World Autism Awareness Day — April 2, 2014

April 2, 2013 across the Globe

The eighth annual World Autism Awareness Day is April 3, 2014. Every year, autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness-raising events.

The World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) is on April, 02 every year. It was designated under by the United Nations General Assembly resolution "62/139. World Autism Awareness Day," adopted on December 18, 2007, proposed by Representatives of the State Qatar, and supported by all member states.

The World Autism Awareness Day Resolution had four main components: (1) the establishment of April 2 as WAAD, (2) participation of UN organizations, member states, NGOs and all private & public organizations in WAAD, (3) raise awareness of Autism on all levels in society, (4) Security-General should deliver this message to member states and all other UN organs.

Top 10 Quotes From the Sound Off For Autism Speaks Celebrities!

Here are some of our favorite quotes from celebrities participating:

Jim Parsons

“Penny! (knock knock) Penny! (knock knock) Penny!”

~ (Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory)

Peter Dinklage

“When you’ve known me longer, you’ll learn that I mean everything I say.” ~ (Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones)

Adam West

“Come on, Robin, to the Bat Cave! There’s not a moment to lose!” 

~ (Batman from The TV Series Batman)

CLICK HERE: To see more and purchase custom messages.

Reaching Out to Close Racial Gap in Autism Diagnoses

by s.e. smith

Controversial organization Autism Speaks might actually be doing something right with a new campaign to close the racial gap in autism diagnoses between white and minority children. Several studies, such as a small study released last year, indicate that minority children, particularly Black and Latino kids, are diagnosed with autism at a rate much lower than that of whites.

A simple matter of autism demographics? Researchers argue no — in fact, the diagnosis is being missed, with minority children being diagnosed later than their white peers, suggesting that something is going wrong with early childhood interventions.

Racial health disparities can be seen across a broad number of diseases and communities, illustrating racialized forces at work within the health care system. Some minority communities... Read More >

World Autism Awareness Day — April 2, 2013

April 2, 2013 across the Globe

The seventh annual World Autism Awareness Day is April 3, 2013. Every year, autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness-raising events.

The World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) is on April, 02 every year. It was designated under by the United Nations General Assembly resolution "62/139. World Autism Awareness Day," adopted on December 18, 2007, proposed by Representatives of the State Qatar, and supported by all member states.

The World Autism Awareness Day Resolution had four main components: (1) the establishment of April 2 as WAAD, (2) participation of UN organizations, member states, NGOs and all private & public organizations in WAAD, (3) raise awareness of Autism on all levels in society, (4) Security-General should deliver this message to member states and all other UN organs.

Will Ferrell Recording Voicemails: Tom Hanks & Others Line Up Autism Speaks Contest

Will Ferrell could be on your answering machine.

By MARK KENNEDY | Huffington Post

NEW YORK -- Imagine having William Shatner supply your outgoing voicemail message. Or maybe you'd prefer Morgan Freeman coolly telling callers to wait for the beep. Or perhaps having Betty White joke around is more your speed.

All it takes is $299 and some luck.

The advocacy group Autism Speaks is offering custom-recorded messages from those celebrities as well as Will Ferrell, Carrie Fisher, Tom Hanks, Derek Jeter, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart and Ed Asner.

From Dec. 3 to Dec. 9, a limited number of 20-second long MP3 messages will be recorded by each celebrity on a first-come, first-served basis for fans to do with as they wish. All requests must be of the PG variety.  READ MORE >>

Autism in the News

1. 
   
   

   Parkview Huntington Hospital Autism Center to open in 2013 News Sentinel Autism is diagnosed in one out of 88 children in Indiana, and one out of 54 of those children are boys. In response to those numbers, and due ...

   Parkview Huntington to create autism center
   

   Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

2. Science Codex

   Autism intervention "normalizes" kids' brain function in study CBS News An early intervention therapy for children with autism has been shown in a study to show unprecedented benefits in the brains of young ... + Show more

3. Changing Minds: Advocates Reshape How We Think About Autism SF Weekly The protesters call themselves "autistic people." Members of the organization they're protesting call them "people with autism." While this may ...

4. Minn. autism advocate, Rohde, critcizes GOP's Cravaack Monte News Chip Cravaack on Monday of revealing his son's autism to get sympathy ... Wayne Rohde of theAutism Advocacy Coalition of Minnesota said ... + Show more

5. Mahaiwe screening to shed new light on autism Berkshire Eagle "This was the book that made me realize I was autistic," said Wilcox, who was ... "There are a lot of reasons to be interested in autism aside from ...

6. Zee News

   Autism Tough to Spot Before 6 Months of Age, Study Suggests U.S. News & World Report TUESDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The development of 6-month-old babies who are diagnosed with autism in toddlerhood is very similar ... + Show more

7. November 1st Solari Update: Neurofeedback & Autism Scoop.co.nz This Thursday on The Solari Report I will be speaking with autism expert and author Lynette Louise about her experiences working with ...

8. Autism: A “small” thing that was “huge” that your child has ... San Francisco Chronicle (blog) Matthew and I went to lunch the other day, and he ordered water to go with his meal. When he stepped up to the water/soda machine, ...

9. Autism-friendly film screening in Grantham hailed 'a great success' This is Lincolnshire An autism-friendly showing of a new children's film at Grantham's ... the second organised by Grantham Autistic Information Network (GAIN). ​ ...

10. Computer Vision System Helps Diagnose Autism in Infants Technology Review (blog) Diagnosing autism in children is an important task. Various studies show that early intervention can significantly improve the outcome for... Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Autism in the News

Thousands support Edmonton autism community at annual walk ‎ CTV News Thousands of Edmontonians came together to walk in support of autism research Sunday. More than 2,000 Edmontonians laced up and ... Walk for Autism Speaks‎ KTVQ Billings News Walk Now for Autism‎ KULR-TV Edmonton's 5th annual Walk Now for Autism Speaks‎ iNews880.com all 5 news articles »

iPods as the Next-Generation Autism Aid ‎ The Atlantic But a case study published in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation describes how, as a 21-year-old with autism, he required the ... iPod Touch apps help workers with autism‎ Los Angeles Times Apple devices gain scientific backing for autism assistance‎ Examiner.com Research: iPod touch benefits workers with autism‎ tuaw.com Disability Scoop all 69 news articles »

The Atlantic

Secure future sought for the autistic ‎ Reading Eagle At the Help Solve the Puzzle Walk for Autism Awareness on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium are Scott and Luci Schaeffer of Sinking Spring with ...

Temperament gives 'red flags' for autism ‎ ABC Online Early warning Lack of cuddliness and a fixation with textures, sounds and smells in children under two years of age could be signs of autism, ...

ABC Online

Chase is more than just a pet for boy with autism ‎ San Antonio Express Adrian Chavez, 8, left, and his brother, Christian Chavez, 11, play with their new hamster, Sparky, with Adrian's autism service dog, Chase, ...

BBC - My Autism and Me

LICENCE - all rights reserved by BBC, CBBC Programmes, Newsround

In this Newsround Special, 13-year-old Rosie takes viewers into her world to explain what it's like to grow up with autism - a condition which affects how children see life, and the way they relate to others around them.

★ Watch her in action & SHARE to inspire others! ★

Acupuncture may help autistic children

by Thu Trang  | Vietnam News

Autistic children learn how to play games at the Hope Centre under the Ha Noi Relief Association for Disabled Children. The National Hospital of Acupuncture has been pioneering the use of the ancient technique to treat children with cerebral palsy and autism. — VNA/VNS Photo Duong Ngoc

HA NOI — It was with great joy that Nguyen Thi Thu, from the central province of Nghe An's Hung Nguyen District, first saw her son walking. But she had to wait until he was five to witness this miracle.

That was because Phan Trong Dat has cerebral palsy, which he developed after catching pneumonia when he was born. The brain injury he suffered as a result meant that for the first two years of his life he was bed-ridden. Unable to walk or talk, or recognise his name.

His distraught parents sort medical advice, but Dat did not respond to conventional treatment, which traditionally takes the form of physical, occupational and speech therapy; together with drugs to control seizures, alleviate pain and relax muscle spasms. However, treatment involves relieving the symptoms and minimising further developmental problems, not curing the patient.

"For the first three years of our son's life my husband and I took him to many hospitals, but we gave up when told that he cannot be cured," said Thu, 40.

But then Thu heard about the National Hospital of Acupuncture, which has been pioneering the treatment of physical disorders by inserting needles into the skin at points where the flow of energy is thought to be

Diagnosing Adults on the Autism Spectrum

Lee Wilkinson

West Palm Beach Asperger & Education Examiner

How are adults on the autism spectrum diagnosed? Although there is a wealth of information regarding the assessment of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about the identification of adults on the higher end of the autism spectrum. This is due to the fact that there is no single set of clinical criteria for diagnosing high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in adults. The diagnostic criteria were principally developed to identify ASD in children, with no adjustments to the criteria for diagnosing adults. This presents a problem in that the classification criterion fails to account for the dimensional nature of characteristics and variations in the manifestation of the disorder through adolescence and adulthood.

A number of autism professionals propose that autism falls on a continuum and that there is no clear distinction between “mild autism” and the boundaries of neurotypicality (or normalcy). In fact, we now recognize that autistic “traits” are normally distributed across the general population. This includes the groups of more successful individuals in... READ MORE >>

Apps for Autism

Please note: The original list posted here has been moved!

Click here or the 'APPS' tab above to view our comprehensive list of 'Apps for Autism' available for iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook and more.

More Lists of Apps for Autism!

Finding Good Apps for Children with Autism

Gadgetwise: The New York Times

Consonantly Speaking: Social Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders App List

consonantlyspeaking.com

Click here to read about recommended apps for autism from Technology in (SPL) Education!

Click here for a list of Blogs about Apps from Partners.org!

Click here to read Top 10 AAC Apps: iPhone and iPad Apps under $30 from Autism Plugged In

Click here to read a list of the Favorite iTunes Apps from the AACchicks!

Click here to read The iTaalk Top 30: Educational Apps to Get You Started, and All for Under $30!

Click here to visit autismepicenter.net for a list of Autism Apps That Will Help You!

Click here to view iPad Apps for Autism: A Spreadsheet of Reviews and Recommendations from Squidalicious.

Click here to visit Apps for Children with Special Needs.

Click here for a list of Apps for Special Education from Cognitech Cafe.

Click here to visit the A4CWSN website: Apps for Children with Special Needs.

Autism linked to misregulated genes

TIMES OF INDIA

Scientists have found genetic changes that help explain why one person has an autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and another does not.

Their study pinpoints ASD risk factors by comparing changes in gene expression with DNA mutation data in the same individuals. This innovative approach is likely to pave the way for future personalized medicine, not just for ASD but also for any disease with a genetic component.

ASDs are a heterogeneous group of developmental conditions characterized by social deficits, difficulty communicating, and repetitive behaviors. ASDs are thought to be highly heritable, meaning that they run in families. However, the genetics of autism are complex.

Researchers have found rare changes in the number of copies of defined genetic regions that associate with ASD.

Although there are some hot-spot regions containing these alterations, very few genetic changes are exactly alike. Similarly, no two autistic people share the exact same symptoms.

To discover how these genetic changes might affect gene transcription and, thus, the presentation of the disorder, Rui Luo, a graduate student in the Geschwind lab at UCLA, studied 244 families in which one child (the proband) was affected with an ASD and one was not.

In addition to identifying several potential new regions where copy-number variants (CNVs) are associated with ASDs, Geschwind's team found genes within these regions to be significantly misregulated in ASD children compared with their unaffected siblings.

"Strikingly, we observed a higher incidence of haploinsufficient genes in the rare CNVs in probands than in those of siblings, strongly indicating a functional impact of these CNVs on expression," said Geschwind.

Haploinsuffiency occurs when only one copy of a gene is functional; the result is that the body cannot produce a normal amount of protein. The researchers also found a significant enrichment of misexpressed genes in neural-related pathways in ASD children.

Previous research has found that these pathways include other genetic variants associated with autism, which Geschwind explains further legitimizes the present findings.

The study was published by Cell Press on June 21 in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

Artificial Intelligence Provides Easy Autism Diagnosis in Minutes

By Timothy Boyer for eMaxHealth

The problem with obtaining a diagnosis of whether or not your child may have autism is the fact that trained clinicians are backlogged with requests for autism testing. This is in part due to that the incidence of autism is high (now 1 in 88) and the testing procedures are lengthy requiring hours rather than minutes for a proper evaluation.

Autism is typically diagnosed though a 93-question questionnaire called the “Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised” (ADI-R) test and/or via a behavior observation evaluation of the child in question with the “Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule” (ADOS) exam.

The ADOS exam consists of 4 age-dependent modules that contain semi-structured activities designed to measure social interaction, communication, play and imaginative use of materials. Module 1 contains 10 activities and 29 items and is typically used for assessment of younger children.

New Definition of Autism Will Exclude Many, Study Suggests

Mary Meyer, right, of Ramsey, N.J., said that a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was crucial for her daughter, Susan, 37.

Full story: NY Times | By BENEDICT CAREY
Proposed changes in the definition of autism would sharply reduce the skyrocketing rate at which the disorder is diagnosed and might make it harder for many people who would no longer meet the criteria to get health, educational and social services, a new analysis suggests.

The definition is now being reassessed by an expert panel appointed by theAmerican Psychiatric Association, which is completing work on the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the first major revision in 17 years. The D.S.M., as the manual is known, is the standard reference for mental disorders, driving research, treatment and insurance decisions. Most experts expect that the new manual will narrow the criteria for autism; the question is... READ MORE >>

Fishing for Answers to Autism Puzzle

Full story: ScienceDaily — Fish cannot display symptoms of autism, schizophrenia, or other human brain disorders. However, a team of Whitehead Institute and MIT scientists has shown that zebrafish can be a useful tool for studying the genes that contribute to such disorders.

Led by Whitehead Member Hazel Sive, the researchers set out to explore a group of about two dozen genes known to be either missing or duplicated in about 1 percent of autistic patients. Most of the genes' functions were unknown, but a new study by Sive and Whitehead postdocs Alicia Blaker-Lee, Sunny Gupta and, Jasmine McCammon, revealed that nearly all of them produced brain abnormalities when deleted in zebrafish embryos.

The findings, published online recently in the journal Disease Models & Mechanisms, should help researchers pinpoint genes for further study... READ MORE >>

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I love a child with Autism

Each and every day actually... have a great weekend!

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment in autism spectrum disorders

Traditionally, hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) is indicated in several clinical disorders include decompression sickness, healing of problem wounds and arterial gas embolism. However, some investigators have used HBOT to treat individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

A number of individuals with ASD possess certain physiological abnormalities that HBOT might ameliorate, including cerebral hypoperfusion, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Studies of children with ASD have found positive changes in physiology and/or behavior from HBOT.

For example, several studies have reported that HBOT improved cerebral perfusion, decreased markers of inflammation and did not worsen oxidative stress markers in children with ASD. Most studies of HBOT in children with ASD examined changes in behaviors and reported improvements in several behavioral domains although many of these studies were not controlled.

Although the two trials employing a control group reported conflicting results, a recent systematic review noted several important distinctions between these trials. In the reviewed studies, HBOT had minimal adverse effects and was well tolerated.

Studies which used a higher frequency of HBOT sessions (e.g ., 10 sessions per week as opposed to 5 sessions per week) generally reported more significant improvements. Many of the studies had limitations which may have contributed to inconsistent findings across studies, including the use of many different standardized and non-standardized instruments, making it difficult to directly compare the results of studies or to know if there are specific areas of behavior in which HBOT is most effective.

The variability in results between studies could also have been due to certain subgroups of children with ASD responding differently to HBOT. Most of the reviewed studies relied on changes in behavioral measurements, which may lag behind physiological changes.

Additional studies enrolling children with ASD who have certain physiological abnormalities (such as inflammation, cerebral hypoperfusion, and mitochondrial dysfunction) and which measure changes in these physiological parameters would be helpful in further defining the effects of HBOT in ASD.

Author: Daniel A RossignolJames J BradstreetKyle Van DykeCindy SchneiderStuart H FreedenfeldNancy O'HaraStephanie CaveJulie A BuckleyElizabeth A MumperRichard E Frye
Credits/Source: Medical Gas Research 2012, 2:16


Copyright by the authors listed above - made available via BioMedCentral (Open Access).

Functional Links Between Autism and Genes Explained

Full story: ScienceDaily

A pioneering report of genome-wide gene expression in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) finds genetic changes that help explain why one person has an ASD and another does not. The study, published by Cell Press on June 21 in The American Journal of Human Genetics, pinpoints ASD risk factors by comparing changes in gene expression with DNA mutation data in the same individuals. This innovative approach is likely to pave the way for future personalized medicine, not just for ASD but also for any disease with a genetic component.

ASDs are a heterogeneous group of developmental conditions characterized by social deficits, difficulty communicating, and repetitive behaviors. ASDs are thought to be highly heritable, meaning that they run in families. However, the genetics of autism are complex.

Researchers have found rare changes in the number of copies of defined genetic regions that associate with ASD. Although there... READ MORE >>

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net