Babies Can Guess Other People's Thoughts | Child Development | LiveScience

Babies Can Guess Other People's Thoughts | Child Development | LiveScience: The results, published today (Jan. 29) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: B, come from a study of children spanning the globe, from rural China to the more remote islands of Fiji. Previously, scientists thought this ability to understand other people's perspectives emerged much later in children.

AutisMate: an iPad app for personalized autism therapy | VentureBeat

AutisMate: an iPad app for personalized autism therapy | VentureBeat: For children and adults with autism, who face daily challenges with basic social interaction, the iPad has been something of a godsend. Apple’s tablet has ushered in a slew of autism therapy apps that aim to replace equipment that previously cost thousands.

Deep brain stimulation helps with autism

Deep brain stimulation helps with autism: The use of electrodes implanted deep in the brain helps to counter the effects with autism and may help autistic people lead an improved life.

Promoting Joint Attention in Toddlers with Autism: A Parent-Mediated Developmental Model

Abstract Joint attention, a foundational nonverbal

social-communicative milestone that fails to develop

naturally in autism, was promoted for three toddlers

with early-identified autism through a parent-mediated,

developmentally grounded, researcher-guided intervention

model. A multiple baseline design compared

child performance across four phases of intervention:

focusing on faces, turn-taking, responding to joint

attention, and initiating joint attention. All toddlers

improved performance and two showed repeated

engagement in joint attention, supporting the effectiveness

of developmentally appropriate methods that

build on the parent–child relationship. A complementary

qualitative analysis explored family challenges,

parent resilience, and variables that may have influenced

outcomes. Intervention models appropriate for

toddlers with autism are needed as improved early

identification efforts bring younger children into early

intervention services.
Click here to read the article

Increasing verbal responsiveness in parents of children with autism:a pilot study

Abstract

Correlational studies have revealed a positive relationship between parent verbal responsiveness

and language outcomes in children with autism. We investigated whether parents of young

children on the autism spectrum could learn and implement the specific categories of verbal

responsiveness that have been suggested to facilitate language development. Parents were

taught to increase their verbal responsiveness in the context of a short-term language

intervention that included group parent education sessions, as well as individual and smallgroup

coaching sessions of parent–child play interactions. Parents in the treatment group

increased their use of comments that: described their child’s focus of attention; interpreted or

expanded child communication acts; and prompted child communication. Preliminary treatment

effects were also noted in children’s prompted and spontaneous communication. These results

support the use of parent-mediated interventions targeting verbal responsiveness to facilitate

language development and communication in young children with autism.
Click here for the article

Autism linked to gut bacteria, study finds | therecord

Autism linked to gut bacteria, study finds | therecord: Researchers have identified a unique blood marker that shows a link between gut bacteria and autism in some children diagnosed with the neurodevelopmental disorder.

In a new study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, they found evidence of abnormal energy metabolism in a group of autistic children as a result compounds produced by gut bacteria frequently found in people with autism.

Prenatal Inflammation Linked to Autism | Psych Central News

Prenatal Inflammation Linked to Autism | Psych Central News: Maternal inflammation during early pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of autism in children, according to new research.

In the new study, researchers found an increased risk of autism in children of mothers with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation.

Who Can Outgrow or Recover From Autism - WSJ.com

Who Can Outgrow or Recover From Autism - WSJ.com: Evidence is growing for a notion long observed by doctors and parents: Some children with autism appear to grow out of their symptoms and recover fully.

Study looks at worm therapy to treat autism | Fox News

Study looks at worm therapy to treat autism | Fox News: The use of this alternative medicine is all part of the hygiene hypothesis – the idea that ‘harmful’ organisms might actually be protecting our immune systems. In the 19th century, people did not bathe as frequently as they do now, and many lived among ‘filth’ – but autoimmune diseases were virtually non-existent. Subsequently, those who currently live in third-world countries also have a lower rate of developing autoimmune diseases.

Study looks at worm therapy to treat autism | Fox News

Study looks at worm therapy to treat autism | Fox News: The use of this alternative medicine is all part of the hygiene hypothesis – the idea that ‘harmful’ organisms might actually be protecting our immune systems. In the 19th century, people did not bathe as frequently as they do now, and many lived among ‘filth’ – but autoimmune diseases were virtually non-existent. Subsequently, those who currently live in third-world countries also have a lower rate of developing autoimmune diseases.

Study: Some Children May Outgrow Autism - US News and World Report

Study: Some Children May Outgrow Autism - US News and World Report: "Although the diagnosis of autism is not usually lost over time, the findings suggest that there is a very wide range of possible outcomes," Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, told BBC.

American parents awarded £600,000 in compensation after their son developed autism as a result of MMR vaccine | Mail Online

American parents awarded £600,000 in compensation after their son developed autism as a result of MMR vaccine | Mail Online: The American decision - although it doesn’t lay fault for the child’s disability with the drug - fuels anti-MMR campaigners challenging the view of the majority of the medical profession that holds the vaccinations are safe.

The claim was against the US government which set up a Vaccine Programme.

Early Autism Treatment Benefits Kids' Brains

By age 4, children given the treatment had higher IQ scores, more adaptive behavior, better coordination, and a less severe autism diagnosis than kids given the standard autism treatments offered in their communities. But that's not all, researchers Geraldine Dawson, PhD, and colleagues report.

Early Autism Treatment Benefits Kids' Brains

mitochondrial disorders and autism

mitochondrial disorders and autism: Children with a mitochondrial disorder can regress into an autism like state if one of several things happen. One of them is a fever, and fever, as we all know, is a common side effect of vaccination. Hannah Poling had an underlying mitochondrial disorder, and was awarded compensation for vaccines role in aggravating her condition into a autism like state.

Autism Science Digest: Aluminum Toxicity in Mitochondrial Dysfunction and ASD - AGE OF AUTISM

Autism Science Digest: Aluminum Toxicity in Mitochondrial Dysfunction and ASD - AGE OF AUTISM: A carefully executedreview and meta-analysis of mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD by Rossignol andFrye discerned that the prevalence of full syndrome mitochondrial disease inchildren with ASD is significantly higher than it is in children in general.

SSRI Autism Roundup: New Concerns for a New Year

A potential link between the emergence of autism in a child and the use of various SSRI-based antidepressants by a mother during pregnancy has been suggested by research. Not lost on researchers involved in a study published in 2011 in the Archives of General Psychiatry (7/11), is an increase in the prevalence of autism and autism spectrum disorders at the same time as a dramatic increase in the use of antidepressants??"up 400 percent in the last 20 years. The emergence of SSRI antidepressants has given doctors more medicinal options in the treatment of depression and depressive disorders, and their popularity is demonstrative by the dramatic increase in SSRI use.

Local Family Using Breakthrough Autism Treatment | Mobile AL, Pensacola FL News, Weather, Sports | WPMI-TV | Local15TV.com

Local Family Using Breakthrough Autism Treatment | Mobile AL, Pensacola FL News, Weather, Sports | WPMI-TV | Local15TV.com: The relatively new therapy called Integrated Listening uses the power of music, and is used at Kids Kount in Daphne.

"We've never seen a child that never made marked gains," Occupational Therapist Cindy Dawkins said. "Out of 35 years of being an occupational therapist, this has been the most powerful tool that I've used."

More Evidence Vitamin D May Reduce Autism Risk

More Evidence Vitamin D May Reduce Autism Risk: Children and adolescents living in the United States in states with higher levels of ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure are much less likely to develop autism than their counterparts living in states with lower levels of solar UVB exposure, new research shows.

7 foods destroying your good mood | Fox News

7 foods destroying your good mood | Fox News: A delightfully toasted sesame seed bagel. Crispy, crunchy potato chips. An effervescent fountain of sweet soda. These all sound like comforting foods that can wrap you in a sensation of coziness. However, while they may taste so good, these foods are not always so good for you or your mood.