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Sub-Topics Asperger Syndrome Diagnosis Treatment News -03-14-06 Teen With Autism Makes 20 Points in 4 Minutes (ESPN) "Jason McElwain [also known as J-Mac] had done everything he was asked to do for the Greece Athena High School basketball team -- keep the stats, run the clock, hand out water bottles." "That all changed last week for the team manager in the final home game of the season. The 17-year-old senior, who is autistic and usually sits on the bench in a white shirt and black tie, put on a uniform and entered the game with his team way ahead." "McElwain proceeded to hit six 3-point shots, finished with 20 points and was carried off the court on his teammates' shoulders." 03-06 -10-29-07 Pediatricians: New Guidelines for Detection and Treatment of Autism (US News) "In an effort to make it easier for pediatricians to spot and begin early treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released two new reports with recommendations for identifying and managing these conditions." 10-07 -12-09-05 "Mirror Neurons" Associated with Communication Impairment (EDBlog) This study suggests that by practicing the imitation of social behaviors, symptoms of high functioning autism may be reduced by stimulating the part of the brain that has responded weakly to affective cues in the past. Asperger Syndrome has also been linked to reduced responses in the same part of the brain. "By studying differences in how their brains function during efforts to imitate emotions, Mirella Dapretto and colleagues have discovered that adolescents with high functioning autism (HFA) have no activity in the part of the brain that is employed in many important activities including imitation and language production. The HFA participants can mimic others’ facial expressions, but when they do so, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) pars opercularis is not activated, although it is activated in non-disabled peers." "Notably, activity in this area [the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) pars opercularis] was inversely related to symptom severity in the social domain, suggesting that a dysfunctional ‘mirror neuron system’ may underlie the social deficits observed in [high-functioning] autism." "I think imitation is terribly critical in learning, making these findings really noteworthy. That the behavioral neurologists are coming up with these sorts of findings is very exciting. I wonder if we will soon see studies parallel to those in reading showing that promoting higher levels of imitation changes the fMRI results. Meanwhile, note that most of these studies are with HFA individuals." 12-05. -12-09-05 "Mirror Neurons" Associated with Communication Impairment (Scientific American) "More than one in 500 children have some form of autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control. All autistic children suffer from an impaired ability to communicate and relate to others, but some of them are able to socially interact to a greater degree than their peers. A recent study of a group of these so-called high functioning autistics suggests the neurological basis for their social impairment." "Neuroscientist Mirella Dapretto of the University of California Los Angeles and her colleagues surveyed the brains of 10 autistic children and an equal number of nonautistic children as they watched and imitated 80 different faces displaying either anger, fear, happiness, sadness or no emotion." "The autistic children differed from their peers in only one respect: each showed reduced activity in the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus--a brain region located near the temple." 12-05. -12-10-06 Selective Mutism (ABC News) "Imagine a world where anyone and anyplace outside the comforts of home elicit fear and anxiety so paralyzing that you shut down and cannot speak." "What causes this disorder is not exactly known. What is known is that it has a genetic factor and usually appears when a child is first introduced into the social situation of preschool or school. It is, however, very different than everyday shyness." "This widely misdiagnosed disorder is often ignored or dismissed as just a phase, leaving kids to suffer in silence. The Galies, who were previously unaware that Morgan suffered from selective mutism, initially saw their daughter's behavior at school as defiance. According to a recent study, selective mutism is almost twice as common as autism." 12-06 Autism News, Research, and Support (AutismSpeaks.org) "Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person's ability to communicate and relate to others. It is also associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines. Symptoms can range from very mild to quite severe." 10-07 Autism News, Research, and Support (AutismSpeaks.org) Provides news, research, and support to families. 10-07 Papers Autism (About.com - Tilton) Provides resources for parents to better deal with autism in their child. 3-01 Autism (Autism Research Institute) Provides resources for parents to better deal with autism in their child. 3-01 Autism (Center for the Study of Autism) Provides research information, articles on treatments, and resources for parents to better deal with autism or related disorders, such as Angelman Syndrome, Apraxia, Asperger Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder, Fragile X Syndrome, Hyperlexia, Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Prader-Willi Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, and Williams Syndrome. 3-01 Guide to Autism (US News) "Autism is a complex developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, although it is sometimes diagnosed much later. It affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills." 04-08 Living With Autism in a World Made for Others (CNN News) "Amanda is part of a new generation of adults with autism. The Autism Society of America estimates that 600,000 adults are living with autism in the United States. That number will most likely skyrocket, given the CDC's recognition of an increase in the numbers of children with autism. The newest numbers suggest that one in every 150 children has autism." 04-08 News and Research (CureAutismNow.org) "Cure Autism Now (CAN) is an organization of parents, clinicians and leading scientists committed to accelerating the pace of biomedical research in autism through raising money for research projects, education and outreach. Founded by parents of children with autism in 1995, the organization has grown from a kitchen-table effort to the largest provider of support for autism research and resources in the country. The organization's primary focus is to fund essential research through a variety of programs designed to encourage innovative approaches toward identifying the causes, prevention, treatment and a cure for autism and related disorders." 3-05 News and Research (National Alliance for Autism Research) Provides news and research related to autism. "The National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) is the first organization in the U.S. dedicated to funding and accelerating biomedical research focusing on autism spectrum disorders. Established in 1994 by parents of children with autism concerned about the limited amount of funding available for autism research, NAAR was created in a spirit of optimism and excitement over the opportunities for accelerating the pace of autism research. This spirit continues to guide the organization today, enabled by recent advances in the neurosciences and other scientific fields." 3-05 Rett Syndrome (Center for the Study of Autism - Edelson) Provides a description of the characteristics of the syndrome. 3-01

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