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Getting kids with autism to eat

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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.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31056202 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30101320

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The good and evil sides of technology use by autistics

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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

 

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An update on females with autism, on the double

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Females with autism are different than males with autism in a lot of ways.  This week, researchers used twins to examine the differences between males and females with autism in their brain structure and how it’s associated with autism traits, not a diagnosis.  To do this, researchers in Sweden turned to twins.  As it turns out, females have more of a diversity of differences in brain changes compared to boys, supporting the female protective effect.  But how to females with autism feel?  As them!  A group in the UK interviewed over 20 women on the spectrum or their parents to find out what concerns them most and what they find most challenging.

Both articles cited this week are open access:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-019-03906-4     https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6373677/

 

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Autism spectrum disorders underneath a bigger umbrella: more data from the brain

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There is demonstrated genetic overlap between many neurodevelopment disorders including  ASD, ADHD, and schizophrenia, and now there is data showing similarities in the structure and size of the brains in people with autism and those with ADHD.  These differences depend on how severe social difficulties are, but the similarities are seen with ASD and ADHD, but not OCD.   In addition, this week there are new depressing results from the Interactive Autism Network on unemployment and females with ASD.  The results may not surprise you, but they will upset you.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6361977/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30729799

 

 

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Understanding the hard to research

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What do Princess Kate and Amy Schumer have in common, and what does it have to do with autism?  The answer:  Hyperemesis Gravidum.  It’s linked to autism, but not strongly, but it does show more evidence of significant overlap between many neuropsychiatric issues and disorders.

More importantly though, those with low verbal ability and low cognitive function are harder to study than most people with autism.  Two new research studies documented what they had to do to make studies in this population possible, and how this group was different from those with average IQ and some words.  One looked at brain structure, and the other was a treatment for minimally verbal girls with autism.

The HG study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30594672

The minimally verbal girls study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30607780 

The imaging study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6307191/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6307191/

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Nobody puts babies in a corner

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Nobody can dispute that research to better understand autistic adolescents and adults is lacking.  However, scientists continue to make important scientific discoveries in infants and toddlers with autism.  These infants and toddlers eventually become adolescents and adults, so identifying critical periods of brain development that influences behavior, what to say to parents and when, and how to  engage the entire community to better serve infants and toddlers is still needed.  This week is an update on the activities of the Baby Siblings Research Consortium (BSRC), including a paper that ties in activity of different brain regions at 1 year olds, to stereotyped behaviors and insistence on sameness in 2 year olds.  The research of the BSRC is directly applicable to families affected by autism at all ages.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30446435

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Lordy Lordy it’s One in Forty

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This week’s headlines were focused on the new prevalence numbers of 1:40.  They were not calculated using the same method as the 1:59 number, so should not be  compared.  In addition to looking at just prevalence, this survey identified a major problem for families, which is unmet mental health needs.  Those with autism have higher unmet mental health needs than those with  ADHD, anxiety or depression.  Again, there is something unique about an autism diagnosis which poses a challenge to accessing care.  In addition, a new summary paper outlined what needs to be done to better study  regression in autism.  The rate may be higher than you think if a new definition of regression is used.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30478241

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30475449

 

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A conversation with Clare Harrop about autism in boys and girls

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Recently, Clare Harrop from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published two papers which help explain the differences between boys and girls with autism, at least in kids and toddlers.  She graciously agreed to talk with us about these findings and what it means for better identification and diagnosis of girls with ASD, and where future research is needed.  Thank you to Dr. Harrop for this insight and for your work in this area!

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If you want to know about people with autism, ask them

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There are relatively few studies using self-report findings on standardized measures from people with autism.  Part of the reason for this is because there aren’t that many of these instruments to begin with.   Scientists are working on that.  But this week, a group from the UK took the existing data from smaller studies using the the Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale (which can be found here:  https://www.aspietests.org/raads/) to look at sex differences.  They found subtle differences between males and females on their language and sensorimotor features.  This indicates males and females experience autism slightly differently.   In addition, a different study interviewed people with autism at different ages to ask how symptoms changed over time and found that features of autism peaked in middle adulthood.  However, close family members, friends or caregivers didn’t always see it that way themselves.  This reiterates the need to collect information from multiple people – including people with autism – to provide better services and supports.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29796237

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29971654

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Just to be clear: people with Aspergers are not Nazi’s

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This week, a disturbing report from Molecular Autism published by an Austrian historian with no affiliation with autism, linked Hans Asperger to a eugenics facility in Germany and labeled him a Nazi sympathizer.   This was the first investigative report of the link using primary documents.  He had previously been considered a hero from trying to save his patients from the gestapo, and plead for them to be rehabilitated.    So which is true?   Hero or potential war criminal?  Maybe both.  This podcast goes through the 43 page article with the message that:  if you have Aspergers, you are not necessarily a Nazi.  Don’t let anyone tell you that, and if they do, email me at ahalladay@autismsciencefoundation.org