Canadian HealthCare News

of 21 things NOT to say to a person with an autism spectrum disorder, compiled with the help of members of my facebook autism forum: 1. Shame on you. *It depends on the circumstance. Let’s say your child bit his brother. Calmly say “no biting,” and separate him from his brother. 2. How many times do I have to tell you? *No alternatives. Just don’t say it. Don’t you hate it when people say that to you? 3. Maybe (or maybe next time). *”Yes” or “Not this time.” You’ll notice I didn’t use the word no. I like to reserve no for emergencies, like when a child is about to run into the street. 4. If you are good all week, I’ll give you blah blah blah. *A whole week?? Even I can’t be good all week. Instead, give praise for little slices of time. If there is a chore your child needs to do each day, or a behavior that he needs to master, give them a star for a job well done. Once they collect a bunch of stars, they can pick out a toy from your secret toy stash. Mine had watercolor sets, small Lego sets and silly putty. 5. What is wrong with you? *Grrr…Don’t you hate it when people say that to you? Instead, try “It seems like you are having a hard time. Is there something I can do to help?” 6. Focus. *”Do you want to try this again, or do you need a break?” 7. It’s not loud to me. * We wouldn’t say that, would we? 8. I told you yesterday. *Just don’t say it. Repeat what you need to tell your child calmly. 9. Wait just a minute. (Unless it’s truly just a minute) *”I’m just finishing this phone call, and then I can help you.” Then get off the phone and help him. 10. I promise. (Unless you are absolutely sure you can do what you are promising.) 11. It’s not a big deal that your Pokemon cards are out of order. *Do you want me to help you put them back in order? 12. Look me in the eye. *(We all know this is a no-no) 13. Stop obsessing.(It’s like saying “stop breathing” to a child with autism.) *I know you like to talk about airplanes, and you sure know a lot about them. We are going to talk about something else for a while. 14. Idioms of any kind, such as “It’s raining cat’s and dogs.” 15. Shhh! You need to be quiet in here. (The guaranteed response to that is, “BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE QUIET!” at max volume.) 16. You need to wait. *(see #9) 17. You’d better behave. *See #4 18. Look at me when I am talking to you. *(see # 11) 19. “Go ahead and ______ . See what happens.” (sarcasm, however slight, is bad. Autistic or not. ) 20. It doesn’t matter, you still need to… *”Do A, and then you can B” 21. Do you want a time out? *Do want a break?

Nearly 60 percent of the risk of developing autism is genetic and most of that risk is caused by inherited variant genes that are common in the population and present in individuals without the disorder, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the July 20 edition of Nature Genetics. “We show very clearly that inherited common variants comprise the bulk of the risk that sets up susceptibility to autism,” says Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD, the study’s lead investigator and Director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment and Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “But while families can be genetically loaded for autism risk, it may take additional rare genetic factors to actually produce the disorder in a particular family member.” Dr. Buxbaum and colleagues of the Population-Based Autism Genetics and Environment Study (PAGES) Consortium conducted a rigorous analysis of DNA sequence variations from an ongoing, comprehensive study of autism in Sweden. (more…)

 New after-school youth sports program in Canada brings golf to students with Autism TGA Premier Junior Golf together with Autism Ontario will impact and enrich lives SAULT STE. MARIE - TGA Premier Junior Golf (TGA), the global after- school youth sports enrichment program, will partner with Autism Ontario to teach the game of golf to 12 autistic students this summer. The TGA/Autism Ontario golf classes will begin on July 14 at Silver Creek Golf Course in Garden River, Ontario, and run for six weeks into mid August with plans to continue into the fall and beyond. TGA, new to Canada this year, has become a popular outlet for special needs and autistic students who get to experience and learn the game of golf in the safe setting that is their schools. TGA’s specialized curriculum, designed specifically for schools, has been found to be a perfect fit for Autism Ontario. (more…)

Autism Speaks Staffer Kerry Magro interviewed actress Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Inglorious Basterds) who plays a character with Asperger Syndrome on the hit FX series “The Bridge.” You can tune into the season 2 premiere of "The Bridge" tonight at 10 PM ET/9 PM CT on FX! Diane Kruger: Sonya Cross is a detective with the El Paso PD. She's a very accomplished detective, who has the ability to focus on details that others don't see. She also has Asperger's. The Bridge is the American adaptation of the Scandinavian show, called "Broen." We followed the Scandinavian story lines for season 1, but for season 2 we are venturing out. This season is a dark and intriguing web of stories set on the El Paso/Juarez border. I wanted to be part of the project for it's relevant context and to explore a character as complex as Sonya who is living with Asperger's and yet manages to live a full and successful life. KM: Was there any special preparation you did while getting ready to play the role? DK: Autism Speaks has been a big part of helping me understand what Asperger's is, how it manifests itself and what the daily challenges are for people who live with it. It's been a long journey for me and I try to educate myself as much as I can. I feel a deep commitment and duty to portray a woman who lives with Asperger's to the best of my abilities and I am very grateful for the help and encouragement I have received so far from the community. KM: How has it been working with autism self-advocate Alex Plank on the show? DK: He's essential to me and the show. He meets with me and every director and points out the moments that are not to be missed. I know he always has my back and I rely heavily on him. Watch Alex Plank's interview with Diane Kruger below... KM: What would you say is one the biggest things you've learned about autism from being on the show and playing a character with Asperger's? DK: How often people misunderstand what Asperger's is and the negative reaction it can provoke in people. We never say that Sonya has Asperger's on the show, and at the beginning reactions to her ranged from bewildered-to-why is she so rude and bitchy? It took quite a few episodes for people to be able to look past her "oddness" and now it's a complete 180. People find her quirkiness endearing and fun and just different enough. Diane with the cast of "The Bridge". Photo Credit: Michael Bulbenko/the Paley Center for Media KM: What do you hope people take away about autism from watching the show? DK: That we should embrace what's different and not judge quite so easily. Autism can be incredibly isolating for people who live with it and just a little encouragement and understanding can help a lot. KM: What's next for you? Any fun projects coming up? DK: Once the show is wrapped, I will be doing a French film called "Sky."

This will be a game changer in the way scientists are researching autism," says lead author Raphael Bernier, clinical director of the Autism Center at Seattle Children's Hospital. Researchers have linked mutations in a specific gene to what appears to be a distinct subtype of autism. Their findings, published in Cell, represent an important first step in individualizing diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Past research has implicated hundreds of gene mutations as increasing the risk that a child will develop autism. Most of these gene changes increase autism risk only slightly. A few almost always lead to autism but as part of a larger syndrome – such as Fragile X and Angelman’s – with autism as just one symptom. As such, the new findings may represent the first clear-cut case of a gene specific to an autism subtype. (more…)

JOHNSTOWN — Tina Dallape heard the small child’s voice say, “Want some,” but she knew her 3-year-old daughter, Sophia, was not in the room. She looked through the door at their Richland Township home and saw her husband, Jim, staring, jaw agape, at their 4-year-old autistic son, James Jr.“Did he just say …” Tina began. “Want some,” her husband confirmed. It was not a surprise that young James would like some fruit that was being cut for dinner. But it was the first time James ever put two words together to express a thought. “Tears were running down my cheeks,” Tina Dallape recalled. James was about 18 months old and beginning to walk and say “mommy” “daddy” when suddenly all that stopped, his mother said. After a “battery of tests” the doctors confirmed James was “on the spectrum.” Autism is defined as a spectrum disorder because it is a “range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior,” the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says on its website. Brian Nagle, Alternative Community Resources Program director of autism services, says the spectrum includes everything from the nonverbal, severely disabled individuals with what he calls “classic autism” to the high-functioning, often highly intelligent individuals with Asperger syndrome. “One thing that’s common is the impairment of social skills,” Nagle said. “They don’t know how to make friends. They don’t know ‘stranger danger.’ (more…)

They have found that learning difficulties that affect young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be successfully addressed through targeted educational programs in regular childcare. 'Children on the spectrum have a lot of trouble learning from others. They have trouble imitating, participating in joint activities and making eye contact, essential skills in the learning and teaching process,' autism researcher Dr Vivanti said. Dr Vivanti said the team at La Trobe had used an intervention called the Early Start Denver Model(ESDM), which targets these learning difficulties and aims to bring the child back into the social loop so they can learn from others the way children without autism do. Research conducted in the US indicates that the program is effective in the context of intensive individual home treatment (15+ hours per week). However, as standard community services often lack the resources needed to support this kind of model, very few families currently have access to this intervention. The study carried out at the La Trobe University Victorian Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre in collaboration with the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre and the MIND Institute at UC Davis addressed this, documenting the feasibility and effectiveness of the ESDM delivered in the context of a community childcare setting. As opposed to the US study, the program at La Trobe was implemented using regular childcare teachers and a child-staff ratio of 1:3. The study measured the outcomes of 27 preschoolers with ASD receiving 15–25 hours per week of ESDM therapy over 12 months, compared to those of 30 peers with ASD undergoing a generic intervention program delivered in a similar community long-day care service. While children in both groups made progress, those receiving ESDM showed significantly higher gains in language (20 DQ points versus 10 in the control group) and cognition (14 DQ points, versus 7 in the control group). There was variability in the gains made by children receiving the ESDM, with children who had more spontaneous imitation, functional play and joint attention skills showing the most sizeable cognitive gains. This study indicates that even with the adaptations of delivering the program in a childcare group environment instead of intensive individual home-based treatment, the ESDM has positive effects on development of young children with ASD. Dr Vivanti said that by targeting skills that are crucial for early social learning, such as imitation, joint engagement, non-verbal communication and eye-contact, some of the biologically-based cognitive and communicative difficulties in ASD can be addressed at this early stage of development. Researchers will continue to monitor the children from the study as they enter a school environment. The findings have been published in the prestigious journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Bullying can affect anyone at any time, but young people with autism are especially vulnerable. The results can be devastating. Not being able to keep up with the teasing banter that often takes place among groups of young people can make the social world a very daunting place for children with autism. Being at odds with their peer group can lead to social isolation, rejection, and a lack of the supportive friendships that can protect against bullying. Autism (including Asperger syndrome) is a developmental condition that the National Autistic Society describes as affecting “how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people and the world around them”. It is on a spectrum, meaning that although there are common areas of difficulty, people with autism are affected in very different ways, with widely varying degrees of severity. As a consequence, while approximately 30% of young people with autism spectrum conditions attend special schools, around 70% are in mainstream settings, according to the government. Worryingly, there is a growing body of research that indicates that young people on the autism spectrum are considerably more vulnerable to bullying than their peers. (more…)

Michael Barton, 22, has high-functioning autism and has just finished a degree course. He is currently promoting a new book - his second in three years, entitled A Different Kettle of Fish - A Day in the Life of a Physics Student with Autism. It documents how he feels travelling from Guildford to London for a day out and the autism-related difficulties along the way. Barton launched his book at the Manchester Autism Show where he also gave a talk which includes one of his pet subjects - how speaking metaphorically can confuse people on the autistic spectrum as they tend to take things literally. He spoke to Ouch this week: Is your book aimed at people with, or without, autism? (more…)

Many parents and professionals want to know how to teach an autistic child to swim. Some children naturally love the water while others are very apprehensive. It is important to address swimming on an individual basis for best results. Can Children with Autism Swim? Children with autism can usually do anything neurotypical children can as long as they have proper guidance. It helps to recognize how an activity like swimming can benefit kids on the spectrum. The activity is great for children who may need help with sensory processing, gross motor development, and following directions. Sensory Processing (more…)