired in the brain, then a cure might be impossible. But if the disease is seen as one that affects many systems in the body and is influenced by genetics and environment, a cure is plausible.

As for Humza, his UCSF pediatrician says his progress is "remarkable." "You won't find a more dedicated parent than Mrs. Iqbal," said Dr. Alan Uba. But, he said, he's not sure what created the improvement -- behavioral therapies, biomedical treatments or just the passage of time.

"I'd like to know what helps and who would do better" with which therapies, he said. "Clearly, there are areas where Western medicine fails a little, with chronic pain, cold symptoms and things like autism or pervasive developmental disorders. There are no guaranteed treatments. Parents want more."

A school psychologist who observed Humza in early October found he consistently paid attention in class. He asked questions and practiced independently in his handwriting workbook. He got along well with other kids and they appreciated him, she wrote. Overall, she concluded, his social and academic behavior was "appropriate when compared to his peers."

After the doorbell rang, there was the sound of bare feet from inside and the door opened. Humza stood in the doorway, then gently returned a handshake. He is a slender kid with an impish smile who, after a few seconds, extended an invitation to come in and sit down.

"My mom is coming. She's somewhere," he said, as Sara Iqbal arrived from upstairs. We started talking about what he likes at school -- P.E., especially a kickball game called Two Touch. And he loves reading -- "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,'' "James and the Giant Peach" and "Matilda," although the author "doesn't use as much craft" in that one, Humza said.

"So, what else do you want to know about me?" he asked, leaning over and laughing at how he could not read the reporter's handwriting. Then he led a tour of his room, including a look inside his closet. "These are my clothes," he said. His 4-year-old sister shares the room, which is OK most of the time, he said, but she annoys him sometimes. "And this is the fan. It works by turning it on like this," he said, picking up the remote control. Then he quietly added that he might be getting a new, updated video game system. It might be coming soon.

Privately, his mother said later that her brother is bringing him one from overseas. It's a present to coincide with the screening of a public television documentary called "Finding the Words" that features a group of children who recovered, in varying degrees, from autism. Humza was the first to be interviewed and a chief inspiration for it. Just the night before, Sara Iqbal said, she'd told her son in detail how sick he'd been as a baby. She explained that he was a hero for fighting the disease and then she gave him the letter she'd written him when he was 2. He said he might want to see the film, but wasn't sure. He was sure, though, that other people should know how he got better. "I want to help other children," he told his mother.

A few days after that, Humza joined his classmates for a few laps around the school yard at the beginning of PE.

"Hey, I'm going to a movie premiere tonight," he said, walking next to his best friend.

"Cool," said his friend.

"There are kids in it who are, well, it's hard to explain," said Humza. "When I was little, something happened to my gut and I was able to recover and now I'm fine. So that's why I'm in this movie. It's about how miracles can happen."

"But what happens in the movie? You're not telling me what happens," said his friend.

"Well, I can't really explain. It's not a movie movie," said Humza.

Following PE, he headed for his classroom. It was time for math, where he now scores at an advanced level on standardized tests. On this day, the teacher was working on estimates. Humza volunteered to read aloud from a poem called "Hungry Mungry," jammed with numbers the teacher wanted students to tally. He stood in front of the class and read in a steady voice without stumbling, then returned to his seat to start his math sheet.

The school district supplies a part-time "special circumstance assistant" to help him in class, if needed. These days, Sam Gleason, one of the first therapists trained in Sara Iqbal's program, gives assurance, reinforcement and sometimes a small tap on the back to remind Humza to focus -- much the same as other fourth-graders need. But just as often he's off helping other kids because Humza is engaged in his own work or friends. Gleason once sweated over getting Humza, at age 2, to look at him or track a ball with his eyes. Today, he stands back and watches him run around the yard with his friends in a game of Two Touch.

That night, Humza did go to the premiere, held in the Presidio at the Golden Gate Club. His hair was neatly brushed. He wore a denim jacket and looked impressively handsome as he balanced a plate of vegetables and rice on his lap. Before the movie started, he wanted to know if there was going to be popcorn. But the only bowls near the door held small packets of Kleenex. He sat next to his parents and when he saw a picture of his family on the screen, he beamed. A half hour into the movie, he rested his head against his mother's shoulder and yawned. It was a late night for any 9-year-old.

Tests and diagnosis discussion for Autism

2005-11-22T21:41:00.000-08:00

Autism is classified as one of the pervasive developmental disorders. Some doctors also use terms such as "emotionally disturbed" to describe people with autism. Because it varies widely in its severity and symptoms, autism may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected individuals or in those with multiple handicaps. Researchers and therapists have developed several sets of diagnostic criteria for autism. Some frequently used criteria include:*

Absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
Impaired ability to make friends with peers
Impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
Stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
Restricted patterns of interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
Apparently inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals
Preoccupation with parts of objects

1
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.2

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. 2

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.2

The 14 Signs Of Autism

2005-11-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

The 14 Signs Of Autism

May avoid eye contact

May prefer to be alone

Echos words or phrases

Difficulty interacting with others

Spins objects or self

Insistence on sameness

Inappropriate attachements to objects

Inappropriate laughing or giggling

May not want cuddling

Difficulty in expressing needs; may use gestures

Inappropriate response or no response to sound

No real fear of dangers

Apparent insensitivity to pain

Sustained unusual or repetitive play' uneven physical or verbal skills

Created by Future Horizons

Is There a Cure?

2005-11-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

Understanding of autism has grown tremendously since Dr. Leo Kanner first described it in 1943. Some of the earlier searches for "cures" now seem unrealistic in terms of today's understanding of brain-based disorders. To cure means, "to restore to health, soundness, or normality." In the medical sense, there is no cure for the differences in the brain, which result in autism. However, better understanding of the disorder has led to the development of better coping mechanisms and strategies for the various manifestations of the disability.

Some of these symptoms may lessen as the child ages; others may disappear altogether. With appropriate intervention, many of the associated behaviors can be positively changed; even to the point in some cases, that the child or adult may appear to the untrained person to no longer have autism. The majority of children and adults will, however, continue to exhibit some manifestations of autism to some degree throughout their entire lives.

What is the prognosis?
Our children's symptoms are a result of the confusion and difficulties that they experience in adapting to a world that makes little sense to them. Our understanding of their point of view, our gentle teaching and support will help them grow and to experience the world as a safer place.

Symptoms usually begin to show when these children are between 12 and 30 months. Symptoms may change over the years and of course all children, including children with autism, learn as they grow.
However, there is no cure for PDD or autism. These children must grow and develop with the challenges of their disability.

Some never outgrow their need for close supervision. Others will need ongoing supervision but will achieve some independence. A few will adapt to society well needing only a little more guidance and support than the average person. Some will experience most of the symptoms of autism throughout their lives, while others will experience a lessening of many or most of their challenging problems.

The PDD diagnosis is much newer, so less is known about prognosis. Doctors believe that while some will continue to require close supervision, more will achieve independence with support and some may be able to adapt successfully to society.

While a prognosis can give a general idea of what to expect, it cannot tell you what a child will not achieve.

References:
Dr. Christopher Gillberg, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Conference. Autism: Emerging Issues in Prevalence and Etiology. 1997

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th ed., (DSM-IV). American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC. 1994.

MSNBC Health Editor on Epidemic...

2005-10-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

By Jane Weaver
Health editor
MSNBC
Updated: 5:13 p.m. ET Sept 25, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every child who receives the diagnosis of autism may be different, but the families of those children face the same overwhelming challenge — finding the best treatment for the complex condition.

While there has been significant progress in easing symptoms of autism and educating children diagnosed with the disorder, there is little agreement among doctors, parents and researchers over which type of treatment most effectively helps an affected child grow into an independent adult.

Parents can find themselves confronted with a confusing maze of often expensive strategies and methods, some of them promising miracle cures but backed by little or no medical evidence.

The variation in treatments is huge," says Laura Schreibman, an autism researcher and professor of psychology at the University of California at San Diego. "Parents not only have to deal with the emotional impact of the devastating diagnosis, [but] there’s no clear course of where to go. The amount of garbage that's out there and what parents have to sift through is truly astounding."

For many kids, autism treatment involves some combination of intensive behavioral therapy, speech and language therapy and special education in public schools. Anecdotal reports support newer forms of play-based behavioral therapies and alternative methods involving vitamins and dietary restrictions, although many autism experts vigorously disagree over whether these offer benefit.

'The beginning of this journey'
"We do have some important knowledge in treatment of autism, but we’re still very much at the beginning of this journey," says Geraldine Dawson, a professor of psychology at the Center on Human Development and Disability at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Since autism was first recognized in 1943, the search for an effective treatment has been frustrating for those involved. Once promising medical treatments have later been shown in tests to have no benefit. Research supporting newer or alternative treatments is lacking.

The causes of autism are unclear, and the wide range in the type and severity of a patient's disabilities can make it particularly challenging to select a specific therapy.

In 2001, a report from the National Academy of Sciences found that children with autism should receive at least 25 hours a week of intensive training beginning as young as age 2. Early diagnosis, now being given to children as young as 8 months, improves the chances of treatment success, experts say.

"We know that most children, but not all because we can’t guarantee, do well with early intervention," says Dr. Fred Volkmar, a professor of child psychiatry at Yale University and an expert on autism.

But the report stopped short of endorsing any particular treatment beyond education and support for parents, noting that the type of treatment might differ depending on the child.

"There is no one treatment that is going to work for all children or one treatment that is going to do everything for any given child over a long period of time," says Catherine Lord, director of the autism and communication disorders program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and chairwoman of the National Academy of Sciences expert panel.

Many children with autism have additional problems such as gastrointestinal illnesses, sleeping difficulties or anxiety that can complicate treatment, researchers also note.

A treatment program called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is based upon a rewards system, is widely accepted by parents and doctors largely because it is the most researched and is supported by numerous anecdotal success stories. ABA is considered especially beneficial for children with more severe symptoms.

ABA calls for one-on-one interaction between a teacher and a child for up to 40 hours a week. In the highly structured program toddlers receive positive reinforcement for initially learning simple actions like identifying colors and then gradually working up to more advanced activities that target deficits in learning, language, play-interaction and attention.

Advocates of this behavioral therapy pioneered by Dr. O. Ivaar Lovaas, professor emeritus at the University of California at Los Angeles, point to a study published in 1987 that suggested that with a comprehensive ABA program of 40 hours a week, about half of kids with autism were indistinguishable from other kids at age 7. But even within the field, the research has been questioned.

"No one else has been able to replicate that," says Lord. "That finding was an anomaly."

Other researchers like Schreibman support more varied, less structured programs than the intensive 40-hour ABA. Such methods include Floortime, which gets children and therapists down on the floor and engaged in imitation play, and the Denver model developed by Sally Rogers, which integrates speech and language therapy and focuses on helping children with autism form relationships with their peers.

“Young people tend to learn better from people their own age, they watch the people more, and putting the kids with other kids allows them to learn appropriate behavior for their age," says Robert Hendren, a psychiatry professor and executive director of the MIND Institute, part of the University of California at Davis Medical Center, which focuses on the causes and treatments of autism.

A variation of behavioral treatment is the classroom-centered TEACCH program, which uses visual cues to help children focus their attention. "A lot of our intervention is based on teaching organizational strategies and skills," says Gary Mesibov, director of the TEACCH program, based in Chapel Hill, N.C.

One of the most controversial treatment methods, a detoxification treatment called chelation therapy, has been gaining acceptance among some doctors and parents. Based on the theory that exposure to heavy metals, particularly the mercury preservative in some children's vaccines, is behind some cases of autism, advocates claim chelation is an effective treatment.

"There is no question that chelation, taking the mercury out of the kids, is by far the most effective treatment available," says psychologist Bernard Rimland of the Autism Research Institute in San Diego.

Others warn that it could harm the child.

"Chelation brings risks of its own," says Dr. Eugene Arnold, a psychiatry professor at Ohio State University in Columbus. "A doctor shouldn’t do chelation therapy unless [body] tissue tests show high levels of mercury or lead."

Combination treatment
Because it's so difficult to match the child to a treatment, desperate parents often experiment with multiple therapies at the same time.

An estimated 30 percent of parents try alternative therapies like special diets, vitamin treatments or other non-traditional methods on their children, according to a 2004 study from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Many parents also enroll their children in music and vision therapy or programs like horseback riding and yoga to help develop motor skills.

Unfortunately, doctors can't yet predict which children will benefit from a particular program or whether a child will ever fit into a regular classroom. Even with treatment, about 25 percent of children never develop language skills, according to researchers. On the other hand, about 25 percent are able score in a normal range for their IQ and to function in public school.

Federal law requires public schools to provide special education classes for children with autism, although programs vary from state to state and some parents prefer private treatment, especially for their younger children. Yet because of a lack of scientific evidence supporting certain therapies, parents often find themselves battling health insurers for coverage or suing school systems to provide home-based instruction.

"Some parents hire a lawyer before they meet the preschool teacher," says Mesibov.

Studies: No Link Between Autism, Vaccines

2005-09-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Found this article today...thought my readers would be interested....

Preservative in Childhood Vaccines Not a Cause of Autism, Researchers Find

By Jeanie Lerche Davis
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Sept. 7, 2004 -- Thimerosal, the preservative formerly used in vaccines, and autism are not linked, according to three new studies.

It's been controversial for years, this theory that vaccines containing thimerosal could cause neurological and psychological problems like autism. Many studies have discounted this link, but many parents have not been convinced.

In 2001, thimerosal was removed from all routinely recommended childhood vaccines as a precautionary measure.

In this month's issue of the journal Pediatrics, two large studies from the U.K. show no significant link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and abnormal neurological development. The third study is a careful review of all research published thus far.

The Newest Evidence

In the first study in Pediatrics, researchers analyzed data on more than 14,000 children, tracking their vaccinations at 3, 4, and 6 months of age as well as their calculated mercury exposure. They compared the data with information on the children's brain and motor development from age 6 months to age 7 or 8, when many children are diagnosed with autism.

The researchers looked at various outcomes including behavioral, speech, and other development milestones.

They also took into account other factors that might have skewed their data -- like the baby's birth weight, premature birth, whether the mother smoked, if the baby was breastfed, and ethnicity.

In the end, "we could find no convincing evidence" that early childhood exposure to thimerosal had any harmful effect on the children's brain, motor skill, or behavioral development, writes lead researcher Jon Heron, PhD, a pediatric epidemiologist with the University of Bristol in England.

"This is reassuring news," writes Heron.

However, there was a slight conflict with the second study in Pediatrics.

In the second study, children getting vaccines had more behavior tics -- possibly minor, short-lived tics, writes researcher Nick Andrews, MSc, an epidemiologist with the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre in London.

Andrews analyzed data on nearly 110,000 British children, comparing the amount of thimerosal in the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) and the diphtheria-tetanus (DT) vaccines with incidence of developmental disorders.

The vaccines actually seemed to lower the risk of general developmental disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), writes Andrews.

For other disorders, there was no evidence of an association with thimerosal.

In fact, premature birth was the biggest factor in developmental disorders, with 5% of preterm children and 2% of full-term children having problems. Also, boys were more likely to have these disorders, he notes.

However, a greater number of short-lived tics was found among children who received all three doses of the DPT/DT vaccine within their first year. Although an association "cannot be ruled out," it is unlikely a "true finding" since tics would be accompanied by other developmental disorders, Andrews writes.

The Big Picture

To put all the evidence into perspective, Sarah K. Parker, MD, with Children's Hospital and University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, reviewed 12 studies published between 1966 and 2004. Only four studies found a link between autism and vaccines, and those were critically flawed -- so flawed that they were rendered invalid, she writes.

The bulk of evidence "does not support" an association between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic disorders, writes Parker.

"Determining the cause of autism is important for future diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. However, as the evidence reviewed here suggests, these efforts may be substantially more productive if they are redirected to other hypotheses."

SOURCES: Heron, J. Pediatrics, September 2004; vol 114; pp 577-583. Andrews, N. Pediatrics, September 2004; vol 114; pp 584-591. Parker, S. Pediatrics, September 2004; vol 114; pp 793-804.

4 Myths of Autism.....

2005-09-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Myth #1: Autism is genetic.

There is no evidence to suggest that autism is genetic. No autism gene has ever been found and the search will be endless - how can you have a gene for a mythical condition? Autism is mercury poisoning. What is true is that certain children may have an impaired ability genetically to detoxify heavy metals from their systems. These children are more likely to be affected by mercury exposure. However, all children, and adults, if given too much mercury will manifest symptoms of mercury toxicity, which we call "autistic" symptoms. All children born from 1991 forward who received all recommended vaccines were injected with levels of mercury that dramatically exceeded safety levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency for adults. Mercury has become ubiquitous in our environment: in fish and other foods, water, and air. Exceedingly high doses of mercury exposure can result in death - it is that neuro-toxic and damaging to the human body. Two drops of dimethylmercury spilled onto the gloved hand of a Dartmouth chemistry professor, a leader in a study investigating mercury's causal role in cancer, resulting in the progressive loss of her balance, speech, vision, and hearing, and ultimately lead to her coma and death within a year of the exposure.

It is impossible to have a "genetic epidemic." Since 1991, there is a very real and dramatic rise in the incidence of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. In the 1970s, the incidence of autism was 1 in 10,000 children. In 1986, the rate was 1 in 2,500. Today the rate is 1 in 150. It has been estimated that one in six children have some type of learning disability. Epidemics can happen in 10 years, genetic changes to populations require many generations.

Myth #2: Autism is lifelong.

There is a growing body of evidence that children properly treated for mercury poisoning fully recover normal functioning and are indiscernible from their neurotypical peers. Any toxicologist will tell you that mercury poisoning represents a temporary, treatable state. Thorough removal of mercury will resolve most or all of the symptoms. Autism is only life long if mercury poisoning is never treated.

Myth #3: Autistic children are not affectionate and do not like to be held or touched.

This is an unfortunate myth. Many autistic children are extremely affectionate and love to be held and hugged. Mercury kills neurons in the brain and damages the central nervous system resulting in disturbances in all of the senses - vision, hearing, oral, smell, proprieceptive (touch), and vestibular (motion). Some children develop ultra sensitivities in these systems (e.g., difficulties tolerating loud noise, bright lights, car rides, or certain kinds of clothing on their skin); others develop extreme undersensitivies (e.g., numbness, abnormally high pain tolerances, lack of fear or physical caution). Children who appear to not like being held or touched likely do not because it feels painful to them. Touch is literally either too painful or overwhelming to the senses to tolerate. Many autistic children are extremely affectionate and love to be held and hugged. Some may even crave or seek the pressure from that touch to penetrate their dulled senses. Underneath the distortions of mercury toxicity, all of these children wish to be held and loved.

Myth #4: Autistic children are in their own world and are not interested in other people.

Mercury poisoning overloads the senses and can make sights, sounds, touch, and smells intolerable. This sensory overload causes some autistic children to withdraw inward as a means of survival - it is their body's way of coping with the massive sensory overload. Parents often remark, as the mercury is removed from their children's bodies, that they experience their child "in our world" for the first time: focusing on people's faces, attending to sounds, and having a light or aliveness in their eyes again. The removal of mercury reduces the sensory distortion and overload, making the world a safer, more readily understood, and more tolerable place again. By using our own frame of reference, we mistake an autistic child's retreat inward as an "aloofness" or "indifference" to those around them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Symptoms can be dangerous....

2005-09-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Autism: What Is It?
Autism is a multifaceted complex disorder of brain that causes a difficulty for a child's normal development, particularly in his or her skills to communicate and socialize with other people.

Autism is a dangerous disorder, which does not cause any noticeable physical disability, such as cerebral palsy may; people with autism do not require wheelchairs and they "look" just like anybody without the disability.

Because an autistic child looks "normal" other people assume they are just different and quiet or the parents are not controlling the child well enough. Due to this invisible nature of autism not many parents are aware of autism and even fewer fully understand this condition.

The first signs of autism disorder typically appear by age 3 and continue through life, if untreated. If a child has any of autism spectrum disorders, he or she may develop normally for the first few months - or years - of life, then become less responsive to other people.

The majority of children with autism have mental retardation, which means they're slow to acquire new knowledge or skills. However, some children learn quickly yet have trouble communicating, applying what they know in everyday life, and adjusting in social situations. An extremely small number of children with autism have exceptional skills in a narrow strictly specific area, such as art or math.

Although the exact prevalence of autism isn't estimated yet, doctors believe that one in 1,000 children has autism, including three to four times as many boys as girls. There has been noted a steep increase in the number of autism cases in the United States and all over the world, but the increase may be the result of better diagnosis and changes in diagnostic criteria.

Researchers are looking for clues to the cause of autism, hoping to better understand the nature of the disorder which will lead to better treatments. The future looks bright, but there are many families face the challenge of living with autism today.

The cause of autism disorder isn't clear, and there's no prescribed medical cure to autism. But autism is a treatable condition.

Many behavioral and communication therapy programs have been developed to address the range of social, language and behavioral difficulties associated with autism. There are prescribed medications that may improve specific behaviors, such as hyperactivity. However, there are no medications that directly improve the vital signs of autism. Doctors avoid prescribing child medications unless the behavior is potentially dangerous or it interferes with child's ability to participate in behavioral and communication therapy programs.

Some parents choose to supplement educational and medical treatment with complementary therapies of autism, such as art therapy, music therapy, special diets, vitamin and mineral supplements, and sensory integration.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to the world. People with autism can often have accompanying learning disabilities but everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world.

Time is of essence when treating autism. A child showing any autistic tendencies should be referred for possible diagnosis to a licensed clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or neurologist specializing in autism and related disorders. If diagnosed early, treatment can begin immediately maximizing the probability of success.

Theories of the etiology of autism

2005-09-16T19:34:00.000-07:00

Theories of the etiology of autism

Brain testosterone theory

Simon Baron-Cohen proposes a model for autism based in his empathising-systemising (E-S) theory[12]. His team at the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, UK, measured testosterone levels in the amniotic fluid of mothers while pregnant. This is presumed to reflect levels in the babies themselves. The team found that the babies with higher fetal testosterone levels had a smaller vocabulary and made eye contact less often when they were a year old.

His group has looked at the original 58 children again, at age four. The researchers found that the children with higher testosterone in the womb are less developed socially, and the interests of boys are more restricted than girls. The results are published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in a 2004 issue [13].

Baron-Cohen theorizes that high fetal testosterone levels push brain development towards an improved ability to see patterns and analyze systems. Males supposedly tend to be better at these tasks than females. But the high levels are thought to inhibit the development of communication and empathy, which are allegedly typical female skills. (New Scientist, 24 May 2003) [14].

However, there is still no demonstrable evidence that testosterone levels affect brain development or autism. Gender or biodeterminism is a fashionable explanation for many human behaviors, but has been challenged by other professionals[15].

Vaccine theory
Controversial research by Andrew Wakefield in the UK that was published in The Lancet in the February 1998 issue, dubbed the "Wakefield Study", suggested a possible link between autism and the MMR vaccine. The original research has come under criticism, largely due to a conflict of interest on Wakefield's part [16]. In February 2004 The Lancet described the research as "entirely flawed", said that it should never have been published, and 12 of the original 14 authors of the paper retracted their claims. Critics with statistical skills have claimed that Wakefield's study contains many obvious flaws, including an inability to recognize bias in his sample. Controversy continues, with Wakefield continuing to defend his theory.

Although the fact that the Wakefield study is flawed does not in itself prove that no autism-vaccine connection exists, further research suggests that the theory is most likely false. Several independent groups have conducted thorough investigations into the possible link, including the National Academy of Sciences, and concluded that the evidence does not support a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

For further proof, a study by Gillberg and Heijbel in 1998 that examined the prevalence of autism in children born in Sweden from 1975 to 1984[17] found that there was no difference in the prevalence of autism among children born before the introduction of the MMR vaccine in Sweden and those born after the vaccine was introduced. Another study, conducted by Madsen and other researchers in 2002, studied all children born in Denmark from January 1991 through December 1998[18]. There were a total of 537,303 children in the study; 440,655 of the children were vaccinated with MMR and 96,648 were not. The researchers did not find a higher risk of autism in the vaccinated than in the unvaccinated group of children.

Research in the U.S. has suggested a similar link between autism and the DPT vaccine. However, unlike early claims from Wakefield, it is doubtful that a large majority of autism cases would come from this vaccine. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, controversy surrounding autism and vaccines continues to this day, and many polls, such as the autism coach poll[19], show vaccines as the most popular theory currently on the etiology of autism among parents of autistic children.

In a controversial article in June 2005, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. described research suggesting that it is not the vaccines themselves, but a mercury-based preservative called Thimerosal, which is used in some vaccine preparations, that may be a cause of autism[20]. Kennedy argues that autism was first observed in children who were born around the time of introduction of thimerosal into mass-produced vaccines, and that the incidence of autism in the United States is well correlated with the amounts of thimerosal children receive during their first two years of life.

Brain trauma
Susan Bryson has claimed that some autistics have evidence of trauma to the brain stem in early development, and that a small portion of the thalidomide victims have become autistic. The victims' limbs were normal unless thalidomide use continued later in the pregnancy. The brain stem anomaly's most striking feature is inability to focus attention away from a stimulus in a short time like neurotypicals, as demonstrated in a psychological test.

Some people claim the inability to shift attention quickly interferes with the ability to read nonverbal language where fast attention shifts are needed (such as eye language), suggesting that being nonverbal is not a primary feature of autism. Strong and shiftless focus is, however, a benefit in some areas like science, programming, and advanced mathematics. This is supported by the monotropism hypothesis.

Dr. Bernard Rimland's influential research and his book Infantile Autism (1967) argued that autism was not caused by childhood trauma or abuse, but by damage to certain areas of the brain, particularly the reticular formation which associates present sensory input with memories of past experiences. Dr. Rimland is a foremost advocate of the theory that autism may be precipitated by mercury and heavy metal toxicity[21]. He also is prominent in increasingly common claims of successful treatment of autism in children—particularly regarding improvements in ability to comprehend the spoken word—with the gluten-free, casein-free diet and mercury chelation therapy.

Others claim Dr. Bernard Rimland's methods alleviate the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning, but not autism. Curing heavy metal poisoning when it is present is a worthy goal (it helps with IQ and other learning difficulties as well as general health), but claiming a cure for autism is a misrepresentation. Heavy metal poisoning may be more common among autistics due to a severe metallothionein deficiency, but more evidence is needed to substantiate the idea that heavy metals cause autism. It is still being studied. The presence of heavy metals, particularly mercury, might make an autism diagnosis more likely, however.

Viral or bacterial infection
A growing body of peer-reviewed studies published in mainstream journals has shown that many common diseases of unknown origin are in fact caused by the presence of slowly acting viruses. For example, cervical cancer is caused by the human papilloma wart virus; some cases of liver cancer are caused by hepatitis C or B; Schizophrenia may be caused by Borna virus. Paul W. Ewald, among others, argues that the available data on the origin of autism is consistent with it being caused by a virus or infection.

Increase in diagnoses of autism
For more details on this topic, see Autism epidemic.

The number of reported cases of autism has increased dramatically over the past decade. Statistics in graph from the National Center for Health Statistics.There has been an explosion worldwide in reported cases of autism over the last ten years, which is largely reminiscent of increases in the diagnosis of schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder in the twentieth century. This has brought rise to a number of different theories as to the nature of the sudden increase.

Epidemiologists argue that the rise in diagnoses in the United States is either partly or entirely attributable to changes in diagnostic criteria, reclassifications, public awareness, and the incentive to receive federally mandated services. A widely cited study from the M.I.N.D. Institute in California (17 October 2002), claimed that the increase in autism is real, even after those complicating factors are accounted for (see reference in this section below).

Other researchers remain unconvinced (see references below), including Dr. Chris Johnson, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and cochair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Autism Expert Panel, who says, "There is a chance we're seeing a true rise, but right now I don't think anybody can answer that question for sure." (Newsweek reference below).

The answer to this question has significant ramifications on the direction of research, since a real increase would focus more attention (and research funding) on the search for environmental factors, while a consensus for little or no real increase would direct more attention to genetics. On the other hand, it is conceivable that certain environmental factors (vaccination, diet, societal changes) may have a particular impact on people with a specific genetic constitution. There is little public research on the effects of in vitro fertilization on the number of incidences of autism.

One of the more popular theories is that there is a connection between "geekdom" and autism. This is hinted, for instance, by a Wired Magazine article in 2001 entitled "The Geek Syndrome", which is a point argued by many in the autism rights movement[22]. This article, many professionals assert, is just one example of the media's application of mental disease labels to what is actually variant normal behavior—they argue that shyness, lack of athletic ability or social skills, and intellectual interests, even when they seem unusual to others, are not in themselves signs of autism or Asperger's syndrome.

Due to the recent publicity surrounding autism and autistic spectrum disorders, an increasing number of independent adults are choosing to seek diagnoses of high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome in light of symptoms they currently experience or experienced during childhood. Since the cause of autism is thought to be at least partly genetic, a proportion of these adults seek their own diagnosis specifically as follow-up to their children's diagnoses. Because autism falls into the category of pervasive developmental disorders, strictly speaking, symptoms must have been present in a given patient before age seven in order to make a differential diagnosis.

Remediation
There are many different therapies and treatments but the success they have varies dramatically from person to person. Remediation of the debilitating aspects of autism is also hindered by widespread disagreement over its nature and causes, and by a lack of recognized and effective therapies.

The behavioral and cognitive functioning of individuals with autism might improve with the help of psychosocial and pharmacological interventions. Among psychosocial treatments, intensive, sustained special education programs and behavior therapy early in life might increase the ability of children with autism to acquire language and the ability to learn. In adults with autism, some studies have found beneficial effects of the antidepressant medications clomipramine and fluoxetine. There is also evidence that the antipsychotic medication haloperidol can be helpful; however, the risk of serious side effects is significant in children. In many cases quite a few medications will have to be tried until a successful drug is found, and the drug may lose effectiveness later in the autistic's life, complicating matters further.

Dr. Bruno Bettelheim believed that autism was linked to trauma in early childhood, and his work was highly influential for decades. Parents, and especially mothers, of autistics were blamed for having caused their child's condition through the withholding of affection. Leo Kanner, who first described autism (Autistic disturbances of affective contact, 1943) originated the "refrigerator mother" hypothesis, which held that autism was at least partly caused by a lack of affection from the autistic child's mother. Although Kanner eventually renounced the concept and apologized publicly, Bettelheim took the theory further. These theories did nothing to address the fact that having more than one autistic child in a family is exceptional, not the rule. Treatments based on these theories failed to help autistic children.

Applied Behavior Analysis
A major breakthrough (in some respects) in the remediation of autistic behaviors came through work spearheaded by Ole Ivar Lovaas, who believed that success could be obtained by behavioral approaches.

Lovaas' approaches—often referred to as Discrete Trial, Intensive Behavior Intervention, and Applied Behavior Analysis—are some of the best known and most widely used in the field and focus on the development of attention, imitation, receptive or expressive language, and pre-academic and self-help skills. Using a one-to-one therapist-child ratio and the “antecedent-behavior-consequence” (ABC) model, interventions based on this work involve trials or tasks. Each consists of (a) an antecedent, which is a directive or request for the child to perform an action; (b) a behavior, or response from the child, which may be categorized as successful performance, noncompliance, or no response; and (c) a consequence, defined as the reaction from the therapist, which ranges from strong positive reinforcement to a strong negative response, “No!”(Autism Society of America, 2001)[23].
Lovaas' Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) methods were the first scientifically validated therapy for autism. Early intervention, generally before school-age, seems to be critical to achieving optimal outcomes.

ABA techniques based on B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior have succeeded in helping nonverbal children start to talk, typically going from zero words to several dozen. By allowing children to express their needs, even rudimentary speech can alleviate frustration and tantrums.

The scientific validity of Lovaas's methods is questioned by many professionals as well as parents and autistics themselves. Lovaas's initial studies looked promising but have not been reproduced by others with the same rate of success. There have not been any double-blind studies that validate ABA, so it is unclear if any improvements seen in children are simply due to their normal course of development.

Many also feel that there are serious ethical problems, and point out that early ABA was based around the use of aversives which could be experienced by an autistic person as confusing and painful [24]. Most contemporary behaviorist programs for autistics employ no aversiveness at all, and not all attempt to "extinguish" behaviors such as rocking or spinning that autistics use for calming purposes.

ABA may not be appropriate for every autistic or developmentally delayed child. ABA has come into widespread use only in the last decade and the demand is outstripping the supply of committed and experienced service providers. As a result, parents of children need to be extra vigilant in choosing appropriate treatments for their children and especially in choosing providers, who may be inexperienced, use questionable methods or even deceive parents that they are competent to run an ABA or any other program. Such problems have led to horror stories from some parents. [25] [26]

Relationship Development Intervention

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) is a research-based treatment program developed by Dr. Steven E. Gutstein. Whereas ABA aims to teach social skills directly, RDI focuses on building the "dynamic intelligence" that underlies the acquisition of those social skills in neurotypical children. It also focuses on the building blocks of motivation by developing episodic memory (seen as impaired in autism) and filling it with the child's own personal stories of competence and mastery. RDI emphasizes declarative (as opposed to imperative) communication, and aims for an appropriate balance of verbal and nonverbal communication.

Dr. Gutstein claims that 70% of his patients improved their ADOS score within 18 months, which is unprecedented (it was previously thought that improvement on the ADOS was impossible), and that a similar proportion are able to enter school without a shadow teacher or other personal assistant.

Son-Rise
The Son-Rise program was developed by Samahria & Barry Neil Kaufman, who founded the Option Institute to promulgate their more general philosophy upon which the Son-Rise program is partially based, and to provide training in this treatment approach. It is a home-based program with emphasis on eye contact, accepting the child without judgment, and engaging the child in a noncoercive way. The Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT)[27] maintains a Description of the Son-Rise Program[28].

Autism and computing
Many studies have shown that computers help calm autistic children and help them communicate,[29] and that often autistic children take to computers more quickly than non-autistic people. However, evidence suggesting that computers help autistic children communicate without computers is less promising, and autistic children are not immune to the effects of overuse of computers. One can deduce from this that autistic children often communicate better through e-mail than normal speech, but in rare cases the reverse can be true also.

Some groups have proposed more precise scientific reasons for why this happens. One such group, the nonprofit Autism and Computing[30], claims that autism is monotropism (as stated in an above section), and they argue that computers provide an easy way of joining attention tunnels (a.k.a. undivided attention) with minimal discomfort, circumventing some of the most disabling features of autistic spectrum disorders.

Gluten-free, casein-free diet
Dr. Karl Ludwig Reichelt claims to have found peptides from casein and gluten that worsen the symptoms of autistic children. These peptides are casomorphines and gluten exorphines, which influence the brain. According to Dr. Reichelt, significant improvement has been seen in the symptoms of some of his patients with autism, on a diet that omits these peptides, the diet is called the gluten-free, casein-free diet. Some physicians see diet as a central part of the treatment, but in addition to many other treatments at the same time[31].

Sociology
Due to the complexity of autism, there are many facets of sociology that need to be considered when discussing it, such as the culture possible with it. In addition, there are several communities being formed within the autistic community, and in recent times they have become a bit polarized.

Community
For more details on this topic, see Autistic community.
Much like many other controversies in the world, the autistic community itself has splintered off into several groups. Essentially, these groups are those who seek a cure for autism, dubbed pro-cure, those who do not desire a cure for autism and as such resist it, dubbed anti-cure, and the many people caught in the middle of the two. In recent history, with scientists learning more about autism and possibly coming closer to a cure, some members of the "anti-cure" movement sent a letter to the United Nations demanding to be treated as a minority group rather than a group with a mental disability or disease.

There are numerous resources available for autistics from many groups. Due to the fact that many autistics find it easier to communicate online than in person, many of these resources are available online. In addition, sometimes successful autistic adults in a local community will help out children with autism, much in the way a master would help out an apprentice, for example.

2002 was declared Autism Awareness Year in the United Kingdom—this idea was initiated by Ivan and Charika Corea, parents of an autistic child, Charin. Autism Awareness Year was led by the British Institute of Brain Injured Children, Disabilities Trust, National Autistic Society, Autism London and 800 organizations in the United Kingdom. It had the personal backing of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and parliamentarians of all parties in the Palace of Westminster.

Culture
For more details on this topic, see Autistic culture.
With the recent increases in autism rates, an autistic culture has begun to develop. Autistic culture is much akin to deaf culture, which says that autism is a unique way of being and not a disorder to be cured, i.e., "anti-cure". There are some commonalities which are specific to autism in general as a culture, not just "autistic culture".

It is a common misperception that people with autism do not marry; many do get married. Often, it is to another person with autism, although this is not always the case. Many times this is due to shared interests or obsessions, but more often than not it is due to more compatibility with personality types. Multigenerational autistic families have also recently become a bit more common.

Interests with autistic people and so-called "geeks" or "nerds" can often overlap as autistic people can sometimes become preoccupied with certain subjects much like the variant normal behavior geeks experience. However, in practice many autistic people have difficulty with working in groups, which impairs them even in the most "technical" of situations.

Adults with autism

Temple Grandin, one of the more successful adults with autism. Photograph courtesy Joshua Nathaniel Pritikin and William Lawrence Jarrold.Some autistic adults are able to work successfully in mainstream jobs, usually those with high-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome. Nevertheless, communication and social programs often cause difficulties in many areas of the autistic's life.

Many other autistics are capable of employment in sheltered workshops under the supervision of managers trained in working with persons with disabilities. A nurturing environment at home, at school, and later in job training and at work, helps autistic people continue to learn and to develop throughout their lives.

In the United States, the public schools' responsibility for providing services ends when the autistic person is in their 20s, depending on each state. The family is then faced with the challenge of finding living arrangements and employment to match the particular needs of their adult child, as well as the programs and facilities that can provide support services to achieve these goals.

Autistic savants
The autistic savant phenomenon is sometimes seen in autistic people. The term is used to describe a person who is autistic and has extreme talent in a certain area of study. Although there is a common association between savants and autism (an association created by the 1988 film Rain Man), most autistic people are not savants. Calendar calculators and fast programming skills are the most common form. Some famous examples are Daniel Tammet, the subject of the documentary film The Brain Man [32], and Kim Peek, the inspiration for Dustin Hoffman's character in the film Rain Man.

Other pervasive developmental disorders
Autism and Asperger's syndrome are just two of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). The three other pervasive developmental disorders are Rett syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, and Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Some of the these are related to autism, while some of them are entirely seperate conditions.

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 these early symptoms may be confused for autism. 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 causes Rett syndrome, and can physically test for it with a 80% accuracy rate [33]. Rett syndrome in the past was sometimes classified as an autistic spectrum disorder, however most scientists agree that Rett syndrome is a developmental disorder and not part of the autistic spectrum [34].

Childhood disintegrative disorder
Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD, and sometimes abbreviated as CHDD also) is a condition appearing in 3 or 4 year old children who have developed normally until age 2. Over several months, the child will deteriorate in intellectual, social, and language functioning from previously normal behaviour. This long period of normal development before regression helps differentiate CDD from Rett syndrome (and in fact it must be differentiated from autism in testing). The cause for CDD is unknown (thus it may be a spectrum disorder) but current evidence suggests it has something to do with the central nervous system [35] [36].

Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified
Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, or PDD-NOS, is referred to as a subthreshold condition because it is a classification which is given to someone who suffers from impairments in social interaction, communication, and/or stereotyped behaviour but does not meet the criteria for one of the other four pervasive developmental disorders. Unlike the other four pervasive developmental disorders, PDD-NOS has no specific guidelines for diagnosis, so the person may have a lot of characteristics of an autistic person, or few to none at all. Note that pervasive developmental disorder is not a diagnosis, just a term to refer to the five mentioned conditions, while PDD-NOS is an official diagnosis [37].

What are the symptoms of autism?

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"We are in the midst of an autism epidemic in this country."
--Portia Iversen, co-founder of Cure Autism Now, New York Times, 12-31-2002.

Autism, or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), is alarmingly more prevalent today than just 10 years ago, affecting as many as 1 per 166 individuals (according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2001). That translates to more than 30,000 individuals in Cook county alone. Typically detected in early childhood, a new diagnosis is especially devastating for families because, in spite of its numbers, the disorder is so misunderstood. Even to researchers, autism continues to be a mystery. Because autism itself and its causes are so puzzling, the international symbol for autism is a puzzle piece. In order to begin to solve the autism puzzle, public awareness of the disorder is crucial.

Incidence
• Autism, or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), is alarmingly more prevalent today than just 10 years ago.
• Autism now occurs in at least 1 in every 250 births vs. estimates of 1 in every 10,000 in 1983.
• Autism is 4 times more prevalent in boys than girls.
• Autism is increasing at a faster rate than any other disability or disease.
• Autism is the third most common developmental disability following mental retardation and cerebral palsy.
• Autism is more common than multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis or childhood cancer.
• Autism knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence.

So what exactly is autism?
Most people do not know that autism is a lifelong brain disorder which primarily affects an individual's communication, socialization, and language. The Autism Society of America (ASA) defines autism as "a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills". According to ASA, autism is a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain and is four times more prevalent in boys than girls. Autism knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism's occurrence.

Causes
• There is no undisputed known cause of autism.
• Causes that have been identified are various, preliminary and in need of additional research.
• Most believe autism to have multiple possible causes.

What are the symptoms of autism?
Children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. While understanding of autism has grown tremendously since it was first described by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943, most of the public, including many professionals in the medical, educational, and vocational fields, are still unaware of how autism affects people and how they can effectively work with individuals with autism. Contrary to popular understanding, many children and adults with autism may make eye contact, show affection, smile and laugh, and demonstrate a variety of other emotions, although in varying degrees. Autism is a spectrum disorder with the symptoms and characteristics presenting themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment.

Symptoms
• Autism is a lifelong brain disorder.
• Autism impairs speech, gestures and social responses.
• Autism is a "spectrum disorder" meaning there is a wide variety in the range and severity of the symptoms shown by individuals with autism.
• About half of the individuals diagnosed with autism are mute. Those who do acquire speech often parrot the same phrases regardless of the situation or use single words.
• Symptoms of autism typically appear during the first three years of life.
• Some autistic characteristics may include:

•Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
•Limited interests and imagination
•Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
•Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
•Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
•Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
•Tantrums
•Difficulty in mixing with others
•May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
•Little or no eye contact
•Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
•Sustained odd play
•Spins objects
•Inappropriate attachments to objects
•Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
•No real fears of danger
•Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
•Uneven gross/fine motor skills
•Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing tests in normal range
•Sensory integration issues

Treatments
• Currently there is no cure for autism, but thanks to intensive research, new treatments look increasingly promising.
• Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment.
• Early intervention and intensive therapy have both shown considerable improvement in language ability and I.Q. as well as a decrease in the amount of future support services a child may need.

Research
• Autism is a national crisis affecting between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Americans and costing the nation over $13 billion a year. Yet, it receives less than 15% of the federal funding of less common childhood diseases.
• The $25 per-person per-year allocated to autism is in stark contrast to the national funding that is allocated to other common diseases such as Alzheimer's ($54 per person), M.S. ($158 per person) and AIDS ($1,069) per person.

Awareness
• Public awareness is minimal. Many who have heard of autism have misconceptions about the disorder.
• April is National Autism Awareness Month.
• The international symbol for autism is a puzzle piece, signifying the mystery of this disorder.

How do you know your child is autistic?

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Characteristics

Dr. Leo Kanner introduced the label early infantile autism in 1943.There is great diversity in the skills and behaviors of individuals diagnosed as autistic, and physicians will often arrive at different conclusions about the appropriate diagnosis. Much of this is due to the sensory system of an autistic which is quite different from the sensory system of other people, since certain stimulations can affect an autistic differently than a non-autistic, and the degree to which the sensory system is affected varies wildly from one autistic person to another.

Nevertheless, professionals within pediatric care and development often look for early indicators of autism in order to initiate treatment as early as possible. However, some people do not believe in treatment for autism, either because they do not believe autism is a disorder or because they believe treatment can do more harm than good.

Social development

Typically, developing infants are social beings—early in life they do such things as gaze at people, turn toward voices, grasp a finger, and even smile. In contrast, most autistic children prefer objects to faces and seem to have tremendous difficulty learning to engage in the give-and-take of everyday human interaction. Even in the first few months of life, many do not interact and will avoid eye contact, seemingly indifferent to other people.

Autistic children often appear to prefer being alone rather than in the company of others and may passively accept such things as hugs and cuddling without reciprocating, or resist attention altogether. Later, they seldom seek comfort or respond to parents' displays of anger or affection in a typical way. Research has suggested that although autistic children are attached to their parents, their expression of this attachment is unusual and difficult to interpret. Parents who looked forward to the joys of cuddling, teaching, and playing with their child may feel crushed by this lack of the expected and typical attachment behavior.

Autistic children lack "theory of mind", the ability to see things from another person's perspective, a behavior cited as exclusive to higher primates such as adult gorillas, adult chimpanzees, adult bonobos and children above the age of five. Typical 5-year-olds understand that other people have different knowledge, feelings, and intentions, interpretations based upon social cues (e.g., gestures, facial expressions). An individual with autism lacks these interpretation skills, an inability that leaves them unable to predict or understand other people's actions. The social alienation of autistic and Asperger's people is so intense from childhood that many of them have imaginary friends as companionship. However, having an imaginary friend is not necessarily a sign of autism and also occurs in non-autistic children.

Although not universal, it is common for autistic people to have difficulty regulating their behavior. This can take the form of crying or verbal outbursts that may seem out of proportion to the situation. Individuals with autism generally prefer consistent routines and environments; they may react negatively to change. It is not uncommon for individuals to exhibit aggression, increased levels of self-stimulatory behavior, self-injury or extensive withdrawal in overwhelming situations.

Sensory system

A key indicator to clinicians making a proper assessment for autism would include looking for symptoms much like those found in sensory integration dysfunction. Children will exhibit problems coping with the normal sensory input. Indicators of this disorder include oversensitivity or underreactivity to touch, movement, sights, or sounds; physical clumsiness or carelessness; poor body awareness; a tendency to be easily distracted; impulsive physical or verbal behaviour; an activity level that is unusually high or low; the inability to unwind or calm oneself; difficulty learning new movements; difficulty in making transitions from one situation to another; social and/or emotional problems; delays in speech, language or motor skills; specific learning difficulties/delays in academic achievement.

One common example is an autistic's hearing. The autistic may have trouble hearing certain people while other people are louder than usual. Or the autistic may be unable to filter out sounds in certain situations, such as in a large crowd of people (see cocktail party effect). However, this is perhaps the part of the autism that tends to vary the most from person to person, so these examples may not apply to every autistic.

Communication difficulties

By age 3, typical children have passed predictable milestones on the path to learning language; one of the earliest is babbling. By the first birthday, a typical toddler says words, turns when he or she hears his or her name, points when he or she wants a toy, and when offered something distasteful, makes it clear that the answer is "no." Speech development in autism takes a different developmental path than in non-autistic children. Some autistics remain mute throughout their lives, while being fully literate and able to communicate in other ways—images, sign language, and typing are far more natural to them. Some infants who later show signs of autism coo and babble during the first few months of life, but stop soon afterwards. Others may be delayed, developing language as late as the teenage years. Still, inability to speak does not mean that autistics are unintelligent or unaware. Once given appropriate accommodations, many will happily converse for hours, and can often be found in online chat rooms, discussion boards or websites and even using communication devices at autism-community social events such as Autreat.

Those who do speak often use language in unusual ways, retaining features of earlier stages of language development for long periods or throughout their lives. Some speak only single words, while others repeat the same phrase over and over. Some repeat what they hear, a condition called echolalia. Sing-song repetitions in particular are a calming, joyous activity that many autistic adults engage in. Many autistics have a strong tonal sense, and can often understand spoken language better if it is sung to them.

Some children may exhibit only slight delays in language, or even seem to have precocious language and unusually large vocabularies, but have great difficulty in sustaining typical conversations. The "give and take" of conversation is hard for them, although they often carry on a monologue on a favorite subject, giving no one else an opportunity to comment. When given the chance to interact with other autistics, they comfortably do so in "parallel monologue"—taking turns expressing views and information. Just as non-autistics have trouble understanding autistic body languages, vocal tones, or phraseology, autistics similarly have trouble with such things in non-autistics. In particular, autistic language abilities tend to be highly literal; non-autistics often inappropriately attribute hidden meaning to what autistics say or expect the autistic to sense such unstated meaning in their own words.

The body language of autistics can be difficult for non-autistics to understand. Facial expressions, movements, and gestures may be easily understood by some other autistics, but do not match those used by non-autistics. Also, their tone of voice has a much more subtle inflection in reflecting their feelings, and the non-autistic's auditory system often cannot sense the fluctuations. What seems to non-autistic people like a high-pitched, sing-song, or flat, robot-like voice is common in autistic children. Some autistic children with relatively good language skills speak like little adults, rather than communicating at their current age level, which is one of the things that can lead to problems with their peers.

Since non-autistics are often unfamiliar with the autistic body language, and since autistic natural language may not tend towards speech, autistic people often struggle to let others know what they need. As anybody might do in such a situation, they may scream in frustration or resort to grabbing what they want. While waiting for non-autistic people to learn to communicate with them, autistics do whatever they can to get through to them. Communication difficulties may contribute to autistic people becoming socially anxious or depressed.

Repetitive behaviors

Although autistics usually appear physically normal and have good muscle control, unusual repetitive motions, known as self-stimulation or "stimming," may set them apart. These behaviors might be extreme and highly apparent or more subtle. Some children and older individuals spend a lot of time repeatedly flapping their arms or wiggling their toes, others suddenly freeze in position. As children, they might spend hours lining up their cars and trains in a certain way, rather than using them for pretend play. If someone accidentally moves one of these toys, the child may be tremendously upset. Autistic children often need, and demand, absolute consistency in their environment. A slight change in any routine—in mealtimes, dressing, taking a bath, or going to school at a certain time and by the same route—can be extremely disturbing. Repetitive behavior sometimes takes the form of a persistent, intense preoccupation. For example, the child might be obsessed with learning all about vacuum cleaners, train schedules or lighthouses. Often they show great interest in numbers, symbols or science topics.

Autism.....the definition....

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Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. Although the specific etiology of autism is unknown, genetic factors appear to be important. To diagnose the condition a list of psychiatric criteria as well as a series of standardized clinical tests may be used. Physiologically, autism may lack readily visible differences, but it is linked to abnormal biological and neurochemical development of the brain. A complete physical and neurological evaluation will typically be part of determining a diagnosis of autism. Some now speculate that autism is in fact several distinct conditions that manifest themselves in similar ways rather than a single diagnosis.

By definition, autism must manifest delays in "social interaction, language as used in social communication, or symbolic or imaginative play," with "onset prior to age 3 years." (DSM-IV) The ICD-10 also says that symptoms must "manifest before the age of three years." There have been large increases in the reported incidence of autism, for reasons that are heavily debated in the scientific community.

There are cases of autistic children who have improved their social and other skills to the point where they can fully participate in mainstream education and social events, but there are lingering concerns that an absolute cure from autism is impossible with current technology since it involves aspects of neurological brain structure determined very early in development. However, some autistic children and adults who are able to communicate at a functional level are opposed to attempts to cure their conditions.