Education & Basketball Triumphs!
Flying With The Basketball!
To celebrate the weekend, I have two stories of heartwarming triumph on the high school basketball court.
The first story happened way back in 2006, when Jason McElwain, an autistic high school senior, dazzled his fellow team members and the crowd in the final game of the season.
Jason (J-Mac to his friends) had served as a waterboy, then Coach’s assistant and “spirit leader” for his Rochester, NY high school team, but finally played. He astounded everyone!
He wound up (more…)
Understanding Autism & Education – Final Day of April
Recap of Autism & Education Series
Autism Awareness Month is coming to a close, but there is so much more to learn.
We looked at some of the possible causes of Autism, especially genetics and toxins, but new information and studies are revealed daily.
In fact, NewsmaxHealth just published the results of a study showing a definite link between mercury and an increased risk of autism.
“A newly published study of Texas school district data and industrial mercury-release data, conducted by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, indeed shows a statistically significant link between pounds of industrial release of mercury and increased autism rates. It also shows — for the first time in scientific literature — a statistically significant association between autism risk and distance from the mercury source.”
Now you know that behavioral therapy techniques, including Applied Behavioral Analysis, have shown positive results. We learned that families are generally the first to suspect that developmental problems are occurring and that early intervention is critical. That early intervention demonstrates that intensive repetition is one form of improving outcomes.
We know that intervention must continue as children enter school, and that Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapy can be part of that intervention.
Although this series has focused mainly on young children and infants with autism, and the interventions to help them, autism doesn’t just ‘go away’. In November 2006, Newsweek published a story about the impact of teens and young adults with autism.
“Autism strikes in childhood, but as thousands of families have learned–and thousands more are destined to learn–autism is not simply a childhood disorder. Two decades into the surge of diagnoses that has made autism a major public health issue, a generation of teenagers and young adults is facing a new crisis: what happens next?”
“As daunting as that question may be, it’s just the latest in the endless chain of challenges that is life for the dedicated parents of children with autism. Twenty years ago, they banded together–largely out of desperation–to raise awareness of a once rarely diagnosed, often overlooked disease. They are united by the frustration of dealing with a condition that has no known cause and no cure. They have lobbied passionately to get better education for their kids and more money for research into autism, a neurological disorder characterized by language problems, repetitive behaviors and difficulty with social interaction. At the same time, more sophisticated epidemiology has revealed the true magnitude of the problem. Autism is now estimated to affect [statistics effective at time of publication] from one in 500 to one in 166 children–or as many as 500,000 Americans under 21, most male. That includes individuals with a wide range of abilities–from socially awkward math whizzes to teens who aren’t toilet trained–but who all fit on what scientists now consider a spectrum of autism disorders.”
As one of my commenters mentioned, there are varying levels of disabilities involved with autism, ranging from non-communication to actual seriously self-destructive behaviors. Some autistic children will be able to function at optimum levels and yet some will never be able to become self-sufficient.
Autism involves not only a wide range of causes and symptoms, but also diagnoses. Whether it is autism or Asberger’s, or any of the other variations, there is so much to be learned and much to be discovered.
This series of articles is simply the tip of the iceburg. I don’t claim to be a world-renowned autism expert, although I personally exhibited several autistic tendencies as a child, and continue to do so into my old age. All I can do is provide information about what I have learned as a person, a nurse, and a mother, and offer links to further information.
I hope that this series, which is intended to make you aware of the prevalence of autism in our society and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention, will encourage you to learn more about this puzzling condition affecting so many of our young.
Because autism has a major impact on our schools and our society, I hope this series piqued your curiosity to learn all you can about this increasingly widespread disorder.
April is Autism Awareness Month. April is now coming to a close, but I encourage you to continue learning about Autism and learn how you can help. There are many wonderful sites and organizations that will give you information – and many organizations that would appreciate your help.
Until tomorrow,
Brennan
Understanding Autism & Education – Part 6
Therapy for Autism and Education
Now that you know how prevalant autism is, you probably want to know what can be done to combat it!
Let’s briefly review what we’ve covered so far:
- 1 in 150 children are being diagnosed with autism
- 4 times as many boys as girls are diagnosed
- Several reasons for autism are being investigated, including:
- genetics (#1)
- vaccines
- mercury-poisoning and other toxins
- several as yet unproven hypotheses
- Parents are usually the first to recognize developmental disorders
- A simple screening tool, M-CHAT, is widely-accepted
Therapy for Autism
While there are many therapies being tried, few have been in place long enough to have scientific evidence backing them. But parents of autistic children are very receptive and eager to try promising techniques.
The most documented, and currently most promising, therapies are behavioral therapy techniques, which have been proven to be effective intervention approaches. There are many programs based on behavioral techniques:
- ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis)
- Lovaas programs, based on the pioneering work of Ivar Lovaas, PhD at UCLA.
- Verbal Behavior Programs (tied to work of Sundberg, Partington and Carbone)
- Discrete Trial Programs (the teaching method of behavioral therapy), and
- Intensive In-Home Behavioral Therapy (time-intensive in-home training geared to younger children up to age 6)
The behavioral therapy system pairs positive reinforcement with learning small pieces of information, repetitively. Research shows that to make the most gains, children need to receive AT LEAST 25 hours or more of therapy per week. It is mandatory that the information be offered in a systematic approach, rather than haphazardly. Repetition of learning seems to make the most significant difference.
The best outcomes seem to occur when:
- Autism is diagnosed early
- BTM (Behavior Therapy Method) is initiated ASAP
- BTM is implemented in practitioner’s offices and in-home
- 25 or more hours of learning in a systematic approach occurs
- Repetition of learning occurs
- A modified program continues after child begins school
- Speech therapy, Occupational therapy and Physical therapy is included in the program
Tomorrow is the last day of April and Autism Awareness Month!
Please come back for the conclusion,
Brennan
Autism & Big Brother Winnings?
Big Brother Winner to donate $100,000 to Autism
Thought I’d take a break from the Autism & Education series today to share some news. If you aren’t a big fan of CBS’ prime time show Big Brother, you may not have heard that the winner promised he will give one fifth of his half-million dollar prize to support autism studies.
Ordinarily, I avoid these types of reality programs like the plague, but recently, my tv will only get NBC & CBS, for some reason.
So, though I only watched 3 times, I’m glad I saw the finale, because just before the vote is when the winner declared that he was going to give $100,000 of the half million he won to the Autism Foundation.
According to his Bio:
Adam, 29
Single
Public Relations Manager
Delray Beach, FL via Cherry Hill, NJ
Adam has a master’s degree in fashion design/marketing. He studied at Camden County College in New Jersey, Parson’s School of Design in New York and Fashion Art Italy in Italy. He currently works as a PR manager where he arranges events, does publicity and is the Sponsorship and Creative Director for a foundation.
It’ll be nice if it happens.
Wonder if he’s aware of how much tax there is on $500,000 winnings?
Oh well, back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow,
Brennan
Understanding Autism & Education – Famous People
Famous Autistics
Because this is the weekend, I’d like to share this poster and a couple of thoughts you can hold in your mind and heart during your busy Saturday and Sunday.
The statistics for diagnoses of autism is staggering, but we cannot be overwhelmed. Most of the famous people in the poster above were misunderstood, and often ridiculed as children. But later they were recognized as geniuses, and they each made powerful and lasting contributions to our world.
Parents of autistic children are fiercely protective and most are willing to fight to get every benefit and intervention they can for their autistic child. They know how precious these youngsters are, and they know how special each child is.
We are the ones who need to become aware, rather than judgemental, if a child does not behave as we expect.
As I continue this series, I will be talking more about interventions, the impact on education and the hope for a cure.
Autism is an enormous and multi-faceted subject that can be overwhelming to learn about. But we must move forward, trying to know everything there is to learn, and helping as we can.
Perhaps, as autism awareness grows, we will become more patient people and less inclined to rush to judgement. I have a firm belief that something good can come from every trial.
Until Monday!
Understanding Autism & Education – Part 4
Autism vs Ignorance
Today I want to share the latest assessment and diagnostic tools, plus a simple screening tool.
But before I do that, I’d like to thank two of my readers for clarifying the fragile x chromosome I mentioned in yesterday’s post. I attributed the fragile X to aging parents, specifically fathers, but fortunately, SallyN and FXSmom gave me some valuable information that expands beyond the resources that I had utilized. In the interest of accurate information, I’d like to share two sites that they referred to.
“If you want the facts on Fragile X, go to fraxa.org or fragileX.org”
In addition to fragile x syndrome as one cause, you may also want to do further study of tuberous sclerosis, congenital rubella syndrome, and Angelman syndrome.
I apologize for implying that what I said about fragile x and aging parents was the ONLY theory. I certainly don’t want to spread more misinformation about this already misunderstood disorder.
Assessing for Autism
Continuing with the series, I’d like to talk today about assessing for autism, and how important it is to identify autism early to start intervention ASAP.
I mentioned, early in the series, that parents often are the first to suspect that there is a problem. Generally the parental assessment process occurs over a period of time, as parents harbor doubts about the developmental skills of their child. Usually parents confer with friends and family members before bringing the subject up with an authority figure, such as their pediatrician, teacher, day care person, as they try to determine whether their child’s development rate is within normal guidelines.
Once parents have expressed concern, there is a simple six-item screening tool, called the M-CHAT. With M-CHAT, parents are asked the following yes or no questions:
- 1. Does your child ever use his/her index finger to point, to indicate interest in something?
- 2. Does your child respond to his/her name when you call?
- 3. Does your child take an interest in other children?
- 4. Does your child ever bring objects over to you (the parent) to show you something?
- 5. If you point to a toy across the room, does your child look at it?
- 6. Does your child imitate you? For example, if you make a face, will your child imitate it?
“NO” to two or more items would need further evaluation by someone who is qualified to do a more detailed assessment. This scoring on M-CHAT may not mean autism, but it does identify an unusual development process and should receive professional follow-up with a referral to a developmental pediatrician, child psychologist or developmental specialist.
Diagnostic Clarification Tools for Autism
When a child is referred for further testing, the specialist will detail a much more in-depth picture of the child’s history, behaviors, etc.
Three of the most commonly used tools are:
- The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) which groups symptoms into 15 different areas and results in a range of scores to indicate the likelihood of autism.
- The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), used to define behaviors, cognitive ability, language, communication level, and adaptive functioning.
- The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) is a structured interview to elicit (draw out or evoke) symptoms and behaviors.
When a diagnosis of autism is finally determined, the next step is to determine the most appropriate INTVERVENTION PLAN.
In my next post, I’ll be discussing some of the famous people in history who were autistic. I think you’ll be surprised at some of the names.
See you next time!
Brennan
Understanding Autism & Education – Part 3
Let’s look at some possible causes of autism
Today, in Day 3 of this Autism series, I’d like to share with you some of the suspected causes of autism. No one REALLY knows the exact cause, or causes, but there are suspicious instigators (or etiologies) that are being investigated.
Although the incidence of autism is increasing (1 in 150 children), there doesn’t appear to be a single cause, or culprit. Since autism covers an entire spectrum of disorders, such as Asberger’s Syndrome and others, there are undoubtedly several causative factors. Let’s look at the most suspicious ones first.
Vaccines
To research the possible relationship between vaccines and autism, I first went to the CDC. The Center for Disease Control says there is no relationship between autism and vaccines, according to their research, BUT. . .
The general suggested scenario for vaccine-induced autism is for a child to have an immediate reaction to an immunization, up to, and including, a fever, seizure and infections. In the following weeks and months after the immunization, changes in behavior and regression in developmental milestones are noted, most usually by parents themselves.
Vaccines cited most frequently as triggering autism were the MMR and DPT. Another scenario that was notable was when the physician decided to catch up with a child behind on the vaccination schedule by giving a child several immunizations at once.
The typical changes in behavior include becoming more unhappy, losing eye contact and becoming withdrawn. A typical regression in developmental milestones is for the child to lose some or all language acquired prior to immunization. Frequently, the initial reaction to immunization wasn’t as pronounced, but regression in language and behavior followed nonetheless.
The key suspect in immunization-triggered autism is mercury, the base used to prepare the vaccines.
In spite of study results claiming no link between autism and vaccines, a significant number of children currently diagnosed within the autism spectrum could have vaccine-induced autism. In turn, the number of children with vaccine-induced autism could account for a substantial portion of the increase in reported cases of autism.
Although vaccines have played an important role in ending many terrible and deadly childhood diseases, any caring parent can’t help but wonder whether receiving up to 20 immunizations before the age of two plays a role in triggering autism and other learning disabilities as well.
DNA & Genetics
DNA and genetics are a wide-open field for discovering the possible genetic and/or hereditary causes for many diseases and disorders, including autism. Some geneticists believe that autism may be linked to a fragile-X chromosome, often associated with elderly parents. There has to be more to it than that, possibly going back two or more generations, because many autistic children are born to young and seemingly healthy parents.
One of the supporters of this theory is one of my commentors, Leslie at Autism-Prevention Blog.
Since there has been such a documented increase in the occurrence in the population, there will continue to be many theories and facts revealed. It may be that something in our diets, including fast food french fries, just may be catching up with our society at large.
There is so much to learn and know but don’t give up. Tomorrow, I’ll discuss some of the diagnostic tests available AND some of the most famous people with autism.
Tune in tomorrow!
Until tomorrow,
Brennan
Understanding Autism & Education – Part 2
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What is Autism?
Since April is Autism Awareness month, I’d like to continue this series by telling you about autism, what it is and some of the signs and symptoms. Later in the series, I’ll be bringing you the latest research on some of the possible causes, and, importantly, how to combat autism.
Autism is a neurological disorder that seems to emphasize deficiencies in THREE MAJOR AREAS:
- FIRST: Even though children with autism usually have perfect hearing, they don’t seem to understand common words, or communicate effectively. In other words, there is good hearing but poor understanding and communication.
For example, an autistic child may repeat words over and over (echoing) but have no concept of their meaning. There is NO attempt to communicate with language. - SECOND: Social skills are delayed in autistic children and, sometimes, are never developed. Unlike the typical non-autistic child, they seem uninterested in other children, may have very limited eye contact with anyone, and often don’t utilize imitative play skills.
One example is of a toddler who does not play peek-a-boo when you go through the actions.
One interesting clue is when a child doesn’t point to objects of interest and cannot follow another’s point. - THIRD: There are several unusual behaviors that are associated with autism:
- Continuous repetitive play
- hand flapping
- body rocking
- finger posturing
- toe walking
- lining up or repetitively stacking toys or objects
- sniffing or mouthing objects
- aversion to certain textures e.g. sand
- repetitive nonfunctional routines or behavior patterns that are firmly entrenched
The American Psychiatric Association suggest that some form of this group, or ‘constellation’ of behaviors is present by age 3. Sometimes the child will have started to develop along normal lines and then a regression of words and behaviors seems to occur. The child may stop saying “mama” when looking at their mother, or waving “bye bye” when someone leaves. It’s as if the skills are LOST.
While autism is tricky to diagnose, it is generally the parents and family who first suspect that something is wrong. And, the most reassuring thing about autism is that intervention is helpful.
TOMORROW: Assessing for Autism
Brennan
Understanding Autism & Education – Part 1
April is Autism Awareness Month
You may have seen the brightly colored puzzle-piece ribbon around, but didn’t know what it stood for. Because so many children are being diagnosed with autism, it is important for all of us to know what autism is; what we are dealing with, the phenomenal increase in children being diagnosed; and what impact this can have on our society, and on public education.
April has been designated as “Autism Awareness Month” and I would like to do my part. If you’ve been reading my posts for awhile, you know that my background is as a Critical Care nurse, but I started in NeoNatal Intensive Care with premature and at-risk infants.
Because there are so many things to know and learn about autism, I’ve decided to devote the next several days to sharing information with you about this troubling epidemic, the signs and symptoms, what is being done, some potential causes, and many other topics.
Autistic Child Stacking Cans
Because this is such a big issue in the USA, I’ll be sharing as much as I can about this puzzling neurological disorder, what parents and grandparents can do and, most importantly, the best way to help children diagnosed with autism.
Research about some of the suspected causes (are vaccines a risk or not?) and the impact on society and our schools are just a couple of the topics I’ll bring you information about.
One in every 150 children is being diagnosed in this very real epidemic. In fact, a child is diagnosed with autism almost every twenty minutes!
Please join me as I try to give you all the latest and most accurate information about this disabling and puzzling disorder, and what can be done to counteract it.
See you tomorrow!
Brennan
