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 >>

LOVE. Focus on the Solution

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

Pharmaceutical companies plan release of drugs for treatment of autism

Pasha Bahsoun  |  LA Special Education Examiner

Roche, a prominent pharmaceutical company, has teamed up with Seaside Therapeutics, a small company based in Massachusetts, to release drugs for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders and fragile X syndrome, a rare genetic disease with symptoms similar to autism. The companies attest that the drugs they are developing target the molecular basis and, as a result, the core symptoms of these neuro-developmental disorders.

The drug will act by blocking mGluR5, a brain receptor implicated in both fragile X and autism. Another drug which is still in clinical trials, arbaclofen, which acts by a different mechanism... READ MORE >>

A New Approach To Deciphering The Roles Of Genes Associated With Autism

Fish cannot display symptoms of autism, schizophrenia or other human brain disorders. However, a team of MIT biologists has shown that zebrafish can be a useful tool for studying the genes that contribute to such disorders.

Led by developmental biologist 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 the MIT study revealed... READ MORE >>

Full story: Medical News Today

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. 


Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net