Increasing Support for Adults with Autism

The lion’s share of services for those affected by autism is directed at early intervention and those under the age of 21. A Philadelphia College has launched an initiative to address the increasing need for services for the adult population with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

“There is very little right now in terms of services when you reach 21”  says Paul Haughton, Ph.D., chief psychologist at CORA Services “We’re focusing on children, rightfully so, but as they move into adulthood and turn 21 it’s almost like they drop off a cliff in terms of organized systematic services for them.”

Read more…

African-American Children with Autism Diagnosed Later

A study by a Florida State University researcher has shown that African-American children receive a diagnosis of autism later than other children, which can negatively affect their treatment.

Read more…

Impact of ASDs on Parent Mental Health

A study by the York University, Department of Psychology in Toronto examined the impact of children problem behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) on parent mental health.

Raising a child with an ASD has often been associated with higher levels of parenting stress and psychological distress.

The study looked at relations among child problem behavior, parent mental health, psychological acceptance, and parent empowerment. Participants included 228 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, 6–21 years of age.

Read more…

Families Frustrated by Funding Cuts

In what is becoming an all too familiar story for families affected by autism, funding for programs for children has been slashed.

Parents of children with autism in Regina, Canada are disappointed and concerned as a number of popular summer programs have been scaled back or cut altogether.

“You fight every day for services, and the summer program is the one time a year you get intensive services for five weeks, and then you really have nothing for the rest of the year,” Rip Smith said, whose son Max enjoyed the summer program.

Read more…

Teens with Autism Choose Television,Video Games over Social Media

A recent study has shown that teens with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are far more likely to spend their screen time in a non-interactive way. Socially interactive media, such as email and chat clients will often be overlooked by teens with ASDs in favor of one-directional mediums like television and video games.

The researchers warned that preoccupation with video games could interfere with the children’s socialization and learning.

The study which appears online in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders used data compiled for a group of over 1,000 teens enrolled in special education.

Read more…

Gene Mutation in Autism Causes Hypersensitivity

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience and supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Autism Speaks has found that the loss of a specific mutated gene in the auditory cortical neurons – the powerhouses of the sound-processing center – causes hypersensitive to sound. While the functioning PTEN gene is known for it’s anti-cancer roll in powering down cell growth, proliferation, and survival, a mutated version of PTEN has the opposite effect and has been found in autistic individuals with macroencephaly, or an increase in brain volume. Previous work with the mutated form of PTEN in mice has resulted in boosted cell size and number of neurological connections in the brain.

Read more…

Australian Autism Funding Dire

Australian families are faced with dire choices as a result of funding for autism treatment being abysmally low.

In order to access crucial treatment, parents of children with autism are having to sell their homes or leave the country.

Governmental guidelines recommend early intervention for autism with a “minimum of 20 hours a week over two or more years” which can cost up to $50,000 a year. The government’s “Helping children with autism package” of $6000 a year covers only one hour a week, advocates say.

Read more…

Researchers find Uncommon Bacteria in Digestive System of Children with Autism

Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University have found that an uncommon bacterium exists in the walls of intestines of children with autism, but not those who do not have autism.The study, led by Brent Williams, tested 23 tissue biopsy samples from children with autism and found that a large portion (12 of the 23) contained the bacteria belonging to the group Sutterella. Even so, the bacteria are generally uncommon, not being found in any of the tissue samples from  children without autism.

Read more…

Autism Causes: Another Suspect Eliminated

One of the many potential causes of autism, smoking during pregnancy, has been ruled out after a large population-based study in Sweden.“We found no evidence that maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of autism spectrum disorders,” said study leader Dr. Brian Lee, an assistant professor at Drexel University and an epidemiologist at Drexel’s School of Public Health, in collaboration with researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the University of Bristol (Bristol, UK).

Read more…

Autism Epidemic: Fact or Fiction?

There are questions over a possible autism epidemic given that the number of children diagnosed in the United States is twenty times higher than it was a generation ago. About one percent of all children are affected, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Scientists are striving to determine an explanation for the spike in diagnoses. While there have been several red herrings, the search for an environmental explanation has so far been fruitless.

Roy Richard Grinker, an anthropologist at George Washington University who has studied autism across the world, believes that what some are calling an epidemic is really an “epidemic of discovery.”  Grinker suggests that the percentage of people with autism has always been the same, but previously went undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Read more…