Category: Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Autistic Spectrum Disorders includes pervasive developmental disorders: aspergers, autism, pervasive developmental disorders & autism

Why peek into wombs unless medical necessity? Ultrasound may affect brain development.

ultrasound harms brain development in mice

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Ultrasound Affects Embryonic Mouse Brain Development
Article Date: 08 Aug 2006

“The prolonged and frequent use of ultrasound on pregnant mice causes brain abnormalities in the developing mouse fetus, Yale School of Medicine researchers report August 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Proper migration of neurons during development is essential for normal development of the cerebral cortex and its function,” said Pasko Rakic, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurobiology and senior author of the study. “We have observed that a small but significant number of neurons in the mouse embryonic brain do not migrate to their proper positions in the cerebral cortex following prolonged and frequent exposure to ultrasound.”
Neurons in mammals multiply early in fetal development and then migrate to their final destinations following an inside-to-outside sequence. The destination defines the neurons’ connectivity and function. It has been reported earlier by others that abnormal cortical function may result when this process is grossly altered by genetic or environmental factors such as alcohol and drugs.

“The study reported on August 7 is believed to be the first to look at the possible effect of ultrasound waves (USW) on neuronal migration in mice at a late stage of embryonic brain development, when the migratory pathways are the longest and may be most vulnerable. The Yale team injected more than 335 fetal mice at embryonic day 16 with special markers to track neuronal development. Exposure to USW for 30 minutes or longer caused a small but statistically significant number of neurons to remain scattered within inappropriate cortical layers and/or in the adjacent white matter.

“The magnitude of dispersion of labeled neurons was highly variable but increased with duration of exposure to ultrasound waves,” Rakic said. “These findings suggested the desirability of further work in this area. We do not have any evidence ourselves that USW cause behavioral effects in mice or have any effect on the developing human brain.”

“Therefore,” he continued, “I want to emphasize that our study in mice does not mean that use of ultrasound on human fetuses for appropriate diagnostic and medical purposes should be abandoned. On the contrary: ultrasound has been shown to be very beneficial in the medical context. Instead, our study warns against its non-medical use. We intend to conduct further research, which will focus on non-human primates, to see if a similar effect is occurring in the developing larger brains, which are more similar to humans. Those upcoming studies should give us information that will be more directly applicable to uses of USW in humans.” The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health supported the study.

C-authors include Eugenius Ang Jr., Vicko Gluncic, Alvaro Duque and Mark Schafer of Yale.

written by Cameron Jackson www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

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kids with autism or fragile X sleep better with over the counter medication

over the counter medication assists with sleep
over the counter medication assists with sleep

A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine determined that over-the-counter

    melatonin medication

can shorten the length of time it takes for children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), or both to fall asleep at the beginning of the night.

Results of the study indicated that children who received over-the-counter melatonin treatments experienced significant improvements in total night sleep durations, sleep latency times, and sleep-onset times. Mean sleep duration was longer on melatonin than placebo by 21 minutes, sleep-onset latency was shorter by 28 minutes and sleep-onset time was earlier by 42 minutes.

According to the senior author, Beth L. Goodlin-Jones, PhD of the M.I.N.D Institute at the University of California Davis Health System in Sacramento, Calif., treatment with over-the-counter melatonin supplements benefits children of all ages, which helps alleviate some of the additional stress that parents of special-needs children experience.

“Sleep onset problems at the beginning of the night are very troublesome for children and their families,” said Goodlin-Jones. “Sometimes children may take one to two hours to fall asleep and often they disrupt the household during this time.”

Authors report that sleep problems are reported in up to 89 percent of children with autism and 77 percent of children with FXS, the most common form of inherited mental impairment ranging from learning problems to mental retardation, and also the most commonly known cause of autism. Dyssomnia (difficulty falling asleep and frequent nighttime awakenings) are among the most commonly reported problems. Researchers hypothesize that difficulty sleeping in these children is increased due to abnormal levels of melatonin, a natural hormone secreted from the pineal gland that is believed to promote sleep at night.

The study included information from 12 children between the ages of 2 to 15.25 years. Sleep quality and quantity were measured both objectively and subjectively. Five participants met diagnostic criteria for autism, 3 for FXS, 3 for FXS and ASD, and 1 for FXS alone.

Participants were given two weeks’ supply of either melatonin or a placebo. After they completed the two week dosage they were then crossed over to the alternate treatment for an additional two weeks. All participants were assessed for autism and received DNA testing for the diagnosis of FXS.

Authors recommend that in addition to the use of over-the-counter melatonin supplements, behavior therapies and sleep hygiene practices should be used to manage sleep problems in children with autism and FXS. Notes:

More information about over-the-counter use of melatonin is available from the AASM for patients and the public at: http://sleepeducation.com/Article.aspx?id=794

The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) contains published papers related to the clinical practice of sleep medicine, including original manuscripts such as clinical trials, clinical reviews, clinical commentary and debate, medical economic/practice perspectives, case series and novel/interesting case reports. In addition, the JCSM publishes proceedings from conferences, workshops and symposia sponsored by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine or other organizations related to improving the practice of sleep medicine

For more information contact psychologist Dr. Cameron Jackson

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Aptos psychologist opines: Applied Behavior Analysis cannot create spontaneity in children

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Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) cannot create spontaneity in children. Becuase spontaneity is something that comes from within the child, not elicited from without.

ABA is a popular technique for treatment of autism and autistic spectrum disorders. Remember Pavlov? He taught a dog to salivate when a bell is rung. With ABA, a stimulus is presented with goal of eliciting a particular response. The goal is that when the trainer does X the child will do Y.

ABA can jump start the beginnings of language. For children who have no verbal language and are around 18 months it can be quite helpful. ABA can shape behavior. It is a powerful technique.

But, Simulus-Response techniques have major limitations. They cannot make your child to spontaneously hug you and say you are the greatest Mom and Dad. ABA techniques cannot teach a child to spontaneously relate with another child.
Check out carefully the techniques that are applied to your child who has autistic specrum issues.
written by licensed psychologist Cameron S. Jackson, Ph.D., J.D.

Below comes from Neurodiversity blog concerning a book by Stanley Greenspan on Floortime approach:

Research Support for a Comprehensive Developmental Approach to Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Other Developmental and Learning Disorders by Stanley Greenspan
“Current research suggests that modern developmental, relationship-based approaches to working with children with ASD and their families focus on the goal of strengthening or constructing the functional developmental capacities for relating, communicating, and thinking. To accomplish this goal, modern approaches work on creating emotionally meaningful learning interactions that are tailored to each child’s and family’s developmental profile.”

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What works educating young children with autistic spectum disorders

Aptos, California
(831) 688-6002

* Begin educational services as soon as a child is suspected of having an autistic spectrum disorder.

* Services should include a minimum of 25 hours a week, 12 months a year.

* What constitutes those 25 hours will vary according to the child’s chronological age, developmental level, specific strengths and weaknesses and family needs.

* Each child needs sufficient individualized instruction on a daily basis so objectives are implemented effectively.

* Objectives include achieving functional spontaneous communication, social instruction delivered throughout the day in various settings, cognitive development and play skills, and proactive approaches to behavior difficulties.

Source: Educating Children with Autism, Natioal Academy Press, 2001

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Educating Children with Autism

Below is an excellent review of a book on autism I just bought through Amazon. A good read for a rainy day in Aptos, California.

Title: Educating Children with Autism
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academy Press

A profound and arresting analysis of interventions, January 30, 2003
By John Harpur

My contact with autistic children and teenagers is primarily through research into social skills teaching. I have a assembled a small library of key texts and until I read this one, I found my library incomplete in one area – a review of intervention programmes. This book is simply superb is its coverage of the various principles that inform current interventions, its analysis of the outcomes of several commonly cited progrmmes, and the scope for future work.

However, this book is not ‘selling’ any particular intervention and that may dismay some parents particularly. It is geared more towards informing professionals in the field about options, choices and consequences associated with interventions. And boy is it thorough!

There is a huge amount to be gained from this book. I found reading it to be very stimulating but pleasurably slow, since every page has thought provoking observations.

I would certainly recommend that anyone pursuing interventions not pass over this book, be they parent, teacher or health professional. I genuinely cannot see this book disappointing an interested party. Parents of children with Asperger Syndrome may feel a little let down however, given the lack of attention their special requirements. Other books, such as Succeeding with Interventions for Asperger Syndrome Adolescents, may be of help to them.

To see other reviews go to Amazon.

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substantial communication AND social delays in small children?

Does your child have substantial communication AND social delays? Live in Monterey, Santa Cruz, Sen Benito or Santa Clara County?

If under age 3, call San Andreas Regional Center and ask for Early Start services (for ages 0 to 3). San Andreas Regional Center has offices in Watsonville (831) 728-1781, Salinas (831) 759-7500) Gilroy (408) 846-8805 and Campbell (408) 374-9960. Visit the regional center web site at www.sarc.org


If over age 3, also call San Andreas Regional Center and ask for an evaluation for autism. Call your local elementary school and in writing request assessment for “autistic-like” education services. Keep a copy of your school request and send a second copy if you do not hear back in two weeks. And go to your pediatrician for a hearing and vision assessment and physical check up. Ask ahead of time whether your doctor uses CHAT or some other rating scale for autistic spectrum symptoms.

If your pediatrician does not use an autistic spectrum rating scale, ask for one from Dr. Cameron Jackson. She will send one to you to fill out and take to your MD and appointments with health professionals.

You can email Dr. Jackson at DrCameronJackson@gmail.com or call (831) 688-6002. Dr. Jackson specializes in psychological assessment including the diagnosis and treatment of autistic spectrum disorders. Her office is in Santa Cruz, CA.

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Autistic children hot with fever do better

New theory of autism is that the brains of autistic children are normal – simply disregulated. This means that autistic symptoms might be reversible.

The locus coeruleus nordenergic (LC-NA) produces fever and also controls behavior. When autistic children get fevers their autistic symptoms reduce. Thus drugs that target the LC-NA offer a new therapeutic approach. Autism may be reversible. For more information go go http://www.aecom.yu.edu

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Autistic children need to focus on eyes of caregiver

What the article below says at length is that autistic children do NOT focus on the eyes of caregivers. Thus, in treating autistic children, its crucial to get them to focus on eyes and learn social cues.

“Two-year-olds with autism lack an important building block of social interaction that prompts newborn babies to pay attention to other people. Instead, these children pay attention to physical relationships between movement and sound and miss critical social information. Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine report their results in the March 29 online issue of Nature.

“Human infants are born in a fragile state. They are entirely dependent on their caregivers for survival, and so it makes sense that infants would possess very early-emerging predispositions to seek their caregivers, to pay special attention to movements in the environment that are associated with human actions and gestures,” said Ami Klin, director of the Autism Program at Yale and the Harris Associate Professor of Child Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center.

Klin, who conducted the study with research scientist Warren Jones and colleagues at Yale, said that two-year-olds with autism showed no signs of this selective attention to these types of human movements. Instead, the children with autism focused on a different environmental cue: they paid attention only to movements that were physically synchronous with sounds.

“Rather than attending to human biological motion, and the social cues in that motion,” said Klin, “children with autism were very sensitive to non-social information: to synchronies between sounds and motion in what they were watching.”

Klin, Jones and colleagues tracked the eye movements of two-year-olds with and without autism while they watched cartoon animations. The animations were created with a technique borrowed from the video game industry in which movements of real people are recorded and then used to animate characters. In this case, the body movements were recreated as points of light on a black background, with one point of light at each joint in the body.

“The eye-tracking data revealed that typically-developing two-year-olds perceived human motion in these moving points of light. They saw people,” said Jones. “But children with autism were insensitive to the socially relevant cues in that motion, and they focused instead on physical cues that typically-developing children disregarded.”

Previous studies by the Yale team have shown that when looking at other people, toddlers with autism looked less at eyes and more at mouths. “The current results suggest something very important about that earlier research,” said Klin. “Rather than looking at the social cues expressed in people’s eyes, two-year-olds with autism may be paying attention, as in the current study, to synchronies between sound and motion. So rather than the eyes, they are focusing on the synchrony between lip motion and speech sounds.”

“This suggests that from very early in life, children with autism are seeking experiences in the physical rather than the social world, and this in turn has far-reaching implications for the development of social mind and brain,” said Jones.

The Yale group is now using this finding in their work with infant siblings of children with autism who are at greater genetic risk of also developing autism. “Because this mechanism emerges in the first days of life for typical children, we hope to use similar techniques to identify early signs of vulnerability in autism. This could be an aid for early diagnosis, which in turn allows for early intervention to maximize positive outcomes for these children,” said Klin.

The next step is to study this phenomenon at earlier stages of development, and to combine the behavioral work with simultaneous neuroimaging through collaboration with another Yale colleague, Kevin Pelphrey.

Other authors on the study included David J. Lin, Phillip Gorrindo and Gordon Ramsay, who is also affiliated with the Haskins Laboratories at Yale.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health.

Link:
Ami Klin
http://www.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/faculty/klin.html

Source
Yale University

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