Life can be stressful for both children with autism and their families. That's why experts say it's important for parents to be informed about the latest treatments.

On Saturday, they had a chance to speak to professionals about that most recent research.

"Autism is something that is part of my life everyday. It isn't something I do from eight in the morning until three as a school practitioner. It's something that I am living and breathing all the time," said Melissa Parrish.

Melissa Parrish's 12-year-old son has autism. When he was diagnosed at the age of three, Melissa moved her family from New York City to Rochester; an area filled with services that fit the needs of her family. On Saturday, she attended a research focused conference held by the University of Rochester and Golisano Children's Hospital.

"The initial studies looking at autism were really looking at the causes, the genetics, the biology of autism and those continue, but more and more studies are starting to look at the common health conditions faced by children with autism as well as some treatment strategies," said Lynn Cole, Director of Kirch Developmental Center at University of Rochester.

Although there is no cure, Cole says they are always working on ways to treat and diagnose autism spectrum disorders. Saturday's conference highlighted some of the latest methods.

"Different medications, behavioral treatments that might be helpful, investigating how children with autism spectrum disorders use gestures, use their arms, hands, facial expressions," said Cole.

"Coming to a conference like this, I am able to find out what is going on in the realm of research, what are the areas that I can get involved in to help improve the quality of life for my child," said Parrish.

Parrish says the conference gives her a chance to meet other families who are dealing with autism. It's also an opportunity to meet doctors who actively work on strategies that help her son.

"I definitely live in fear, but at the same time, I am always being proactive and always thinking about what are the things that I can do that can prevent potential danger for him and coming to conferences like this help me address my fear," said Parrish.

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Autism Research Conference

Michelle San Miguel | 6/9/2012 Many young children develop autism in their early years. Although researchers are learning more about the disorder, it remains difficult to diagnose. As two mothers in North Dakota discovered, the disorder is not clear-cut and, in some cases, it can take several trips to the doctor before a diagnosis is given.

Not many people pass through this small town in south-central North Dakota. And that`s just how the people of Fredonia like it. The town`s youngest resident is just three-years-old. And it`s not just his age that sets him apart.

"He has autism. Nobody else around us has it," said Brandy Kracke of her three-year-old son.

Kracke says she knew her son, whose name she asked KFYR-TV not to mention, wasn`t developing normally when he was just four-months-old. That`s when he stopped making noises. She drove him to doctors around the state, making stops in Jamestown, Fargo and Minot. Kracke says doctors there couldn`t figure out what was wrong with her son.

"He kept telling us boys develop later than girls so it`s nothing to worry about. His speech will come. He`ll go back to how he was. Not a big deal," said Kracke in response to what a doctor told her about her son.

Mindy Iverson of Bismarck also had trouble getting her four-year-old son Jack diagnosed with autism. Like Kracke, she heard much of the same information.

"A lot of people just were like oh he`s just a boy. You have too high expectations for him. Stop comparing him to others and so I would kind of then oh yeah I am. I`m trying to have you know this super child here. Just let him be who he is and he`ll develop," Iverson said.

But both moms persisted that something wasn`t right with their children. Kracke suspected her son may have autism and spent hours online learning more about the warning signs of the disorder.

Kracke said, "We needed to keep pushing because it was well suspected that it was autism. And we knew that the critical years to get him the help he needed was before he turned three."

Last October a Bismarck doctor gave Kracke the diagnosis she long suspected was the case. "It took eight minutes for him to tell us he has autism and there was no question in his mind," Kracke said.

More here:
Diagnosing Autism Remains Difficult | Video

Michelle San Miguel | 6/9/2012 Many young children develop autism in their early years. Although researchers are learning more about the disorder, it remains difficult to diagnose. As two mothers in North Dakota discovered, the disorder is not clear-cut and, in some cases, it can take several trips to the doctor before a diagnosis is given.

Not many people pass through this small town in south-central North Dakota. And that`s just how the people of Fredonia like it. The town`s youngest resident is just three-years-old. And it`s not just his age that sets him apart.

"He has autism. Nobody else around us has it," said Brandy Kracke of her three-year-old son.

Kracke says she knew her son, whose name she asked KFYR-TV not to mention, wasn`t developing normally when he was just four-months-old. That`s when he stopped making noises. She drove him to doctors around the state, making stops in Jamestown, Fargo and Minot. Kracke says doctors there couldn`t figure out what was wrong with her son.

"He kept telling us boys develop later than girls so it`s nothing to worry about. His speech will come. He`ll go back to how he was. Not a big deal," said Kracke in response to what a doctor told her about her son.

Mindy Iverson of Bismarck also had trouble getting her four-year-old son Jack diagnosed with autism. Like Kracke, she heard much of the same information.

"A lot of people just were like oh he`s just a boy. You have too high expectations for him. Stop comparing him to others and so I would kind of then oh yeah I am. I`m trying to have you know this super child here. Just let him be who he is and he`ll develop," Iverson said.

But both moms persisted that something wasn`t right with their children. Kracke suspected her son may have autism and spent hours online learning more about the warning signs of the disorder.

Kracke said, "We needed to keep pushing because it was well suspected that it was autism. And we knew that the critical years to get him the help he needed was before he turned three."

Last October a Bismarck doctor gave Kracke the diagnosis she long suspected was the case. "It took eight minutes for him to tell us he has autism and there was no question in his mind," Kracke said.

More here:
Diagnosing Autism Remains Difficult | Video

A freezer malfunction at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital has severely damaged one-third of the worlds largest collection of autism brain samples, potentially setting back research on the disorder by years, scientists say.

An official at the renowned brain bank in Belmont discovered that the freezer had shut down in late May, without triggering two alarms. Inside, they found 150 thawed brains that had turned dark from decay; about a third of them were part of a collection of autism brains.

This was a priceless collection, said Dr. Francine Benes, director of the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, where the brains were housed. You cant express its value in dollar amounts, said Benes, who is leading one of two internal investigations into the freezer failure.

The damage to these brains could slow autism research by a decade as the collection is restored, said Carlos Pardo, a neuropathologist and associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University.

The collection, owned by the advocacy and research organization Autism Speaks, yields very, very important information that allows us to have a better understanding of what autism is, as well as the contribution of environmental and immune factors, said Pardo, whose 2004 study of brains stored in the bank was the first to find that autism involves the immune system. The benefit has been great.

With that understanding, more effective treatment or prevention becomes possible.

The McLean freezer, one of 24 in the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, was protected by two separate alarm systems, and staff checked an external thermostat twice a day to ensure that the tissue samples were maintained at about minus-80 degrees Celsius. But on May 31, center Assistant Director George Tejada opened so-called Freezer U and wasnt greeted by the expected blast of cold air. Though the alarms had not been triggered and the external thermostat read minus-79, the actual temperature was 7 degrees, roughly equivalent to a refrigerator. Based on the condition of the brains, Benes estimates the freezer had turned off three days earlier.

Benes said the situation is so unusual - the perfect storm of alarm and thermostat failure and the concentration of samples - that she cannot rule out foul play. She said she has not spoken to law enforcement officials, pending the completion of the internal investigation.

In the interim, she said, McLean will upgrade security in the freezer room, which is under lock and key and watched by a surveillance camera.

The freezer contained about 150 brain samples from people who had died with a neurological condition such as autism, Parkinsons disease, or Alzheimers disease, or a psychiatric one like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

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Freezer failure at brain bank hampers autism research