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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Autism causation and the Hepatitis B vaccine: no link

One of the primary subjects for those promoting vaccines as a primary cause of autism is the Hepatitis B vaccine. This vaccine is given at birth and represents a child’s first exposure outside the womb to a vaccine and, in the old days, to thimerosal. David Kirby attempted to link the rise in autism prevalence to the introduction of the HepB vaccine. Others have claimed that the rates of special education placements are 9 times higher amongst children given the HepB vaccine at birth. Here is the abstract for (Hepatitis B triple series vaccine and developmental disability in US children aged 1–9 years

 Click here to read the full article.

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STAR Autism Training in Miles City October 2010

Training to implement the STAR Autism Support Curriculum
Miles Community College
When: October 7-8, 2010 8:30
Cost: $100 for educators, FREE for para

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PECS Training in MIles City October 2010

The PECS training in Miles City will be on October 21-22, 2010. 

The cost will be $100 per participant. 

Region 1 CSPD

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Determining 'Brain Age' With A Simple Scan

A new type of brain scan could help doctors identify children whose brains are not developing on schedule, and may eventually explain what goes wrong in the brains of children with autism. The technique, called functional connectivity MRI, shows which parts of the brain are communicating. That makes it more useful for detecting developmental disorders than traditional MRI, which shows brain structures, says Nico Dosenbach of Washington University in St. Louis.

 Click here for full story.

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Using Videos To Help Diagnose Autism In Babies




The causes of autism are still unclear, but evidence is building that early intervention — before age 1 — may help mitigate or even prevent the developmental disorder from occurring in the first place. Making such early treatment more possible, researchers now report a promising new way of detecting autism in infants as young as 14 months.

Neuroscientist Karen Pierce, director of clinical research at the University of San Diego's (UCSD) Autism Center of Excellence, found that autism can be predicted by identifying young babies who have a preference for repetitive geometric patterns. Pierce and her team studied 110 babies — some showed signs of autism spectrum disorders, some exhibited symptoms of other developmental abnormalities, and about half were developing normally. Babies sat on a parent's lap and were presented with two 1-min. videos, played side by side. One video showed children stretching or dancing in a yoga class, while the other showed abstract geometric shapes changing in a repetitive pattern. Among the toddlers aged 14 months to 42 months, 100% of those who spent more than 50% of the time watching the geometric shapes were autistic.
See videos and read more: 

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Choosing the Best iPad Apps

"The iPad wasn't designed with autistic children in mind, but, anecdotally, the results are seemingly miraculous," say's well known technology bloggers (and Apple Critic) John Gruber. There is a lot of buzz in the autism world about the many ways that the iPad helps children with autism, for good reason. AsAshley Harrell of SF Weekly, reports, there are other computers designed for children with autism, but a growing number of experts say that the iPad is better. It's cheaper, faster, more versatile, more user-friendly, more portable, more engaging, and infinitely cooler for young people
.Read more: 

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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

A Wonderful Short Film

Original Animated Shorts Q & A In early 2006, 12-year-old Joshua Littman, who has Asperger’s syndrome, interviewed his mother, Sarah, at StoryCorps. Their one-of-a-kind conversation covered everything from cockroaches to Sarah’s feelings about Joshua as a son.

 Click here to view the video.

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Bullying and ASD

Being the victim of a childhood bully can have a lasting impact, including depression and diminished socioeconomic status, into adulthood. Many adults who were once victims of bullying vividly recall the feelings of intimidation, the sometimes-daily battering of self-esteem. Many also recall the hands-off attitude that used to be common among teachers, principals, and other adults. Fortunately, bullying, which was once considered a normal and unavoidable part of the schoolyard landscape, is now viewed as a much more serious matter. The issue of bullying may be particularly worrisome for parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this article, we will explore how children with ASD are particularly at risk of becoming victims of bullying. We will also discuss how they may act out in a way that leads to their being identified as bullies. In either case, parents, teachers, and school staff need to know how to help them through the difficulties involved.

Click here to see more information.

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