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Why would you not get vaccinated?

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There have been a lot of questions about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, especially now that it is being offered to everyone 12 and up. At first it was restricted to the elderly, now other groups are eligible. But not everyone wants the vaccine and in fact about 30% of Americans either refuse or have serious questions about it. On this week’s ASF podcast, we interview Dr. Pam Feliciano of SPARK to find out what families affected with ASD think of the vaccine, and answer other questions around the safety of the vaccine vs. the risks of getting COVID. Below is a new article about mortality of COVID in people with ASD.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-021-05100-x.pdf

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A genetic first approach to subtypes?

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What causes some of the differences across people with autism? Can you predict who will have what features of autism by looking first at genetics? This week’s ASFpodcast is the first 20 minutes of a webinar with Samuel Chawner from Cardiff University that explains his findings about behavioral features across people with autism with difference in genetic makeup. The full webinar with video can be found here but you can listen to the presentation this week. There will also be more research on this topic.

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How is ASD diagnosis happening right now?

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Early on in the pandemic, clinicians struggled with how to turn in-person evaluations into Telehealth evaluations. One year later: what have they done? How have they modified? How do parents feel about these changes? Should they stay or should they go? This topic will be featured on our ASF Day of Learning on April 22nd as well. Also COVID related, new data on the effects of maternal immune infection on autism outcomes in children – with a bright light at the end of the story. At least a bright light at some maternal infections. Listen to the opening song and keep on “staying away”.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33730320/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33720503/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00762-9

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ABA studies in ASD are not perfect

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ABA and ABA – inspired behavioral therapies like Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions are the most commonly used in autism. They have become more sophisticated in design, using control groups and implementing other ways to minimize bias. But when you put all of the data together around ABA-type interventions in a pile, are they effective? Do they work? It turns out, just like everything, these studies are not perfect. But even using the strictest of criteria, the results are positive for the support of social communication skills. Of course, there are nuances and details, you can hear about them in this podcast.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31763860/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33482692/

THE FACTS BEHIND APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
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2020: These are the days we’ll remember

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This week’s podcast is the Year End Summary of scientific discoveries in 2020. Guess what leads these highlights? That’s right! The COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Even though these events significantly affected the lives of people with autism, and will heavily influence future research directions, there were actually other important research discoveries which impact families. These include: early detection and biomarkers of ASD, different subgroups of ASD, treatments and interventions, sex differences and technological advances to study autism on a molecular level. The full transcript will be posted on the ASF website soon. Enjoy.

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Feda Almaliti, 1977-2020

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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

Life with an autistic child can be difficult. During a pandemic it can be grueling

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/22/861079758/he-s-incredibly-confused-parenting-a-child-with-autism-during-the-pandemic

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Managing autism practice from a distance: it’s called ECHO

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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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Our 1 in 54 need more

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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.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/ss/ss6904a1.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/addm-community-report/index.html
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Telehealth: does it work?

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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.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31969108
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30155578