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All who wander are not lost. But many are lost and need help.

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In recognition of September 26th, this podcast explores one of the more dangerous issues in autism: wandering. But it’s really not wandering in the traditional sense. Wandering in autism mostly means running off, bolting, deliberately with intent and without permission. Obviously this leads to some very dangerous situations for people on the spectrum. How can it be mitigated or understood? Some behavioral therapies are helpful, but new technologies have allowed for more options to bring back loved ones that have run off unexpectedly. Finally, the community needs to be better aware of possible stressors or triggers that trigger a wandering episode and work together with families to prevent running off. This problem is not caused by one thing, and the community needs multiple solutions to keep kids and adults safe.

www.september26.org

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37492814/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32576789/

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September 26th is the day to prepare for an emergency

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Today is September 26th. In collaboration with the National Council of Severe Autism, we encourage all families to rethink their safety plan for wandering, fire, and other emergencies including national disasters like hurricanes by going to September26.org and doing a home checkup and prepare. Also, participate in a webinar at noon eastern today here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81442112062.

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September26.org

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Instead of a podcast, this week is a message in honor of the 1 year anniversary of the death of advocate and mother Feda Amaliti. Stay safe. Out of this tragedy, a website has been built that contains information for families on how to prepare for an unexpected emergency and what to do when it happens. Please go to www.september26.org.

Also, we need your help in figuring out what the needs of families with disabilities are in terms of safety training and education. Please fill out this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LivingSafelyWithDisabilities2

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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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Guys, we all need exercise

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People with autism are less likely to be physically active and more likely to be sedentary.    A number of studies have looked into different physical activities, both group based and individually, on improvements in health as well as core features of autism, and most have had positive results.  New animal model research demonstrates a benefit of exercise using the maternal immune activation model of ASD, pruning back the excess of connections and cell fibers.  As people with autism also have too many connections in the brain, this may have a direct therapeutic benefit.  But besides all the scientific conjecture, we all need more exercise, physical activity interventions seem to only help, not hurt, people across the spectrum, and should be used to complement, not replace existing therapies.

 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29693781

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31102193

 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-019-04050-9

 

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/retrieve/pii/S2211124719306266?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124719306266%3Fshowall%3Dtrue