TEDxVictoria – Jim Tanaka. Facing up to Autism: New Tools for Different Minds – Video

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09-01-2012 09:16 Dr. Jim Tanaka is a professor of psychology and co-director of the Brain and Cognition at the University of Victoria. His work in autism explores the use of interactive media to help children with autism spectrum disorder develop their social and emotional abilities. Filmed at TEDxVictoria on November 19 2011 web.uvic.ca http://www.tedxvictoria.com About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

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TEDxVictoria - Jim Tanaka. Facing up to Autism: New Tools for Different Minds - Video

Opinion: Answers to autism elusive

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By Catherine Lord, Special to CNN

updated 5:08 PM EDT, Sun April 1, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Catherine Lord is the director of the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, a subsidiary of Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital.

(CNN) -- This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its newest study on the rate of autism among 8-year-olds, showing that 1 in 88 has some form of the disorder. Previously, it was 1 in 110. Does the new figure indicate that we are seeing an epidemic of autism, as some have speculated?

At this point, it's not clear.

One possibility is that we are seeing the result of better detection rather than a real surge in autism.

Catherine Lord

However, there are some striking parts about the study, which used data from 2008 collected in 14 sites across the United States. The rate of autism increased by more than 45% from 2002 to 2008 in numerous sites. It was a larger and more consistent increase than from 2002 to 2006. Also intriguing is that the increase was very uneven in terms of geography, gender, race and ethnicity.

Some sites had nearly five times as many children with autism as others. In several sites, almost 1 in 33 8-year-old boys were diagnosed with autism. This seems difficult to believe, particularly when these sites had smaller samples and children with less severe intellectual disabilities.

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Opinion: Answers to autism elusive

The face of autism

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Here's the story -- well, the first five years -- in the life of Quinn: a wonderful, exuberant, mostly non-verbal boy with autism. You can see how the signs appeared over time, even before his diagnosis was made at 21 months

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The face of autism

Son's Autism Forces Family to Leave Canada – Video

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27-03-2012 22:28 http://www.ctvvancouverisland.ca http UVIC -- A popular professor at the University of Victoria is leaving his job and the country after his son's medical condition lead to immigration problems. In 2010 Dr. Jeffrey Niehaus' son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. His family was working to become Canadian citizens but the boy's health condition proved to be a roadblock. In a letter from Immigration Canada, an officer told Dr. Niehaus his son was, "a person whose health condition might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services in Canada". As a result, his application for permanent residency was denied. The University of Victoria hired a lawyer to appeal the decision but the effort fell short. In preparation of his work Visa expiring in November, Dr. Niehaus applied for jobs and accepted a position in Virginia. Despite wanting to keep the story from media, Dr. Niehaus says his family has made up its mind and is leaving. It's why he is now content telling his story: "I'm much more comfortable with the idea that our story would be an example for people interested in how their own government works. People could use this as perhaps a way to have some positive influence going forward". Dr. Niehaus says he's not angry. In November he plans to take his family back to the United States where they will live permanently. Follow Joe Perkins on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com

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Son's Autism Forces Family to Leave Canada - Video

With autism, no longer invisible

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Jesse Wilson, 8, plays a game called FaceMaze at the autism center Joseph Sheppard co-directs at the University of Victoria.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Victoria, British Columbia (CNN) -- Joseph Sheppard has an IQ above 130. Ask him about his life or worldview and he'll start drawing connections to cosmology and quantum mechanics. He'll toss around names of great intellectuals -- Nietzsche, Spinoza -- as if they're as culturally relevant as Justin Bieber.

It might not be obvious that Sheppard has a hard time with small tasks that most of us take for granted -- washing dishes, sending packages, filling out online forms. Or that he finds it challenging to break out of routines, or to say something appropriate at meaningful moments.

Sheppard, 42, has high-functioning autism. He found out only about six years ago, but the diagnosis explained the odd patterns of behavior and speech that he'd struggled with throughout his life. And it gave him the impetus to reinvent himself as an autism advocate.

"I was invisible until I found my inner splendor," he told me in one of many long, philosophical, reflective e-mails last week. "My ability to interpret and alter my throughput of judgments, feelings, memories, plans, facts, perceptions, etc., and imprint them all with what I chose to be and chose to do.

"What I choose to do is change the course of the future for persons with autism, because I believe in them and I believe, given the right support and environment, they will be a strong force in repairing the world."

Just last week, U.S. health authorities announced that autism is more common than previously thought. About 1 in 88 children in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder, according to the report. Autism spectrum disorders are developmental conditions associated with impaired social communication and repetitive behaviors or fixated interests.

iReport: What should the world know about autism?

Diagnoses have risen 78% since 2000, partly because of greater awareness, and partly for reasons entirely unknown. Most medications don't help, and while some find improvements with intense (and expensive) behavioral therapy, there is no cure .

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With autism, no longer invisible

Autism: More Kids than Ever Are Diagnosed, but Is the Increase Real?

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Charly Franklin / Getty Images

Autism rates continue to rise, according to a new government survey, but the skyrocketing figures dont necessarily mean the disorder is increasing.

According to the latest estimate, released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 88 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) a nearly 25% increase from 2006, when the rate was 1 in 110, and a stunning 78% increase since 200002, when the CDC first began tracking the disorder and estimated the rate at 1 in 150 children.

(VIDEO: How Ballet Can Help Kids with Autism)

Much of the surge, experts acknowledge, may be due to better diagnosis, wider awareness and broader definitions of autism. Autism used to be diagnosed only in children with severe language and social problems and repetitive behaviors, but several years ago, researchers expanded the criteria for diagnosis to also include autism spectrum disorders a wider range of developmental conditions associated with autism. These conditions include Aspergers syndrome, which describes children who are high functioning but exhibit milder symptoms of social impairment or learning problems, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), a diagnosis that is easier to get.

Greater awareness of autism by parents, doctors and school administrators, along with a growing push to help all affected children learn and socialize, may also be fueling the uptick. Doctors have gotten better at diagnosing the condition, and communities have gotten better at providing services for those affected by autism, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, told reporters in a conference call. At this point, I think its a possibility that the increase in identification of autism is entirely the result of better detection. We dont know whether or not that is the case, but it is a possibility.

Mark Roithmayr, president of Autism Speaks, an autism research and advocacy group, concedes that such factors may figure into the swelling of cases but argues that they likely account for only about half the increase. Only part of the increase can be explained by better and broader diagnoses, he said on the same call. There is a great unknown. Something is going on here, and we dont know.

(MORE: Environmental Factors May Be Just as Important as Genes in Autism)

The latest CDC numbers come from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a comprehensive program covering 14 states, in which trained reviewers examine medical and school records of 8-year-olds for descriptions or diagnoses of autism or ASDs.

Tracking the prevalence of autism has always been controversial, and experts still cant agree on exactly how common the disorder is, since its definition continues to shift. The rate may drop again by years end, when a new definition of autism is slated to be included in the fifth revision of the standard manual for mental illness, the DSM-V; the updated definition is expected to focus more exclusively on core autism cases and exclude Aspergers and PDD-NOS, which a growing number of experts believe to be distinct from true autism. The current CDC analysis did not break down ASD diagnoses by subtype.

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Autism: More Kids than Ever Are Diagnosed, but Is the Increase Real?

Autism On The Rise: 5 Key Facts About The New Research

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The number of autism cases in the United States has reached one in every 88 children, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports. This is a 78 percent rise from ten years ago.

Autism is a developmental disorder that manifests itself in many ways. It is typically diagnosed in children between the ages of one and eight. Symptoms often -- but not always -- include slow language development, persistent fixations and difficulties with social interactions.

In part, the sharp increase in autism cases is due to the fact that awareness has grown, leading to more correct diagnoses. But it may also reflect an actual increase in the number of people affected by the disorder. "We're not quite sure the reasons for the increase," Coleen Boyle of the CDC, said to the Associated Press.

More research will determine what's really behind the data -- in the meantime, autism awareness advocacy groups are taking this opportunity to call attention to the disorder's prevalence in society.

"The CDC numbers are alarming, yet they don't begin to tell the story of the real families, real individuals struggling every day," said Mark Roithmayr, president of Autism Speaks, in a statement on the organization's website.

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Here are five facts about autism that shed light on the new research.

Diagnoses are not evenly spread across the board.

Autism is much more common in boys than in girls; a full five times as many males are affected by the disorder. In addition, certain states seem to have a preponderance of autism cases. The CDC study found that just one in 210 children in Alabama were affected, as opposed to 1 in 47 in Utah. And the biggest growth in diagnoses over the last few years was among black and Hispanic children. Of course, this may not suggest an actual difference between ethnicities or locations; it could be due instead to changes in medical practices in certain communities over the years.

The word 'autism' can mean many things.

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Autism On The Rise: 5 Key Facts About The New Research

Diagnosis, screening behind rise in autism

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ATLANTA Autism cases are on the rise again, largely due to wider screening and better diagnosis, federal health officials said Thursday.

Don't miss these Health stories

Where's the one place you should never kiss a baby -- or anyone else? The ear, according to a professor of audiology at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

The rate of U.S. cases of autism and related disorders rose to about 1 in 88 children. The previous estimate was 1 in 110.

The new figure is from the latest in a series of studies that have been steadily increasing the government's autism estimate. This new number means autism is nearly twice as common as officials said it was only five years ago, and likely affects roughly 1 million U.S. children and teens.

Health officials attribute the increase largely to better recognition of cases, through wide screening and better diagnosis. But the search for the cause of autism is really only beginning, and officials acknowledge that other factors may be helping to drive up the numbers.

"We're not quite sure the reasons for the increase," said Coleen Boyle of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Autism is diagnosed by making judgments about a child's behavior; there are no blood or biologic tests. For decades, the diagnosis was given only to kids with severe language and social impairments and unusual, repetitious behaviors. The definition of autism has gradually expanded, and "autism" is now shorthand for a group of milder, related conditions, including Asperger's syndrome. Meanwhile, there's been an explosion in autism-related treatment and services for children.

As in the past, advocacy groups seized on the new numbers as further evidence that autism research and services should get greater emphasis. The new figures indicate "a public health emergency that demands immediate attention," said Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks.

The CDC study released Thursday is considered the most comprehensive U.S. investigation of autism prevalence to date. Researcher gathered data from areas in 14 states Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.

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'Parent Training' May Help Kids With Autism Behave Better

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THURSDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Children with autism often display challenging behaviors, but new research suggests that parents can learn to better handle tantrums and aggression, which may improve their child's overall functioning.

"Parent training is one of the best, evidence-supported treatment interventions in child psychiatry for other conditions, such as for children with ADHD or children with oppositional defiant disorder," said senior study author Lawrence Scahill, a professor at Yale University School of Nursing and Child Study Center in New Haven, Conn. "But strangely enough, it had never really been tried with children with autism or with developmental disabilities, so we had to make our own manual."

The study involved 124 children aged 4 to 13 with an autism spectrum disorder and serious behavioral issues, including daily, prolonged tantrums, aggression or self-injurious behavior. The children were prescribed risperidone (Risperdal), an antipsychotic drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating severe behavioral problems in children with autism.

Half the children and their parents were also assigned to a six-month, structured "parent training" program. Parents were asked to identify the most difficult, disruptive behaviors and to think about what preceded the incidents and why the child might do it. They then worked with counselors to devise strategies to avoid the triggers and help the child respond better to the everyday stressors.

Parents who underwent training reported a greater decrease in problem behaviors than the parents of children on medication alone, researchers found. By the end of the study, the average dose of risperidone was lower for kids in the parent-training group.

"On the tantrums, the aggression and the self-injury, the combination of medications and parent training was better," said Scahill. "How much better? Not a huge amount, but it was an incremental improvement over an already effective improvement."

Parents who received training also reported improvements on a test known as the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, which measures how well a child does everyday activities, such as communicating, socializing, dressing, eating at the table and going to school.

By diminishing serious problem behaviors, such as tantrums and aggression, children's skills in other areas improved, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, restricted interests and behaviors, repetitive behaviors and sometimes intellectual disability.

The study is published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

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'Parent Training' May Help Kids With Autism Behave Better

Ages of both parents linked to autism

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Published: Feb. 14, 2012 at 7:06 PM

HOUSTON, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Older mothers and father are jointly associated with having a child with autism, U.S. researchers found.

Mohammad Hossein Rahbar, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Texas School of Public Health, and the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica, compared 68 age- and sex-matched, case-control pairs of mothers and fathers.

"This should put to rest discrepancies in previous studies showing that just maternal age or just paternal age are linked to having a child with autism," Rahbar said in a statement. "Our results revealed that the age of the father and the mother are jointly associated with autism in their children."

The study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, found that mothers who had children with autism were on average 6.5 years older than women who did not have a child with autism, while the corresponding age difference for fathers was 5.9 years.

In previous studies, Rahbar said that because of the statistical models used, it was hard to assess both maternal and fraternal age as joint risk factors, but by using complex statistical models he avoided the problem.

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Ages of both parents linked to autism

Autism redefined: changing goal posts doesn't change the game

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012    Last updated: Thursday February 16, 2012, 2:00 AM

Imagine you're a scientist, and you've landed a job at a government research facility. Your first day on the job they give you an assignment.

"You need to count all the birds in the sky."

"What? That's impossible! There are too many birds!" you reply. "Are you sure you don't want me to study the increase in the bird population? You know, look into why there are so many more birds in the sky?"

"No. We want you to count all of the birds in the sky. But don't worry, we've made it easy with this new diagnostic imaging tool!"

He hands you an empty roll of toilet paper.

"Just look through the tube and count what you see!" he says.

"Are you joking?"

"Well, until we can legally change the definition of 'sky' this will have to do," he explains. "This new diagnostic imaging tool represents the latest in modern science. If you use it I'm sure you'll find there are actually less birds in the sky than ever before."

"Surely, you can't be serious."

"I am. If you want to keep your job, you'll get serious, too. And stop calling me Shirley."

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Autism redefined: changing goal posts doesn't change the game

Autism affects motor skills, study indicates

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Public release date: 15-Feb-2012
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Contact: Beth Miller
millerbe@wustl.edu
314-286-0119
Washington University School of Medicine

Children with autism often have problems developing motor skills, such as running, throwing a ball or even learning how to write. But scientists have not known whether those difficulties run in families or are linked to autism. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis points to autism as the culprit.

Their findings were reported in the journal Autism.

"From our results, it looks like motor impairments may be part of the autism diagnosis, rather than a trait genetically carried in the family," says lead author Claudia List Hilton, PhD, assistant professor in occupational therapy and an instructor in psychiatry. "That suggests that motor impairments are a core characteristic of the diagnosis."

The researchers studied 144 children from 67 families in which at least one child had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder as well as at least one biological sibling in the same age group. Of the children families, there were 29 in which two had an autism spectrum disorder, including six identical twins; and 48 in which only one child had an autism spectrum disorder.

The children were observed performing a range of motor skills, including placing pegs in a pegboard, cutting with scissors, copying forms, imitating movements, running, throwing a ball and doing push-ups. Researchers used a standardized measure of motor proficiency widely used in children with disabilities that measures fine manual control, manual coordination, body coordination and strength and agility.

The Washington University study is the first to evaluate motor impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder and their siblings who don't have the disorder.

Hilton, along with co-author John Constantino, MD, and their team also studied the link between motor impairment and the severity of the autism spectrum disorder.

Testing showed that 83 percent of children with autism spectrum disorder were below average in motor skills. Their siblings without an autism spectrum disorder generally scored in the normal range, with only 6 percent below average.

In addition, identical twin pairs had very similar scores. Non-twin siblings who each had autism spectrum disorder also had similar scores. And siblings in which one child had an autism spectrum disorder and one didn't had very different scores.

"The data suggests that genes play a role in the motor impairments observed in those with autism spectrum disorder," Hilton says. "This is further evidence that autism spectrum disorder is a largely genetic disorder."

"It's possible that developmental processes in the brain which give rise to motor coordination and social responsiveness are shared by both systems," says co-investigator Constantino, the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics and director of the William Greenleaf Eliot Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University. "This could explain their association in autism and provide new ideas about intervention strategies to help affected children, such as innovative methods for promoting motor development."

In addition, the study showed that the lower motor proficiency score in children with an autism spectrum disorder, the greater the degree of social impairment and severity of the disorder.

"Kids who have difficulty with motor skills might have trouble with what we think are simple things like brushing their teeth, buttoning, snapping or starting a zipper ? things that are so basic to being independent, but would cause other problems at school," Hilton says. "They would need to have an aide or someone helping them, and that would set them off as different from the other kids."

These impairments can lead to bigger problems later on, Hilton says.

"Some kids aren't socially aware enough that it bothers them, but others are aware, and they feel bad about themselves," she says. "They may have low self-esteem, so even if they have delays only in the motor skills, there is a lot of impact on their well being into adulthood."

###

Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Hilton CL, Zhang Y, White, MR, Klohr CL, Constantino J. Motor impairment in sibling pairs concordant and discordant for autism spectrum disorders. Autism. Published Jan. 18, 2012.


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Autism affects motor skills, study indicates