The latest autism research news stories with ASF Chief Science Officer Alycia Halladay
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The Scoop podcast
Inclusion Sucks. Or, Why My Son with Severe Autism Has Nowhere to Swim this Summer
Three Strikes… and He’s Out? What happens when the regular world has had enough of my son’s autism
https://www.ncsautism.org/blog//three-strikes-and-hes-out
Today’s podcast is also the podcast of The Autism Dad, an amazing man named Rob Gorski with 3 kids. He talks openly and honestly about his struggles, joys, and lessons. Please listen to us on this podcast and continue to listen to him! https://listen.theautismdad.com
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Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) pairs specialist centers with community providers to help them manage cases and empower them with knowledge to help their patients locally. It is done over the computer, which is especially relevant today. The goal is to help clinicians and physicians manage patients when local expertise is not available. Micah Mazurek of University of Virginia recently published a randomized study about the efficacy of this program, and is a special guest on the podcast to explain what it is and how it can be used to help doctors help each other and their families.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2762007
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On Thursday the 26th, the Centers for Disease Control released new prevalence numbers: the prevalence of ASD has jumped from 1 in 59 to 1 in 54 kids who are 8. They also revealed prevalence numbers in 4 year olds. On this week’s podcast. CDC epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Maenner (and ASF class of 2010 predoctoral fellow) explains the numbers, where they came from, what they mean and where the trend in prevalence numbers is going. Shockingly, even though the numbers keep going up, some people are not getting an autism diagnosis when they should.
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This week’s podcast is focused on a topic many of you may be learning about now: Telehealth. This is remote delivery of care through the telephone or a video chat. If your healthcare appointment has not been cancelled, it’s been moved to Telehealth. If you need to talk to a doctor, it will probably be done through Telehealth. So what is it? Is it helpful? Is there enough right now to say? This podcast covers all of these things for families to get a better handle of what they are getting themselves into.
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These are extraordinary times. We all need to lean into each other and help each other out during this emergency. Today’s podcast is a list of good advice and ideas that we have pulled from various sources, as well as scientifically valid ways of alleviating extra anxiety because of the current situation. It isn’t meant to solve all your problems, but maybe it can solve part of one. The National Council on Severe Autism will also be hosting a “share and care” that hopefully will allow everyone to share what they are doing that works, and ask from others how they are handling the situation. You can register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5189740368572667405
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This week the media over-hyped a publication on a potential link between Alzheimer’s and Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, this new study did identify a new treatment target for some forms of ASD. Not all forms, but some forms. Not all forms of ASD have the same underlying neurobiology and while one treatment may help a larger group of people with ASD, they also may not. This week’s podcast explores potential treatment targets in 3 different animal models of ASD.
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Scientists study motor skills in early development not just because it is one of the first features to emerge, but because it is predictive of later social communication development, and as it turns out, later expressive language development. A new study combining data from 2 countries shows that early motor deficits predict language abilities all the way up to age 19, so focusing on early motor skills is imperative for early intervention. Also this week – a review on why those tiny details in genetics of ASD can be so helpful for people across the spectrum and families.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31429087
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31491383
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This week’s podcast combines two important post Mother’s Day topics – parents and eating. Two recent studies have shown the promise of using parent – delivered interventions to help improve food selectivity and food aversions in kids with autism. These two behaviors can be one of the most frustrating and challenging for parents and kids, and can lead to nutritional deficiencies. These behaviors can range from mild to severe, and previously, only inpatient or outpatient clinic based approaches seemed to have any benefit. Now it seems that with coaching, encouragement and instruction from trained experts, parents can help their kids eat better foods.
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This year’s Day of Learning included two presentations on the use of technology among people with autism. As it turns out, technology can be great. In fact, a new study using Google Glass shows promise in improving socialization. On the other hand, sometimes technology can have a downside. People with autism spend more time than typical peers on their iPads, iPhones and other devices. What could be wrong with that? Well, problematic internet use is linked to autistic traits and to suicidality. This link is NOT a clear line and obviously causes of suicide are multifactorial. However, new data demonstrate that obsessive internet use is not making things better for people with ASD.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30934756
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30908423
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30907929