Autism

It’s true that almost every blog post could fit into this category, but we try to keep it mostly to those blog posts and articles that specifically reference autism itself. News, research, any articles that talk specifically about autism, rather than a related disorder, or behaviour.

Autism Diagnosis and Service Delivery for Immigrant Families

This week I attended an excellent seminar about how to best serve immigrants who have a child with a disability. One of the guest lecturers began the presentation in Spanish; her Power Point slides were also in Spanish. Although I could understand the overall meaning of what she was saying and had visual support with the slides (I have a good background in French), I found myself having to concentrate twice as hard as I normally do. I was worried that I was missing important details of what was being said, even though I understood the information generally. What a great way to open this topic by putting us in the shoes of a person who doesn’t speak the language fluently.

Reflecting on the Past Year

As 2012 fast approaches, I like to spend time reflecting on the past year and all the things to be grateful for. I receive e-mails from all over the world and hear the struggles facing families and professional in other countries. Even though I complain at times, I do realize we have support and options in the field of autism in Canada. Although some areas of the country are stronger than others and more options exist in urban than rural areas, there is still support to be found in most areas along with funding.

What They Do Well for People with ASD in the UK

I recently returned from running our 4th annual conference in Bournemouth, UK. We partner with a school there called The Linwood School, which is a local school for children with special needs in the district or Local Education Authority (LEA), as they are called in the UK. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with parents and professionals about the UK autism scene and observe firsthand what they do well. I know I am an outsider looking in so my impressions may be somewhat skewed, but I have to say there is so much that I admire about the programs and options that they offer for families.

Let’s start with early intervention. There is a program offered by the National Autistic Society (NAS) called the Early Bird Programme which is for parents whose child has received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is pre-school aged (not yet of statutory school age). The programme is designed to support parents in the period between diagnosis and school placement, empowering and helping them to facilitate their child’s social communication and appropriate behaviour in their natural environment. It also helps parents to establish good practice in handling their child at an early age, so as to pre-empt the development of inappropriate behaviours. They use PECS, the TEACCH approach and the NAS’ approach called SPELL. The programme lasts for three months and combines group training sessions with individual home visits, where video feedback is used to help parents apply what they’ve learnt.

Ensuring Success for Individuals with Special Needs

Whether you are dealing with a recent diagnosis, transitioning a person to adulthood, starting a child in school, or are somewhere in the middle of these, it is important to ensure success for an individual with special needs. What can you do to help a person have the best life possible?

Here are some things to consider:

A Good Doctor – Having a supportive doctor who listens can make all the difference to a family. Find one that is knowledgeable at giving referrals to specialists for matters they can’t deal with, can see you quickly when problems arise, and can offer help with difficult problems from sleep disturbances to challenging behaviors. A doctor also needs to sign the Disability Tax Credit form (T2201 form).

A Review of Autism Treatments

Last week in the Globe and Mail, there was an article about the effectiveness of autism treatments over the past decade. Two of the findings published in the journal Pediatrics that stood out to me were:

Intensive behavioural and developmental therapy results in improved cognitive performance, language skills and behaviour in some young children, but few studies in this area were rated of good enough quality to single out specific approaches.
There is little evidence of benefit for most medications used to treat ASD.

Nova Scotia’s Autism Through the Lifespan Report

The Nova Scotia Government formed an advisory committee to help it improve services to those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Autism Management Advisory Team (AMAT) included representatives from local autism organizations such as the Provincial Autism Centre, Autism Society Nova Scotia, Autism Society of Cape Breton, AnnapolisValley Autism Support Team, and three government departments: Education, Community Services and Health.

The Death of A Myth: Dr. Wakefield and the MMR-Autism Link

On Thursday, January 6^th, the Globe and Mail ran an article about one of the great research frauds in recent history – Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s study that developed a probable link between the MMR vaccine as a cause of autism. Dr. Wakefield first published his findings in The Lancet on Feb. 28, 1998. He wanted the MMR vaccine replaced by three separate shots, then strangely enough he patented his own measles vaccine to replace the MMR one.

In 2004 a British journalist from The Sunday Times, Brian Deer, published evidence of Dr. Wakfield’s ties to the MMR lawsuit launched by a group against the vaccine. He was on their payroll and his research was going to be the centerpiece of the group’s claim. The children in the lawsuit were recruited unethically and there were other flaws in Wakefield’s study. For years, scientists have been trying to reproduce his findings but none have ever found a link between autism and the MMR vaccine.

Quest for Autism Services

Parents are in a constant quest for services, no matter what the age of their child with ASD. The need for services changes with both age and circumstances. What services for people on the autism spectrum are out there and how are they accessed?

Recently Diagnosed

If you are a parent who has recently received a diagnosis, finding services can seem like a maze. A good place to start is to visit your provincial government website and look under Child and Family Services. This will be called different things in different provinces, but most governments use a similar title. The government will list how to obtain funding, what programs are offered or subsidized, and what government policy is on assisting families with a disability.

Autism and Vulnerability

We just returned from our annual conference in Birmingham, UK. This year’s topic of autism and vulnerability was one not tackled in our previous conferences. The speaker, Marc Serruys, gave an excellent and informative talk on the subject and what it is that makes this population so vulnerable.

An Autism Epidemic: What a Wonderful Thing

“Worldwide Autism Epidemic!” screams the headline. I wish it were true. If we were in the midst of an epidemic of autism, then something, or someone, would be to blame, and with a bit of sleuthing we could eliminate the problem, and prevent even more children from suffering. And, if the epidemic were man-made, we could punish the guilty. Alas, there is precious little scientific evidence to support the notion of an autism epidemic.

Temple Grandin: The HBO Movie

HBO’s film about Temple Grandin will air on Saturday, Feb. 6th. The film will focus on Temple’s childhood, teen years to young adulthood, and her journey to becoming a respected and sought-after inventor and researcher in the cattle industry.

The Third Part of the Triad: The Uneven Cognitive Profile

In my post back in September, I spoke about my UK friend, John Simpson who has Asperger Syndrome, and his own autism triad definition rather than the traditional triad of impairments. I’ve written about predictability and motivation in the triad. The third part of John’s triad is the uneven cognitive profile.

Thriving, Not Just Surviving, During the Holiday Season

The Christmas holidays were something I always enjoyed throughout my childhood and young adult life. It’s that time of year to recognize people you care about by giving a gift or a card. Family and friends get together to socialize. Routines can go by the wayside for a couple of weeks.

The Death of James Delorey, Child with Autism

Our autism community was in the headlines again last week over the tragic death of James Delorey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. James, a non-verbal 7 year old with autism, ran from his house into the woods to chase the family dog. He was miraculously found alive 2 days later but had severe hypothermia from being out in the winter weather with no proper winter clothing on. He died the following day.

Learning Potential in People with Autism

I read an interesting article in today’s Globe and Mail about the learning potential in people with autism. Scientists used a brain scanner to find out what parts of the brain were at work when performing an intelligence test that measures reasoning.