What in the World is Going On in Autism

January 2017 Edition

 

I like to start January editions with having a look back at the previous year. The Autism Doctor has done a good review of the autism literature by topic for 2016. If you prefer to listen to autism highlights rather than read a review, there is this 20 minute podcast from the Autism Science Foundation. Spectrum News talks about 5 trending topics for 2017 as well as 2016’s ten most notable papers.

 

Quotes of the year from various autism articles can be read here. If you are a visual person, you may enjoy the favorite photos of 2016.

 

Are you interested in voting for your favorite autism blogger for 2017? Check out The Art of Autism to vote. Even if you don’t want to vote, I encourage you to visit the page to see the wide range of autism blogs. There is so much to discover!

 

With more people traveling all the time, airports are urged to provide better support for people with hidden disabilities. I recently flew to Montreal with my son for the first time in November. You can read about our experience, find out about flight programs in Canada, as well as discover tips and tools to make flying easier in my recent article.

 

Families have often said that a dog in their home improves the quality of life for their child with autism. A new study published in July 2016 confirms that dog ownership can reduce stress for families who have children with autism.

 

“While there is growing evidence that animal-assisted therapy can aid in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders, this study is one of the first to examine how pet dog ownership can also improve the lives of those more widely affected by autism,” said the principal investigator on the study, Professor Daniel Mills. “We found a significant, positive relationship between parenting stress of the child’s main caregiver and their attachment to the family dog. This highlights the importance of the bond between the carer and their dog in the benefits they gain.”

 

Last year, we got a black cat – Mr. Darcy – from the Meow Foundation. He has had the same effect on our family as the dogs have in the study. Our daughter has become very attached to Mr. Darcy and would like to volunteer with cats, hoping it may turn into a job someday.

 

People who feel significant gender distress because their gender identity differs from their birth sex have higher than expected rates of autism. An article in Spectrum explores how people with autism feel they are living between genders.

“Between 8 and 10 percent of children and adolescents seen at gender clinics around the world meet the diagnostic criteria for autism, according to studies carried out over the past five years, while roughly 20 percent have autism traits such as impaired social and communication skills or intense focus and attention to detail. Some seek treatment for their gender dysphoria already knowing or suspecting they have autism, but the majority of people in these studies had never sought nor received an autism diagnosis.”

 

The Autism Europe conference in Edinburgh also had research presentations on the topic of gender dysphoria.

 

Making eye contact has been a long debate in the autism community. Should we insist on it? Why do children find it difficult to make eye contact? A new study, published in November in the American Journal of Psychiatry, has added more context to this hotly debated topic.

“These results go against the idea that young children with autism actively avoid eye contact,” said the study’s leader Warren Jones told Science Daily, who is also the director of research at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, Georgia. “They’re looking less at the eyes not because of an aversion to making eye contact, but because they don’t appear to understand the social significance of eye contact.”

 

Understanding this is important because the research says children aren’t looking away due to an aversion but rather because they don’t understand that making eye contact is a part of good social skills. We may need to adapt interventions to assist with eye contact in the context of social skills.

 

Judy Endow’s latest blog post entitled Autism Neurology and Behavior was one of my most read posts this month on Facebook. Judy talked about neurological differences in response to being asked to do school work. The student with autism often interprets such a request as a surprise and responds accordingly. Please read this post, especially if you are a teacher, as it will change the way you work with students on the spectrum.

 

When children are being diagnosed with ASD, mothers are seeking a diagnosis because they see aspects of themselves as they research their child’s disorder. In a recent article in the UK Guardian, women are finding out more about themselves as being possibly on the spectrum and start seeking a diagnosis. Women have long been misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all with ASD due to presenting differently than their male counterparts.

 

If you wish to learn more about being a woman on the spectrum, visit the Scottish Women’s Autism Network page as they have an excellent guide for women on how to engage with health professionals and other resources. There is also the extensive website Autism Women’s Network.

 

Toronto artist Niam Jain, 13, is making a huge splash with his artwork. Diagnosed with ASD at the age of 2, Jain recently burst onto the art scene and began selling his paintings. He has sold 50 paintings and made $50,000. He is now branching into fashion. You can read more about this extraordinary teenager here.

 

Self-regulation, mindfulness and relaxation have become trending topics in autism. The new book Stay Cool and In Control with the Keep-Calm Guru introduces wise ways for children to recognize and cope with anxiety, anger, frustration, and other difficult emotions. Using everything from yoga poses and pressure holds, to deep breathing and relaxing coloring activities, the Keep-Calm Guru shows kids how to take back control and feel cool, calm, and just right.

 

And continuing on this theme, A Smart Girl’s Guide: Worry: How to Feel Less Stressed and Have More Fun teaches tried-and-true ways to overcome fears and create a sense of calm. A girl can take quizzes to discover more about herself and her concerns, and read advice from real girls who found ways to deal with their own worries. The book is packed with proven techniques for handling worry and creating confidence—freeing her to be the girl she’s meant to be. Suitable for ages 8–12.

 

These are the highlights of what in the world is going on in autism for January 2017. All the best in the New Year!