Autism

Autism is a brain development disorder that is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old. This set of signs distinguishes autism from milder autism spectrum disorders (ASD) such as pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

Autism falls under the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders, which includes disorders like Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and then autism is then divided up in many different subtypes including Asberger's Syndrome. Autism effects the fields of social skills, communication and stereotypical behaviors, which most people associated with things like rocking, flapping, lining things up, etc.

The prevalence of ASD is about 6 per 1,000 people, with about four times as many boys as girls.

Autism affects many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not understood. Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life. Early behavioral or cognitive intervention can help children gain self-care, social, and communication skills. There is no known cure.

For reasons as yet unidentified, autism has become an epidemic in America over the last couple of decades.  While considerable controversy surrounds the issue of why this condition is escalating so rapidly, the number of children diagnosed with autism has risen from one in 2,000 to one in 150 today. Other proposed causes, such as childhood vaccines, are controversial, and the vaccine hypotheses lack any convincing scientific evidence.

Autism and ADHA could present with each other or with a variety of other conditions - but they do not "typically" present together. Some autism symptoms could appear like inattention. You should not easily confuse someone with ADHD with someone with autism as their functioning and behavior are different.

Autistic individuals display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior, which the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R)[28] categorizes as follows:

* Stereotypy is apparently purposeless movement, such as hand flapping, making sounds, head rolling, or body rocking.

* Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in a certain way.

* Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.

* Ritualistic behavior involves the performance of daily activities the same way each time, such as an unvarying menu or dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.

* Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program or toy.

* Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as biting oneself. A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD.

No single repetitive behavior seems to be specific to autism, but only autism appears to have an elevated pattern of occurrence and severity of these behaviors.

Further Information Regarding Autism

Landmark UK Autism Law
The Autism Bill will receive Royal Assent today making it the Autism Act: England's first ever disability-specific law.

Handwriting Problems for Children with Autism
Children with autism may have lower quality handwriting and trouble forming letters compared to children without autism, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Autism Consortium Symposium - Autism Update
Autism Consortium symposium draws record number of researchers, advocates, parents for autism update. The Autism Consortium, an innovative collaboration of researchers, clinicians, funders and families dedicated to catalyzing research and enhancing clinical care for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), held its fourth annual symposium on October 28th, 2009, at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

State of the Science in Autism Disorders
Scientific understanding and medical treatments for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have advanced significantly over the past several years, but much remains to be done, say experts from the Center for Autism Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who published a scientific review of the field today.

Children with Autism Denied Sufficient Therapy in Ontario Canada
Children with autism still being denied sufficient therapy in Ontario - During Autism Awareness Month, ARO reveals what all Ontarians should know about the disturbingly poor state of autism services in province.

New Genetic Link for Autism Discovered
Three University of Utah Department of Psychiatry researchers are part of an international team of scientists that has identified a novel region of the human genome that may confer susceptibility to autism.

Autism, Learning Disabilities, and ADHD Education and Treatment
The Help Group Summit 2009 - Advances and Best Practices in Autism, Learning Disabilities and ADHD took place on Friday, October 2nd and Saturday, October 3rd at The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Stimulus Grant for Whole-Genome Sequencing In Children With Autism
Children's Hospital Boston, with the Broad Institute and Harvard Medical School, has been awarded a Grand Opportunity grant from the National Institute of Mental Health as part of the federal stimulus package, to pursue "whole-genome" sequencing of patients with autism, using new technologies for rapid DNA sequencing to better understand autism's causes.

Autistic Community Condemns Autism Speaks
The autism community reacted in horror today to Autism Speaks' new "I am Autism" campaign, presenting Autistic people as kidnap victims and burdens on their family members and communities.

ADHD Guidance - Huntington Learning Center
National Institute of Mental Health recommends that students with ADHD get teaching in the form of guidance and understanding. Huntington Learning Center in Boca Raton, Florida provides both.

Autism - Sensing and Intuition
Sensing shifts in the environment and people, and intuitively "reading" the emotions, personality, temperament (in the moment) and mood of people in close proximity, can be an innate skill, ever-present in an autistic individual.

Respite Care Information for Children with Autism
Because of the additional care required by a child with autism, families identify respite care as a basic need, with the need increasing as the child gets older. Families who report less stress usually are the recipients of formal support services, such as respite care.

Melatonin for Sleep Problems in Children with Autism
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.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown Writes on Autism
The Prime Minister wrote to a British autism charity, the UK Autism Foundation outlining Her Majesty's Government's plans for Autism. The UK Autism Foundation was set up by parents and carers Ivan and Charika Corea Corea who are campaigning specifically for families with autism who are below the poverty line.

Face to Face with Autism
In the first study of its kind researchers will use video clips of spontaneously produced facial expressions in a real life social context to explore emotion recognition in autism.