A court case against a French filmmaker has brought attention to the questionable treatment of people affected by autism in France. Sophie Robert released her first documentary The Wall: Psychoanalysis put to the Test for Autism in September 2011 in France. The documentary looks at the continual abuse and dehumanization of people with autism. It [...]
Seattle-based rock band, The Van Dammes will be donating a portion of the proceeds for their first CD, “Missing in Action” to several autism-related charities. Lead drummer Devin Louis Miller was inspired in this move by his younger brother Timmy, who was diagnosed at age 5 with autism, Miller convinced his band-mates to donate half [...]
Researchers believe a rare syndrome could be linked to autism. The condition called Timothy syndrome, although only though to exist in 20 cases worldwide, is thought to cause autistic behavior. This is of interest to scientists as it is a genetic condition and can be pinpointed down to a single gene defect which may give [...]
Following our post last week, Change in Autism Definition Spark Fears of Cuts to Service, debate surrounding the proposed changes to the medical definition of autism has multiplied. One investigation found that proposed revisions to the American Psychiatric Association’s definition would exclude about 75% those currently diagnosed with milder forms of autism. The proposed revisions, [...]
The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research’s Autism Research Team are recruiting pregnant Perth women who already have an autistic child, to take part in a landmark study which hopes to discover biomarkers for autism. “This is the second recruitment drive for an ongoing study looking to identify biomarkers, or risk-factors,” group leader Associate Professor [...]
There is concern among the autism community that changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will result in replacing specific diagnoses like Asperger’s syndrome and PDD-NOS with just one general Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some people have attributed the current increase in autism diagnoses to widened criteria for diagnosis rather than any [...]
A recent study shows the causes of autism to be more environmentally influenced than previously thought. “This is a very significant study because it confirms that genetic factors are involved in the cause of the disorder,” said Dr. Peter Szatmari, a leading autism researcher who is the head of child psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at [...]
Researchers at the University of Utah have created a program that helps kids with autism focus on building their skills and utilizing an aptitude for visual-spatial thinking, computers and other electronic media. Cheryl Wright, associate professor of family and consumer studies, coordinated the workshops in partnership with Google’s Project Spectrum, an initiative to teach job [...]
An integral component of ICare4Autism’s Global Autism Center for Research and Education in Jerusalem will be the world’s first comprehensive autism workforce development initiative which will encompass workforce entry services for high school students with autism, post-transition supportive services, vocational and employment services ranging from semi-skilled to high functioning individuals, and a special targeted program [...]
A quick google search reveals that there are many people trawling web forums wanting to find out if there is a difference between high functioning autism and social anxiety. Some sites list it as one of their most frequently asked questions and the answer is always the same: autism and social anxiety are two very [...]
