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Tero Toivanen

Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Taboo: Shhhh! Don't Mention THEM! - 0 views

autisminnb.blogspot.com/...o-shhhh-dont-mention-them.html

autism mentally retarded intellectually disabled

shared by Tero Toivanen on 03 Jun 09 - Cached
  • It is now politically incorrect to refer to anyone as mentally retarded. The polite and proper term to use now is intellectually disabled. Either way there is very little mention of the fact that many persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses are severely intellectually challenged. In the world's autism communities there are many who perceive it as an insult to mention the existence of the intellectually disabled autistic population.
  • some well known autism researchers work hard at showing the world how intelligent autistic persons really are, even those who cannot demonstrate that intelligence with any obvious ability to communicate or function in the real world.
  • The mere mention of the existence of low functioning autistic persons with serious intellectual challenges is forbidden.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • The exclusion by autism self advocates of the intellectually disabled autistic population occurs despite the fact that many persons with Autistic Disorder are intellectually disabled. The ICD-10 mentions this fact expressly in its description of Autistic Disorder:
  • Autistic Disorder...In addition to these specific diagnostic features, it is frequent for children with autism to show a range of other nonspecific problems such as fear/phobias, sleeping and eating disturbances, temper tantrums, and aggression. Self-injury (e.g. by wrist-biting) is fairly common, especially when there is associated severe mental retardation.
  • All levels of IQ can occur in association with autism, but there is significant mental retardation in some three-quarters of cases.
  • There are more than 200 known causes of intellectual disability. Some common examples of intellectual disability are: Down syndrome Autism
  • The attempt by higher functioning persons with ASD's and Aspergers to disassociate "autism" from intellectual disability helps stigmatize persons with intellectual disabilities including the many persons with autistic disorder and intellectual disabilities.
  • And some ND's, to counter the fact that most with LFA are retarded, some "famous" autistics like to promote FC as "proof" that they aren't.
  • My cousin is profoundly autistic. He is around 20 and cannot communicate at all, not verbally or in the written word, and has never said a word. Luckily, his family is smart enough to know that if anyone tries use FC on him they will know it is a scam.If a facilitator told my aunt that P was writing poems and understood Shakespeare she would just laugh. She loves P as he is; she knows reality and doesn't try to force him to be someone he isn't.
  • The current Wikipedia article still shows a frequency of 25-70% incidence of mental retardation in people with autism.
  • Yet, the reader is drawn to see not the high percentage (25% is still very high) but the width of the range, therefore there must be something wrong with the ability of standard tests to measure "autistic intelligence".
  • Mentally retarded IMO comes from the intelligence scales. These do not address the learning styles of all people and are inflexible. I do believe there are better ways to understand how someone learns. I also don't believe there are limits on what we learn, the brain's placisity allows us to learn our entire life.
  • I've spoken hundreds of parents and it worries me that so many have problems accepting their children as they are and will be.For some intelligence is the magic word, a kind of hidden cure inside their child.But autistic kids with a normal IQ which they can use function better than those with high IQ's they can't use.
  • I am only concerned about the cases where the FC person NEVER does ANY kind of independent work, which seem to be the majority of FC cases.
  • Tero Toivanen on 03 Jun 09
     
    It is now politically incorrect to refer to anyone as mentally retarded. The polite and proper term to use now is intellectually disabled. Either way there is very little mention of the fact that many persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses are severely intellectually challenged. In the world's autism communities there are many who perceive it as an insult to mention the existence of the intellectually disabled autistic population.
Tero Toivanen

Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Diagnoses: DSM V Should Separate Autistic Disord... - 0 views

autisminnb.blogspot.com/...ses-dsm-v-should-separate.html

autism diagnoses DSM V HFA Asperger Syndrome

shared by Tero Toivanen on 12 May 09 - Cached
  • This inclusion of substantially different disorders, with wildly different challenges, in one "spectrum" of disorders implies that the very serious challenges of persons with Autistic Disorder who lack a fundamental understanding of the world, who have very limited abstract thought and who have very little in the way of communication skills are somehow fundamentally similar to persons with good to excellent facilities in all these crucial areas of life.
  • Research is resulting in more and more people describing autism in the plural as autism disorders with different causes and different possible treatments.
  • It is time for the DSM to get realistic about the Autism "Spectrum".
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • It is time to merge High Functioning autism disorders with Aspergers Disorder and separate them from Autistic Disorder.
  • It is time for the DSM to recognize the importance of levels of ability to function in and understand the world and to reflect those levels in their classification of development disorders.
  • Tero Toivanen on 12 May 09
     
    It is time to merge High Functioning autism disorders with Aspergers Disorder and separate them from Autistic Disorder.
Tero Toivanen

Autism Blog - » Blog Archive » Is there an autism epidemic - the latest science - 0 views

leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/?p=2023

autism epidemic Eric Fombonne autism-epidemic epidemiology omnibus experts science

shared by Tero Toivanen on 26 Mar 09 - Cached
  • A new paper from Eric Fombonne is in electronic print at the journal Pediatric Research.
  • The title is ‘Epidemiology of pervasive developmental disorders’
  • Combining all these categories together Fombonne presents a prevalence of 60-70/10,000.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Pervasive Developmental Disorders, including Autistic Disorder, Asperger Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.
  • For autistic disorder, Fombonne says: The correlation between prevalence and year of publication was statistically significant and studies with prevalenceover 7/10,000 were all published since 1987. These findings point towards an increase in prevalence estimates in the last 15-20 years.
  • recent autism surveys have consistently identified smaller numbers of children with AS than those with autism within the same survey.
  • How much lower is difficult to establish from existing data, but a ratio of 3 or 4 to 1 would appear an acceptable,
  • We therefore used for subsequent calculations an estimate of 6/10,000 for AS, recognizing the strong limitations of available data on AS.
  • Eight studies provided data on childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). Prevalence estimates ranged from 0 to 9.2/100,000.
  • The upper-bound limit of the associated confidence interval (4.0/100,000) indicates that CDD is a very rare condition, with about 1 case to occur for every 103 cases of autistic disorder.
  • Current evidence does not strongly support the hypothesis of a secular increase in the incidence of autism but power todetect time trends is seriously limited in existing datasets.
  • Whilst it is clear that prevalence estimates have gone up over time, this increase most likely represents changes in the concepts, definitions, service availability and awareness of autistic-spectrum disorders in both the lay and professional public.
  • The possibility that a true change in the underlying incidence has contributed to higher prevalence figures remains, however, to be adequately tested.
Graeme Wadlow

A review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging research in autistic spectrum... - 0 views

www.tara.tcd.ie/...Sanders%20RASD07.pdf

RP1 filetype:pdf media:document Autism ASD

shared by Graeme Wadlow on 04 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • Graeme Wadlow on 04 Jan 12
     
    Article in Press A review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging research in autistic spectrum disorders: Attention, inhibition and cognitive flexibilitywww.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/2262/29986/1/Sanders RASD07.pdf
Tero Toivanen

Scientists have shown how a single protein may trigger autis - 1 views

www.theautismnewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx

autism protein autistic spectrum disorders brain cells gene genes genetics biochemistry

shared by Tero Toivanen on 26 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 26 Mar 11
     
    Scientists have shown how a single protein may trigger autistic spectrum disorders by stopping effective communication between brain cells. While hundreds of genes linked to the condition have been found, the precise combination of genetics, biochemistry and other environmental factors which produce autism is still unclear.
Tero Toivanen

A week ago, a new study published in the Archives of General - 0 views

www.theautismnewswire.com/NewsITems.aspx

study autism research gene mutation ASD sporadic spectrum disorders de novo spontaneous mutations intellectual disability epilepsy

shared by Tero Toivanen on 22 May 11 - No Cached
  • The Howard Hughes Medical Institute describes how researchers using "high-throughput gene sequencing technology" were able to identify several de novo or spontaneous gene mutations in 20 children with sporadic autism spectrum disorders -- that is, their family members showed no other sign of autism.
  • The team identified 21 spontaneous mutations -- meaning they weren't inherited from either parent -- in the children's DNA. Eleven of these were mutations that would alter the protein encoded by the affected gene. In four of the 20 children, the researchers found mutations that were severe, some of which have been previously linked to autism, intellectual disability, and epilepsy.
  • one child had a mutation in the GRIN2B gene, which is crucial for neuronal signaling.
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  • Another individual had an extra nucleotide in FOXP1, a gene that, along with its close relatives, has been heavily implicated in language defects.
  • These new findings support the 'multi-hit' model of autism, which suggests that having more than one mutation can cause or worsen symptoms of autism and other brain disorders. The different combinations of mutations may contribute to the heterogeneity in ASDs.
  • That such different combinations of genetic mutations contribute to a child being autistic could account for why individuals with an ASD diagnosis have some very similar, and very different, features.
  • Tero Toivanen on 22 May 11
     
    "The Howard Hughes Medical Institute describes how researchers using "high-throughput gene sequencing technology" were able to identify several de novo or spontaneous gene mutations in 20 children with sporadic autism spectrum disorders -- that is, their family members showed no other sign of autism."
Tero Toivanen

Autism Research Blog: Translating Autism: Vision problems in autism: Reduced convergence? - 0 views

www.translatingautism.com/...roblems-in-autism-reduced.html

autism vision problems reduced convergence

shared by Tero Toivanen on 06 Mar 09 - No Cached
  • The authors found that 11% of the typically developing children and 31% of the ASD had a documented visual impairment (myopia, astigmatism, etc). This difference was statistically significant. That is, children with ASD were significantly more likely than typically developing children to have these conditions. Children with autism also displayed significantly poorer visual acuity (but within normal limits), and lower convergence. Convergence refers to the process by which the eyes move towards each other to maintain focus on approaching or close-range objects.
  • The findings of reduced visual acuity in children with autism when compared to typically developing children contradict previous studies that have shown enhanced visual acuity in autism. This brings us to a major limitation of this study that was correctly noted by the authors.
  • Limited convergence therefore would be associated with more limited depth perception. I find this intriguing because the neuropsychological profile of children with high functioning autism is often very similar to what is observed in kids with non-verbal learning disabilities (including relative weaknesses in motor-visual functioning). In addition, many parents with children with ASD report that their kids have trouble with sports and other physical activities. I thus wonder how much the reduced convergence observed in ASD may affect the motor-visual functioning in autism.
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  • Clinically, I was also intrigued by the high rates of vision problems found among the ASD group. Although, as I mentioned, this may be due to a self-selection of the parents who agreed to participate, this is consistent with data suggesting that children with developmental disorders are more likely to have visual problems than typically developing children
  • Tero Toivanen on 06 Mar 09
     
    Analysis of visual functioning in children with autism suggests impairment in visual convergence. A brief review of: Elizabeth Milne, Helen Griffiths, David Buckley, Alison Scope (2009). Vision in Children and Adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Evidence for Reduced Convergence Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0705-8
Tero Toivanen

A Radical New Autism Theory - Page 1 - The Daily Beast - 0 views

www.thedailybeast.com/...a-radical-new-autism-theory

autism research Asperger Syndrome

shared by Tero Toivanen on 13 May 09 - Cached
  • . As posited by Henry and Kamila Markram of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, suggests that the fundamental problem in autism-spectrum disorders is not a social deficiency, but rather an hypersensitivity to experience, which includes an overwhelming fear response.
  • “There are those who say autistic people don’t feel enough,” says Kamila Markram. “We’re saying exactly the opposite: They feel too much.” Virtually all people with ASD report various types of oversensitivity and intense fear
  • “I think most people with ASD feel emotional empathy and care about the welfare of others very deeply.”
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  • A groundbreaking study suggests people with autism-spectrum disorders such as Asperger’s do not lack empathy—rather they feel others’ emotions too intensely to cope.
  • Tero Toivanen on 13 May 09
     
    A groundbreaking study suggests people with autism-spectrum disorders such as Asperger's do not lack empathy-rather they feel others' emotions too intensely to cope.
Tero Toivanen

Top Autism Facts - Top Autism Facts - 2 views

autism.about.com/...topfacts.htm

autism facts list article

shared by Tero Toivanen on 22 Feb 10 - Cached
  • 1. Autism Is a 'Spectrum' Disorder
  • it is possible to be bright, verbal, and autistic as well as mentally retarded, non-verbal and autistic.
  • 2. Asperger Syndrome is a High Functioning Form of Autism
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • The only significant difference between AS and High Functioning Autism is that people with AS usually develop speech right on time while people with autism usually have speech delays.
  • 3. People With Autism Are Different from One Another
  • 4. There Are Dozens of Treatments for Autism - But No 'Cure'
  • 5. There Are Many Theories on the Cause of Autism, But No Consensus
  • 6. People Don't Grow Out of Autism
  • 7. Families Coping with Autism Need Help and Support
  • 8. There's No 'Best School' for a Child with Autism
  • Even in an ideal world, "including" a child with autism in a typical class may not be the best choice. Decisions about autistic education are generally made by a team made up of parents, teachers, administrators and therapists who know the child well.
  • 9. There Are Many Unfounded Myths About Autism
  • Since every person with autism is different, however, such "always" and "never" statements simply don't hold water.
  • 10. Autistic People Have Many Strengths and Abilities
  • They are also ideal candidates for many types of careers.
  • Tero Toivanen on 22 Feb 10
     
    This brief, pithy article provides the bare bones basics for a quick read - along with links to more in-depth information for those who want to know.
Tero Toivanen

Children with autistic traits remain undiagnosed - 3 views

www.physorg.com/news188483574.html

autsim diagnosis

shared by Tero Toivanen on 22 Mar 10 - Cached
  • However, the undiagnosed children were not deemed eligible for extra support at school or by specialized health services.
  • study also shows that there is a gender bias in diagnosing children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders - boys are more likely to receive a diagnosis than girls, even when they display equally severe symptoms.
  • Tero Toivanen on 22 Mar 10
     
    There are still many children who have autistic traits that are never diagnosed clinically
Tero Toivanen

Autism Information - Autism Information You Need To Know - 1 views

autism.about.com/...formation-You-Need-To-Know.htm

autism information you spectrum disorders research facts disorder causes diagnosis diagnoses treatment special education special needs SPED

shared by Tero Toivanen on 16 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • There are plenty of myths about autism spectrum disorders out there.
  • But even those of use who are well-grounded in autism basics may be surprised by some of these facts, which are emerging from recent research.
  • We do know what causes autism -- but only in about 20% of cases.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Quite a few children who are diagnosed with autism at a very young age are no longer diagnosable with autism by the time they’re school-aged.
  • Whatever the reasons, many children who are diagnosed with autism as toddlers will not be diagnosable by the time they're in fifth grade.
  • Early intervention (diagnosis and treatment prior to age three) is very helpful indeed, but there is no “window of opportunity” that slams shut at a certain age. Thus, even children who are diagnosed later or receive less early intervention may do quite well in the long run.
  • Early intervention does, however, provide a now-or-never opportunity to allow non-verbal children to develop some kind of useful tool for communication (picture cards, signs, or even spelling boards).
  • There is no official “cure” for autism. In fact, researchers like Dr. Susan Levy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia argue that even when a young child is no longer diagnosable on the autism spectrum, he is probably still autistic.
  • Late talking is not an indication of a poor prognosis.
  • Children with autism may or may not be visual thinkers. Thus, school programs designed with visual thinking in mind may or may not be appropriate for any individual child with autism.
  • After many years of research, we still don’t know which treatments are most effective for which children -- or whether one treatment is more effective than another. Behavioral interventions are the best-researched treatments for autism, but even top scientists acknowledge that developmental interventions may or may not be equally useful for any given child. Meanwhile, only two drugs -- Risperdal and Abilify -- have been approved for use with children on the autism spectrum, and neither addresses “core” issues of autism (social/communication deficits).
  • Tero Toivanen on 16 Mar 11
     
    Important facts and information about autism.
Tero Toivanen

iPad Apps for Autistic Students - 14 views

assistivetechnology.about.com/...mentally-Disabled-Children.htm

ipad apps students autism

shared by Tero Toivanen on 08 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 08 Feb 12
     
    The following iPad apps are designed to augment self-expression among children with autism spectrum disorders and other cognitive impairments.
Tero Toivanen

Facilitated_Communication_Prisoners_of_Silence.mov - 3 views

video.google.com/videoplay

autism special education special needs Facilitated Communication FC facilitated communication

shared by Tero Toivanen on 02 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 02 Aug 12
     
    Really interesting video about Facilitated Communication. I think all teachers who are working with Autistic Spectrum Disorders should watch it.
Tero Toivanen

Why Asperger Syndrome Will Disappear - 5 views

autism.about.com/...er-Syndrome-Will-Disappear.htm

Asperger syndrome Asperger's Disorder Asperger's Syndrome autism DSM V

shared by Tero Toivanen on 26 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is now in the process of developing and finalizing the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Version 5.
  • autism spectrum disorders as we know them will change radically, and many people who are now considered to be "autistic" may find themselves with a brand new diagnosis.
  • Unless something changes between now and then, as of 2013, Asperger syndrome will no longer exist as a diagnosis.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • A person with present symptoms of Asperger syndrome would fall in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and we would expect there to be additional specifiers like "without intellectual disability", "with fluent speech", etc., which we believe will better describe the diagnostic picture for such a person than is currently done with the term Asperger Syndrome alone.
  • Tero Toivanen on 26 Jun 11
     
    "Unless something changes between now and then, as of 2013, Asperger syndrome will no longer exist as a diagnosis."
Tero Toivanen

Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Intellectual Disability Acceptance in the Autism Community - 0 views

autisminnb.blogspot.com/...-disability-acceptance-in.html

autism autism spectrum intellectually disabled cognitively impaired ASD Asperger's Syndrome

shared by Tero Toivanen on 03 Jan 10 - Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 03 Jan 10
     
    In this blog says: approximately 75-80% of persons with Autistic Disorder are intellectually disabled or cognitively impaired.
Tero Toivanen

Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Evidence of Common Genes Linking Autism Spectrum Disord... - 0 views

autisminnb.blogspot.com/...mmon-genes-linking-autism.html

autism intellectual disability genes SHANK2 mental retardation genetics mutation research

shared by Tero Toivanen on 07 Jun 10 - Cached
  • genetic mutations in the SHANK2 gene, partially responsible for linking nerve cells,  and variants in the number of gene copies that were common to patients with autism and patients with mental retardation.
  • the same mutation can be present in an autistic patient with normal intelligence and in a mentally impaired patient
  • Our findings further link common genes between ASD and intellectual disability.
  • Tero Toivanen on 07 Jun 10
     
    Link between Autism and intellectual disability?
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