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New Autism Treatment – Early Start Denver Model Behavioral Therapy

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Intensive early behavioral therapy may normalize the brain activity in children with autism when they look at faces and improve their social skills according to a recent study. This is on top of what was previously known that it could help develop language and thinking skills. Researchers looked at 48 autistic children between 18 and 30 months. Half of the children were treated with a new type of therapy called Early Start Denver Model for 20 hours per week for 2 years. After 2 years, researchers used electroencephalograms to measure the brain activity of the children with autism as well as of children without autism while they watched faces and toys. The majority of autistic children treated with the Early Start Denver Model showed greater brain activation when looking at faces rather than objects (a response common to children without autism). The opposite was found among the kids with autism who received other interventions.

The autistic children with increased brain activity at the sight of faces also had better social and behavioral skills. The study is the first to find underlying changes in brain function along with behavioral changes after early therapy. The full study can be found in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, November 2012.

Vaccinations and Autism

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By now you have probably heard the rumor that childhood vaccines can cause autism. Lets take a closer look at how this idea came about. In 1998 a British gastroenterologist published a paper in a medical journal theorizing a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism. His research was based on interviews with parents based on TWELVE children!! The press ran away with the story that vaccines cause autism.

Since this global panic, a mercury-based preservative thimerosal has been removed from all vaccines. This was to just to be safe just in case the observed autism was in fact mercury poisoning. Throughout the past decade there have been dozens of studies that have collectively drawn on data from millions of children. These studies have consistently found no connection between vaccines and autism. In 2010 the original British medical journal retracted their original 1998 paper and the UK’s General Medical Council revoked the British gastroenterologist’s medical license.

Although we recommend all children get vaccines as scheduled there are still a few parents that swear that it was in fact vaccines that caused their child’s autism. What do you think? Please share your experiences and thoughts with us.

Autism Caused By The Flu?

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Danish researchers report that children whose mothers had the flu or ran a fever lasting more than a week during pregnancy had an increased risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. The study analyzed data collected from 97,000 mothers of children born from 1997 through 2003. The children whose mothers specifically reported having the flu during pregnancy had double the risk of being diagnosed with autism before age 3. Children whose mothers had a fever for more than seven days had three times the risk for autism. There was also a small increased risk of autism after the mother’s use of various antibiotics during pregnancy. It also found no association between mothers who reported common respiratory or sinus infections, common colds, urinary tract or genital infections, during pregnancy and autism in their children.

Autism and Physical Symptoms

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Autism is not just a brain problem. Many people with autism, which affects 1 in 110 children, often have physical symptoms including sleep disorders, seizures, energy problems, immune system issues, and digestive troubles. Treating these symptoms can improve the lives of autistic children. For example treating their stomach when gastrointestinal problems are evident may reduce distressed and autistic behaviors.

Understanding Asperger’s

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Many people inquire about what Asperger’s really is. Asperger’s can be thought of as “mind blindness” or a condition in which people have difficulty reading social cues or understand other people’s feelings.

Tourette’s, Asperger’s & Autism: Coping with Tics & Impulsive Routines Posted

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A great way for a Tourette’s student to cope with tics in school is to give the teacher a secret signal indicating a bathroom break. The student that feels that they cannot suppress the tics anymore or feels them coming on can go to the bathroom and release them in private. Then when the student feels they are more under control, they can return to the class without the other students knowing. This is a way of avoiding embarrassment and humiliation of other kids making fun of the situation. The trick also works for Asperger’s/autistic students that need to get let out an impulsive routine.

Asperger’s / Austism and Change

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Kids with Asperger’s or autism are fixated on set routines and find change difficult. Review and remind them when/how a change will occur ahead of time to avoid a major meltdown.

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