Alpha Lipoic Acid for Autism

                

 

Autism is a disease that is referred to as a developmental disability. It typically appears during the first two or three years of life. Autism is the result of a neurological disorder that renders the brain functioning poor in certain areas. The behavioural symptoms that have been linked with this disease have been estimated to occur in about 1 out of 500 individuals. Autism causes severe impact to the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction as well as communication skills. Children and adults affected with autism typically have problems in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and relaxation or play activities. This disorder renders it difficult for them to interact with the outside world. They may show evidence of recurring body movements (hand flapping, rocking), odd responses to people or attachments to objects and refuse to accept any changes in routines.

However alpha lipoic acid (ALA) now presents hope for autism. Research on rat aging has revealed that the use of carnitine and lipoic acid results in enhanced memory performance and deferred structural mitochondrial decay. As a result, it may be helpful for people with memory disorders or brain related dysfunctions. This shows that alpha lipoic acid can be of tremendous help in these diseases. Also, Vitamins C and E may reduce the risk of developing autism. Based on the hypothesis that free radicals are toxic to the neurons in the brain, it was investigated as to whether the intake of antioxidants like vitamin C, E and beta-carotene from food could protect against autism and other nervous system and brain related problems. It was found that ALA has extreme role to play in relieving the situation.

Alpha lipoic acid has such valuable benefits that it is perhaps not wrong to call it a universal antioxidant. Alpha lipoid acid has hardly if any side effects, although if taken in extremely high doses like higher then 100mg, it can lead to conditions of nausea, upset stomachs and low blood sugar levels. However, at the same time ALA is a major relaxant and if consumed correctly it can lead to a general state of well being.

Alpha Lipoic Acid provides detailed information on alpha lipoic acid, ALA products, ALA research, ALA side effects and more. Alpha Lipoic Acid is affiliated with Uses and Benefits.

The Advantages of Autism

                

 

My husband and I are the sometimes-proud, sometimes-mortified parents of a four-and-a-half year old boy, Jonah, who has autism. Jonah is a bright, mischievous, affectionate, challenging, monkey of a kid. We love him and are managing our somewhat unusual lives pretty well. With autism, though, everything can seem like a challenge: meals, bath time, car trips, birthday parties, you name it.

Jonah doesn?t talk and he doesn?t understand normal social cues. He?ll walk right up to strangers at a park and rifle through their picnic basket. He?ll climb up a playground slide without taking note of whether or not some kid is poised to slide down right into him. Every time he hears the song ?Happy Birthday to You,? he marches right up to the place of honor, ready to blow out the candles and tear into cake. When prevented, distracted, or redirected away from these activities, a tantrum is a likely result. And when the tantrum is in public, there?s usually the added fun of strangers? stares, glares, and disapproving glances. I could go on...but this article isn?t about what autism is, or how it is difficult, or why its occurrence has risen to epidemic proportions. It?s about the advantages of autism. And really, there are several.

I have to admit right off the bat: I?m only being half-facetious when I say we fully intend to cash in on any and all emergent savant skills, like in the Las Vegas scene from Rain Man -- but that doesn?t seem likely since they say only 10% or so of autists have these skills. Oh, well. Winning ridiculous amounts of money counting cards isn?t everything, I suppose. Good thing there are other things we can enjoy right now.

One is innocence. While other kids his age have ?moved on? to superheroes and swords, our son still loves bubbles and blocks. While his peers have discarded traditional kids? songs for pop music, Jonah still happily requests ?Wheels on the Bus? ? and does all the hand motions too. He doesn?t watch commercials then demand whatever toy or gadget or breakfast cereal was advertised. He doesn?t understand the concept of Christmas or birthdays, at least not in the way other kids do, so he?s perfectly happy with a few toys and something yummy to eat.

When our son is fully enjoying himself, there is no one as uninhibitedly delighted. A joyful Jonah is a beautiful sight. He is never embarrassed or self-conscious about what he is doing, and it shows. What you get is a child largely unaffected by most things that can?t help but affect the consciousness of other kids: bad news on TV, anxiety about dad leaving for work, fear of the boogeyman under the bed. In a sense, autism protects him from much of the normal worry, apprehension, and insecurity of being an almost-five-year-old kid.

Also, people have told us he?s especially entertaining to watch ? and we can see why; the way he interacts with his environment is undeniably interesting. We consider it an advantage to have a child who sees the world through a somehow different lens. He?ll hold his fingers up to his eyes to catch an interesting visual, or cock his head to the side and look at things from an angle. He adores kaleidoscopes and spinning toys and flashlights and seems to see them in a way the rest of us can?t. He teaches us to stop, look, and listen to things in ways that may never have occurred to us before.

There are advantages, even, to his silence. Though we?d love for him to learn to talk and are doing everything we can to help him learn to communicate verbally, it is nice to know he?s not going to start yelling obscenities in the mall or call the cops and tell them our house is on fire. He may perseverate on the light switch by turning it on and off a thousand times, but we?re never subjected to endless repetitions of movie quotes, nursery rhymes, or some random snippet of something he heard on TV.

We've come to find that for every challenge we face with Jonah, we're presented an unexpected, precious, and often humorous gift. The gifts are what keep us going ? for, as with everything in life, they balance out the bad and show us our son and situation in an ever-changing, beautiful light.

We're thankful for the advantages of autism!

Amy Wink Krebs is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing. She lives in upstate New York with one husband, one son, one cat, and one fish.

The Connectivity Theory And Autism Syndrome

                

 

Autism syndrome affects the way a person communicates and limits the ability to relate to others in a meaningful way, it is a lifelong developmental disorder that emerges in early childhood. A child with autism syndrome isn't able to appreciate cuddles or understand other people's feeling, he can't show signs of affection or develop friendships with other children.

There are researches saying that a lack of central coherence or a problem in the central nervous system is the cause of autism syndrome, and for that people with autism aren't able to bind many activities into a single and have many cognitive and behavioral difficulties. For the same reason, children with autistic syndromes learn to sit up, turn over and crawl in a different manner than normal children.

Brain activity in people at people with autism syndrome has been shown to be atypical in many ways including reduced synchronization across areas of the brain.

The brains of a child with autism syndrome is larger than a normal child's brains and there is one possible suspect for that, meaning a inflammation possibly due to autoimmune activity in the brain.

Autistic children learn to sit up, turn over and crawl in noticeably different manner than normal children and this difference in movement is caused by the same wiring problem in the central nervous system that later causes the social or verbal symptoms commonly associated with the condition of a child with autism syndrome.

Children or adults with autism syndrome have problems with activities such as coordinating their multiple brain areas or flexible understanding or spoken language.

We must know that in the connectivity theory we must also discuss about underconnectivity that can account for the social symptoms of autism syndrome. Social abnormalities are atributes of a deficit in integrative processing, and they may arise in integrating the perceptual and affective processing of social stimuli such as face affect.

High function autistic subjects have much lower levels of connectivity when many brain areas are compared.

It has been noted that a person with autism syndrome can answer sentence comprehension questions more rapidly, though more errors were noted with passive voice sentences.A study's findings are consistent with another theory about the underlying cause of autism syndrome, that faulty connections between the brain's parts may be responsible.

The process to discover if your child has autism syndrome can be slow and upsetting for the family and also for the child, and making friends or receive affection from those they hold dear it is difficult for a child with autism syndrome.

More informations about autism or autism causes about can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com/

How Is A Child With Autism Syndrome

                

 

Autism is not a disease, but a developmental desorder of brain function. Symptoms of autism syndrom usually appear during the first three years of childhood and continue through life. Children are social creatures who like to smile, laugh, cuddle and play. But there are also children taht seem to exist in their own world, where there are repetitive routines, odd behaviors, comunication problems or total lack of social awarness or interest in others.

A child with autism syndrome who goes to school is generally withdrawn and he will not even make eye contact. Many cildren engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and hair twirling in self-injurious behavior such as biting or head-banging.

Children with autism syndrome tend to start speaking later than usual and tahey refear to themselves by name instead of "I" or "me", they may speak in a sing-sang voice or use peculiar language.

There are some cildren with autism syndrome that are very bright and do very good in school and they may be able to live independently when tahey grow up. There are autistic cildren with talent in art, music and other area.

There isn't one specific cause of autism syndrome and for taht it remaind unknown. Research has focused on wether chemical inbalances, differences in the brain, genetics or problems of the central nervous sistem. However, what do we know is that parents do not cause autism.

There is no cure for autism syndrome and children will have it throught taheir live. Children with autism syndrome need educational programs and a comprehensive evaluation. Psychiatrists are trained to diagnose children and adolescents with autism sindrome and also to help their families cope the stress. Also a rege of medication can be prescribed to help reduce aggressive and violent behaviour.

With educational programs designed to meet cildren wit autism syndrome individual needs and specialised adult support services, they can live and sometimes work in the society.

More informations abiut child autism or about autism can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com

My Child with Autism

                

 

"Hi! My name is Gian Vincenzo. I am autistic. Don't worry. I'm happy."

....this hermitage has a great thing to do with my concerns and activities for my second son, Gian Vincenzo, who will turn 6 years old on January 10, 2007. He is diagnosed with autism.

Gian was born 6 summers ago, a robust, APGAR trouncing 7 pound baby. Up to his 18th month, he exhibited the progression of any normal kid - voracious appetite, geometric growth, rudimentary speech (dada, mama), facial recognition, in short, the works.

All of these went downhill and faded to oblivion when he went past 18 months. He withdrew, literally, from the world.

Words disappeared. He could not distinguish his parents from anybody else. He held his hands in his ears for the faintest of sounds, but totally ignored the Parokya ni Edgar ear-splitters blaring from his big brother's mini-compo. Instead of the bright eyes that we have known before, now he stares with empty glances at nowhere - not focusing on anything yet focusing on everything all at once. He would cry at the slightest touch of cotton buds on his ears. He would cry when he wants ice cream and he cannot, for the world, say these 2 words. He would be sickly- a regular patron of pediatricians and hospitals suites semi-annually.

At first, there was denial and rationalization. People we know, even doctors, gave Gian the benefit of the doubt that,because of his gender, he might have a slight delay in speech, and gave him 6 months. Then another 6 months. Then another 6 months. This slight delay is not getting slight anymore.

At 3 years of age, we could not wait any longer for Gian to speak "Mommy" and "Daddy". Off we went to a garden variety of specialists, you name them, Gian has gone through them. Pedia-neuros, Neuro developmentals, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Special Schools ( 3 of them), Occupational therapists, Speech therapists. Gian has gone through in 6 years what I haven 't gone through in my 39.

We then found "Intervention Partners", a Pasig based center led by experienced Sped specialists, on July 2006. At this point, Gian has still to say a single word - at 5 1/2 years old, and we were in "desperate" mode. The center is a practitioner in Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA).

In retrospect, "Intervention Partners" was God's gift from heaven.

From July to December, in a short span of child-time, Gian went from zero vocabulary, to single words, to identifying words with pictures, to constructing simple subject-predicate sentences. He can now verbalize what he wants, what he feels. He can listen and follow simple directions. He can sing the whole "Lupang Hinirang" and "Ave Maria" in his American accented diction. He can discern Caltex from Shell, spell all the colors of the rainbow, count from 1 to 10,000 (in increments of 1,000) forward and backward. On his own, he is now learning a few Tagalog words.

Truly an accomplishment. At this point in time.

The road ahead is still paved with gravel, thorns and IEDs. Gian has a life ahead of him, and though we did not let the dice of Fate get a chance in his first 6 years, we still wonder if they will play their cards in his next 6 and beyond.

Gian will turn from childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood. At some point out there, we will be called to meet our Maker, and the mere thought of leaving him behind to the Fates, the Elements, and God forbid, The Philippine Goverment and the BIR, makes us shudder.

As a continuing legacy, I have inaugurated as simple website for Gian, www.myautisticson.com. Contained in it is Gian's Weblog , which I would fill with his journals - from Gian's perspective.

Also included is Gian's Autism Forum , which I hope to be a source of online interaction for parents, teachers, practitioners, in their common quest to know and overcome this mystery called Autism.

Again, Merry Christmas and a blessed 2007!

Hi! My name is Gian Vincenzo. I am autistic. Don't worry. I'm happy.

Disparities among African-Americans with autism syndrome

                

 

Autism syndrome is a complicated disorder which affects every race, ethnic group and socioeconomic status and it can be diagnosed in children as 18 months old. A parent becomes concerned when his child may lack eye contact, be deaf or avoids interacting with others and by going to a doctor he will learn that he has a child with autism syndrome. A child can show this behaviors after birth or when he grows older.

Parents and care givers must ensure a brighter future for the children with autism syndrome because there are clear social disparities in healthcare and education. Studies have consistently reported black autistic children were diagnosed later or received more misdiagnoses than whites. If the children have different colors that doesn't mean that autism syndrome symptoms are different.

Behavior treatments and enrollment in a classroom are available for all children with autism syndrome including black children. Whites are more likely than African-American children with autism syndrome to see the same doctor.

If a African-American family has a child with autism syndrome and have lower incomes or limited education they will have more difficulty in taking him to a doctor and we know that early diagnosis and early intervention is critical for a better prognosis.

Minority children with autism syndrome experience unnecessary isolation from their non disabled peers. Also, African-American students are twice likely ass white students to be educated in a restrictive and separate educational setting.

We can start to overturn these disparities by helping African-Americans with autism syndrome to reach their full potential. Parents and caregivers have an important role, meaning that they must be persistent and get their child's healthcare providers to listen and act in response to their concerns.

It is also important for parents to know their child's rights and to learn about the federal special education laws and state regulations and make sure that their child with autism syndrome receives an individualized education plan.

Every child with autism syndrome has the right to a free and appropriate public education. There are advocacy and educational advocates accessible to help you get this program. Another way to make your voice be heard and to help your child with autism syndrome is by joining a national autism organization and get involved.

There are local parent support group meeting to learn what issues are important and what steps are necessary to address to your children. There are also local and congressional lawmakers and if you call or write to them to report your issues and concerns they will help you and your children with autism syndrome.

We must know that autism syndrome is not hopeless and parents aren't either and for that we can advocate for our loved owns and for all the persons with autism syndrome.

More informations about autism causes or about autism symptoms can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com/

Emotional responses to faces in autism syndrome

                

 

Autism has been thought to be characterized, in part, by dysfunction in emotional and social cognition, but the pathology of the underlying processes and their neural substrates remain poorly understood. Children with autism syndrome made abnormal social judgments regarding the trustworthiness of faces, however, they are able to make normal social judgments from lexical stimuli, and they have a normal ability to perceptually discriminate the stimuli.

Autistic persons are shy, unresponsive and prefer to be left alone. They avoid emotional and physical contact with other including their parents and may be painfully sensitive to touch, sound, sight or smell. People with autism syndrome have difficulties intensifying and interpreting facial expression.

Functional differences may vary widely like everything else involving the brain. Significant social challenges are created by not responding to familiar or unfamiliar faces. Some people with autism syndrome can intuit emotions from other senses like tone of voice or body gesture.

There are cases of people with autism syndrome, where the big problem may be with the visual perception of faces. Some studies show that an autistic person it is able too perceive facial expression better in caricature from than in real life. The reason for that is that the "a real face" present too much visual information that can be taken in at once than it can present a photograph.

You can help a person with autism syndrome to improve his emotional face recognition either part-to-whole method or by training with caricatures, moving on to exaggerated black and white photographs to the real life.

Although poor face recognition is a common feature of autism, very little is known about the development of face recognition skills in children with autism syndrome, they develop additional capacities to analyze differences in feature arrangements during adolescence and this allows them to make more difficult discriminations between very similar-looking individuals.

If your child is diagnosed with autism syndrome, learn as much as you can about his particular situation and try to identify his strengths and recognize when he's having difficulty. Sometimes troubleshooting problems can be difficulty and your child with autism syndrome may have more difficulty talking to or understanding other children or non-family members.

With a professional, try to figure the major sources of your child's communication difficulties and try to make your home an oasis of love, comfort, and understanding because you are your child's best advocate, and you have a tremendous impact on his future.

More informations about autism causes or about child autism can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com/

Children with autism syndrome and dental anesthesia

                

 

A surgical procedure can be a frightening experience for any parent and their child, specially for a child with autism syndrome. If your child needs a surgical procedure with anesthesia, you must know that anesthesia can be broken down into three basic types: general anesthesia, regional anesthesia and sedation anesthesia. There are some suggestions and information for parents that have children with autism syndrome.

First of all you must schedule a preoperative visit with your child's anesthesiologist or call him. You may speak with the anesthesiologist that will take care of your child or ask that child's anesthesiologist could call you before the date of surgery. To reduce stress and anxiety you must discuss about your child's particular needs, fears, communication level and ability to understand what is happening so that your child with autism syndrome and dental anesthesia can be prepared for the event.

If your child with autism syndrome is on medication, the anesthesiologist will have some directions for your child. It is important for a child with autism syndrome and dental anesthesia not to have food before surgery.

Also a story and visual picture you learn of the preoperative visit at the anesthesiologist will help your child with autism syndrome and dental anesthesia.

Once you arrive to the consulting room you must ask lots of questions so that you know what will happen with your child with autism syndrome and dental anesthesia during surgery.

It is important to ask about the sequence of events leading up to the surgery, if your child will go into a holding area or induction room so that you can be present. You must know if your child will have an injection or a mask because some children are afraid of needles. Also, you must ask if you will be there when the child wakes up or when can you visit him after surgery.

If your child with autism syndrome has a favorite blanket, toy or stuffed animal bring them to him because it will help pass the time during the wait.

Children with autism syndrome need sameness and continuity in their environment. A gradual and slow exposure to the dental office is therefore recommended.

More informations about autism symptoms or about autism symptoms checklist can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com/

Autism - What Causes Autism and How Can You Prevent It

                

 

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes delays in social interaction, language as used in social communication, and/or imaginative play, that orginates prior to 3 years of age, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

What causes Autism? This question is still answered with open-ended possibilities. Autism in laymen terms is an otherwise healthy person that cannot either speak in a given

Language format, interact with others in a social setting, or becomes emotionally triggered by very normal functions of others around them.

Autism studies have found a distinctive link with people diagnoised with autism and their unusually high heavy metal content in their blood. Mercury and lead seem to read high in their blood count. The body's ability to defuse or expunge certain metals causes a build up or high concentration of these metals and the link suggests that this build up of heavy metals seems to block certain social solving skills in the brain.

Retention of these heavy metals in the body creates a severe imbalance in the ratio of active to inactive glutathione, the body's most important tool for detoxifying and excreting metals. Glutathione works as an antioxidant, which regulates the potentially destructive process of oxidative stress caused both by normal metabolism and environmental contaminants. Autistic children showed a significant impairment in every one of five measurements of the body's ability to maintain a healthy glutathione defense.

Autism has increased 10-fold from 6 in 10,000 in the 1980s, to about 60 in 10,000 today. Boys are higher candidates than girls of having autism. Since the discovery link of heavy metals in autistic people, there are some studies that suggest that if you can reduce or aid in expunging metal content from the body through the skin's pores using a special cr?me, testing has shown to produce some very significant, almost immediate results.

So how does these heavy metals get into the body? One very elusive method that we seldom hear about is through vaccines. The preservatives that were placed in the vaccines were found to have adverse affects that could account for some of this metal build up. As of 2002 these preservatives have been removed.

Our food supply is also a big contributor of metals. Fish and shellfish can contain high levels of mercury. Women would are of child bearing age are warned to avoid these foods if they are anticipating pregnancy. Green leafy plants can retain levels of lead from the soil. So, basically you can come in contact with several ways of ingesting these offensive metals.

The intake is not as much the problem, as the releasing of these essential minerals. If a person cannot release these minerals, then the build-up appears to cause or at least contribute to the symptoms of autism. Autism is not something to be ashamed of, understand that your child is relying on you to get the help they need asap, for a more responsive life.

Bottom line is to have a child tested as soon as you notice certain behavioral problems that just aren't normal. For instance,

- autistic children will avoid eye to eye contact

- they don't interact with other children well, they like playing alone

- they don't form words, or mimic your coaching words

- they can be sensitive to normal sounds, like that of a vacuum cleaner

- they tend to want to line up there toys in straight lines and become upset if they are rearranged

- they can indicate they are hungry, yet when food is given, they reject it

- they may want an item but not accept it from you by hand, they prefer to pick it up themselves when they decide the time is right

While some of these symptoms, done separately, may not suggest autism, it's the collection of a larger group of items listed that tend to send signals that testing would be advised. When asking your doctor if they think your child is okay or normal, please alert the doctor to have your child tested for high levels of heavy metals and explain some of the child's odd mannerisms. Doctors don't have the same perceptions as you simply from a doctor's visit. Being more verbal with your concerns for your child as soon as you notice their different behaviors could greatly improve by treatments as early as possible.

Doctors in general do not consider testing for autism before the age of 3 years, but if you have seen some of the behaviors listed above, remember, you can suggest to the doctor to do some testing for autism earlier than your child's 3rd birthday.

President Bush recently signed the Combating Autism Act of 2006 bill on December 19, 2006. This bill, widely applauded by autism activists groups, authorizes nearly $1 billion over the next five years to combat autism through research, screening, early detection and early intervention. The new legislation will increase federal spending on autism by at least fifty percent. Please support their efforts whenever and wherever possible.

http://wealthsmith.com/autism-symptoms-autism-cure.htm

Jim has found a disorder that has touched him on a personal level and he is becoming a strong advocate for a cure of autism. To have so much knowledge available the cure is within our grasp. http://wealthsmith.com/autism-symptoms-autism-cure.htm

Parasites to Blame For Autism?

                

 

Maybe no two topics go together these days like controversy and autism. The fact that medical science is completely in the dark about the cause of autism, as well as any cure, makes for a perfect breeding ground for conspiracy theories. Tales of fluoride in the water, a la Dr. Strangelove, and inoculation poisoning have become the stuff of legend with many parents definite about the link to autism. One possible cause that many prescribe to is the presence of a parasite. While there is little to no evidence that this may be the case, let?s take a look at why so many people think that this might just be the cause.

? Hearsay ? The Internet has quickly become one of the greatest resources in human history. It can bring people together from across the world instantly and more effectively than any other form of communication. But it can also be a huge source of misinformation. A quick Google search reveals that approximately one doctor believes that a combination of lead or mercury poisoning and a parasite could be the cause of autism. He recommends getting a mechanical device called a ?clicker? that is reported to kill parasites inside the body. In what seems to be the only ?case? of this working that has been passed around Internet chat rooms and message boards like a mutant game of Telephone, a young boy was cured of autism with a four month treatment regimen involving this ?clicker? and shots of amino acids. Of course, there is no real proof given, no media stories on this miracle cure and no follow up. This story has all the making of a classic Internet tall tale.

? The Power of Positive Thinking ? Every parent, when presented with the reality that their child has a lifelong, debilitating disorder like autism, tend to grasp for any possible hope they can. And who can blame them? Most parents, myself included, would probably do exactly the same thing. This is why most conspiracy theories, including parasites causing autism, survive and flourish. Every parent wants to believe that their child?s condition has an easy cure, we just haven?t found it yet. The power of positive thinking rationalizes that if we wish hard enough and long enough, a simple and reversible cause of autism can be found.

? Hope ? This ties into the reason stated above. Every parent needs hope. These bogus theories allow parents to cling to the idea that their child can and will recover and that autism can be overcome. It?s human nature, but it?s also detrimental to provide false hope and to not be living in reality.

As long as the human spirit is alive, theories like these will flourish. Autism is a scary, confusing and mind-numbing reality to have to deal with. It?s comforting to think that the condition really isn?t permanent and that that intelligent, happy and ?normal? child that is locked inside the prison that autism creates can and will be let out. Until an ironclad cause for autism is put forth by the medical community, theories like these will only get more common.

Rachel Evans has an interest in Autism. For further information on Autism please visit Autism or Autism Symptoms .

Autism: A Difficult Developmental Disability

                

 

The expression 'developmental disability' stands for the kind of impairment that interferes with a person's ability to perform one or more vital functions of life. Since such disabilities are of extremely serious nature, they might adversely affect the affected person's ability to earn an independent living. Autism is one of such disabilities. In an autistic child, the symptoms are quite visible right from the time when he or she is three years old. In most of the cases, these kids have difficulty speaking and cannot speak clearly. An autistic child is much of loner and does not enjoy playing with other children. He prefers to stay alone and play all alone. They often confine themselves to a small corner and keep playing their very own games, which might look very strange to an outsider. They do not light bright light or loud noise, and if subjected to such disturbances, they might react rather violently.

Many a time, when you are speaking to them, they wouldn't even pay attention to what you are saying. You might take them for deaf. But they are not essentially deaf. Chances are that they would not pay any attention to what you are saying for a very long time and then suddenly react to your talk with a smile or even a hearty laugh, or by simply saying something in reply to what you said. They may not even respond to the sound of their own names at times. But then, on other occasion you might find them looking bang in your face if you called them by their names.

The basic reason for their not responding is not that they do not 'hear' but that they are too self-immersed to take note of what you said. At such occasions they cut the external inputs out and take no cognizance of what is being spoken.

Autistic children are difficult to manage because of their unpredictable behavior. They might be an impressive picture of tolerance on one occasion while on the other you might find them extremely irritable and short tempered.

The best way to get along with them is to be patient, receptive and willing. So, far there is no cure for autism. Therefore, all that we can do is wait. Wait, patiently.

To read more articles on disabilty, disability and health, disability services and disability access visit http://www.about-disability.com/

The author writes articles on different topics. To get more disability articles visit http://www.about-disability.com/

Autism Diagnosis

                

 

Autism is a condition that can be treated, this is the prime reason why in suspected autism cases it is best that the diagnose be made earlier than later, it must be pointed out however that autistic behavior is not a frequent thing among health communities and families, so this should not be a major concern for parents. Nevertheless it is always recommended to use experts to establish some kind of diagnosis as regards to behavioral abnormalities.

One of the many essential features concerned with children of autistic disorder is their tendency to create odd interests and poor attention and focus. Additionally, they also deficit in social interaction. Most authorities in this subject affirm that these features clearly indicate autistic factors yet they admit that these are not enough to diagnose autism among children younger than 3 years old.

Moreover, the inconsistency of symptom manifestation often hampers the proper diagnosis of autism more than the abnormality itself. There are virtually lots of factors affecting this inconsistency.

Autism can also be correlated with other conditions such as mental retardation, childhood psychoses, Asperger disorder and a couple of other neurological disorders.

Often, diagnosis begins through these three determining factors. Keep in mind though that evaluation of these three stages would not suffice the data so as to conclude that a child truly has autistic features.

Physical and neurological examinations
Examination of medical history including those that manifest through relatives. This also consists of birth history and developmental conditions, and
Medical tests to help rule out other diseases

Diagnostic criteria are used to formally determine if a child is truly subjected to autistic features. Comprehensive diagnosis can be done through routine developmental screening which concerns mostly all developmental features that are absent or deficient with autistic children.

After the recognition of these factors, the child may be given audiologic evaluation, screening test for autism and blood lead test.

During evaluation it is vital that the children are diagnosed by an experienced clinician. He must be well-learned with concerns pertaining to psychology and pediatrics.

For an initial evaluation, you as a parent can do the following:

Observation on social impairment which manifests through the following:
a. impairment of non-verbal interaction
b. weak ability to build peer relationship as observed during different developmental stages
c. lack of emotional and social reciprocity which is prone to isolation

Observation on communicational impairment which manifests through the following:
a.delay or lack of development in language facilities, more specifically the spoken language
b.lack of social plays suitable for each developmental stage
c.inability to maintain social conversation
d.idiosyncratic language or marked repetitive use of words

Noticeable patterns of activities, behaviors and interests manifested through the following:
a.continuous preoccupation with specific parts of an object
b.motor mannerism
c.limited patterns of interests
d.observance of rituals or non-functional habits

Due of course to the difficulty of diagnosing autistic features, it is best to subject the child to professional evaluation. It is not as easy though as with other diseases so be patient with findings means for efficient and effective diagnosis.
Autism is a major concern for parents and caregivers in the first few months of a baby?s development. Learn more about Autism Diagnosis at http://autism.advice-tips.com

About The Basics Of Autism Diagnosis

                

 

The earlier autism is diagnosed, the better facilitation of prognosis is done. Treatment and hopeful cure follow afterwards.

The problem though with autism is that it is often hard to diagnose. Not only that there is wide spectrum of autism-related diseases but mainly because most symptoms only manifest during certain phases of developmental stages.

One of the many essential features concerned with children of autistic disorder is their tendency to create odd interests and poor attention and focus. Additionally, they also deficit in social interaction. Most authorities in this subject affirm that these features clearly indicate autistic factors yet they admit that these are not enough to diagnose autism among children younger than 3 years old.

Moreover, the inconsistency of symptom manifestation often hampers the proper diagnosis of autism more than the abnormality itself. There are virtually lots of factors affecting this inconsistency.

Autism can also be correlated with other conditions such as mental retardation, childhood psychoses, Asperger disorder and a couple of other neurological disorders.

Often, diagnosis begins through these three determining factors. Keep in mind though that evaluation of these three stages would not suffice the data so as to conclude that a child truly has autistic features.

Physical and neurological examinations

Examination of medical history including those that manifest through relatives. This also consists of birth history and developmental conditions, and Medical tests to help rule out other diseases

Diagnostic criteria are used to formally determine if a child is truly subjected to autistic features. Comprehensive diagnosis can be done through routine developmental screening which concerns mostly all developmental features that are absent or deficient with autistic children.

Say, if a child fails to show the following features, he can be initially diagnosed as candidate for autism:

Babbling at his 1st year
Development of gestures on his 1st year
Ability to say single words at I year and 4 months of age
Spontaneous phrasing of 2 words at 2 years old

Any diagnosis should be done by experts and people who have a professional experience with autism and children development issues, do not be tempted to sign your own verdict on your child, or any other child, because of fears and bad thoughts that you may have. In many cases borderline symptoms of autism combined with extensive treatment resulted in a normally developed child

Autism is a major concern for parents and caregivers in the first few months of a baby?s development. The wide range of symptoms and the difference in the level of behavioral difficulties make autistic diagnosis something that is done only by experts in this field. Learn more about Autism Diagnose at http://autism.advice-tips.com

My Child has Autism! What is My Role in His Education?

                

 

I am the proud mother of two young children that were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder a few years ago. One is now in grade one and the other will register for kindergarten in the spring.

As a teacher, I already had some experience with IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) meetings which helped me a great deal with my son?s first IEP. I was able to also inform my husband which also did a lot of research on the matter so he was already well prepared to face our son?s IEP.

Over the 17 years of teaching experience that I possess, I soon discovered that most parents tend to lack both information and confidence in their role and what type of services they can obtain for their child.

One of the sad things that I also have learned is that depending on the school, the services vary and if you do not ask for them, you will not necessarily have them offered to you either.

Both my children are situated on opposite ends of the spectrum, my daughter being on the higher end making her diagnosis ?light Autism? while my son is non-verbal which puts him on the lower end, diagnosed with ?moderate to severe Autism?.

Having both their special needs, they also need different services. For example, my daughter needed some physiotherapy but my son benefits from the use of the sensory room at school as he is hypersensitive in several areas.

What does the term ?special needs? really mean? Well, it simply means that your child needs special services and material to help him grow and reach his full potential in life. Henry Winkler, the actor known as the Fonz in Happy Days, who gave an amazing presentation as a keynote speaker at the NMSA (National Middle School Association) annual conference held at Minneapolis two years ago, explained his challenges with Dyslexia and the way education and his parents helped him out succeed in life. He also made it clear that his Dyslexia made him a child with special needs. This child has grown up as a successful man and actor cherished by his fans. One of the things that I remember the most is the fact that he thanked both educators and his parents for not giving up on him.

All this made me realize that the role of a parent of a child with ASD is not only to raise him with love and patience but also to provide him with the best services, materials and tools possible to help him live a full and happy life. And one of the multiple roles that a parent has to fill is the role of advocate. It does not matter if your child is verbal or not, if his diagnosis is light, moderate or severe on the spectrum. You have to remember that your child has a disorder that affect his communication skills and makes him unable to fend for himself. But foremost, your child is four going on five years old and sees you as his voice. The person that he can trust will fight for him, his best interests and his rights.

As your child advocate, it is not only your role to fight for your child but also to research the various schools, their services and all the opportunities that are available to your child. Do not enter the meeting room like a bull in a china shop as doors will be closing on you?and your child. Don?t be shy! Ask questions; investigate the various services that can be offered to your child. Meet with various school administrators, school divisions and the people responsible for the special needs programs.

For instance, in several schools where I taught, the following services which are provided in my son?s school were never an option there. Such services are: Music Therapy, occupational therapy activities including: bowling, skating and swimming, sensory room, physiotherapy equipment such as a swinging beam, a modified bike, a weighted vest, a special chair, a pressure vest, the use of PECS (Pictures Exchange Communication System), the participation to Special Olympics activities and more.

Another tip that I can give you is to set up a meeting with the administrator of your school prior to the first day of school. Share with them your child?s habits, needs and explain to them how to deal with their frustrations, hypersensitivities issues, needs, routines and more. Introduce your child to them. At the IEP meeting, ask them for the creation of a social story book to introduce your child to his new surroundings by looking at various pictures in advance: future teacher(s), classroom, gym, teacher aid, music room, sensory room, secretary, administrators, etc. You will see the level of anxiety diminishing in both your child and you.

Let your love for your child guide you. Be your child?s advocate and his voice.

If you wish to have more information on how to participate actively to an IEP meeting and other important matters and tips related to Autism, I encourage you to visit the following site: http://autism-spectrum-disorder.com Believe me, my husband and I would have appreciated to get all this information prior to our children's diagnosis of Autism.

Autism Anxiety Overload

                

 

The renowned autism expert Tony Atwood is fond of putting it this way: ?Autism is anxiety looking for a target.? Autism and anxiety go hand-in-hand. Autism affects a person?s ability to communicate with others or to understand the world around him, and that?s bound to cause anxiety and panic sometimes.

Anxiety becomes even worse when there is a change in the autistic child?s routine. Even positive and ?fun? changes, like a school field trip or a visit to the zoo, can increase anxiety and aggressive behaviors.

For parents, the best course of action is to anticipate upcoming changes and help your child prepare for them. Many parents find it helpful to use stories and pictures to prepare children for impending disruptions. If it?s a field trip to the zoo, for example, use pictures to show your child what he?ll see at the zoo, what the zoo will be like, and what sort of things to expect. Do this each day for three or four days prior to the trip. That way, when the trip actually happens, the child won?t be entirely out of his element, but will already understand and appreciate some of what will be happening.

Other changes in the routine are less enjoyable but still necessary. Getting a new teacher can be traumatic, as can moving to a new house. If at all possible, try to spread out the major changes. If you move to a new house, try to do it during the summer, so that your child won?t have to deal with the added anxiety of getting a new school and new teacher mid-year.

You can also introduce your child to the concept of ?change? in a positive way by practicing with non-negative things. For example, just for practice, give him a little extra TV time instead of homework time one night, to show that changes in the routine can often be fun and good. Then practice with a neutral change (homework after dinner instead of before dinner), then with a negative one (changing play time into chore time). This process can help your child grow accustomed to the idea of change and learn to adapt without becoming anxious.

For continual, ongoing anxiety, many parents have begun using anti-anxiety medications for their autistic children. Usually, the medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and are also used for obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft and Anafranil are all common for anxiety in autistic children.

For behavioral problems, antipsychotics such as Haldol, fluphenazine and chlorpromazine can be prescribed. These can reduce aggression in autistic kids, but sometimes also cause sedation and muscle stiffness.

All patients are different. You and your doctor should monitor your child?s progress very closely, using the lowest dose of medication possible, to see if what improvements it makes and whether there are any adverse reactions. Medication should be the last resort for autism, not the first one. There are a number of natural remedies available if you don?t want to go down the drug route. But try behavioral and dietary modifications first, to see what improvements can be made naturally.

Rachel Evans has an interest in Autism. For further information on Autism please visit Autism or Autism Symptoms .

Tv Implicated In Autism Rise

                

 

In an interesting and unorthodox study, researchers have determined that television viewing might be one cause of the dramatic rise in autism cases in the United States.

The study is unorthodox not only because it examines autism not from the usual standard of perhaps diet or genetics being a cause -- or even immunizations, which is frequently blamed for the rise in autism -- but from a standard of ?nurture?. That is, the idea that something in a child?s environment that can be controlled might cause autism.

Michael Waldman, PhD., a Cornell University management professor, wondered if television might be a cause in the autism rise when it occurred to him that in recent years the number of children diagnosed with autism has increased substantially. This comes at the same time that children have experienced increased access to a number of television opportunities, including cable TV, DVDs and the like.

Waldman contacted some colleagues in the medical community and asked them to look at the issue, but nobody would. Waldman, then, decided to look at the issue himself, utilizing research tools more often seen in the economic community than typical medical studies.

But the results of his nonscientific studies bolstered Waldman?s opinions. He found that there?s a strong link between television viewing and autism.

Waldman was interested in how much television toddlers watch, but found there are few statistics on how much television they actually watch. But there are studies, he found, on how much television families watch, and there are also statistics that show toddlers watch more television when it?s raining than when it?s not raining.

Using this information, Waldman and colleagues looked at autism rates in California, Washington and Oregon counties. Each of the three states has significant regional differences in annual total rainfall. Confirming Waldman?s suspicion, autism rates are the highest in the wettest counties.

But this wasn?t enough information to back up Waldman?s beliefs. He said it was possible that indoor toxins could be causing the autism and not the television viewing. If children are inside watching TV, they are also indoors more, and if there are toxins in the home, that could be the cause and not television. So Waldman and his colleagues added a second test: They studied the rates of cable television subscriptions in California in Pennsylvania.

In this study, researchers found that the areas with the highest incidences of cable television subscribers also had the most autistic children.

Waldman says this further bolsters his claims because, ?our view is there is no obvious thing correlated with both rain and cable TV access except television viewing,? he says.

Waldman still would like to see further studies done within the medical community, but he and colleagues have recommended parents follow the American Academy of pediatrics? recommendations that children under the age of 2 not watch television. The AAP also recommends that children older than 2 not watch more than an hour or two of television a day.

Leslie Rubin, a child development expert, disputes aspects of Waldman?s study, arguing it doesn?t provide a solid link between television viewing and autism. Rubin, the director of developmental pediatrics at Emory University, is also director of the center for developmental medicine in Atlanta.

Rubin says the study fails somewhat because it looks ?at trends in the diagnosis of autism more than the actual prevalence? of autism specifically. Rubin says that while the proliferation of DVDs, VCRs and television viewing all came at the same time, that fact alone does not provide an undeniable link of one thing leading to another.

But Rubin says there could be a more nebulous link. Since autism treatment focuses on social interactions, Rubin says children who watch a great deal of TV might not get those necessary social interactions and might make them more withdrawn. Children who are autistic or display autistic tendencies might be unduly harmed by too much television.

?Social experiences are good for kids as they grow up,? Rubin says. ?If children watch TV for most of their lives, I think there will be some sort of negative impact. This may well be associated with some diagnostic condition.?
Dr. Beth Paxton is a family physician and educator on common health issues today's family faces, and how to prevent and deal with the health concerns such as bedwetting, childhood immunizations, and chicken pox.

Autism Education

                

 

Autism is basically a brain disorder wherein a child is unable to interact, communicate and acquire language like other kids. Sometimes, autism can be diagnosed in a child at birth while some children begin to show signs of autism at the age of three. Until today, there are still no clear and sure findings on what really causes this disorder. There are now ways to reverse autism. One such way is autism education.

Experts believe that giving proper education to your child with autism can help improve their conditions and develop their interaction skills. Autism education includes teaching methods such as simple color and shape recognition, word matching and the like. Mostly, autism education includes basic and simple methods so that your children can cope easily.

Important Pointers in Teaching your Child with Autism

There are a lot of factors to consider in autism education. First, if you are the one to teach them, you obviously have to be very patient. Never rush them, or they might get scared. Getting frustrated easily will not benefit you or your child.

Take away any kind of distractions in the room so you will gain their attention. Children with autism can be sidetracked by almost anything. You should store away conspicuous things such as brightly-colored toys or drawings that are not related to the topic you want to teach. Gather quality teaching materials and prepare detailed instructional procedures that can aid you in one-on-one communication.

It is also important to employ materials that are uniform so as not to get your child confused. It will also help if you include special videos, toys and games in your teaching.

Special Schools for Autism Education

Autism education is now among the major concerns of parents. Hence, several schools for autism have been founded. In these schools, complete learning procedures and therapy for rehabilitation are available.

If you want to send your child to one of these schools, it would be better if you research first. Look into what services the school offers and the track records that they have. If you cannot afford it, you might want to check out special autism foundations.

Autism provides detailed information on Autism, Autism Symptoms, Autism Treatments, Cause Of Autism and more. Autism is affiliated with Dyslexia Testing.

High Functioning Autism

                

 

Over the years, studies and several researches about autism have been conducted. These studies have resulted in the discovery that autism is, in fact, a spectrum. It was found that autism is not just one disorder but a category that encompasses several disorders. An example of this is high functioning autism.

Basically, high functioning autism is characterized as having only mild symptoms, such as minimal social impairments. Sufferers of this kind of autism only have minor deficits and are able to communicate. Commonly, high functioning autism is diagnosed as either Asperger's Syndrome or Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or PDD.

Symptoms of High Functioning Autism and Corrective Measures

High functioning autism can still be distinguished and diagnosed by several symptoms. Sufferers often have minimal impairments in relating or connecting with others and demonstrate recurring movements like flapping of hands. Additionally, they typically insist on a routine.

Once you've seen these symptoms in your child, seek help immediately. It is better to correct everything as soon as possible, as this kind of autism can still be reversed and your child can eventually live and learn like a normal kid. There are, however, some guidelines that you must follow when you?re training and treating your child. Seek advice from professionals such as pediatric neurologists, child psychologists or anyone familiar with your child's disorder.

Therapies and Treatments

A different kind of therapy can help your child live normally. Therapy procedures have been formulated to help children with high functioning autism develop social interaction, motor, behavioral and communication skills. Some examples of therapies that could help your child are the Individualized Educational Plan and the Applied Behavior Analysis. The first one is recommended in academic trainings while the latter teaches the child to respond in a certain manner.

However, some cases may require medication to control conditions like anxiety, hyperactivity and compulsive behavior. You should always consult a professional physician before starting your child on medical treatments.

Autism provides detailed information on Autism, Autism Symptoms, Autism Treatments, Cause Of Autism and more. Autism is affiliated with Dyslexia Testing.