Navigating Autism in Belleville and Quinte, Ont.

Battle Of Wills

2011-12-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

My son and I are currently engaged in a battle of wills against each other. He would like a ball python for a pet. I said a firm no. You'd think this would end the conversation. But, no! In fact, the topic is gaining momentum each day with him asking me about it first thing in the morning, at breakfast, during the drive to school, as he says goodbye to me at school, again first thing when I pick him up at school, during the drive back home, as I cook dinner, as we sat down to eat the dinner, as I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, as he got ready for bed and as his bedroom light goes out. The last one usually takes place between 8:30 to 9 p.m. But last night, it was at 10 p.m. Mind you, this has been ongoing for the last two weeks. My very mild-mannered, child follows me around to ask about it. I know all about reptiles, especially snakes, now. This is an obsession with a topic that children on the spectrum are often found to exhibit. I've been advised to ignore him after a certain number of times. I've tried that and it hurts his feelings. I can see it in his eyes. So I don't ignore him when he wants to talk about it. Instead I'd give him an interesting fact about snakes that he doesn't about yet. Other times, I'd tell him stories I've heard about snakes on Python Hunter show. I'd watch that show with him and he seems to enjoy it for half the show. I went to the library and got him a bunch of books on reptiles and show him the visuals. I'm willing to keep talking with him about snakes as long as I can keep his intention to bring one home at bay.
I'm just glad we are no longer on the topic of the sinking of the Titanic. Whew!!

Hidden Curriculum App

2011-11-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

Parents of children on the autism spectrum disorder often spend the early years focussing a great deal of time on teaching them basic independent and early social skills. We fret endlessly on milestones our children were supposed to have reached at their age. We introduce new strategies and methods to try and teach them the basics. We bring in the big guns, the professional therapists, in some cases to do the intervention at home so that our children can attend school in a regular classroom. We become quite an expert on our children. We are attuned to what works for them and what doesn't. What motivates them, what doesn't. We frequently go back to the drawing table and see what old strategies are not working anymore and then introduce some new ones in tandem with the level of functioning we see in them. We hope to reach that point one day where our children would be seamlessly transitioned to the classroom environment and for the most part, accepted and "functioning well" without anxiety attacks, without tears or bewilderment inside the fast pace of constantly changing environment, where new unfamiliar faces pop in, seating arrangement changes, students all talking at once, the bell ringing making a loud din, stern faces of teachers, angry tone of voices, following rules while watching others constantly break them. The possibilities of situations that might be adversely affecting our children are endless. I listed the above based on the experiences of my child at school. Personally, I like to deal with almost all of them with my favourite autism intervention tool: social stories. But what lies ahead of him that I cannot always help him with is the dreaded "hidden curriculum" at school, information on things that most children just seem to pick up on their own and don't need someone to tell them directly that when someone they are talking to rolls their eyes, it means that they are bored and so they need to stop. They are unable to interpret the subtle signs and non-verbal cues (body language) that are obvious to others. Most children generally know what behaviour is expected of them in different situations and they have a good idea of the consequences of violating these social rules and behavioural expectations. Children with autism often unwittingly break social and behavioural rules and they suffer for not knowing the hidden expectations. This, in turn, can result in difficulty making and maintaining friendships. They may become social outcasts and target for bullies. This is an aspect of their life at school that's out of reach of parents or therapists. As a result, they suffer because they simply did not know.
Now, the good news for today's parents with a child on the spectrum is that there's some help available out there for this important and significant aspect of life that constantly surrounds him/her at school or when among his peers. I am very excited to have found an hidden curriculum app for an ipad and iphone that somewhat lets me help prepare my child for his day at school. For those interested, it's available on itunes for 1.99 cdn. There's a lot of room for improvement but it's a good start. As long as people's minds are attuned to the specific needs of our individuals with autism and they keep coming up with similarly creative inventions, the future of these children promises to be a lot brighter than, say, those who've suffered through it in the past.

Halloween night is coming!! Preparing your child for the big night

2011-10-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Which child doesn't want free candy? While parents of typically developing children can deem themselves prepared as soon as they buy the fairy, unicorn or super hero costumes for their little ones in time for the big fun day, for parents with children on autism spectrum, going trick-or-treating on Halloween evening is anything but just worry about costumes. In fact, their child might not even like wearing costumes because they are itchy, bulky or just because. This is a happy occasion that could easily turn to be a nightmare for both children with autism and their parents. Some of the potentially unhappy situation could be vastly improved by some preparation and practice ahead of time. Personally, I think social stories would greatly serve the purpose. But the following list could help too.
1. A schedule for the Halloween night if going out for trick or treating is essential. Note in it where you will go with the child, how many houses and the time you will come back to the house.
2. If possible, talk to the neighbours ahead of time that you will be bringing your child over that night for trick or treating. This will alleviate any surprise or fear when neighbours are confronted by an unexpected behaviour from the child.
3. Your child might need an occasional break. The key is to warn him/her ahead of time. For example, say you will take a break after two houses.
4. Take along some comfort items likely to calm the child. A headphone might be ideal to reduce sudden noise.
5. Practice social script of the actual activity such as when he or she goes to a neighbour's door he/ she has to first, ring the bell only once, next when they open the door, say trick or treat and hold up the bag he/she's carrying, next let the homeowner put candy or chip bag inside her bag, last, say thank you, wish Happy Halloween.
6. Practice safety rules of holding hands with a parent or a friend and looking both ways before crossing the road, not to run in his/her costume, wear reflective label and finally, not to eat candy before mommy or daddy says yes.
Having said that, the only thing left to say is to go out and have fun with your child. Wonders never cease when you look at stuff through their eyes. You might even have fun yourself.

Bullying and children with disability

2011-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

He was 8 when he lost his mother to cancer. He was struggling emotionally and physically with muscular dystrophy, a lifetime disease that was slowly destroying his muscles and may one day leave him paralyzed. While others his age were full tilt into recreational sports, group activities or playing videos at home, he was having to do daily walks to exercise his muscles to keep them working for him. Then he made the front page news of the day earlier this month because he, Mitchell, decided to end his life. He was all of 11 years old.
In the story about Mitchell's death published in the Toronto Star, his father noted that his son's suicide was not directly caused by a particularly traumatic and horrific bullying incident that Mitchell fell victim to. Here's a clip from the article on the incident:
"And last November, while on one of his prescribed daily walks, Mitchell was jumped by a 12-year-old boy he knew from his elementary school in Pickering. The older child, who was after the iPhone Mitchell borrowed from his father to listen to music while he walked, smashed Mitchell’s face into the pavement so hard he broke some of the boy’s teeth.
The attack, Mitchell’s parents say, led their son on a downward spiral which culminated in his suicide earlier this month." Read the article at this link: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1059479--disabled-pickering-boy-took-his-own-life-after-he-was-mugged-and-bullied?bn=1
The details of the incident is so heartwrenching and completely overwhelming to me, an adult. It evoked such fear that such incidents are possible. One goes out for a simple walk and get beaten up for something one had on his/her person. Just like Mitchell, who his father said, became fearful of going for his badly needed exercise or of having to return to school after summer, I would be, too, had I suffered such a vicious attack. What is even for frightening is what they have to say about the extent of bullying incidents that target children with special needs or disabilities like Mitchell. If it can happen to Mitchell, the chances of a bullying incident happening to yours is not that far off. Here, take a look at the article below to get an idea of what bullying looks like, where and who it can strike, and what we can do to help our children with special needs prepare for those situations:
http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/learning--schools/bullying/articles/walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes.pdf

Lessons learned by a mother raising her son with autism

2011-09-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

I truly love this article which appeared on Autism Matter Magazine, Fall 2010 edition. It is written by a mother who has a son with autism. Her name is Liz Cohen. She is Joey's mother. She made a list of the lessons she's learned from her encounters with her community agencies and such as related to the hundreds of issues that tend to pop up when seeking treatment for autism. It sums up pretty much what we all have experienced or about to experience as parents in charge of looking after our children on the spectrum. As I read it, I thought that it is exactly what my experiences have been like and that it would be worthwhile to let parents with recently diagnosed children know about these matters and begin their journey much more organized than I and help equip them better to do battle with situations that could crop up along the way.
You can find the entire list of lessons learned in a link under the video section of this site. I believe we owe it to Liz for putting it down for others to learn from and get themselves organized because as we all know we do get flooded with all kinds of documents regarding treatment processes. The list is also helpful in that it also tells new parents to look out for situations in the community and at schools and tells them how best to handle them. I found this list helpful and I hope you will too.

ASD may soon be diagnosed as Autism Type A, Type B or Type C

2011-09-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

A group of US researchers from the University of California are making an announcement today about the results of their findings on autism. The results, they say, would for the first time mark a closer milestone towards finding the cause of autism and towards more accurate treatment of the individuals with the disability.
The group led by Dr. David Amarral has been working on a study that led to believe that autism spectrum disorder has variant strains comparable to the various types of cancer in an individual.Here, read the whole article published by the media: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/08/us-researchers-identify-two-autism-strains-in-major-breakthrough/
With so much talk about the various treatments available out there for despairing families, this will be a big step in knowing whether your child has Type A Autism or Type B or C and go after the treatment tailored to address the difficulties and challenges facing each individual on the spectrum. This research finding is also likely to lead to earlier diagnosis and therefore, earlier treatment for the individual, which in itself is a huge deal. The earlier any action is taken, the better will be the prospect of that individual's future. That's a given for many parents of children with this disability but there are some who prefer to have a wait and see attitude. The latter would surely be persuaded to act faster when there's research findings such as this one who would convince them to seek early diagnosis and treatment.
The group is expected to be be making its announcement of specifics of the study findings at a conference in Perth, Australia, today and I am looking forward to hearing the details.

About one neat book on autism out there

2011-08-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

It certainly has been a while since I last blogged about autism issues at home. I apologize. I am back at it now and hope to put in more time into it.
Deviating from my usual thoughts on this blog, I want to write today about a book on autism that caught my eye recently. It's titled It's So Much Work To Be Your Friend by Richard Lavoie. I thought I should share my thoughts about it.
It's So Much... is an easy-to-read book. It provides an understanding about social skills issues children with learning disabilities, not just those on the autism spectrum disorder, face at school and in the community in general. If you have a child on the milder end of the spectrum or if he/she is diagnosed with Asperger, the book is a good read because as you read along you begin to see and understand the kinds of social situations such children are likely to encounter in their daily lives. As readers you watch their struggles to blend with their peers and you grieve for them as they face rejection and even isolation. The book outlines some strategies parents could use to help their own children with disability overcome similar situations.
Among the other reviews I read about this book, I like the following the best because it sums up my thoughts as well."As a mother who has been on this journey, I know It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend will touch the lives of every parent who is raising a child with learning disabilities. I have long believed that difficulties with social skills cause the most heartache of all, and I am thrilled to discover a book that finally addresses this often overlooked issue. Rick shares his knowledge with wisdom, good humor, and deep respect for the remarkable students who teach us all." Anne Ford, chairman emeritus, National Center for Learning Disabilities and author of Laughing Allegra
I understand there is a DVD version of this book. I would love to get a hold of it if anyone local to Quinte area has a copy.

Crashing social circles

2011-06-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

He's 8 now and has had a great year in Grade 2/3 split class. His teacher was great, his EA super and awesome set of classmates, who were helpful, kind and patient with him. But yesterday, the second last day of this year, my son got a taste of what, unbeknownst to him, awaits him when he returns to school in Grade 3/4 split.
For the first time ever, he encountered a situation that left him feeling deeply hurt and sobbing just because a set of his former "awesome" female classmates decided to "transform into the dark side."
Well, to tell you the bits and pieces of the story my husband and I cobbled out of him at the end of the school day when he was still teary-eyed from the incident, he caught a classmate crying her eyes out at recess and as two other girls surrounded her in a protective circle, he heard the first girl tell the other two that her aunt died recently. My son felt sad for her and offered his sympathy by encouraging the sobbing girl to talk more about it by asking if her aunt went to heaven. His attempt was crushed by the girl's two friends who told him in no uncertain terms to buzz off and not to bother the girl. Heartbroken at being shooed away unceremoniously, my son retained the feeling for the rest of the day. My husband and I could see the total confusion on his face at what happened. He trodded on the invisible circle the two girls were trying to envelope their weeping friend and as he blundered on, he got hurt.
The incident highlighted for me how many social blunders he might be charged with next year by the same sweet girls who he used to regard as friends in Grade 1 and 2. Now, he and his classmates are getting older and circles will be formed and he might often find himself outside those close-knit social groups. Is he getting more vulnerable now than ever to bullying? I hope not. We'll see.

Quinte Resource for Horse Therapy

2011-06-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Locally available horse therapy for your child with special needs. Contact http://www.quintra.org/

"Give me some sugar"

2011-05-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

My son had me in stitches today.
"Hey, mom," he greeted me as I came down the stairs this morning. He had woken up before me and had already got himself about half an hour of x-box game with his dad.
"I am here," he continued. "Give me some sugar!"
I have no idea where the line was from but it was "sweet" (get it?) and needless to say, I gave him some "sugar" on his cheeks.
He's such a troll sometimes. Says the funniest lines when I'm least expecting it and gives me the giggles.
He had a friend over, a rather quiet friend who he is really fond of. He told me, in all innocence, that the friend is his "sidekick". I asked him to explain what that meant. He said that his friend always plays with him during recess at school and that he is a police officer and his friend is his sidekick who helps him catch bank robbers!
Then, there's the deluge of knock knock jokes every day!
Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Disguise.
Disguise who?
Disguise terrible at telling jokes!
Ha ha ha...
Sigh.

What does your gut feeling say?

2011-05-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

A young mother at my son's school cornered me last week with a rather embarrassed air about her. She said that she once overheard my conversation with a friend about autism and autism supports at school. She told me that she has been observing odd behaviour patterns in her 3-year-old child. She does not understand what she is seeing in her child who, she's certain “is just not behaving like my other child and I just know that this is something a lot different about him.” But her extended family members (we've heard that story time and time again) think that she is over-reacting to the situation and that “it will all straighten out in the next few years.”
This is where experts' advice about trusting your instincts come in. When there is cause for concern, then the next step, without a doubt, is to get the child assessed by an expert or experts in the field. But, from my personal experience, that too can be tricky. One of the first "experts" we met told me to "wait and see" for another year. He said to me that having my child assessed for autism would be "labeling" him and in his opinion “opening a can of worms”. But I trusted my own instincts and insisted on a referral to see a developmental paediatrician for an assessment. Needless to say, my son got the actual appointment to see the doctor nine months later and that, too, because someone cancelled and he got the spot. He received his evaluation confirming my suspicions and was placed on the waiting list for treatment.
Unfortunately, almost three years later he is still on the said waiting list but that's another story. Meanwhile, following the evaluation report, my husband and I lost no time in getting him locally available, though scarce, supports and services and I am happy to note that my son is making huge progress today.
I suggested to the young mother that she should trust her instincts and go for an evaluation for her son as soon as possible. It's an important first step. Her child's only three and the sooner she takes the first step, the brighter the future of her child will be.

"Moral Decay" and such

2011-04-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

"Mom, what is moral decay?" my son with autism asked out of the blue one day. We were in the kitchen at our house. I was washing some pots at the sink and he was sitting at the dining table attempting to reconfigure his transformer car. I bit my lips trying to hide the smile that threatened to break out and potentially hurt his feelings. I came around and sat down with him trying to explain what I thought "moral decay" means. He did not pause nor did he look up from his intense occupation with his toy but I think he was chewing on the information even as I fumbled through the conversation as best as I could. I used the word "fumbled" for a reason. He is still asking me about the definition of "moral decay" few times a day. I still continue to fumble.
Another phrase he recently wanted to know about was "crude humour". I left it up to his dad to explain that one. He is after all his child, too. I also thought my husband might just be better at explaining that one away.
So, this is where we are at with our 7 year old son. He hears things on TV or his computer games and youtube videos of the sinking of the Titanic and repeats them in ordinary conversations. He sounds formal. He uses big words. Kids his age would never be heard using those words. But, who cares. He wants to talk to others about things he is interested in. His peers either look at him oddly or brushes him off. I've seen one of them in a profoundly animated conversation with him in the hallway of the school. Their faces were full of expressions, their gestures sweeping as far as their little arms could reach and once in a while one of them made a whooping sound. I stood there thinking and appreciating the scene. As the bell rang, the other boy said goodbye and as he ran past me I said to him. "Looks like you were having a great time there. What were you two talking about?" The friend shrugged and replied, "I don't know what he was talking about." Then he went on his way. When my son finally managed to drag himself to me, I asked him what he was talking to his friend about and he said, "Roblox game" (it's a computer game that he's been obsessing about it for a while. The game is not really known to his peers, especially when he introduces the subject without preamble. He knows about it so why shouldn't others know about it, right? Theory of mind yada yada stuff experts say about children on the spectrum) I said "Uh, huh."
At least, this time it was not about the Titanic, the iceberg, the crow's nest, the engine room or about driving to Pittsburgh, USA, to go on a cruise ship!
Work in progress, as always!

Talking about days like today

2011-04-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

It is April 1st today and following our usual routine - read and talk about various celebrations at school or in the community at least the day before - we were talking about various scenarios of April Fool jokes someone could play on him today. In an impromptu social story narrative, I told him possible examples of what someone might say to him to make him do something. We covered the more innocent and common ones - for example, "what's that on your chin?", "there's something on your hair" to "you dropped something" but I wondered if I should have also covered some of the possibly darker scenarios of April Fool set-ups he might be subjected to just because he loves jokes and being silly. He, my son who is on the autism spectrum, would never read the expression on a peer's face or be able to distinguish the fun-loving tone from that of someone intending to hurt or humiliate him, someone grabbing the opportunity to bully him. He is not able to gather such information from non-verbal communications, which typically developing children are usually good at, much less predict or avoid the situation. So, I worry. We're still working on goals of recall and generalization skills with him so it will be one happenstance if I hear even a partial story about things that happened to him at school today, much less of someone, how shall I say it, who was "not too nice" to him either inside the classroom or on the playground.

Sign language options for non-verbal children with autism

2011-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

What can you do when your child with autism spectrum disorder is non-verbal? Experts in the field often recommend teaching signs to such children to encourage communication. In North America, deaf and hard of hearing children and individuals learn to communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). Children with autism who are non-verbal, too, are usually taught basic signs in ASL. But some parents have concerns about teaching their child with autism to communicate in ASL. They want their child to sign to communicate but in a way in which the structure of their signing will remain the same as in English Language. In ASL, for example, asking a person's name is signed "your name what?" instead of "what is your name?"
Parents who wish to look into another sign language option to teach their non-verbal child might want to check out Sign Exact English(SEE) Sign Language. It is a sign language based on ASL but the structure conforms to the English Language. Here are two links to explore on the subject:
http://www.seecenter.org/
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/see01.htm
Another option is the Makaton sign language which is based on British English. This would obviously work well if you live in Great Britain but according to this company website, the Makaton language can be accommodated to speech patterns in different countries. Check it out at
http://www.makaton.org/about/about.htm
http://www.makaton.org/international/international.htm

Misconceptions about Autism Spectrum Disorder

2011-03-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say that I am fairly well-informed on the subject of autism. I read books, articles, journals, news of the results of the latest research and I am still amazed at how little I know of the subject of autism and its effects on different individuals. For those who are just venturing out on this journey of discovery, I wish you well and I hope you find the help you are looking for, sooner rather than later. But for those who might not have too much time to do in-depth research of their own and for extended members of families of children newly diagnosed with autism and community members in general, here is a short clarification of some of the misconceptions about Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Autism is not rare. According to the latest statistics from Autism Speaks Canada, it occurs in 1 in 110 children and 1 in out of 70 boys.
Autism is not an emotional disorder. It is a neurological disorder. Read more at this link: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
Poor parenting skills do not cause autism. When these children are having a melt-down at a shopping mall or a line-up at a grocery store, it's not because the parents have not taken the time to teach that child how to behave in public. The situation could have been triggered by his own (my two cents) sensory (lights, sounds, smell) overstimulation and inability to process his surroundings. Imagine this situation with a non-verbal child with ASD, who won't be able to tell the parent what's bothering him or express his feelings.
Moving on...
Children on the autism spectrum do not outgrow autism. There is no cure for it. With early intervention(on an aside, there are myriad of therapies and approaches to treating autism today but the only government funded treatment option for autism in Canada today is Intensive Behaviour Intervention or IBI) and positive learning support, children with autism can become highly functional.
Autism is a spectrum. Each child presents his/her own unique set of strengths and challenges. If you know one child with autism, you know about the challenges of only that one child.
Children with autism can participate, with different levels of learning supports tailored to that child's needs, in a regular classroom. They do not need to be in a special educational environment exclusive for children with autism.
One reason I found myself writing on this topic is because of a recent conversation with a young mother who told me that she is strongly suspecting her child to be on the spectrum but is being advised by her relatives against seeking a formal medical diagnosis because they believe he will outgrow those challenging behaviours. Life with a child, formally diagnosed or not but exhibiting symptoms of autism is hard as it is both for the immediate family and the child himself or herself without well-meaning relatives attempting to offer advice based on some misconceptions such as the above floating around.

Getting what you need for your asd child's support needs at school or in your community

2011-02-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

You are your ASD child's staunchest advocate or so I've been told many times in the past few years. I have seen the statement confirmed many times in the responses I've seen and received from community agents and school authorities. I think many of the agents that come in contact with my child are well-meaning and compassionate. I am yet to come across any one of them who failed to listen to my concerns about support needs for my son. This, I believe, is partly because my husband and I believe in assertive action such as gathering information, being prepared for meetings, listing questions we want to ask and most importantly, by doing follow-ups after the meetings. Even though they are helpful and compassionate souls, people we need help from are busy professionals and have a line-up of similar cases swarming them at any given time. But we also know that our child needs such and such help and we need it as soon as possible. So what needs to happen? How can we get the support that we need from these professionals with the knowledge of resources available to our children? One thing I know is that the more I am prepared with information and questions, the more I get what I need out of meetings with these important resource support personnel.
Read more on the subject at this link: http://www.schooladvocacy.ca/basic.html

Eye-tracking for earlier diagnosis of autism

2011-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Intensive Behaviour Intervention (IBI) is today regarded highly as the leading treatment option for children with autism spectrum disorder. But experts note that this method is most effective when the child is younger, under age 4-5. This then requires a push for early diagnosis of autism for a child to be able to get the most out of the scarce services we have available today. This will in turn spill over to a greater chance of success when the child starts attending kindergarten.
At this time, the assessment for a diagnosis is done by a developmental paediatrician who would observe the child at play and gather information through interview/s with the parents during a three-hour visit. But the signs and symptoms of autism are so wide and varied, hence the "spectrum", that it is possible for a misdiagnosis at times.
With growing awareness for a need for diagnosis as early as possible, researchers are exploring eye-tracking method to assess baby's gaze in labs both in Canada and U.S. A typically developing baby's gaze, they say, tend to look at the mouth and other parts of the human face when someone is speaking to them but children at risk for autism are noted to have a significantly different scanning patterns. Today, it is, at most, an interesting topic to read about for parents waiting in a long line just to see a developmental paediatrician for confirmation of of what they have always suspected - that their child is on the autism spectrum. But those who'd like to read
more on the subject of using eye-tracking method for early diagnosis of autism, here's one of the many links on the subject: http://jp.physoc.org/content/581/3/893.full

Social skills and early intervention

2011-02-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

One of the three core skills noted to be deficient in children with autism is their apparent lack of social skills. I've come to know from my own experience with my son, who's on the spectrum, that this deficiency goes a lot deeper than what the average person understands of the definition of social skills. It is not merely about saying hello, making small talk with another person or about manners such as saying please and thank you – courteous behaviour parents of young and typically developing children encourage in their offsprings. When we are talking social skills in children with autism we are looking at difficulties in making basic social connections such as eye contact, joint attention (e.g. pointing to direct someone's attention to something, following the direction of the object pointed at or holding something up to show) before learning to take turns or share or join in. Each of these steps is a learning goal for that child and need extended period of actual training before moving on to the next skill. When these skills are somewhat in place, he/she is ready to begin practising the learned skills with peers. This again would have to be practised repeatedly in a contrived or controlled environment such as a social skills program before the child is able to internalize the steps to making basic social connections that would allow him to form relationships.
Participating in a social skills program involves a huge amount of repeated exercises of the skills, which are then extended to the home environment to maintain memory retention and easy retrieval of required steps.
Then there's the generalization skill that he/she will have to learn. Generalization is a skill that allows a child to practice what he/she has learned in one situation, environment or with one individual and extend it to a whole new situation/environment (school, home, homes of extended families and friends, place of worship, shopping malls, grocery stores among others) individual (e.g. group of people, young, old, family members, friends, neighbours, community agents - teachers, therapists etc.) and others. This is a skill that comes easily to most typically developing children but each one of those components throw a challenge in the life of an asd child who might be able to learn and execute the skills step by step in one situation but may not be able to apply it to another at all. Bridging that connection is a whole different ballgame requiring patience, endurance and thorough understanding of the way the mind of the child with autism works. According to a study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health and published online in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, early intervention programs for children with autism that include targeting deficits in social skills show improved results in social and communication skills.
To read more on this topic go to: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/210914.php

Laughter is, indeed, the best medicine

2011-01-28T07:12:00.000-08:00

Laughter, they say, is the best medicine. I think it does lift our spirits from the endless cycle of things to do, the sense of defeat we sometimes feel in not being able to meet commitments, not being able to be the parent of the year for the moment, not getting the essential support we need for our child, not living up to someone else's high expectations and so on. I am not randomly talking about this subject. I am bringing this up to say how much I appreciate the role my ASD son plays in bringing happiness to our family. People who have met my son often comment on how happy he appears to be most of the time. It's true. He is a giggle-head. If I happen to catch him coming out of the bathroom wearing just his underwear or if he lets out a burp, he goes into this paroxysms of laughter, which gets us all smiling and enjoying the moment with him. Our worries lose their magnified glory and importance when we share these moments together. My two teenaged children probably would have long disowned me for being a grumpy, nagging parent if not for the giggles my child on the spectrum, inflicts on me, and on them too, every day.

Local Artist of the Month

2011-01-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

An opportunity to meet the man who swam across Lake Ontario to raise awareness of Asperger’s; who’s presentations about Asperger’s are not only informative but also entertaining; who has created the “If you ask me “How are you?” it will take me 30 minutes to tell you. Do you still want to know?”; and author of a book and so much more.
Jay, says manager of the centre,Laura Egerton, will be at our Kerry's Place for Autism Resource Centre @ 189 Victoria Ave. Belleville from 2-6 pm on Friday to answer questions about being on the autism spectrum, about his swim and to sell his t-shirts and books.

Don't wait for a diagnosis: Good point

2011-01-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

"Don’t wait for a diagnosis. As the parent of a child with autism or related developmental delays, the best thing you can do is to start treatment right away. Seek help as soon as you suspect something’s wrong. Don't wait to see if your child will catch up later or outgrow the problem. Don't even wait for an official diagnosis. The earlier children with autism spectrum disorders get help, the greater their chance of treatment success. Early intervention is the most effective way to speed up your child's development and reduce the symptoms of autism." Helpguide.org

I chanced upon this website and read this with vigorous nod of my head in agreement. If I had waited for my son who was diagnosed in 2008 to get his IBI (he's still on the waiting list and he's seven and a half now), I wouldn't be in a position to sit back and enjoy the progress he has made today. He talks non-stop and asks questions and loves to tell details of subject he knows about. Most current top of the mind topic for him today is about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Who wants to know about that today. Well, he does and he could tell his audience just about everything about the tragic event. What a far cry from how he was even a year ago. I'm grateful!

Sensory Friendly Movies for Children with Autism

2011-01-05T04:59:00.000-08:00

AMC Theatres® is bringing families affected by autism a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis.
With Sensory Friendly Films, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down. Places where these movies are being shown:

Mississauga
AMC Courtney Park 16
110 Courtney Park Drive East
Mississauga, ON L5T 2Y3
905-362-1234

AMC Whitby 24
75 Consumers Drive
Whitby, ON L1N 9S2
905-665-8942

AMC Kanata 24
801 Kanata Ave., Unit A1
Kanata, ON K2T 1E7
613-599-5500

On Choosing Christmas Presents

2010-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

My son would like a model of The Titanic this Christmas. At first he wanted an HO model Santa Fe train with 15 hopper cars. My neighbour, another avid train fan, saved me by giving my son one of his sets. Thank goodness! Now, I am back to finding that Titanic for him. I am personally keen on finding it for him online or at stores because of the endless amount of time he has been spending on the youtube watching the sinking of the Titanic. Ask him any question on the event that took place in the wee hours of the morning in April, 1912 and you will get an answer in detail. While other children are asking for Pokemon, xbox games, Star Wars, my son is asking for the Titanic ship model. Wish me luck!
On that thought, I wanted to share with you a link to an article that talks about things to consider when buying toys for your child with autism. Here it is: http://autism.about.com/gi/o.htmzi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=autism&cdn=health&tm=132&gps=438_455_1276_582&f=11&tt=12&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/toys.disabilities.html

Point of teaching generalization of skill to a child with asd

2010-12-03T08:47:00.000-08:00

Among the myriad of challenges, presented in unique packages by each child on the autism spectrum disorder, is one experts often observe as a commonly seen trait - the inability to generalize a learned skill across different situations or environment on their own. Once they have been taught a skill and have been observed to have mastered it in one environment, for example, at home with the therapist, the question that needs to be asked is can the child perform the same skill with another person or another room or outside or when there are more than one person in the room even before venturing out to social/community situations like school or homes of extended family members? If the child is being taught a skill e.g not running out on to the street in front of his home, they say he/she will need to be taught the same skill across various situations likely to emerge when the family goes and mingle with the community outside of their home. Specific time will have to be set aside to focus on the skill wherever the child goes until the skill is mastered in being applied to at least situations such children are likely to encounter as part of family life - going for shopping, community gatherings, schools, visits to extended families - virtually any situation that might involve parking lots, crowded places and visits to places located near busy streets.
What I observe in my son with respect to his inability to generalize skills is much more abstract. His, I notice, has mainly to do with academic skills.(Our number one overall concern is his receptive language, more specifically, comprehension of directions or instructions, both verbal and written, given to him). One example, I hear great reviews of the tasks he can do in the classroom from the teacher and the EA, observations I cannot share when I do his homework with him. At home I see that he is unable to do his homework on his own because he is unable to understand what is being asked of him in the task presented to him. I let him do his homework as best as he could on his own and when he is done I review the work with him and find that his answers are miles off. I concluded that this must be a case of his not being able to generalize or transfer his skill from school with his teacher to home with me. Anyways, this is where we are at at this time. Like everything else, it's a work in progress with him and I guess, one that will take its own sweet time.

Power Cards

2010-11-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

When your child with autism faces a difficult situation at home or at school, help him call on, for example, his favourite superhero, if he has one, to come to the rescue (by telling him what to say or do in that situation). That is the premise of power cards, a tool to help children on the autism spectrum, overcome certain social difficulties. These cards are based on special interests of the child and are designed, much like a social story, to address a specific sitaution. That particular card would consist of a specific scenario in which the superhero would be the main character encountering a situation. The card would have relevant visuals such as photos or art to help illustrate the scenario further.
The power card is usually written in first person from the perspective of the hero or child's special interest and in present tense. The material used is a 3X5" card. Important factor is to practice the content of the power card as frequently as you can with your child, much like the social story exercise, until the child can read the message independently and it eventually is ingrained in him/her.
It is important, experts say, to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the tool for each child to determine how long to have it in place. Depending on the child's changing needs, the support can be faded over a period of time.
All I can say at this time is that I've heard parents who have used this tool say that they have found power cards to be of great use and as helpful as social storis. So, maybe give it a try? It's easy to do and may prove to be an effective tool to support your child in social situations.

New meaning to "helicopter" parenting

2010-11-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

My child was diagnosed two years ago as on the mild to moderate end of the spectrum. In the following months all I could do was give a new meaning to what "experts" on parenting term as "helicopter" parenting. I obsessively studied, no, analyzed why he did things in a certain way and not the way I understand and have become familiar with,having had to raise two other children before him. I even received formal training to help me nurture all aspects of his development. I am still somewhat that way. I am very keen about learning what current research is on autism, how parents can help their children at home even while waiting for a diagnosis or after a diagnosis, strategies and tools to deal with everyday situation. I think I have good reason to pat myself and the rest of my family on the back for contributions we have been making as a team to the advances I see my son making both at school and at home. There is no cure for autism but it gives me a lot of hope for his future.
But then again, there are many parents and families out there struggling out there with all that and tons more. The challenges I am talking about regarding my child, I must admit,have nothing on what they have to do to battle autism in its severity 24-7. These are parents and siblings who are in a world of their own along with a member in the family who tests their love and patience at times and more often than not, fills them with frustration at not being able to break into that inner world in which their loved one with autism lives. In all honesty, I don't know what it's really like in that world but I know that if my son did not have this diagnosis, I would have never known how special, intricate, intriguing and complex the world of autism is. My family and I would have gone through life without ever seeing this aspect of life. So two things today - one, I thank God for the special ASD membership card our family received when our son was born in 2003 and two, I give applause to all parents and families of children on the spectrum for the amazing work they do with their loved one/s each day.

On writing your own social stories

2010-10-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Many parents of children with autism are already familiar with the concept of social stories. I'd like to say I write my own social stories but there is a copyright on the coined term "social story" so for now I will use the words "social narratives" or "social scripts" when I am talking about the stories I've been writing for my son. No question that I find them extremely helpful when I have to tell my son about an upcoming event - social gatherings or trips at school, visits to the doctor, dentist or any other health agencies that we parents of ASD children often encounter. Narratives or scripts do the same job of social stories as defined by the copyright holder, Carol Gray but while Gray insists on following her own formula for writing such stories - one needs to receive training writing the stories at Geneva Centre for Autism in Toronto (the clinic being the leading centre in Canada for training in autism intervention) before one can claim they write social stories or teach social story writing - the rest of us can write our own "narratives" or "scripts". In its basic form, when I am writing a social script all I have to do is 1. include the five Ws (who, what, where, when, why - the usual things relating to an event, 2. talk about what he/she might see, hear and feel during this event, 3. who he/she can ask for help and 4.inform how long will the event be. This kind of narrative can help to build a list of expectations and help eliminate much of the unpleasant sensation likely to be triggered in a child when encountering the unexpected. Works like a charm with my son for me. If you are interested in looking at samples of social stories, there are many floating around on the internet. You can either write your own to fit the need the day for your child or grab one of those on the internet and adapt. It really is easy to do once you get started with the first one.

Making Social Connections

2010-10-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

"Can you come to school and help me find a friend to play with, Mom?" asked my son the other day. It was heartwrenching to hear the innocence in his voice asking for help in an area where he will have to sink or swim on his own for most of his life. Staff at school tells me that he seems to be fine when he is with others. He does not mind company around him, they said. He responds when someone comes and asks him about what he is doing. He brings his own toy train with him and pulls and pushes it in the sand. Meanwhile, he is in the midst of intense social and verbal interactions among his peers swilrling all around him at recess. I can just imagine the speed with which those activities and topics of conversation change. While he is still trying to understand the first rule of a game, it's over and the players have moved on to another one. This time it could be a new one, completely made up by the group, with rapidly changing players, as they proceed with the game. How can he keep up with that? How does anyone keep up with that? But they do and they move on. But how does someone with difficulty in understanding expressions, body language, complex language arrangements and ideas that seem unconnected that yet makes sense to others, learn to make those social connections that all human beings need. The most I can do for him at home is to have one of his classmates (I can't really say friends, because they are not, not yet anyway in the truest sense of the word) come over to our home and practice the script on make how to make friends. I imagine it would help immensely if schools take this aspect of the development need of children with autism seriously and actively pursue it by helping them make connections with their peers on school grounds. But that's not going to happen and I can't be there teaching him the steps of making those social advances because that would be against school policy, which then leaves me to my own devices to come up with a plan to help my son make that connection with another individual. I hope one day he will come home and tell me that he would like to go to school the next day because his friend would be waiting to play with him. Ahh, wistful thinking but who knows, it might happen and sooner than later.

On the Art of Rolling Eyes

2010-10-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

"I wouldn't have taught him that if I were you," a teacher at my son's elementary school said to me recently.
She was responding to my story about my son's attempts to roll his eyes in an act of boredom that morning.
It all came about from a social skill I was trying to teach him the night before. His two tasks were to recognize rolling eyes, a common body language to indicate boredom, which he might see on someone's face when he is talking to them at school and what he can do about it.
This lesson became important to us because of two reasons - one, with the exception of anger, sad, shock and surprise, my son is not able to recognize and understand the meaning of expressions on someone's face. Two, he tends to burst out on a topic, for example, trains, cars and his latest, Iron Man movie. It doesn't seem to occur to him that he has already talked to the same person about it maybe once or twice already and that his friend might not want to talk about the same things any more. They might roll their eyes at him when he starts to talk about trains, I told him. When he sees that expression, he needs to understand that it's a clue for him to stop talking about trains and maybe talk about something else.
As I began the lesson, I realized that before he could 1.recognize this facial expression and 2. remember to follow through with the next step - stop talking altogether or change the topic, I had to step back and show him what rolling eyes look like. It was quite entertaining to watch his version of it the next day. Let me tell you it looked like anything but.
Point of this note is, social interactions come naturally to typically developing children. Somehow they just seem to pick up on such invisible social demands all by themselves. Not so my son, who is on the mild end of the spectrum. Hence, we are currently working on this shocking art of rolling eyes as a body language.
In retrospect, I suppose the above-mentioned teacher thought I was out of my mind to teach my son something she thought to be disrespectful and one she's had enough of from other typically developing students. I guess I'll just have to replace it with another skill should my son decide to use the brand new skill his mom taught him on his teachers at school. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Language Delay in Siblings of ASD Children

2010-10-04T03:51:00.001-07:00

It looks like while we are tending to the needs and challenges of our children with autism, we may have to keep a closer eye on how autism is affecting the child's siblings in the family. I said "a closer eye" because I have three other children and I am yet to see obvious evidence of the concern referred to in a new study by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study's findings noted that "siblings of children with autism have more frequent language delays and other subtle characteristics of the disorder than previously understood. Girls also may be mildly affected more often than recognized in the past."
First author John N. Constantino, MD: "Researchers presume one child is affected, and the other is not, but our findings suggest that although one child may have autism while the other does not, it's very possible both children are affected to some degree by genes that contribute to autism."
For more details, read the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/203249.php

Idioms, Phrases and All That

2010-09-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

"Here, Simon, give me a hand," said his Grade 2 teacher to my son recently. A typically developing child would have understood immediately that his teacher was asking him for help. My son, of course, responded to the request by holding out his right hand supporting it with his left hand. We revisited the scene at home and now he understands what is meant by someone asking him to give a hand. It means, he says now, someone is asking me to help him with something.
Well, that's one down. Now how about the following - pulling someone's legs, being in a pickle, the long and short of it, it's raining cats and dogs, to have ants in your pants, tongue-tied, butterflies in the stomach etc.? Sigh...
Like other children on the autism spectrum, my son does not appreciate clever uses of words in the English language. He'd like them plain and simple, thank you very much. But since he is seemingly confronted with those unintendedly confusing arrangement of spoken words in his social situations, I guess he and I have some work to do. It's not going to be easy. Let me just say, at least we'll "have a blast" figuring some of them out.
Have fun checking this site out for idioms: http://www.idiomsite.com/
For more reading on the subject, follow this link
http://www.bbbautism.com/pdf/article_62_building_competency_with_figurative_language.pdf

Parent vs Minister Conflict

2010-09-10T03:15:00.000-07:00

Here, read this recent article about autism waiting lines, parent frustration and conflict with the local government. To sum up the story, which made headlines recently in Ontario, a mother approaches a government official for help - to find quicker services for her 14-year-old autistic son who's been on the waiting list for for a treatment facility for many months. The government official suggested the possible solution of handing over the teen to police, hastening the process of him getting help, thereby scalding himself in the backlash of public opinion when the parent made the conversation known to the media. When I first heard about it, I too was taken aback by the very idea of handing my child to authorities just to put him at the top of the help list. Then I looked at the story again and began to see a little of where the official, foster parent to a severely autistic child at home, was coming from. I'd say he genuinely meant to be helpful. He saw the mother's frustration and he offered an idea - the legal option whereby a criminal court or the Children's Aid Society could order the teen placed in a residential facility. A practical solution I'd say at least for the parent of this teenager, who the parent herself noted, to be increasingly violent with his assaults on her. She needs to be immediately protected first from the unintentional danger of her son's violence. If the only way to get him the help he needs is by getting it though court order, so be it. In all this, I can't believe that the official would make the suggestion of getting the son charged with cruel intentions. Anyway, read on for yourself
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/856206--shedding-light-on-autism-crisis

Back to school matters

2010-08-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Summer's about to end and the mention of the dreaded word "school" is not going very well with my little one. He still wants to, and I do too, go to the beach and camp under those tall trees swaying in the breeze, feel the sand under our feet and jump in the warm water at Sandbanks, Ontario, where we love to go. He'd like to play on the computer, watch his favourite movies etc. etc. But I earn an impressive amount of shush-ing, deep frowns and closed eyes when I bring up the unmentionable topic. I know summer's over at least for me and it's time to start preparing to make that transition from unending-and-sunny all day long- beach-days to six-hours-a-day school days. I guess I should get started with my preparations for getting him back to school.
One of the things currently working for me towards this goal is setting up a calendar on the fridge where we can mark off each day. Sometimes, we use a bingo dauber to dab on the day to cross it off. Maybe inviting his friends from school would work too. That way he will get to know them again. It's been a while since we had them over. Another thing I need to do is visit the school with him, both inside and outside. Maybe that would help him re-orient himself. New clothes/shoes/pencil case with stuff inside might just do the trick as well. A new Transformer toy? Well...why not? I don't know, really, what would work but I gotta try. My last one is to write a summer story with him. Let's see what he remembers doing these past two whole months. Hopefully, he'll say we went camping, dug holes in the sand, caught weeds, picked up shells, buried his brother in the sand, trembled inside the tent during a lightning and thunder show one stormy night while camping. Maybe he'll remember his swimming lessons or the way he walked on the beams or jumped into the pit at the gymnastics camp he attended with his sister. Or... maybe he won't. Oh, well!

Say what?

2010-07-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

"I like Generation One Star Scream", says my son abruptly to a mother on her way into the school building to pick up her kid.
"Generation One Star Scream is cool," he says to a peer at a park another time.
Both times, my child who does not understand that the other person does not know anything about his favourite topic Transformer toys, thinks somehow the other person thinks exactly like him. At the moment, he does not talk about other toys, movies, tv shows, computer games or clothes a person is wearing. He does not participate in talking about trivial things that other kids his age talk about - random on-the-spur-of-the-moment-based-on-what-I-see-or-want-to-do-right-now talk. He likes Transformers and thinks its perfectly natural that he should talk about it. If the other person like the mother at the school and the peer in the park happen to not know anything about Transformers, then his initiation at conversation comes to a full stop.
He is at the moment working on the skill of introducing a subject and staying on the same topic of conversation for at least three turns. It's a work in progress. I'm optimistic it will come gradually. Hopefully, once he's mastered the skill, his peers will want to hang around him for a few seconds more at school.

My child is a happy "camper"

2010-07-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

My son is off to his first ever gymnastics camp. I wrote a note about him to his teenaged coaches. I noted to them what works best for him and what doesn't. One of his coaches was pleasantly surprised at my note and said not many parents did that. I told her that my action came from years of working it out with different community agencies where my son has been involved in in the past few years. That included school. Each year as the new school year approaches I prepare a short note on all about my son - what he can do and what might set him off - to his teachers. I think it is important to be proactive and help the new agents in your child's life know as much as possible about his/her needs from you, the parent. Instead of waiting around for the teacher/coach to get to know my son, it helps them, too, to know things that work and others that might need tweaking etc. It helps to put the agents in the right frame of mind knowing what to expect from your child and to prepare on how to deal with it ahead of meeting in person. Bottomline is, I want my son to have a good time wherever he goes without having to deal with the torment of not being able to emotionally regulate himself. I know I am doing my part towards his happiness when I am prepared to advocate for him every single time. This time, all it took was a one-page note about him to his coaches and when I picked him up yesterday (his first day being yesterday) I could see that he was indeed a happy camper. He's off to the camp again today and I expect that he'll have a great day.

My Child is on the Autism Cloud Disorder

2010-06-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

So now, our children may be on the autism cloud disorder, according to this article. It certainly gets one thinking and weighing the information against what we see in our children with autism. "Discussions about individuals with autism and related diagnoses are now pervaded by references to a putative "spectrum." Individual patients are said to be "on the spectrum." A range of developmental disabilities are referred to as "autism-spectrum disorders" or "ASD." The putative justification for this terminology is that there is great variation among those who share the diagnostic label and it is believed that "spectrum" effectively conveys this diversity of abilities, behaviors, and symptoms.
On the contrary, "spectrum" is seriously inadequate to the linguistic task for which it has been pressed into service. The chief reason is that a "spectrum," such as the electromagnetic spectrum, corresponds to the continuous variation along a single dimension. In the case of the electromagnetic spectrum, the variation is in wavelength. Individuals with autism and so-called ASD, however, exhibit variation along multiple, at least somewhat independent, dimensions, including: cognitive ability, extent of verbal activity, interest in social engagement, frequency and types of repetitive behavior, and areas of intense interest."- Neil Greespan.

Read more: http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/conceptualizing-autism-cloud-vs-spectrum-3374623#ixzz0qTJrorfU

Sports for Children with ASD

2010-05-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

My husband and I signed up my hf asd son for soccer when he turned four. He got his uniform and socks, shinpads and cleats on without a fuss. He was ok even when his coach called for the team to come and kick the ball around in a pre-game session. Of course, I went with him into the field and instructed him to kick the ball and showed him the net and told him that the the other children wearing another coloured uniform are players from the other team and that they will be playing soccer with his team in the same field at the same time. When the two teams began running for the ball, he would follow anyone of those teams and end up frustrated and in tremendous anxiety not knowing what to do. Fast forward three years later to 2010, (he just turned 7) he is signed up for the summer soccer and he appears a lot more calm but he still tends to run after the pack rather than chase the ball or understand his role as a team member. At his age, it does matter to his other team members that he does not let his team down by not kicking the ball when it comes to him. I worry that this might start some negative attitude towars him as the games progress by the week. But we'll see how it goes this summer. Maybe he'll be doing an individual sport such as speedskating this fall and winter and fare better at it. Meanwhile, for you out there, here is a good reading material on "Sports for Kids with Autism:
What's the best sport for a child with autism? As with every child, the best sport is the one your child enjoys and excels at. That said, though, autism does impair social and communication skills and may have a negative impact on gross motor coordination. That means "typical" team sports such as soccer, basketball and hockey may be particularly tough. Individual sports, however, may be just the ticket."
Read more at http://autism.about.com/od/childrenandautism/p/sportsideas.htm?r=twitter
Also read: Readers Respond: What Are the Best Sports for Kids with Autism? at http://autism.about.com/u/ua/childrenandautism/UAsports.htm

Promoting Independence: Pathways Presentation

2010-05-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

When we look at promoting independence in children with autism, the areas to consider in general are communication, emotional regulation, social interaction, life skills and academics. But in case of school-age children on the spectrum it gets even more specific to promoting independence in skills that require them to engage, participate and perform classroom activities with decreasing dependency on adults around them. It is important for both parents and educators to develop strategies to enable independence in a child. Some recommended books to help develop those strategies are Task Galore by Laurie Eckenrode, Basic Skills Checklist by Marlene Breitenbach, Functional Independence Skills Handbook by William K. Killion, Visual Strategies: a Picture Guide of Commonly Used Visuals in the Classroom for Students with ASD.

Floortime Therapy

2010-05-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Much has been noted about the use and positive effects of floortime therapy as defined by the late Dr. Greenspan when working with children with autism. The therapy was seen to work in significantly improving both emotional and intellectual skills of children on the spectrum. Greenspan once explained this in an interview "...it builds intellectual skills too because remember, the building blocks of intelligence are communication and thinking. That is the essence of the Floortime approach. As we have shown in a different book, called The First Idea: How Symbols, Language and Intelligence have Evolved from our Primate Ancestors to the Modern Humans, which is available at all the bookstores, emotions, and these emotional interactions and this back-and-forth emotional signaling that goes on in Floortime, is actually the fundamental building block of human intelligence, not drilling on flashcards or learning specific letters or numbers. It really starts with your basic communication and thinking skills. As surprising as it may sound, cognition or intelligence comes from our emotional interactions."
Floortime therapy works, according to him, because the child learns to master a skill such as brushing teeth first on an object (therefore more fun and unthreatening)and eventually learns to apply it on herself or himself. This takes away the potential for conflict between the parent and child if the parent enforces the activity of brushing teeth daily on the child.
Dr. Greenspan noted: "If you get the child to want to do it by doing it with the dollies first, 90% of the ballgame is won."

Waiting list getting longer each year?

2010-04-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

Sad state of affairs for children with ASD and their families in Ontario, judging by the statistics in this article published on April 2. "The wait for autism services in Ontario is getting worse, and fed-up parents are threatening peaceful civil disobedience to force the government to be accountable to their kids.
There are 1,478 children province-wide waiting for intensive behavioural intervention therapy—a proven strategy that works best in a child’s preschool years. Another 362 kids are waiting for assessments."
Read more at http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/familyhealth/children'shealth/article/789412--fed-up-parents-push-for-action-on-autism-services
The wait list for government-sponsored Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI)therapy seems to grow longer each year in this province. Placed on the list back in Feb. 2009, my six-year-old son still waits and will be waiting for another two years, we're told. So, what do we do while we wait for the service? Are there support services available which would help parents deal take care of their ASD child in the meantime? So far, it's been a year and 2 months since the placement and almost 2 years from the actual diagnosis and so far, no other services has kicked in yet. So, the wait continues for a service that might not even be effective for my son at eight and a half. This, however, does not mean that I have been simply waiting twiddling my thumb. Our family has been pouring so much effort on our own on his intervention both at home and school since his diagnosis in 2008 and I am happy to report that he is today a high-functioning child attending a regular classroom. But he's still a child who needs professional help and the lenght of the waiting period to get that kind of help for him is unbearably and meaninglessly long. I quite understand and emphatize the feeling of the parents cited in this article. I feel tired of it all too!

Cheap Imitation of the Real Thing

2010-04-05T03:33:00.000-07:00

"The government's solution to the waiting list is to move more autistic kids into the school system where they can receive therapy and an education. With the right supports, kids 6 or older could be in school, thereby freeing up spaces for the younger kids on the therapy wait list.
It is a promising plan, but implementation of it has proven to be difficult. Tens of millions have been spent preparing and training 13,000 teachers, principals and other staff; yet only 170 autistic kids have been brought into the school system under the program.
In time, those numbers will undoubtedly rise, but there is still great uncertainty about whether the schools are being prepared to offer what these kids need. School boards have not generally welcomed autistic children or their therapists into classrooms, and the province has refused to force the issue. Meanwhile, parents argue that the less intensive therapy offered in schools is a cheap imitation of the real thing and falls well short of what their kids need. This lack of trust will undermine the success of the school-based solution going forward."
The Star opinion on April 4/2010

Siblings of Special Needs Children

2010-03-15T05:58:00.000-07:00

When a child is born with a disability, it can deeply affect all members of a family. Siblings must suddenly adjust to a brother or sister who may require a large portion of family time, attention, money, and support. It is an important aspect of the family because the reactions of the neurotypical sibling/s to a sibling with a disability can destroy the self-esteem of both children.
The relationship between and among siblings is special in any family. They form the firt social network for each other and are an important influence on each other's lives. In an average family, they play together in their early years but as they grow together they may take on more roles with each other maybe as teachers, follower, protector, confidant, role model etc. This relationship pattern may not be the same in a family with a disabled child where the child may demand more of a sibling's attention depending on them as playmates and companions for a long time. Experts say it lays open a door to feelings of resentment and a sense of burden in siblings of child with disability.
Local families with children other than the child with disability can take advantage of the upcoming clinic at the Quinte Children Treatment Centre to address this aspect of family life. It's called SIBLING WORKSHOP on APRIL 30, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 pm at Charlotte's Sills building of QCTC. It's on a PA day and for ages 6 to 10. Registration is limited to 10 children. Lunch will be provided, they say. Please call Lorell Stevenson, Social worker at 613-969-7400 x 2834 or email lstevenson@qhc.on.ca to register.

Screening for Autism

2010-03-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

It is surprising to me that screening for autism does not take place, even today, at all those wellness visits to the family doctor's office in the child's first two years. The numbers, they say, currently stand at 1:150 for children diagnosed with autism in Canada. That's amazing statistics but even more amazing is how the red flags for autism do not get the physician's attention until the child is 18 months and still not saying words. Even then, in my case, the referral was given only to a speech therapist, who immediately settled into a speech intervention plan. Did these professionals not notice my child displaying some unusual behaviours and so recommend that he should also be checked by a developmental paediatrician? Looking back, I can see how much precious time was wasted through all these could-have-done-more medical attention my child received in his early years. Those with Asperger Syndrome, in some cases, I'm told, they recieve their diagnosis even later. They are so verbally advanced that their other needs e.g. their lack of skills at social interactions get placed on the back burner until they become older and are found to be running into trouble at school etc. Children on the spectrum need the earliest possible intervention, they all say, but how does one get the treatment for your child if he or she is not diagnosed until they are older and their troubles become obvious to the observant. I think its critical for all new parents to insist on a screening for autism during the wellness visits to the doctor in order to get the earliest possible medical treatment.

Sensory integration therapy: answer to helping ASD child speak

2010-03-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Scientists look to help children with autism find a voice

Excerpt: (According to doctors, many children with autism have difficulty understanding information from the outside world.
"The brain's ability to process information comes in from the eyes, ears and other senses during infancy," says Dr. Mark Wallace, an expert on sensory processing who directs the Vanderbilt Brain Institute who is not related to Ryan."If that [ability] is compromised during the early developmental period, you will never be able to really gain full function in these systems."
"But the hidden side of this is that they also have a lot of difficulty understanding, comprehending, auditory comprehension, listening. And so when a child's autism is experiencing somebody talking to them, it's a lot like somebody's talking to them in a foreign language," says Dr. Stephen Camarata, a professor of hearing and speech science at Vanderbilt's Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences.
...Sensory integration therapy advocates say the widely used program's constant stimulation helps children with autism learn to speak. But sensory integration therapy is controversial because there's very little scientific data on its effectiveness. That's why, Camarata says, it's important researchers investigate sensory integration therapy and other therapies to see whether they are effective.)

Read today's article on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/01/autism.speech.learning/index.html?hpt=Sbin

First Signs

2010-02-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

I met a mom who, during our conversation, shared her suspicions of her son's behaviour, that it might be related to autism. She said she had been noticing some behaviours in her son which have been nagging at her but have been dismissed by friends and relatives as just typical. This is a common situation for most parents. They may also fall victim to denying the possibility and easily give in to the opinion of those around them. This is the point where parents, especially mothers, have to trust their instinct and not attempt to squash their inner feeling that something's not right with their child. Even if just for the sake of ruling it out, take the child to a developmental paediatrician for assessment. Any intervention/s for autism-related behaviours, experts say, are most effective when the child is under four to five years of age. The following link: http://www.firstsigns.org/ may be helpful to parents in making that decision to take their child for medical assessment.

Vacationing with ASD child

2010-02-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Our recent trip to India with my son and the whole family went quite well, I'd say without a lot of stress, at least not because of him. My husband and I along with my son's therapist showed him visuals and read him social stories, did some role-playing and explained to him what we will be doing and seeing along the way. He was excited about the planes and seemed quite calm about seating inside for long periods of time. We took some toys, maze and connect the dots books, his favourites, his own headphones to listen to the audio while watching shows. I was quite thrilled it went rather smoothly. But its always good to know what other ways we could prepare ourselves the next time we go on a trip again. With the March Break coming up, I thought this link would also be quite helpful for families looking forward to travelling this break with their children on the spectrum. http://autism.about.com/od/copingwithautism/ht/vacationstep.htm

About Horse Therapy and a Dolphin's Touch

2010-02-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

About horse therapy in the following article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/autism.horse.mongolia/index.html
"I went thru your blog and I knew the story of Rowan and the Mongolian horses/shamans.
We have 2 horses here ourselves (were given to us as a gift. The thoroughbred mare had an accident/poloracket injury in her left leg and suffered a haicrack fracture. Was given up as hoplessly lame. 3 months of hard work, daily massage, healing clay/herbal, homeo etc--now she is totally ok...and so sweet...) and I did therapeutical riding with disturbed kids.
My feeling is: Horses - unspoiled by human wrong treatment - have the power/generosity to give healing energy to autistic/disturbed kids.
Don´t try to explain it, at least not "scientifically".
The more I read about spececialized speech therapist etc. the more sceptic I get:
Autism/disturbances can be healed by being with horses, shamans, WILD dolphins etc...the more "highly educated human specialists" get involved, the more sceptic I get: They are just taking a lucrative ride on another beings capacity to heal.
What I mean is this: I had the great privilege to get into touch with a group of 45 wild dolphins out there in the Red Sea in Egypt.
My partner at that time had -due to severe problems with her daughter, who crashed psychologically- severe headache for 3 days non-stop, preventing her to sleep.
The dolphins came to us--body-touch!- and her pain was gone instantly. It stayed gone.
Please surf the net to see autistic children interacting with - please wild- dolphins - and see the results, which the docs and scientists are unable to explain.
There was a phantastic video-documentary of a UK man, suffering from manic depression for 35 years. He got into touch (body!) with wild dolphins - and was cured. He was in tears with joy, saying things in an interview later: These dolphins could do to me no doc and no therapy could do in the past 35 years..."

Best of luck with your kid
Edzard,
Auroville, India
edzard@auroville.org.in

Dogs guide autistic children

2010-02-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

Having difficulty with transitions is a big issue for children with autism. Dogs can provide a calm and reassuring presence, says Chris Fowler, head trainer for the autism assistance dog guides, part of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides' programs. According to the article in the Hamilton Spectator, he and his wife, Heather, have been matching children with autism with the right dog since they launched their non-profit organization called National Service Dogs in 1996. For some, the bond between a dog and its new master can be immediate, notes Fowler, and for others it can take as much as six months to a year. To read more, follow this link http://www.thespec.com/go/healthfitness/article/725957

Addressing problem behaviours

2010-02-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

Notes from the presentation on Behaviour Analysis by Greg Allen, behaviour consultant, Kerry's Place at Family Space Quinte Autism Parent Meeting on Feb.2:
Individuals with autism exhibit challenging behaviours of physical aggression, self-injury, tantrums etc. which can be stressful for their parents. It is important to understand accurately what function the behaviour is serving the individual. A functional assessment is necessary to answer this question because the behaviour is serving a specific outcome. If the behaviour is repeating frequently, the probability, he says, is that the behaviour might unintentionally have been reinforced for the child in the past. The important thing is if you are trying to stop a problem behaviour, the child has to be effectively reinforced for attempting, even in the slightest way, the new desirable behaviour which you are seeking to replace the problem behaviour with.
A functional assessment can be carried out in the following steps:
1. Define a target in measurable terms e.g. biting a peer on the hand at recess.
2. Examine what happens immediately before the problem behaviour and what was the immediate consequence. e.g. hitting his head on the livingroom floor while watching tv, consequence: someone rushes to stop him (attention-seeking then?) Collect these data from family members, school personnel and agents working with the child.
Other scenarios might been because of need to escape/avoidance of tasks, control, lack of communication skills, stress or frustration or just stimulation. Following the assessment, modifications can be made to his/her environment, the goal being to provide a stable and predictable environment to prevent undesired behaviour.

Kerry's Place autism resource centre in Belleville

2010-02-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

It looks like the plan to set up an autism resource centre by Kerry's Place for Autism in Belleville is going ahead. According to the presentation made by a representative of Kerry's Place on Mon Feb.22 at the Quinte Autism Parent Network meeting at Family Space, a tentative date is set for March 26 to have an open house at the centre. The location is 189 Victoria Avenue (corner of Victoria and Chatham). The centre will offer various services including appointment-based autism consultations, play groups and social skills groups. More details on the new centre will be coming in the next few weeks. The centre hopes to start play groups for children in ages between 4 to 6 in the first week of April. The venue for the playgroups might be at the The Art Garden, 30 Bridge St.E., in downtown Belleville. Area parents can make intake applications at the Victoria Avenue location. Contact person: Laura Egerton at legerton@kerrysplace.org or 613 968 5554

Presenting social stories to your child

2010-02-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

I think most parents of ASD children know how to write social stories for their child. The delivery method we almost always use to present social stories is on paper, sometimes sprinkled with relevant visuals to illustrate the scenario. On average this does the job adequately. They are easy to prepare and use but may not really be effective or appropriate for every child. Perhaps then we can learn to expand on ways to present the same support. For example, we can try recording those stories on audio tapes, which can be played for the child as he/she reads the stories along on paper. We could also try role-playing with little figures to represent the characters in the story or we could do a video-recording of the child with other children/classmates etc. and play it over and over as many times as needed for the child to internalize the story. No matter how we deliver it, the key is, in my opinion, to deliver the story a day or two ahead, maybe more, of the situation he/she is likely to face.

Inclusion in classroom

2010-02-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

Children on the spectrum are known to process information and life experiences in a way much different from their "neuro-typical" peers. Unable to regulate their own emotions, to soothe or comfort themselves while attempting to meet the demands of an often hectic educational environment, they could easily fall victim to confusion, distortion and flurry of anxious emotions ultimately leaving them drained. How very critical then is the understanding and support from educational authorities in our schools to nurture, through carefully constructed strategies, the future of these children so that they won't fall through the cracks.
FYI, http://www.kidstogether.org/ has much to say on the subject.

Visual support for ASD children critical

2010-02-18T06:49:00.002-08:00

What do we need to do to best support the comunication needs of our children on the spectrum? Like everything else, the needs of each individual child may vary but the best support we can give for them is through a generous dose of visual strategies and tools. We need to be talking in pictures at any given time (at home, social gatherings and school) to help them understand accurately what we are communicating to them. Verbal communication is transient. It is gone in an instant. If we examine our own social interactions we will see lots of shifting, in terms of topic, expressions, ideas, body language and tone of voice. We take in information and process it. Then only we can formulate responses appropriate for the situation. All these need to take place rapidly. This is the type of situation our children meet everyday but without the ability to move with the speed of the flow. Verbal information that they recieve during these interactions may disappear before they even had a chance to take in what was said. Therefore they may end up recieving only fragmented messages. Visual support is critical for these children because visual information stays there long enough for the child to see it, take in the information and respond to it. It does not disappear. The child can go back to the picture/s over and over if they need to, to understand and remember what was said to them and what it might mean.

Preparing for your child's evaluation

2010-02-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting and, I think, a helpful read for parents awaiting medical evaluation of their child. In my case, the visit with the developmental paediatrician was three hours long and most of it was spent on a verbal interview with me, the parent. At the time, how I wished I had thought to write up a home report of my own data and observations on my son to give to the doctor. It would have been even better if I had thought to make video clippings of my son's behaviour at home. I found it hard to recollect accurately specific examples. This article seems to give parents a heads up on what to do before such a visit. Please read: Preparing for your child's evaluation Autism Support Network

Reading program for any child

2010-02-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

Reading Rocks program at Links to Learning Belleville: "The program runs January 27 to December 31st annunally. It is free. Any child can join. All children start with the goal of reading 100 books in a years especially if they are in grades senior kindergarden to grade 3. Older Students who are reading novels prefer to start as 'page turners' where they keep track of all pages read in a year. Any book counts. Reading Rocks! specializes in providing easy to read, hard to get reading material."

Choosing from myriad of ASD treatment options

2010-02-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

"A survey study asked parents about their use of 111 different possible autism treatments. These included many different categories including behavioural or educational therapy, medications, diets, supplements, medical procedures and alternative therapies. Parents (mostly from the US) indicated that they had tried an average of seven treatments for their child (Green, 2006). In choosing to use so many, some parents may be selecting options that have little research evidence to inform them what to expect. The danger here is that in some cases, a treatment may cause unpredicted harm to a child. Alternatively, it may not have as much effect as it is promoted to have and may result in a loss of family resources (time or money), which could be put to better use elsewhere.
One approach to this problem is for parents to review as much information as possible concerning a treatment they are considering for their child. But, this unfortunately, may not be enough... available sources such as the Internet, requires knowledge of how to evaluate levels of evidence...learning how to appraise research knowledge at a more basic level can still be useful." - from article by Stephen Gentles.

Brain and 'hug avoidance' in ASD child

2010-02-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

"Delays at crucial points during the development of the brain in the womb may explain why people with a condition linked to autism do not like hugs.
A study in mice with fragile X syndrome found wiring in the part of the brain that responds to touch is formed late.
The findings may help explain why people with the condition are hypersensitive to physical contact, the researchers wrote in Neuron. It also points to key stages when treatment could be most effective."
Very interesting read at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8511100.stm

Books to enjoy with your family

2010-02-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Looks like there are a number of books out there on children with autism presented in characters in the books. You can find a great list of those books at this website. It also has a list of books that will help you explain to your child about what autism is. Follow this link for more info: http://www.autism-resources.com/autism-bib.html#childrens

When you get a little time to yourself...

2010-02-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

This seems like a great resource in terms of reading list for parents and families of newly diagnosed children. Check it out at
http://www.autismvictoria.org.au/reading/autism_reading_list.php

Ideas that may work while waiting for help

2010-02-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

Now you have the diagnosis for your child. What can you do at home while you are looking for professional help? The following list could be of some help:
- specific language when giving directions
- no figures of speech
- use visual cues and visual prompts for your child to help them understand and remember
- keep handy a predictable schedule of evening and weekend events
- space where your child can go to when overstimulated
- visual schedule for the day even weekends: this will help inform your child about changes in his/her environment or schedule before any changes occur
- immediate (it really has to be immediate, experts say, for it to generate same desired behaviour) reinforcement for positive behaviour

ASD children in classroom

2010-02-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

Children are diagnosed with autism based on the assessment that they are not developing as expected on three levels - social interaction, communication and repetitive or restricted behaviour. At school the behaviour of an ASD child may include the following:
- insistence on sameness; resistance to change - transitions, supply teachers, new faces etc.
- trouble reading social cues from others - not understand that the others do not want to talk about the same subject etc. or stand too close to them while lining up
- difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
- laughing hard or too loudly, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
- tantrums
- some may cover their ears when the school bell rings, others may bang on things seeking sensory feedback
- unresponsive to normal teaching methods
- over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
- no real fears of danger or unrealistic fears of typical events
- physical over-activity or under-activity
- unstable gross/fine motor skills
- not always responsive to verbal cues
Adults like teachers and, if the child has one, an EA, interacting with them at school would need to have a few strategies handy to deal with these situations in order to have the best possible educational scenario for the ASD child attending school.

Asperger currently not autism but may soon be

2010-02-12T05:08:00.000-08:00

Experts are actively pursuing the idea of bringing Asperger condition under the umbrella of autism. This will mean, they say, revising the guidelines known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. "The manual has implications for how psychiatric drugs are developed and prescribed, what treatments get covered under insurance plans, which approach doctors take in treating their patients, and how patients view their own identities." The revisions are said to be in the process of being considered to be added into the DSM's fifth edition coming out in 2013.
A quote in the CNN article Feb.11: "Autism tends to be defined as a deficit, and people with Asperger's see themselves as having an advantage in life," said Eileen Parker, 46, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who has Asperger's. That is why the community is split over the DSM issue, she said. She personally agrees that Asperger's belongs under autism for scientific reasons.

Hiring a private therapist for IBI in Ontario

2010-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

When you finally get yourself on the waiting list for IBI (Intensive Behaviour Intervention), you will be told that you have two options: one in which you bide your time for at least three years before you finally get the treatment or second, you can choose to hire your own therapist and be funded by the government. Should you decide to go with the latter, here's a link you can look for possible therapists and some guidance on what it will mean for you to hire someone to do IBI at home for your ASD child.
http://www.abacuslist.ca/client/aso/aba.nsf/web/Home?OpenDocument

Life after diagnosis

2010-02-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

Raising a child with autism can be physically exhausting and emotionally draining. What you'll need to do include the following:
1. Your child's education and treatment: Your first step will be to find a team of trusted professionals. This group could be a team of teachers and therapists who can help gather information on the options in your area and also be able to explain the federal regulations regarding children with disabilities. This team also needs to include a case manager or service coordinator, who can help access financial services and government programs.
2. Caring for a child with autism can be a round-the-clock job that puts stress on your marriage and your whole family. To avoid burnout,experts say, you'll need to take time out to relax, exercise or enjoy your favorite activities even if it's just watching a movie together after the children go to bed.
3. A support group of other families struggling with the challenges of autism can be very useful. Many communities have support groups for parents and siblings of children with autism. (Belleville has one that meets at Family Space on the evening of the last Monday of the month at 6:15 p.m.)
4. Finally, gather yourself information on the subject so you learn to understand the myths that come with the disorder and to form yourself a strong base for journey ahead.

Food for thought, maybe?

2010-02-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Choice autism treatment offers benefits, has limits. Read further: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/31/autism.applied.behavior.analysis/index.html
Limits or not, in Ontario you get placed on a waitlist to recieve such treatment for a period of as much as 3 to 4 years depending on different communities. Meanwhile, your child doesn't stop growing and he/she loses the best window, his/her earliest years (2-5 years, to get the benefit out of this treatment. So, then you are really left to your own devices, to plan your own program and carry it out as best as you can while you wait. I think many parents of children on the spectrum are well-educated on the subject and they know their children well, what works and what doesn't. That's a big plus and a big advantage over professionals who come to our child's life. I believe we can do a lot to redirect the path of our child on the spectrum at home.
Geneva Centre in Toronto now offers a whole lot of courses online for those who might want to look into it for their own training. My son is on a waitlist and may not get the treatment for another two years, which is when he turns 8. It maybe even get closer to his turning 9. I thought I might as well learn to do the job somewhat myself and got my training with Geneva Centre and I feel quite empowered to do what needs to be done for my son at least during this waiting period.

Childhood immunization and autism

2010-02-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

FYI: British medical journal The Lancet says it has retracted a flawed study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease.

The Lancet published the controversial paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues in 1998. British parents abandoned the vaccine in droves, leading to a resurgence of measles. Subsequent studies found no proof the vaccine is connected to autism.

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/familyhealth/article/759194--lancet-retracts-flawed-autism-study

RDSP: good stuff but prepare to drown in paperwork

2010-01-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), the new catchword buzzing around these days brings both good news and the bad. It sounds like a good plan, one that appears to be a fair solution to somewhat bring us a sigh of relief when it comes to planning for the financial future of those we personally take care of today. This was the topic of presentation made at the Quinte Autism parent meeting at Family Space on Jan. 25. The somewhat bad news is that today the plan is offered only at the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Bank in Belleville. The personal experience of one of the resource consultants while setting up the plan for a client at one of these banks seem to be not so savoury either. It appears that at this time, bank employees are not exactly ready to help set up this plan in person. One is offered the benefit of handling all paperwork over the internet while at one of these bank. Not too promising a picture yet on getting help to wade through the maze that will eventually take you to the path you want to be on as far as what you want out of that plan for your child. So many factors and so much information to file through before you can be assured you've done your best for the future of your dependant. Best thing to do, in my opinion, is to make sure you read up all relevant information you need online at home before heading to the bank. Here is one helpful website for priming yourself on all that is RDSP is http://rdsp.wordpress.com/2007/08/09/rdsp-fact-sheet/
Follow the links for more input and you will be well on your way towards setting up the seemingly helpful plan.

Understanding autism video

2009-12-08T03:22:00.000-08:00

A very interesting video for visual understanding of how the brain of a child with autism responds to the outside stimuli, resulting in delays in communication, why it functions differently than that of a neurotypical child http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2009/12/07/chetry.childs.brain.cnn

Signed Speech

2009-10-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

"Signed speech" is a term the speaker, Andrea Doucette, CSBD, used to define the kind of signs parents can use with the non-verbal children with ASD, during her presentation at the Quinte Parents Autism Network meeting on Oct. 26 at Family Space. Signs for hearing but nonverbal children on the spectrum, she said, are based on the American Sign Language but taught differently through modifications for the individual child. Signs as a means of communication to ASD children often falls through because parents sometimes try to teach too many things at once. The successful route, according to Doucette, is to teach the child to sign while making requests for things or objects he or she really wants, then focus on labels and then on social interactions. Each category of signs, for example request signs, needs to be fairly mastered first before moving on to the second category of signs - labels. Repeat the situation where the child would need to make the same request again and again (if he/she wants gold fish crackers and signs for it, to give just a few at a time and have them practice signing for it. Doucette did say that it sounds like torture but it gives the child as many opportunities as possible to practice that one sign). As well, it is important to have all agents and caregivers of the child practice same kind of signs to communicate to the child. This requires that the parents make a binder dictionary of signs commonly used by the child to indicate his wants and needs and give a copy of that dictionary to all the agents involved including his teacher and EAs, if school going children. For more info on signing as as communication for non-verbal ASD children, contact Andrea Doucette at andreadoucettesigns@live.ca.

Horse-therapy

2009-10-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

SPIRITUAL HEALERS
Parents travel world to find autism help for their five-year-old boy. Their son Rowan, they find, is at peace when lying on a horse.
Story's in The Star http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/familyhealth/children'shealth/article/709692--parents-travel-world-to-find-autism-help-for-boy-5

More cases of autism

2009-10-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

CNN article Oct.5/09: Study: More cases of autism in U.S. kids than previously realized

Story Highlights
Study indicates about 1% of children 3 to 17 have autism or related disorder
Results based on national telephone survey of more than 78,000 parents
CDC official: "This is a significant issue that needs immediate attention"
Researchers saying finding could reflect heightened awareness of disorder

For more info, go to http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/05/autism.study/index.html

Understanding the vulnerability of ASD individuals

2009-09-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

My mild-to-moderately autistic son is six-years old and is in Grade 1. Starting this year, his school recesses take place at the same time as the rest of the school which includes students up to Grade 8. That leaves him pretty much exposed to a wide spectrum of much more verbally (as well as otherwise) sophisticated groups of children who, for the fun of it or maybe, on a dare, could easily take advantage of his "gullible" nature, a result of his "mindblindness". My son is struggling verbally and reading body languages and predicting events are nowhere on the horizon yet as far as the level of his communication ability is concerned.
Here's a scenario of mindblindness or lack of theory of mind, defined by autism expert Dr.Simon Barry Cohen. A child on the autism spectrum is walking on a side-walk along a street and he sees a group of boys on the other side of the street looking over and gesturing towards him. The group decides to cross the street, their gestures, facial and body expressions clearly indicating their intent to do harm to the boy. But if the boy happen to see them crossing over, he would have noted only just that - that a group of boys were crossing the street. He could and would not have read their threatening body language and therefore, would not have been able to foresee the danger he might be facing.
Summing it up is a quote by Geoffrey Cowley's article "Understanding Autism," in Newsweek,
"What, ultimately, makes autistic people different? How do they experience the world? Twenty years ago no one had much of a clue. But a burgeoning body of research now suggests that the core of all autism is a syndrome known as mindblindness. For most of us, mind reading comes as naturally as walking or chewing. We readily deduce what other people know and what they don't, and we understand implicitly that thoughts and feelings are revealed in gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice. An autistic person may sense none of this."

Functional Analysis of Behaviour

2009-09-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Understanding behaviour is a tricky thing. Behaviour, experts say, is communication. It is not always easy to understand why a certain behaviour is occurring in an individual. This is even more so in children on the spectrum. They say it is important to see not just what type of behaviour is occurring but what is causing the behaviour - what happenned immediately before the behaviour occurred or in the past hours, even days - and what is the consequence of that behaviour - how people around that child react to that behaviour. Each section - cause, behaviour and consequence (Antecedent,Behaviour,Consequence or ABC)- needs to be observed and carefully recorded for patterns in terms of environment, sequence and time of day before a plan can be made to remedy what may be a negative occurrence successfully. The observation period in case of a non-verbal child could be a long process and could take days or even weeks in some cases. The key, they say, is a careful observation of the ABC of each occurrence. In short, they note, a functional analysis of the behaviour is critical for putting a successful remedial plan in place.

On nurturing "Theory of Mind" in ASD individuals

2009-09-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

Now that we know what theory of mind(read previous post)is all about and what it means for children on the Spectrum, let's see what Geneva Centre for Autism in Toronto has to say about strategies to deal with it. We have to teach our children the concepts of feelings and emotions, awareness that others have their own state of mind, how to read non-verbal cues, review with them different perspectives, practice with hem social situations, role-play or rehearse and support abstract concepts with scripts and visual aids. Each strategy, of course, involves a whole lot of patience, trial and error method (some may work for some individuals and the same may not work for others) but the key element is to consistently work at all of the above to better prepare our children for their encounters with other individuals in all kinds of social situations. It may take weeks, months and even longer for any one of the above strategies to work but hopefully, one day we'll start to see the difference. Then it will be time to party!!

Theory of Mind

2009-09-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

What is theory of mind? What does that have to do with autism? I once asked naively. Apparently, lots. Theory of Mind is the ability to take another person's perspective or to understand the idea behind "put yourself in their shoes". One of the much studied aspects on individuals on the spectrum is the absence of theory of mind. That is the reason why they have difficulty in various skills available to typically developing individuals - such difficulties show up while explaining their own behaviours, understanding emotions, predicting the behaviour or emotional state of others, problems understanding perspectives of others, inferring the intentions of others, lack of understanding that behaviour impacts how others think and/or feel, problems with joint attention and other social conventions, problems differentiating fact from fiction.

Assessing spoken language of ASD child

2009-09-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

FYI:
June 12, 2009

A promising language assessment tool for children with autism

Dr. Daniela O'Neill, CIHR-funded researcher at the University of Waterloo, has developed a language assessment measure that may be especially helpful in assessing spoken language in children with autism. The Language Use Inventory (LUI), a standardized questionnaire that asks parents about their child's use of language in various kinds of settings, was recently included among a set of recommended benchmark measures for evaluating the efficacy of interventions that target spoken language acquisition in children with autism in a report by a panel of autism experts convened by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

Learning style of a child

2009-09-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

The importance of analyzing and understanding a child's learning style is, I believe, the most critical support one could give to any child. It is even more critical, if that's possible, to get this priority right when supporting children on the spectrum. Some children could be completely visual, others kinesthetic, and yet others, auditory. However, the key is to find the learning style of the child and enhance it further perhaps by combining it with auditory and, and when possible, kinesthetic instructional strategy. Over time the child might be able to do well in mainly auditory learning environments.
In primary classroom environments, children on the spectrum, no matter what their learning styles are, have been known to perform better when visuals are in place to help them understand things happening around them during school hours. The truth of the matter is all learning in the early years at school would be greatly enhanced if visuals are generously used as a teaching tool, summing up the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words".

Summer fun a distant memory

2009-08-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

It's incredible how fast time flies. Summer 2009 is already over and we are back to school after just two more "sleeps". We had a fun game over dinner earlier today trying to recall the things we did over the past summer. Together we collected a collage of remembered moments enjoying bits of the memories left of our experiences in our minds. It was a hard exercise for my son because his disability rarely allows him to recall important facets of events, where they took place, how did they happen and when. He grasps at incidents he thought were funny and attempts to share the memory, his face brimming with pleasure at the thought but words failing to come out of his mouth in a coherent way. One can almost catch the moment the thought enters his mind and that he is still thinking about it a long while after the conversation was over. I can just imagine the way he will tell the tale of his summer fun when he is called to share it with his teacher and classmates on Tuesday when he returns to school. He will do so with generous smattering of giggles throughout, guaranteed.

On videos and data collection

2009-08-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

Computer scientists have devised two tools to help people interact with autistic children. Videotaping interactions, they say, allows teachers or parents to replay situations and evaluate the cause of particularly good or bad behavior. Cataloging actual data, rather than relying on memory or interpretation, helps to provide a more accurate measure of a situation.
Now ain't that the truth. It really is so helpful when one can show the doctor with whom one gets an appointment only after months of waiting, actual visuals of the behaviour one's child has been exhibiting in a form of videos and/or data collected on specific behaviours or concerns etc. instead of trying to grasp at on-the-spot random memories of your own observations. Parents have only about an hour and half to 2 hours tops with the doctor to present their case. It makes huge sense to make most effective use of the short time available to both sides by providing visuals and data collected over a period of time.
As well, what better way to bring ever changing teachers and EAs at school up to speed on concerns regarding the child.

About Carly

2009-08-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

The story of Carly Fleishman which appeared on 20/20 on ABC a couple of days ago was truly amazing and inspirational. Here's a story of a severely autistic 14-year-old who, unable to speak, was once written off as one with mental retardation. Today, she is able to communicate her thoughts to the outside world through her words typed on the computer.
Backed by the relentless and consistent determination of her family throughout the years, who never gave up on her, she has found her words today.
"It is hard to be autistic because no one understands me. People look at me and assume I am dumb because I can't speak."
What a story! Hurrah for her, her dedicated parents and family members!

Study Finds Autistics Better At Problem-Solving

2009-07-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

I thought the following article to be an encouraging and positive information for parents of children on the Spectrum. Read on...

Autistics are up to 40 percent faster at problem-solving than non-autistics, according to a new Université de Montréal and Harvard University study published in the journal Human Brain Mapping. As part of the investigation, participants were asked to complete patterns in the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) - test that measures hypothesis-testing, problem-solving and learning skills.

"While both groups performed RSPM test with equal accuracy, the autistic group responded more quickly and appeared to use perceptual regions of the brain to accelerate problem-solving," says lead author Isabelle Soulières, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University who completed the experiment at the Université de Montréal. "Some critics agued that autistics would be unable to complete the RSPM because of its complexity, yet our study shows autistics complete it as efficiently and have a more highly developed perception than non-autistics."
For complete article go to :http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154336.php

About Autism and Theory of Mind

2009-07-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Read this for further understanding a studied aspect of most (or perhaps all?) children on the Spectrum:

Mindblind Eyes: An Absence Of Spontaneous Theory Of Mind In Asperger Syndrome

Highly intelligent adults with Asperger Syndrome still have difficulties in day-to-day social interaction. These difficulties may be explained by 'mindblindness', the idea that they are unable to predict what other people will do by thinking about their mental states, that is, their knowledge and beliefs. If this is true then why do people with Asperger syndrome pass all the standard tests of mental state attribution? Is the theory wrong or are the tests insensitive? This study reports evidence from eye movements, that adults with Asperger Syndrome do not spontaneously anticipate another person's behaviour on the basis of that person's mental state. This is in stark contrast with typical adults, and even young toddlers.

So the mindblindness theory also holds for highly intelligent people with Asperger syndrome. At the same time we acknowledge their successful compensatory learning. This suffices for slow and deliberate thinking about other people's thoughts, but is not the same as the spontaneous and automatic ability to attribute inner thoughts, and it may be the lack of this spontaneous ability that is at the heart of the everyday social impairments still evident in highly intelligent adults with Asperger Syndrome.

Source: Birkbeck College
Link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/158010.php

Links to Learning

2009-07-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

I recently signed up to be a member of Links to Learning in Belleville and have been taking advantage of the great resource they have - books, flashcards, gameboards, you name it. I got my six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter hooked on their generously visual books aimed at beginner readers and I'm beyond thrilled to note how much they are enjoying it. My son, who is currently noted to be fairly delayed in spoken language, can read up to six-word sentences!!! He loves books especially silly books like the ones written by David Shannon and Robert Munsch. Magic School Bus series too are on his list of top-ten favourites! He is yet to read the above on his own but my happy guess is...it won't be too long!

Full day kindergarten

2009-06-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

I couldn't be sure that I didn't write this column on Ontario's full-day kindergarten plan by Rosie Dimanno (published in The Star) myself. I mean it expresses everything I wanted to say and has been saying to a few of my friends about the province's full-day kindergarten plan. All I do now is shake my head at what is to become of our children who came into this world just four years ago, some even less for example, those with birthdates in November, December etc. I feel such pity for these wee ones. They are still so little and JK is the first time some of them will be away from home. This is the first time they are learning to understand the existence of others outside of family and home. This is the first time they are learning how to share and get along with other children. However, they can do this only a little at a time. They need unstructured downtime where they can just be themselves and lie down if they are tired. But in all the talks about the full-day plan, no one mentioned if there will be accomodations made for these children to have maybe a short nap during the class hours.
So, their day would go like this - wake up at 5:30 a.m. every morning, bundled off to school at 7:30 a.m., begin some sort of structured activities until the actual school hours start at 8:50 a.m. The school hours continue till 3:10 p.m. for example - all through they will have teacher-directed things to do. Then the next phase of the afternoon, still in the classroom where there are only tables and chairs till 5:30 p.m. or so. Then they will repeat the routine the next day. I ask you, have you known even adults to be at work for these many hours a day? I say the whole plan is insane. Anyway, if you have time and interest, read this column by Rosie Dimanno published in the Toronto Star.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/653420

Autism Ontario fundraising event

2009-06-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

I went to give a hand to the Autism Ontario Belleville Chapter's fundraising event today at Walmart and was quite heartened to see how supportive the general public was. It was drizzling but folks still came. Good for them!
The dedicated group of members of A/O did a great job. Gotta say they were a cheerful lot standing there in the wet serving up hotdogs and drinks. Hurrah for them!

Great online resource

2009-06-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

I came across this and think it is a GREAT resource. (Click on link below)

About life on the Spectrum

Cheers,
Holly Hoekstra

Transitioning to new classroom

2009-06-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

I wonder what everyone's doing about their child's transition to the new classroom. I was quite nervous about how my son is going to do under the new teacher in Grade 1 that I requested a meeting with her at the beginning of this month. I went to the meeting with an open mind never having met her before. It turned out that she was this straightforward, receptive and pleasant person and I felt better about my son transitioning from his Sk classroom today into her more challenging and structured Grade 1 classroom. I did go prepared to tell her something about my son. I felt it was important that she has an idea of who would be among her students in the upcoming year and to hopefully be able to prepare herself somewhat to handle situations with my son. The meeting went well and I left her my folder with current information about my son's medical status, his strenghts and talents so she will be able to have a once-over at it before we meet her again with my son in August. I feel better that I did that. I strongly believe that its important to communicate but because I feel I have to be cautious about not overburdening the school staff with too much information at once, I made sure that it was mostly in point form and on one page. I added the most current evaluation and that consisted my transition package for my son's new teacher. I have done my part, I think and hope that some of that infomation will leave an impression on my son's new teacher, enough to know what he is all about.

Stimming

2009-06-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

My son's favourite thing to do these days is to ask me the same question over and over even after being answered to each time. We read a book called "Everyone has feelings" which describes a small range of feelings we all have. Now he wants to ask me "Mom, everyone has feelings?" again and again. I answer appropriately and most times expanding on it but he turns around and asks me the same thing again. So, I thought maybe it is stimming of some form and looked it up on the web and found this link.
http://www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/archive/mannerism.html#Chart
Interesting!

IBI for Parents a huge success

2009-05-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Geneva Centre pesentation of IBI for Parents on May 12 at the Family Space Resource Centre in Belleville was, I daresay, a huge success. About 40 participants, consisting of parents, professionals and caregivers supporting children on the autism spectrum turned out for the whole-day program. It covered skills and strategies to try with our children on the spectrum on a daily basis. The following are few of the key messages from the presentation:
1.The cycle of ABC - A for a trigger that invokes the behaviour, B for behaviour that results and C for consequence or the reaction that follows the behaviour. The C is the key, we're told. Reward desired behaviour immediately with a reinforcement - a specially favourite toy, favourite food item or anything that increases that desired behaviour including clapping, hi-fives etc. In short, when the desired behaviour happens, have a parade. However, the reinforcement needs to happen, she cautioned, within 10 seconds or less to be effective. Keep reinforcers like special toys out of reach to encourage the child to work for it. As well, initially reinforce every single time and then fade as skills develop.
2. Time outs don't work because it feeds directly into a desired escape need of the child. It is a very abstract concept for a child on the spectrum. Instead, she said, give clear and short instructions on expectations, fully prompt the child into following through and move on to somthing else.
3. Timers can cause intense anxiety.
4. For teaching language, labelling each action, object and talk about its aspects. For example, if the subject is a car, then talk about various features of a car etc.If child makes an error, re-present the instruction and immediately prompt him to success.
5. Working one-on-one with a child on the spectrum needs to happen in an inviting, clutter-free environment with work materials ready and organized. Preferred furniture being kid-sized table and chairs (suggestion offered was : a favourite pajama, picture on the chair where the child will be seated.
So, it was all of the above and much more. The workshop certainly gave me food for thought and a set of skills to try with my child. The participants response at the end of the day was so positive that there is already a plan to try and get another such event happen again in th fall. Something to think about for all of us. It certainly was cheaper than going all the way to Toronto to participate in a similar workshop.

Snoezlen room

2009-05-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

Pathways in Belleville has this great resource for autistic children with sensory issues. It's called the Snoezlen room. Children and accompanying parent can simply go in and enjoy various sources that feeds the sensory needs of a child who loves to look at lights or spin wheels etc. It's three dollars for half an hour. The facility is located at 289 Pinnacle Street (where the Quinte Christian College was formerly located). My five-year-old son and I went there the other day and he loved the sensation of balls in the bathtub on his skin. He also loved the quiet setting, the bubbly towers, the lights that came on the floor when he walked on it. It was great.

Toddler brain difference linked to autism

2009-05-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

FYI: Interesting article on how experts think its possible to detect autism in early childhood based on size of an aspect of brain. The article appeared on CNN May 5/09

Story Highlights
Study: The amygdala in toddlers with autism is 13 percent larger than unaffected kids

Size of brain area linked to ability to process faces as friend or foe

Autism is believed to affect as many as 1 in 150 children

University of North Carolina researchers hope findings result in earlier intervention

Read whole article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/04/autism.brain.amygdala/index.html

Horse therapy for autistic child

2009-04-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

I've heard so much about the benefits of horse riding therapy for autistic individuals and wondered about it for my son too. Here's a truly remarkable story of a family's experience that appeared on CNN today.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/24/autism.horse.mongolia/index.html

Heartwarming story

2009-04-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today's article about a family living with an autistic child in The Toronto Star is so heartwarming. Please read it at http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/article/618437

Services for adults with ASD

2009-04-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

They remain children for such a short time. What happens when our ASD children become teens and then adults? The following are what we have for now for adults living with ASD and I thought might help.

SOUTH EAST REGION Hastings, Lennox & Addington, Kingston/Frontenac, Lanark, Leeds & Grenville)
10 of total 21 agencies listed offer some service to adults
* indicates a special focus on autism

*ACL stands for Associations for Community Living

Brockville & District Association for Community Involvement
Gananoque & District ACL
* Kerry’s Place – Hastings
Kingston & District ACL
Kingston Independent Living Resources Centre
North Frontenac Community Living
North Grenville ACL
North Hastings Community Integration Association
Ongwanada
Prince Edward ACL

Source: http://www.ont-autism.uoguelph.ca/directory.shtml

Another service: Meta Vocational Services
http://www.metavocational.com/index.php?access=RC&ID=ProAndSer&SUB=3

About ABA therapy

2009-04-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

FYI: CNN article on autism April 1 2009

Story Highlights
Applied behavior analysis is a rigorous empirical method to teach behaviors

Autism Speaks has endorsed bills in 25 states to make insurance cover ABA

Research: 60 percent of high-functioning kids can lose autism diagnosis with ABA

Five-year medical costs for children with autism, on average, about $35,000

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/31/autism.applied.behavior.analysis/index.html#cnnSTCOther1

Dogs and autistic individuals

2009-03-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there's some sort of scientific explanation," she says. "But I call it magic."
- Karen Shirk on ability of service dogs to help children suffering from autism.

Read her story:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/07/16/heroes.shirk/index.html

No cure for autism

2009-03-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

FYI: Source - Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Autism
Autism is one of a group of serious developmental problems called autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that appear in early childhood — usually before age 3. Though symptoms and severity vary, all autism disorders affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others.

It's estimated that three to six out of every 1,000 children in the United States have autism — and the number of diagnosed cases is rising. It's not clear whether this is due to better detection and reporting of autism, a real increase in the number of cases, or both.

What is clear is that though there is no cure for autism, intensive, early treatment can make an enormous difference in the lives of many children with the disorder.

©1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER).

World Autism Day April 2

2009-03-30T05:06:00.001-07:00

FYI: World Autism Day

http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=234906

Looking for input

2009-03-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

Looking for help to set up FAQ thread. Please send your responses to the following questions:

-If you suspect autism in your son or daughter who would you take him/her to see first? To get things started?

-Do you know an excellent "first book" for someone who
has just discovered that they will have some responsibility
for someone with autism?

-Other sources of information in south-east Ontario region?

-Visits to dentists

-Recreational activities, sports

Please email any ideas to bsangma@cogeco.ca. to be posted on the blog

On gastrointestinal conditions and autism

2009-03-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

FYI

Mar 2, 2009

Headline news: USC Researchers Identify Gene Variant Associated With Both Autism And Gastrointestinal Dysfunction

The findings of researchers at University of Southern California (USC) and Vanderbilt University identifying a specific gene variant that links increased genetic risk for autism with gastrointestinal (GI) conditions is now available online.

"Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication abilities, social behavior disruption and inflexible behavior. While gastrointestinal conditions are common among individuals with autism, researchers have long debated whether co-occurring GI dysfunction represents a unique autism subgroup, (Pat)Levitt (principal investigator) and lead author Daniel Campbell.Ph.D, say.
"Gastrointestinal disorders don¹t cause autism. Autism is a disorder of brain development," Levitt( director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and chair-designate of the Department of cell and neurobiology) says. "However, our study is the first to bring together genetic risk for autism and co-occurring GI disorders in a way that provides a biologically plausible explanation for why they are seen together so often."

Source and full story: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/140718.php