What in the World is Going On in Autism

February 2017 Edition

This month’s exciting news is Temple Grandin is coming to Calgary on February 22^nd to give an evening talk. Temple is arguably the most famous woman in the world with autism and her successful career in the animal industry has been an inspiration to the autism world. Temple is a prolific writer/speaker in both the field of animal behavior and autism.

 

The Autism Awareness Centre bookstore will be at this event with Temple’s books. She will do an author signing before her talk starts and afterwards as well. She is a wonderful speaker and gives great insight into what it means to have autism and how we can best support individuals on the spectrum.

 

Bo Hejlskov Elven, Swedish psychologist, has just translated his Swedish website into English and it is well worth a visit. His recent blog post, The Autism Car, explains the implications for people with autism not being able to predict future outcomes. Without the ability to predict the future, it becomes difficult to know the limits of how bad things can get.

 

This can be illustrated with a car metaphor. To have autism is like driving 90 mph in the dark with no lights on. That would cause a huge anxiety for all of us. You have no idea what might happen, you just rush ahead in the night.

 

If you are interested in hearing Bo give a short 40 minute talk, watch his presentation from the 2016 Autism Europe Edinburgh Conference this past September. He’ll be giving an all-day talk for Autism Awareness Centre in Halifax, NS this April.

 

Parents can attest to the statistic that children with autism are 3.5 times more likely to suffer from gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation or chronic diarrhea. New research suggests that these gastrointestinal issues may occur in response to elevated stress hormone levels, particularly cortisol.

 

“Our findings suggest there may be a subset of patients for which there may be other contributing factors. More research is needed, but anxiety and stress reactivity may be an important factor when treating these patients,” said lead author Dr. David Beversdorf.

 

Beversdorf, an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, says laxatives are often used to treat constipation and other lower gastrointestinal issues in patients with autism.

 

But knowing more about the relationship between cortisol levels and gastrointestinal symptoms could help physicians determine a better course of action.

 

These symptoms make sense given our knowledge of what chronic stress can do to our bodies. Stress can be reduced by regular exercise. Read on to hear the results of a new study on exercise and challenging behavior.

 

And more information feeding issues – Dr. Elizabeth Shea from the Birmingham Food Refusal Clinic has a short video about why autistic people may struggle with eating issues and outlines how professionals can best support them.

 

We often hear autism described in negative or deficit terms, but what about all the positive and unique traits that people with autism have? In The 10 Traits of Individuals with Autism Which Get Overlooked, the focus is on a person’s strengths rather than weaknesses. Eye for detail, visual perception, creative thinking and long-term memory are just a few of the positive traits.

 

My most popular Facebook post this month was about the accessory dwelling unit (ADU). An ADU is attached to the parents’ or caregiver’s home and provides a separate, self-contained living space with accessibility to the main home. A mix of high- and low-tech devices can make the living situation work safely.

 

Yung Ting Engelbrecht, a 23 year old man with both autism and Down Syndrome, is a great example of how this living arrangement can be successful. He lives in Vancouver, WA. The idea to build an ADU for Yung Ting came about when his parents started exploring housing options. Yung Ting doesn’t like to be around people all of the time, so a roommate situation didn’t seem ideal, and apartments were expensive. Initially, they wanted to construct a tiny house on wheels that could be moved, but they couldn’t secure the permits to do that.

 

Yung Ting is able to do quite a few things independently like make his own breakfast, shower and follow a schedule. If parents were around all the time, it could make independent living more challenging because parents are too apt to jump in and assist. The ADU sound like a great living option and is certainly working for this family.

 

You can always find lots of sensory tools for young children, but not as many for older kids. And Next Comes L website has posted a printable list of over 40 calming tools for older kids, all very age appropriate and socially acceptable. If you still have younger children in your charge, there is also a 40 plus item list available too.

 

Matthew Lager, a nonverbal young man with autism, gave a 10 minute TASH talk entitled Diagnosis Disruption: Debunking the Myths of Non-verbal Autism which is absolutely brilliant. Many people mislabel nonverbal individuals as low functioning and of low intelligence. Matthew says, “My life changed in ways most cannot comprehend the summer of 2014 when my parents took me to Herndon, Virginia to see Elizabeth Vosseller. My hero, Elizabeth, introduced me to the letterboards. Through a letterboard and now keyboard I am able to communicate my true thoughts by spelling them one finger at a time.  I wrote this presentation on a key board tapping the letters one at a time.”

 

At my previous school, I was not allowed to spell to communicate and therefore was unable to change their incorrect assumptions of me.  They were unable to see beyond my atypical behavior. As a result, I was taught at the first grade level last year.  My new school was open to seeing me differently and allowing me to use the letterboard all day.  I am now taught at grade level which is eight grades higher than instruction at my previous schools. I wish they could see me today and perhaps treat others with so called low functioning autism differently.  This school move only occurred when a group of experts in the school system were willing to suspend their preconceived ideas about autism. I hope you are willing to do this also by hearing what my friends who are here and I have to say.

 

Matthew’s talk should be required reading for anyone who works with or has contact with nonverbal individuals. My children were both nonverbal until almost the age of 5, yet they could type and spell from the age of 3. Never assume intelligence based on what you think you see. Thank you, Matthew, for opening our eyes.

 

We’ve been saying this for a long time in the Low Arousal Approach, but researchers are now finding that challenging behavior can be greatly reduced by adding exercise to the daily routine.

 

A new study concluded that aerobic cybercycling in physical education showed promise for improving self-regulation and classroom functioning among children with complex behavioral health disorders. This school-based exercise intervention may significantly improve child behavioral health without increasing parental burden or health care costs, or disrupting academic schedules.

 

Communicating with people on the autism spectrum can have its challenges, but the new book Communicating Better with People on the Autism Spectrum can really help. Covering verbal and non-verbal communication, author Paddy-Joe Moran presents 35 simple tips and strategies to help professionals improve their communication and relationships with individuals on the autism spectrum.

 

The book explains everything from person-first language through to the use of specific, rather than open-ended, questions, and a focus on taking the individual’s lead with their preferred language and terminology is central to the book.

 

Voice, pitch and rhythm, known as prosody, are an important part of communicating effectively. Prosody Intervention for High-Functioning Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder is a new book that addresses the transition to adulthood and improving communication. Through a program of evidence-based lessons and resources, this book helps to develop verbal and nonverbal skills essential to adult life, particularly in the context of looking for a job or social situations. It is a complete curriculum, covering everything from self-calming to fluency and conversational skills, and includes lesson plans, handouts, and homework.

 

The program has been successfully used by the authors in their work with people on the autism spectrum and will be a life-changing resource for professionals as well as for parents and people on the autism spectrum wanting to improve their ability to communicate well.

 

These are the highlights of what in the world is going on in autism for February 2017.