Monday, October 29, 2007

Pediatricians urge autism screening

CHICAGO - The country's leading pediatricians group is making its strongest push yet to have all children screened for autism twice by age 2, warning of symptoms such as babies who don't babble at 9 months and 1-year-olds who don't point to toys.


The advice is meant to help both parents and doctors spot autism sooner. There is no cure for the disorder, but experts say that early therapy can lessen its severity.

Symptoms to watch for and the call for early screening come in two new reports. They are being released by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday at its annual meeting in San Francisco and will appear in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics and on the group's Web site — http://www.aap.org/.

The reports list numerous warning signs, such as a 4-month-old not smiling at the sound of Mom or Dad's voice, or the loss of language or social skills at any age.

Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have the troubling developmental disorder.

"Parents come into your office now saying 'I'm worried about autism.' Ten years ago, they didn't know what it was," said Dr. Chris Johnson of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. She co-authored the reports.

The academy's renewed effort reflects growing awareness since its first autism guidelines in 2001. A 2006 policy statement urged autism screening for all children at their regular doctor visits at age 18 months and 24 months.

The authors caution that not all children who display a few of these symptoms are autistic and they said parents shouldn't overreact to quirky behavior.

Just because a child likes to line up toy cars or has temper tantrums "doesn't mean you need to have concern, if they're also interacting socially and also pretending with toys and communicating well," said co-author Dr. Scott Myers, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician in Danville, Pa.

"With awareness comes concern when there doesn't always need to be," he said. "These resources will help educate the reader as to which things you really need to be concerned about."

Another educational tool, a Web site that debuted in mid-October, offers dozens of video clips of autistic kids contrasted with unaffected children's behavior. That Web site — http://www.autismspeaks.org/ — is sponsored by two nonprofit advocacy groups: Autism Speaks and First Signs. They hope the site will promote early diagnosis and treatment to help children with autism lead more normal lives.

The two new reports say children with suspected autism should start treatment even before a formal diagnosis. They also warn parents about the special diets and alternative treatments endorsed by celebrities, saying there's no proof those work.

Recommended treatment should include at least 25 hours a week of intensive behavior-based therapy, including educational activities and speech therapy, according to the reports. They list several specific approaches that have been shown to help.

For very young children, therapy typically involves fun activities, such as bouncing balls back and forth or sharing toys to develop social skills; there is repeated praise for eye contact and other behavior autistic children often avoid.

Mary Grace Mauney, an 18-year-old high school senior from Lilburn, Ga., has a mild form of autism that wasn't diagnosed until she was 9.

As a young girl, she didn't smile, spoke in a very formal manner and began to repeat the last word or syllable of her sentences. She was prone to intense tantrums, but only outside school. There, she excelled and was in gifted classes.

"I took her to a therapist and they said she was just very sensitive and very intense and very creative," said her mother, Maureen, 54.

Pediatricians should send such children for "early intervention as soon as you even think there's a problem," Johnson said.

Dr. Ruby Roy, a pediatrician with Loyola University Medical Center, who treats at least 20 autistic children, applauded the reports.

"This is a disorder that is often missed, especially when it's mild, and the mild kids are the ones ... who can be helped the most," Roy said.

Dr. Dirk Steinert, who treats children and adults at Columbia St. Mary's clinic in suburban Milwaukee, said the push for early autism screening is important — but that it's tough to squeeze it into a child's regular wellness checkup.

Some pediatricians have tried scheduling a visit just to check for developmental problems, when children are 2 1/2. The problem is that insurance doesn't always cover these extra visits, Steinert said.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

AS and relationships that work

This is a forum for those who are in a relationship where Asperger's Syndrome is either diagnosed or suspected (either in your partner or in yourself) and who are looking for ways to cope and overcome the difficulties that AS brings. This forum is for for people who are actively trying to improve their relationship, not just survive it. Please try to keep posts positive in nature. It's ok to explain things that haven't worked, but please do it in a way that assists others in their search for solutions and understanding, not to discourage or squash hopes.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Autism Speaks - Walk Now for Autism 2007 - this Saturday, Oct. 27

This Saturday, October 27, my family and I will be participating in a very special event, WALK NOW For Autism benefiting the Autism Speaks/Cure Autism Now Foundation. WALK NOW FOR AUTISM unites the community in support of those affected by autism with a noncompetitive 5K walk and community resource fair, where parents meet a variety of autism service providers and kids enjoy arts & crafts, moon bounces and other fun activities. Experience the power of thousands united by a single cause by joining WALK NOW FOR AUTISM: the fast-growing, family-friendly community dedicated to raising necessary funds for autism research, awareness and outreach.

You may be wondering why Cure Autism Now and WALK NOW are so important to me and my family. My involvement stems from a very personal and deep emotional contact with this complicated disease.

My 8-year-old son, Sean, was diagnosed with a form of Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, five years ago. I am very proud of Sean and impressed with his progress so far thanks to hard work on his part, our part and an excellent program within the Cy-Fair School District.

I strongly feel that I can have a direct impact on finding causes and cures for autism. I also feel strongly that Autism Speaks/Cure Autism Now is a wonderful organization which has been instrumental in furthering autism research. In 1995, when Cure Autism Now was founded there were only 12 researches focused solely on autism. Today there are over 300. That is progress. WALK NOW gives us a tangible way to help the nearly 1.5 million other Americans affected by autism and related disorders.

I am asking for your support in helping us raise money for this worthy cause. Any contribution you are able to make would be greatly appreciated, but I ask you to give big as there is a big need for further research. My personal goal is to raise $500.00 for Cure Autism Now and I hope to far exceed that goal. Last year I raised over $750!

It is easiest to donate online by going to our personal webpage at

Sean's Walk Now For Autism page

If you are unable to donate online, you can print out a donation form from that page and hand it to me. All checks should be made payable to Cure Autism Now.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail on.

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Why WALK NOW FOR AUTISM?
Every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism. A cure must be found NOW. Autism is a neuro-developmental disorder that is commonly diagnosed by the age of three, and in some cases, as early as one year. Affecting one in every 150 children born today, autism is characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior. The money raised at WALK NOW FOR AUTISM supports Autism Speaks / Cure Autism Now's mission to find the causes, effective treatments and a cure for autism through funding essential biomedical and scientific research.

About Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now
Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now are dedicated to increasing awareness of the growing autism epidemic and to raising money to fund scientists who are searching for a cure. Cure Autism Now was founded in 1995 by Jonathan Shestack and Portia Iversen, parents of a child with autism. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now (CAN) recently announced plans to combine operations, bringing together the two leading organizations dedicated to accelerating and funding biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism; to increasing awareness of the nation's fastest-growing developmental disorder; and to advocating for the needs of affected families. Together the organizations have awarded autism research grants valued at more than $50 million. To learn more about Autism Speaks, please visit www.autismspeaks.org. To learn more about Cure Autism Now, please visit www.cureautismnow.org .


About Autism

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder of development that lasts throughout a person's lifetime. Because persons with autism exhibit different symptoms or behaviors, ranging from mild to serious, autism is a "spectrum" disorder, or a group of disorders with a range of similar features.

Children with autism have difficulty communicating and interacting with others. Many individuals with autism seem to retreat into isolation, or fixate on a word, an object, or an activity.

Sometimes symptoms are seen in infancy, while other children develop normally for a year or more before they begin to slip into their own private world. At best, a high functioning person with autism may simply seem eccentric, a loner. At worst, a person with more profound autism may never learn to speak or care for themselves.

You are never prepared for a child with autism. You will gradually come to believe it, but never fully accept it, get used to it, or get over it. You put away the hopes and dreams you had for that child - the high school graduation, the June wedding. Small victories are cause for celebration - a word mastered, a dry bed, a hug given freely.

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I look forward to hearing from you. I thank you very much!

Always,
Marc