Autism:
Autism Spectrum Disorders: News and Research on Autism. Parenting help and advice on autistic children and latest finding on Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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The development of communication skills begins in infancy, even before a baby utters his or her first word. During the first few months of life, infants appear to get much of their knowledge about words and sounds by listening to those around them. But a new study finds that babies are pretty good lip readers as well.
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The cause of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children isn’t yet entirely understood, but it is likely that both genetics and environmental factors are involved. Smoking during pregnancy was thought to be one of the contributing environmental factors, but researchers at Drexel University find no such link in a recent study.
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While blinking is something you do every day and don’t even realize it, the small action in young children is actually a clue to the presence of a developmental delay. Researchers at the Yale Child Study Center observed several children watching videos and noticed that those diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder had different blink patterns than those who were developing normally.
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For about 3% of the three million Americans with epilepsy, exposure to flashing lights at certain intensities or to certain visual patterns can trigger seizures. However, when epilepsy is combined with autism, researchers have found photosensitivity to be much more common.
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Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures over time. These seizures usually begin between the ages of 5 and 20, but they can happen at any age. A new recommendation presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s 65th annual meeting suggests that children who present for treatment at epilepsy clinics should also be screened for autism and developmental delays because a high rate of these children was found to be previously undiagnosed.
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As of today, there are thirteen clinical trials in various stages of completion listed by the US National Institutes of Health for the use of a new drug known as arbaclofen, or STX209. Several studies are recruiting participants to evaluate the efficacy of the drug in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including those with Fragile X syndrome. The experimental treatment is also being studied in other conditions, such as Multiple Sclerosis and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.
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Still in hopes of finding the key to how autism spectrum disorders develop in children, researchers have now found that autistic children have significantly more nerve cells in the part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in communication, social skills and language. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), indicate that autism originates prior to birth in these cases.
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Dr. Laurent Mottron MD PhD at the University of Montreal’s Centre for Excellence in Pervasive Development Disorders stresses that we must stop considering autistic individuals as “deficient” and that we must focus on their qualities and abilities that may sometimes exceed those who do not have the condition. Those with ASD’s generally have exceptional abilities in reasoning, problem-solving, and high-level abstraction.
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About one in every 12 babies in the United States is born with low birthweight, according to the March of Dimes, increasing the risk for serious health problems and lasting disabilities. A new study conducted at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology at Penn Nursing in Philadelphia links low birthweight with a five-time greater likelihood for developing an autism spectrum disorder.
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New autism finding shows placing Velcro-covered mittens (sticky mittens) on the hands of infants under 5 months of age for Velcro-covered toy play can lead to a developmental head start that may include advanced social development with an increased early interest in faces for unaffected children as well as children at risk for autism.
