Unlock Autism

Written By Lourdes Salvador of www.americanchronicle.com

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability characterized by social withdrawal, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors. Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated as causes of autism, moreover a high body burden of mercury and other toxic metals from vaccinations and environmental exposures has been increasingly given more attention.
Thimerosal is mercury containing vaccine preservative added to many childhood vaccines. It is widely suspected as a cause of an increasing widespread epidemic of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
Now, a new study shows that administration of thimerosal leads to long lasting neurological impairment in rats, specifically by altering the neural process of handling noxious stimuli.
Analysis also shows that significant amounts of mercury from thimerosal accumulates in the rat brain and remains long term. The mercury is not readily cleared, as was previously believed. Though mercury readily leaves the blood stream, it does not leave the body. It is now recognized to accumulate in brain tissue.
Additionally, this research is supported by various prior studies which show that children with autism suffer from a weak ability to excrete mercury and that the weaker the ability, the more severe the symptoms of autism.
Now, two new research studies investigating the effects of chelation therapy on the health and behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders have discovered that children receiving chelation to reduce mercury levels had significant improvements.
It appears that mercury may produce they symptom set recognized in the autism spectrum disorders as a form of autism.

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Finally a positive article about Autism and why not, the attention, focus and commitment to detail found in most Autistics would make anybody a more productive worker, and they probably wont gossip too much either.

Radical Ideas from

Thorkil Sonne: Recruit Autistics

By Drake Bennett

Most occupations require people skills. But for some, a preternatural capacity for concentration and near-total recall matter more. Those jobs, entrepreneur Thorkil Sonne says, could use a little autism.

Sonne reached this conclusion six years ago, after his youngest son was diagnosed with the mysterious developmental disorder. “At first I was in agony and despair,” he recalls. “Then came the thought of what happens when he grows up.”

In Sonne’s native Denmark, as elsewhere, autistics are typically considered unemployable. But Sonne worked in IT, a field more suited to people with autism and related conditions like Asperger’s syndrome. “As a general view, they have excellent memory and strong attention to detail. They are persistent and good at following structures and routines,” he says. In other words, they’re born software engineers.

In 2004, Sonne quit his job at a telecom firm and founded Specialisterne (Danish for “Specialists”), an IT consultancy that hires mostly people with autism-spectrum disorders. Its nearly 60 consultants ferret out software errors for companies like Microsoft and Cisco Systems. Recently, the firm has expanded into other detail-centered work-like keeping track of Denmark’s fiber-optic network, so crews laying new lines don’t accidentally cut old ones.  Read more at WIRED.com

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Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher. The test is not a means for making a diagnosis, however, and many who score above 32 and even meet the diagnostic criteria for mild autism or Asperger’s report no difficulty functioning in their everyday lives. You can take the test here.

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Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, and Unlock Autism today applauded Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Hank Johnson (D-GA) for their introduction of a House companion bill to the Senate’s Autism Treatment Acceleration Act (ATAA), which was introduced last month by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Robert Casey (D-PA), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Like the Senate version, the House version of the ATAA (H.R. 2413) is comprehensive federal legislation that addresses several critical challenges facing the autism community, including increased funding for scientific research, treatment and services. The ATAA incorporates provisions from the Expanding the Promise of Individuals with Autism Act (EPIAA), originally proposed by Representatives Doyle, Smith, Engel, and former-Representative Chip Pickering.

A welcome sign of relief  to many who routinely spend $30-$50k on therapy’s – not even considered for reimbursement by insurance companies.

As in the Senate’s ATAA bill, a key section of the House bill requires all insurance companies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASDs), including coverage of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy – a medically-necessary, evidence-based autism treatment. While the number of states that have enacted comprehensive autism insurance reform legislation has grown to ten, most state insurers are still allowed to specifically exclude coverage for these critical services, which can cost upward of $50,000 a year – well beyond the means of most families.

The House version of the bill also addresses the unique needs of adults with ASDs, creating a demonstration project with one-year planning grants and multi-year implementation grants for the provision of service for adults with autism. In addition, it creates the Network for Autism Spectrum Disorders Research and Services aimed at accelerating the dissemination and utilization of critical, new information, moving it from “bench to bedside” as quickly as possible.

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You may recall seeing the Eye Chart last time you visited the doctor. Today it is also common to see the entire human body chart, inner ear chart, neck, back and knee joint models and other props for the doctor to use with patients when explaining our all too common ailments.

With the explosive growth of Autism rates, can we expect to see more of this chart appearing in a pediatricians office near you?

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Written and owned by www.mayinstitute.org

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Many individuals with autism have also been diagnosed with another disorder. This secondary condition is referred to as a “co-morbid” disorder. Many of these secondary conditions are psychiatric in nature and require attention from parents, teachers and professionals. The most common co-morbid disorders are attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder, and anxiety problems.

Diagnosing co-morbid disorders in children and adults with autism can be challenging because these individuals have difficulties with language, self-expression and social interactions. They may be unable to describe personal, internal feelings. Many do not speak at all, and some need specialized communication systems such as pictures, typing screens and basic sign language to communicate.

A proper diagnosis of a co-morbid disorder should be done by a qualified professional, such as a pediatrician, psychiatrist or psychologist. This specialist will be able to differentiate between the various disorders and provide a diagnosis based on direct observation of the individual’s behavior and actions, as well as reports from family members and teachers.

Below are some observable behaviors that might be associated with various co-morbid conditions. Note that many of these behaviors are characteristic of autism and do not necessarily indicate the presence of a psychiatric condition.

ADHD: Making careless mistakes; appearing not to listen; not following instructions; not finishing tasks; frequently losing items; fidgeting; squirming; difficulty in playing quietly; interrupting others; and not waiting for his or her turn.

OCD: Putting all chairs in place at the table; walking the same path at home or school; arranging items; counting items; repeating phrases; and needing to be first in line.

Depression: Sadness and excessive crying; little interest in previous favorite items; loss of appetite; and a lack of responsiveness to other people.

Anxiety: Increased breathing and heart rate, and strong avoidance of specific situations or items.

An accurate diagnosis is crucial in determining the most effective treatment, especially if medications are to be considered. Treatment for co-morbid disorders must be administered in the context of an individual’s comprehensive program plan. There are three components to this type of approach that are briefly described below.

First, any serious problem behavior – such as tantrums, hitting others, hurting oneself, or destroying property – must be addressed with a plan that includes:

Defining the behavior in observable terms;

Using rewards for good behavior;

Employing a specific consistent response to the behavior, such as ignoring, removing privileges, or directing to a task; and

Counting the number of occurrences each day.

Second, the child or adult should be taught ways to cope with situations that might result in problem behaviors. We do this by providing positive reinforcement and rewards, teaching in small steps, and offering assistance when it is needed.

Third, medications can be considered. Many children and adults with autism receive at least one medication for a psychiatric condition. The use of medication should not be seen as a failure, but as an important component of treatment along with a good plan for addressing behavior problems and a thorough program of instruction in skills. Further, the right medication – a stimulant, antidepressant, mood stabilizer, or antipsychotic – can help reduce behaviors such as impulsive or compulsive behaviors that interfere with establishing social skills and friendships.

Obtaining an accurate diagnosis of a co-morbid condition and determining an effective treatment plan based on careful observation and individual consideration will improve the quality of life for children and adults with autism. For more information, call (800) 778-7601, or visit www.mayinstitute.org

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CINCINNATI, Sept. 4 — Almost 9% of U.S. children ages 8 to 15 meet standard diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but less than half of them receive treatment. Action Points * Explain to interested parents that this study suggests that less than half of the 2.4 million children ages 8 to 15 who meet standard diagnostic criteria for ADHD receive treatment. * Note that there are also ADHD prevalence discrepancies between racial and ethnic groups and according to socioeconomic status. Only 47.9% of the 2.4 million who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria for ADHD had reportedly had their conditions diagnosed by a health care professional or been treated with medication, according to a report in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

A research team led by Tanya E. Froehlich, M.D., of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center did a cross-sectional phone survey of the parents or caregivers of 3,082 eight- to 15-year old children who were participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Survey respondents provided information about each child’s ADHD symptoms between 2001 and 2004. They also provided sociodemographic information and information about whether the child had ever been diagnosed with ADHD or taken medicine to treat the disorder.

The researchers found that 8.7% (95% CI; 7.3%-10.1%) met the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in the year before the survey took place. An additional 3.3% of children did not meet the criteria, but had a parent-reported prior diagnosis and had been treated with an ADHD medication at some point during the previous year. The latter group, however, was not included in the main analysis. More boys than girls met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, 11.8% versus 5.4%, respectively (P<0.001), but girls were less likely than boys to have had the disorder recognized. There were also discrepancies in ADHD rates by race and ethnicity. Non-Hispanic white children were more likely to meet criteria for ADHD than were Mexican-American children or children of other races/ethnicities, the study showed. These findings held in both bivariate and multivariate analyses.

The study authors could not explain why Mexican-American children had lower rates of ADHD, but they speculate that this may be related to “differences in the prevalence of causal risk factors, genetic susceptibility, and/or rates of reporting ADHD symptoms across cultures.” Of the children who met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, 38.8% had received medication to treat inattention, hyperactivity, or overactivity in the prior year and 32.0% had been taking medication for most of that year. Regular medication use was more likely to be reported for older children than younger ones, the study showed. Money also mattered in the new study. Children in the poorest quintile were more likely than those in the wealthiest quintile to have been diagnosed with ADHD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] for PIR, first quintile vs fifth quintile, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.4-3.9). “Reasons for the increased likelihood of ADHD in poorer children may include the elevated prevalence of ADHD risk factors (i.e., premature birth and in utero or childhood exposures to toxic substances) in this group,” the study authors write. “In addition, given the high heritability of ADHD and its negative impact on social, academic and career outcomes, it is plausible that families with ADHD may cluster within the lower socioeconomic strata.” Although poor children were more likely to have ADHD, the poorest children were three to five times less likely to consistently receive medication when compared with their counterparts in other income groups, the researchers noted.

This finding “warrants further investigation and possible intervention to ensure that all children with ADHD have equitable access to treatment when appropriate,” the authors conclude.

The researchers also analyzed ADHD by subtypes. Specifically, 4.4% of the children met the criteria for ADHD-1A, 2.2% for ADHD-CT and 3.0% for ADHD-HI. The poorest children were more likely to have ADHD-HI than their wealthier counterparts (AOR for PIR, first vs fifth quintile, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.2-8.3). In addition, African Americans and Mexican Americans were less likely to have ADHD-1A, compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts, the study showed. None of the study authors reported any financial conflicts.

The study was funded by an Ambulatory Pediatrics Association Young Investigator Grant, a National Research Service Award grant, and grants from the NIH and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Additional ADHD/ADD Coverage Additional source: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine Source reference: Froehlich TE, “Prevalence, Recognition, and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a National Sample of US Children” Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007; 161(9): 857-864.

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I have to tell you, I’ve been skeptical of plastic for the past 5 years and 9 months. I often look at what was around when I was a kid versus today and it comes down to cell phones, computers and plastic everything. I never drank from a plastic cup as a child and today kids barely know what a glass is. And who knows how many plastic bottles of Poland Spring or Gatorade I have consumed this week alone, let alone the past 15 years or so.

Ask a vet and they will tell you, feed your pet from stainless steel or glass as plastic harbors germs and will cause a rash around the pets mouth. If you ever have had a pet with this problem, you know a switch to a stainless steel or glass bowl and shazaam, the rash disappears rather quickly. So why is it different for humans? Simple, lobbyists who fight for company’s such as DuPont and Union Carbide, who have been poisoning the people of this planet for decades to just make another buck of profit.

Although this report shows there is reason for some concern with BPA to Human Development, it downplays the connection. It should also be noted that the study is based only upon oral contact with the chemical, injections are a much better measure of how it would affect an unborn fetus. Here is a link to the study..

Plastics Chemical of ‘Some Concern’ for Fetal, Child Health
08.08.07, 12:00 AM ET

WEDNESDAY, August 8 (HealthDay News) — Bisphenol A, a chemical found in many plastics and resins, may present some risk to a developing fetus and children, a U.S. government panel concluded Wednesday.

Experts convened by the U.S. Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR), part of the National Toxicology Program, unanimously concluded that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) presents some risk to human development and reproduction.

BPA is chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastic and several types of resins. It is found in products used everyday such as compact discs, DVDs, baby bottles and other food and drink packaging. It is also commonly found in cars, sports safety equipment and water pipes.

“The panel’s finding means that we cannot dismiss the fact that exposure to this substance may be causing effects on reproductive health,” CERHR Director Michael D. Shelby said.

However, “It’s going to take more research to verify what those effects are,” he said.

Animal experiments have suggested that BPA may mimic the female sex hormone estradiol. The fear has been that exposure to BPA can cause birth defects and developmental problems.

In addition, exposure to BPA has been blamed for a variety of other problems, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and attention deficit disorder.

Exposure to BPA can occur through direct contact or by exposure to food or drink that has been in contact with material containing BPA.

“The conclusions of the expert panel are expressed in levels of concern,” Shelby explained. The lowest level is “negligible concern,” followed by “minimal concern,” then “some concern,” “concern” and then “serious concern,” he said.

The panel found “some concern” that exposure to BPA causes neural and behavioral effects to the fetus. The panel members expressed “minimal concern” that exposure to BPA causes effects to the fetal prostate or that exposure causes an acceleration of puberty, Shelby said.

The panel also said there was “negligible concern” that the chemical causes birth defects and malformations.

However, the panel expressed “some concern” that BPA exposure causes neural and behavioral effects in children, Shelby said. It also said it had “minimal concern” that BPA would cause children to experience accelerations in puberty.

For adults, the panel found “negligible concern” that there would be adverse reproductive effects following exposure to BPA. In addition, it had “minimal concern” for people exposed to BPA at work, Shelby said.

The panel did recommend that studies be done that would remove the uncertainties in some of its conclusions, or raise or lower the level of concern it had expressed, based on the data available, Shelby said.

The committee’s report is not without its critics.

“If I were a committee member, I wouldn’t sign off on this broken report,” said Jennifer Sass, senior scientist for the Health and Environment Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group.

“Harmful effects in laboratory animals exposed to even the low levels of BPA that are commonly found in the blood and urine of Americans include an increase in prostate and breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, reproductive abnormalities, reduced semen quality, recurrent miscarriage, obesity, and neurobehavioral problems similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” she said in a prepared statement.

The biggest problem with the report is the decision to limit the review to oral-dose studies, primarily the industry-sponsored studies, and not injection studies, the council said.

“This means they failed to include evidentiary science of the full range of risks to unborn fetuses, who receive BPA through the contaminated blood circulation, irrespective of the pregnant mothers route of exposure,” the group stated.

Reports from the National Toxicology Program are used by state and federal regulators to establish exposure standards, and are a resource for regulatory agencies to allocate resources toward most effective strategies to protect human health, the council noted.

A chemical industry representative took another view.

“What we saw today was a triumph of solid science,” said Steven Hentges, executive director of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group of the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers. “The panel of experts came up with what is really a very reassuring conclusion on the safety of BPA,” he said.

Hentges believes more research is needed in areas where the panel found “some concern.”

“Based on the science we do not think that additional regulation is needed,” he said. “The products in use today are safe.”

More information

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To understand the meaning of a conversation, kids automatically do what adults do – besides processing the meaning of words, they unconsciously ‘read’ the expression on a person’s face and listen to their tone of voice, then integrate that information with the context at hand to discern meaning, be it humor, anger, irony or straightforwardness.

Individuals with autism typically don’t do this. They often miss the subtle meanings conveyed by a person’s face and tone of voice, and thus have trouble determining the communicative intent of others. Neuroimaging studies have backed this up, showing that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) – including autism, pervasive developmental disorder and Asperger’s syndrome – show reduced activity in the regions of the brain that respond to such cues.

But what if those brain regions could be trained to respond appropriately” In a report in the current issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry and currently online, UCLA researchers did just that. Providing ASD children with explicit instructions to pay more attention to facial expressions and tone of voice elicited an increased response in the medial prefrontal cortex, part of the brain’s network for understanding the intentions of others.

“That’s significant. The fact that you can ‘normalize’ activity in this region in the ASD group by directing their attention to these important social cues clearly indicates there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this region in the autistic brain,” said Mirella Dapretto, associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and a member of the UCLA Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center. Dapretto co-authored the study with her former graduate student Ting Wang, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

“This is a very positive thing,” Dapretto said, “because these findings have implications for future interventions” they suggest that you could train the autistic brain to make use of the information conveyed by the human face and voice to successfully navigate social interactions

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder of development that affects one of every 150 children, impairing communication and social skills. ASDs encompass a broad spectrum of disorders that range from mild to severe.

The authors had two goals in mind with their study. One was to examine the neural circuitry in the brain that underlies the problems ASD children face in interpreting communicative intent. The other was to determine whether explicit instructions to pay attention to facial expressions and tone of voice would elicit more normal patterns of brain activity in these children.

While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 18 ASD boys between the ages of 7 and 17, as well as a control group of 18 typically developing (TD) boys, viewed cartoon drawings of children in conversational settings while listening to short vignettes that ended with a potentially ironic remark. Researchers found that, compared with the TD control group, the ASD children had reduced activity in two areas of the brain – the medial prefrontal cortex and right superior temporal gyrus. But when the researchers gave both groups explicit instructions to pay attention to the speaker’s facial expression and tone of voice, only the ASD children showed a significant increase in activity in the medial prefrontal cortex.

“The typically developing kids recognized and interpreted these cues automatically when trying to infer if a speaker’s remark was sincere or sarcastic, so their brains were already responding appropriately,” said Dapretto. “But not so with the ASD kids, who did not show activity in this area when specific instructions weren’t provided. This is the first study to show that you can normalize activity in a key region of the so-called ’social brain’ in individuals with autism by simply directing their attention to these important social cues.”

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Other authors of the study included Susan S. Lee and Marian Sigman. The research was funded by the National Alliance for Autism Research, the Cure Autism Now Foundation, the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, and grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

The Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA is an interdisciplinary research and education institute devoted to the understanding of complex human behavior, including the genetic, biological, behavioral and sociocultural underpinnings of normal behavior and the causes and consequences of neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition to conducting fundamental research, the institute faculty seeks to develop effective treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders, improve access to mental health services and shape national health policy regarding neuropsychiatric disorders.

Contact: Mark Wheeler
University of California – Los Angeles

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BOSTON, April 26 (UPI) — Symptoms of bipolar disorder often appear in childhood but can be difficult to distinguish from other disorders, says a U.S. newsletter.Children, especially young children, usually do not show the adult cycle of distinct mood episodes of mania and depression, and many symptoms that may stem from bipolar disorder also occur in other childhood disorders — moods fluctuating in very rapid cycles, sometimes from hour-to-hour; irritability and agitation, or bursts of rage, according to the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

Bipolar disorder in children is especially difficult to distinguish from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder because they share a number of symptoms — impulsiveness, distractibility and hyperactivity.

Up to 30 percent of children originally diagnosed with ADHD eventually receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, according to the newsletter.

“Childhood bipolar disorder is a real and serious illness that should be recognized and treated as early as possible,” Dr. Michael Miller, editor in chief of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, said in a statement.

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