Autism and stereotypes

This is an interesting article about autism and social development. A study suggests that children with autism can sense conventional stereotypes.

“Even with their limited capacities for social interaction and their apparent inability to orient to social stimuli, these autistic kids pick up and endorse social stereotypes as readily as normally developing kids”

Proteins altered in autism

Today is the day, were I found an abundance of news related to autism. On June 12, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, published research that explains how genetic mutations affect developmental abnormalities in children with autism. The link takes you to the University of San Diego press release.

“We really don’t know what causes autism, but this research represents a solid starting point,” said Sarah Dunsmore, Ph.D., program director with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, which partly supported the study. “The work suggests that genetic mutations that alter the shape or folding of adhesion proteins in the nervous system influence their interactions. This is another example of how research on basic biological questions, such as the three-dimensional structures of proteins in the brain, can yield valuable medical insights.”

Parents of autistic children marriage counseling

The National Autism Association has issued a press release announcing that it is launching a program called The Family First Program. This program offers couples with autistic children access to marital counseling.

Caring for an autistic child often can result in marital hardship and isolation, but with the help ofOnDemand services, couples don’t have to leave their home to seekguidance. “Many couples have a difficult time going to counselingdue to limited childcare options,” says parent and NAA ExecutiveDirector Rita Shreffler. “We partnered with the OnDemand companyLuminent Counseling so that couples have access to trained, certified therapists without needing to leave their home.”

Autism-vaccine link court hearing

Researchers and physicians suggest no link exists between autism and vaccinations. As the court proceedings heat up, I am sure the media is going to flood the airwaves with both sides of the story. This is definitely one to keep tuned into. There is so much at stake. From the parents end of the spectrum; finding justice and being vindicated.  At the other end of the spectrum, physicians, researchers and manufactures of the vaccinations are defending their work and research…and let’s never forget about the money involved.

Follow this link to an ABCnews.com article with a view point of physicians and research.

Autism has it’s day in court

A special court in Washington will begin hearing testimony about a 12 year old girl and her autism.  The 12 year old’s parents are contending that a preservative found in vaccines is the cause of their child’s autism.  There is allot riding on this case, another 4800 cases are pending, awaiting the outcome of this one case.

Follow this link to read the full Reuters article.

The emotional social intelligence prosthetic device

A problem people with autism have is understanding social cues. They often fail to notice that their stories are boring or confusing. Researchers are now developing a device that will let the autistic person know when others are bored around them.

The “emotional social intelligence prosthetic” device, which El Kaliouby is constructing along with MIT colleagues Rosalind Picard and Alea Teeters, consists of a camera small enough to be pinned to the side of a pair of glasses, connected to a hand-held computer running image recognition software plus software that can read the emotions these images show. If the wearer seems to be failing to engage his or her listener, the software makes the hand-held computer vibrate.

Autistic triplets

MSNBC published this story over the weekend about a parents struggle with autism. The set of triplets were all diagnosed with autism at the age of 4.

Two years ago, when the boys were 4, specialists confirmed the Gastons’ suspicions: The boys have varying degrees of autism, a neurological disorder that hampers communication and social interactions and can include obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Autism proposal in N.J.

Amid concern about New Jersey having America’s highest autism rate, state senators on Monday pushed toward lawproposals to promote research into autism and provide lifetime care for those with the disorder.

The largest U.S. study of childhood autism found earlier this year that about 1 in 152 have the disorder, with the highest rate – 1 in 94 children – found in New Jersey.

Madeleine Goldfarb, a Livingston mother of a 13-year-old autistic son, said a crisis looms as children with autism approach adulthood without specialized services and with aging parents. A recent study found less than 13 percent of people with autism in New Jersey attend day programs and 89 percent live at home.

Discovery of new brain rhythm

The following is a press release from Florida Atlantic University. Researchers were able to identify brain rhythms during social interactions. The press release gets technical in language. From what I can make of it, researchers are hoping to understand brain rhythms of “normal” brains during socialization. Hopin g that further study of autistic or schizophrenic brains will shed light on those conditions.

“The ground-breaking research by Dr. Scott Kelso and colleagues leading to the discovery of this new brain rhythm related to human social interactions opens up the potential to now understand how and why we as humans relate to each other the way we do,” said Dr. Larry F. Lemanski, vice president for research at FAU.
“Moreover, this exciting new finding may lead to a better understanding of and better diagnostic protocols for various neuropsychiatric disorders.”

Interactive autism network (IAN)

The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, has launched a website called the “Interactive Autism Network“. The website is divided between the IAN Community, which is self described as “an online environment designed to act as an inviting library and meeting place where everyone concerned with autism spectrum disorders can learn more about autism research”. The other piece of the site is IAN research. This is self described as, “IAN research is scientific study where parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder and qualified researchers throughout the United States work together to understand autism spectrum disorders. IAN Research connects researchers to parents—the people who know the most about their child—to uncover the secrets of this complex disorder”.

Looks like a great way to merge social networks and web 2.0 into quality medical care. I suggest taking a few minutes to peruse the site for some great information.

You can get to the site by pointing your browser to www.IANproject.org

In a press release dated May 11, 2007, The IAN Project has described these numbers:

• More than 13,000 registered participants
• Representation in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Marshall Islands and Palau
• Diverse family registration, including: six sets of triplets, 37 sets of identical twins and 157 sets of fraternal twins