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The world agrees on studies of early autism. Find out what they think.

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Studies of very early signs of autism, even before an official diagnosis can be made, has led to better recognition of early signs and driven earlier and earlier interventions.  These interventions have improved the lives of people with autism.  The biological signs like brain activity, structure and genetics could further improve early intervention paradigms that look at biomarkers rather than just behavioral features.   Studies of these early signs are best looked at through symptoms in younger siblings of those with a diagnosis, who have a 20x higher risk of ASD compared to those who do not.  To move to even more high impact discoveries, researchers need more families to participate.  But what do families really think of this type of research?  Adults and parents agree on the value of understanding the early signs of autism, but not always about what to call it.  This week’s podcast explains.

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Help for children with minimal language

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About 25-30% of children with autism show language impairment or no language at all, and these families often use assisted communication devices like picture exchange to help their children communicate.  Recently, electronic communication devices like the iPad have revolutionized the way that people communicate, but little research has been done on how and if they are really effective.    This week, a multidisciplinary group of researchers added an assisted communication device, an iPad, to behavioral intervention for a 9 month trial.  As it turns out, the group with all 3 (language intervention, behavioral intervention and the communication device) showed the greatest gains in language and speech, but only when the intervention was intense.  This new study shows that in the right context, these devices can help those who do not communicate with words, and provides preliminary proof that this technology is indeed helpful.

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A presidential issue for people with ASD: employment

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In honor of President’s Day in the United States, today’s podcast is a summary of a few more recent studies on employment of people with autism spectrum disorder.  In addition to identifying challenges between the perspectives between employees and employers on the purpose of job supports, new methods to increase and maintain employment of people with ASD are reviewed.  They include supportive employment environments and self-instruction.  Both could be cost-effective in the long run.  These studies add to an ever emerging literature on employment strategies in people with autism, and hopefully there will be more on this topic in the future.

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New exciting findings in parent-mediated early interventions for autism

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Over the holidays, new studies around early (before age 5 years) intervention were published that generated excitement in the autism community.  First, a new parent-mediated intervention called the “Social ABC’s” showed promising results.  Another intervention showed promise in south Asia, indicating that the success of parent-mediated interventions are not specific to North American countries.  Finally, data shows that most children are not having to wait for an ASD diagnosis before they receive these early intervention services.  They may not be perfect, but they are something, and this is progress.