I like to start the New Year by having a look back at the past year. There were numerous scientific articles about the cause of autism – low levels of vitamin D, advanced parental age, taking antidepressants while pregnant and the list goes on. Freelance writer Theresa Edwards compiled a list and explained them in layman’s terms. None of these studies produced conclusive results, leaving scientists still in pursuit of the cause (s) of autism.
OCALI has launched a new on-line training video to help families, agency workers, in-home aides — anyone who interacts with a person who has autism — gain the skills they need to support kids and young adults on the spectrum.
ASD Strategies in Action provides a broad range of information and offers a certification process for those who help people with autism. It is free to residents of Ohio, but anyone out of state must pay a subscription fee.
John Rodakis, parent of a son with autism, discovered that his son showed marked improvement in his functioning while on an antibiotic for a strep throat infection. This prompted John to delve into further research to find papers on the use of antibiotics and people with ASD. He found two sources – 2007 Johns Hopkins and a clinical trial from Chicago Rush Children’s Hospital in 2000.
John says, “Virtually all the autism medical research funding in this country is based on the hard-wired view and goes to gene-association studies and brain scans. However, there is an emerging view of autism as an acquired metabolic (biochemical) syndrome, in which the immune system and the microbiome (primarily gut bacteria) likely play a role. From this perspective, improvements such as the ones we and others have seen made more sense.”
Rodakis started his own non-profit organization called N for One which supports the emerging view of autism as a complex metabolic syndrome. John believes we are on the verge of a paradigm shift in autism where the new view is that, while some genetic factors may be important, the underlying condition is more of an acquired syndrome that arises from externally-induced changes in metabolism, immune function, and the microbiome.
Self-employment can be a great way to provide meaningful work to someone with autism who has difficulty coping in a traditional work environment. Brad Fremmerlid, 25, is on the severe end of the spectrum. He can’t read or write, but he can put things together by looking at diagrams. With the help of his parents, Brad launched his own company Made by Brad. Located in Edmonton, Brad is available for hire to put together any project that has blueprints or diagrams.
Through supported self-employment, a business can be created that suits the aptitudes and interests of a person with ASD. A support team can handle the contracts and daily administrative duties, leaving the person with autism to pursue what they love.
Calgarian Kevin Vo is another perfect example of supported employment in action. He makes greeting cards and uses his money to enhance his enjoyment in life. He loves to go out for fries, travel to Disneyland, and uses his income to buy more supplies to make his cards, an activity he loves to do.
People with ASD are concrete, visual learners and benefit from kinesthetic, hands-on learning. Teacher Alycia Zimmerman has developed some great ways to use Lego to teach basic math concepts such as fractions, part-part total and mean, mode, and range. She provides visual examples of how to teach these concepts with Lego as well as free templates.
There will be a PBS documentary called Autism In Love airing on January 11th. The film introduces us to four remarkable people as they pursue and manage romantic relationships. This documentary will shatter the stereotypes we have around ASD and relationships. The common perception is people with ASD do not want romance or connections with people and nothing could be further from the truth.
Steve Silberman has been in the spotlight this fall with the release of his new book NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity. He argues that autism should be viewed not as an epidemic, but as a different way of thinking. Steve has a TED talk entitled The Forgotten History of Autism. He gave a brilliant interview on CBC’s The Current in December 2015.
Steve is really worth listening to and his viewpoint on neurodiversity has the potential to move our thoughts on autism forward. We still suffer from a culture that wants people with autism to fit into society and appear like everyone else. Should this really be the goal and at what cost to a unique individual does such a goal have?
Temple Grandin will have a new book out in March 2016 called The Loving Push. Temple is one of the most well-known voices on the autism spectrum and has strong opinions around excessive computer use for kids with autism. Over the years, she has reiterated the importance of developing strengths /interests and funneling that towards a job and more meaningful life.
In an interview with Fox 5 News, Temple talks about getting children out of their comfort zone. She says, “You stretch just enough so they develop, but don’t go into meltdowns and problems.”
There is a whole generation of older adults who were never diagnosed with autism when they were children. Scott Hartman was diagnosed at the age of 55 after years of struggle. He was misdiagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and manic depression (now called bipolar disorder). He spent much of his life in and out of group homes and psychiatric institutions, often heavily medicated. After receiving an autism diagnosis two years ago, Scott is now living independently with some support for daily living skills such as grocery shopping.
Joseph Piven, professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says, “We don’t have that concept with autism that people live a whole life: What happened to them as they got older? This is just a huge area of no knowledge. There’s almost nothing written about autism and geriatric populations.” A few studies of older adults with autism suggest they suffer from myriad health conditions and lack appropriate support.
The problem with mental health professionals is they don’t know what autism looks like in older people and can mistake autism traits such as repetitive body movements as other disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or even psychosis.
There is a superb article called The Missing Generation which explores the issue around misdiagnosis of adults and medical mismanagement. This is worth reading, particularly if you know someone who suffers from long term mental health issues that may better be explained with an autism diagnosis.
Jed Baker has a new book out entitled Overcoming Anxiety in Children and Teens. The key to this book is that it outlines both the science and art of anxiety therapy. The science of overcoming anxiety is using the well-researched approach called gradual exposure therapy which involves helping individuals gradually face their fears. The art of therapy is figuring out how to actually convince someone to face their fears.
Jed Baker describes motivational techniques, cognitive behavioural strategies, exercises, relaxation and mindfulness guides to lower anxiety to the point where individuals can begin to confront their fears. The book covers: simple phobias, social phobia, selective mutism, separation anxiety and school refusal, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, somatic symptom disorder and/or illness anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, perfectionism, and other common fears.
Many people take it for granted, but one of the most important skills we have is being able to understand signals from our body. How you know if you’re hungry, thirsty, tired, etc. are key abilities to live a healthy life. These are also skills that those with autism spectrum disorder tend to lack.
Kelly Mahler’s newest book, Interoception: The Eighth Sensory System, gives professionals and parents a new way to consider teaching these talents to individuals with ASD. She describes the clear link between interoception and many important skills such as self-awareness, self-regulation, problem solving, intuition, and many more.
These are the highlights of what in the world is going on in autism for January 2016.