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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Supporting Functional Communication in High School

This Autism at-a-Glance was designed to support high school staff and family members in understanding and improving the communication skills of adolescents on the autism spectrum. The content was developed to specifically target the needs of students who have more significant communication needs. If you serve students who are able to communicate conversationally, please see our Autism at-a-Glance titled Supporting Communication in High School. Autism at-a-Glance is designed for high school staff members supporting students on the autism spectrum, as well as family members of adolescents on the autism spectrum. Autism at-a-Glance provides a current summary of topics relevant to high school students on the autism spectrum as well as practical tips and resources for school and community personnel and family members.

 Read more here. 

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Friday, March 28, 2014

Brain Changes Suggest Autism Starts In The Womb

he symptoms of autism may not be obvious until a child is a toddler, but the disorder itself appears to begin well before birth. Brain tissue taken from children who died and also happened to have autism revealed patches of disorganization in the cortex, a thin sheet of cells that's critical for learning and memory, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. Tissue samples from children without autism didn't have those characteristic patches. Organization of the cortex begins in the second trimester of pregnancy. "So something must have gone wrong at or before that time," says Eric Courchesne, an author of the paper and director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego. The finding should bolster efforts to understand how genes control brain development and lead to autism. It also suggests that treatment should start early in childhood, when the brain is capable of rewiring to work around damaged areas.

 Read more and listen to the story here. 

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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Missoula - Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) Adult CommunitySocial Group










Mondays 2:00-3:00 p.m

University
of Montana

RiteCare Speech, Language,

& Hearing Clinic
634 Eddy Street


University of Montana graduate
students will run these groups under the guidance of CSD faculty. We hope to
expand your efficiency in using devices, learn to how to join social media, and
support you in communicating in social settings using your devices, voice, and
vocalizations & gestures. We are here to help problem solve technology
issues and provide a fun place to share resources and build friendships.


Contact Chris Merriman for more information 406
243.2377 christine.merriman@umontana.edu


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Friday, March 7, 2014

Problems in Siblings of Autistic Kids Can Be Detected Early

A new study discovers atypical development can be detected as early as 12 months of age among siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. Researchers with the University of California — Davis MIND Institute and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that close to half of the younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop in an atypical fashion. They found that 17 percent developed ASD and another 28 percent showing delays in other areas of development or behavior.

 Read more here. 

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Approved autism drug fails to deliver long term for most

Aripiprazole, one of two autism drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat irritability in people with autism, may be no more effective than a placebo in the long run for some children, reports a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. When taken for eight weeks or less, aripiprazole quiets tantrums, stabilizes rapid mood swings and abates self-injuring behaviors in children with autism. But the benefits of this antipsychotic drug can fall off after several months, according to the new study. Aripiprazole is the second-most-prescribed drug in the U.S. for both children and adults with the disorder.

 Read more here. 

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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Bringing the Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders Into Focus

To improve recognition of the early signs of ASD among pediatricians, parents, and early intervention providers, autism researcher Dr. Rebecca Landa of Kennedy Krieger Institute has developed a free 9-minute video tutorial on ASD behavioral signs in one-year-olds. The tutorial consists of six video clips comparing toddlers who show no signs of ASD to toddlers who show early signs of ASD. Each video is presented with voice-over explaining how the specific behaviors exhibited by the child, as they occur on screen, are either indicative of ASD or typical child development.

 Watch the video here.

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