Autism and Behavior forum

DSM-V - no more Asperger's

heather0474 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:28:14 GMT

Here is a link to a news article in the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Forum: News and Articles

SibShop in Vancouver

heather0474 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:47:48 GMT

I am attaching a flyer regarding sibshops class in Vancouver. This could be a great experience for siblings of individuals with a disability.

Forum: Upcoming Events

Accessto the courts

heather0474 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:45:55 GMT

Attached is a flyer for an upcoming training in Vancouver, Washington.

Forum: Upcoming Events

Article from Time magazine

heather0474 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:01:56 GMT

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1927415,00.html

Forum: News and Articles

Special Education Law and Advocacy Training

heather0474 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:08:53 GMT

Pete Wright of Wrightslaw will be presenting on October 29th 2009.

The conference is focusing on 4 areas:

-Special education law, rights, and responsibilities

-test and measurements to measure progress and regression

-SMART IEPs

-introduction to tactics and strategies for effective advocacy

This training is held at

Ambridge Event Center

1333 NE Martin Luther King Blvd

Portland, Or 97232

8am-4:30pm

To register inline go to

http://www.oregonautism.com

Forum: Upcoming Events

another great video clip

heather0474 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:03:58 GMT

This is a link to see a video of Brock. A colleague of mine worked with him and his team to structure and create a job that he would enjoy and be successful at. This is a wonderful and inspiring video to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL-_MzRHpTc

Forum: News and Articles

video of Scott James

heather0474 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:59:52 GMT

This is worth watching - inspiring

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j7c4HNX3TU

Forum: News and Articles

Effects of Autism reach beyond language

heather0474 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:33:52 GMT

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050211081600.htm last visited 9-5-2009

Effects Of Autism Reach Beyond Language, New Research Suggests

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2005) COLUMBUS, Ohio A new study suggests that people with autism may perform unusually well on some tests of visual processing.

...

The researchers found that autistic people were less likely than others to have false memories about images they had seen earlier. The researchers had previously demonstrated this kind of effect with verbal material, but not with visual material.

In this case, the results suggest that the autistic people had trouble seeing the images in context a hallmark of the disorder.

The study's findings point out that the effects of autism may be more general than researchers once thought.

"We thought that the effects of autism might go beyond language problems that it affects different areas of the brain," said David Beversdorf, a study co-author and an assistant professor of neurology at Ohio State University. In 2000, he led a similar study that looked at the effect of autism on language. "We wanted to see if we'd get similar results with a visual model, and we did."

Beversdorf and his colleagues presented their findings on February 4 in St. Louis at the annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society.

The researchers tested a total of 28 adults, 14 of whom were high-functioning autistics these participants could verbalize their thoughts (people with severe forms of autism often can't or don't speak.)

The researchers showed the autistic and non-autistic participants a series of slides that portrayed images containing groups of geometric shapes. The group then looked at a second set of test slides two of these slides contained images from the original set, two contained images that were obviously not part of the first set of slides, and one slide contained a lure image an object very similar in shape, size, arrangement and color to the images shown in the original set, but one that wasn't actually part of that set.

The lure image tested what researchers call the "false memory effect" given this slide's similarity to the original group of slides, most people would believe that they had seen it in the original set. And most of the non-autistic participants mistakenly identified the lure as part of the original group.

Not so with the autistic people, though they were far less susceptible to the false memory.

"This suggests that autistic people may have trouble with using context," Beversdorf said. "The image on the lure slide was so similar to the images shown in the original group of slides that it was fairly difficult to determine if it was part of the first group.

"Whether they were aware of it or not, the non-autistic people had used the context of the original group of slides the shape, size and color of these images to decide if they had previously seen the lure image. This same use of context doesn't seem to happen in the autistic brain, which may relate to the altered brain circuitry in autism."

Beversdorf and his colleagues found similar results in a previous language study. In that research, people were read a list of related words followed by a shorter list that included a lure word. More often than not, the autistic participants said that they had not heard the lure in the original word group, while non-autistic people mistakenly said they had heard it.

"The new study reinforces the results of the language study, but expands it beyond the domain of language," said Ashleigh Hillier, a study co-author and a research scientist in neurology at Ohio State University.

"Autistic people usually can't grasp the full meaning, or context, of a situation," she said. "This often leads to difficulties in social settings, as making inferences from what someone else says or thinks is extremely difficult for an autistic person."

People with milder forms of autism often have IQs that are normal or above normal. But they still struggle in the real world. Understanding the kind of difficulties autistic people have with context may improve their treatment options.

"Our studies strongly suggest that autistic people need more emphasis on and explanation about the context of different situations," said Hillier, who leads a social skills support group for people with milder forms of autism. "We can teach them how to interpret different situations."

Hillier and Beversdorf conducted the study with Heather Campbell, a nursing student at Ohio State; Kate Renner, an undergraduate student at the university; and Nicole Phillips, a former Ohio State medical student.

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Healths National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Adapted from materials provided by Ohio State University.

Forum: News and Articles

Autism and body language

heather0474 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:32:18 GMT

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804193232.htm last visited 9-5-09

Autism Study Finds Visual Processing 'Hinders Ability' To Read Body Language

ScienceDaily (Aug. 5, 2009) The way people with autism see and process the body language of others could be preventing them from gauging people's feelings, according to new research.

.....

With around half a million people in the UK affected by autism, the Durham University study suggests visual processing problems could be contributing to their day-to-day difficulties with social interaction.

The research showed that adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) found it difficult to identify emotions, such as anger or happiness, from short video clips of body movements without seeing faces or hearing sound.

Those adults who struggled most with this task also performed poorly when asked to detect the direction in which a group of dots moved coherently on a screen, thought to be due to visual processing problems.

People with autism often have difficulty in attributing mental states to others and this is thought to be one of the main causes of their struggle to know how other people feel. The Durham study, published in the academic journal Neuropsychologia, suggests visual processing problems may also be a contributing factor.

The findings of the study indicate that one of these visual processing problems is a difficulty in perceiving certain sorts of motion, particularly the movement of spatially separate elements spread over a relatively wide area that nevertheless move in the same direction, which is consistent with most previous findings.

The strong link between performances on the tests within the study suggests people with autism have trouble reading body movements because they process some basic visual information differently, according to Dr Anthony Atkinson from Durham University's Psychology Department.

The typically developing adults those without autism - in the study generally performed well in both tests.

Dr Atkinson, who led the study, says his findings help to further understand the underlying causes of social interaction problems experienced by people with autism.

Dr Atkinson said: "The way people move their bodies tells us a lot about their feelings or intentions, and we use this information on a daily basis to communicate with each other. We use others' body movements and postures, as well as people's faces and voices, to gauge their feelings. People with autism are less able to use these cues to make accurate judgements about how others are feeling. Our research attempts to find out why.

"Our findings point to a difficulty in perceiving or attending to motion as a contributor to the problem of gauging people's emotions. We now need to look further to see how exactly this happens and how this may combine with potential difficulties in attention."

Thirteen adults with ASD and 16 typically developing adults with the same age and IQ were studied. For the motion coherence test, participants were shown a number of dots on a computer screen with a certain number moving either left or right. The test had various difficulty levels depending on the percentage of dots moving coherently in one direction. This task taps one's ability to see the moving wood as distinct from the individual moving trees, says the author.

For the second test, the study participants were shown two sets of short video clips of people's body movements and had to identify the emotion expressed by those movements. In one set of video clips the whole body and head but not the face could be seen. The other set contained identical sequences of body movements but all that could be seen was reflective patches attached to the major joints.

Based on gestures and movements acted out in the videos, such as waving fists, stamping feet, and skipping, the study participants were asked to assign one of the basic human emotions to it: anger, disgust, sadness, fear or happiness. The individuals with autism were less accurate than the typically developing individuals in judging the emotions in both sets of video clips.

Dr Gina Gmez De La Cuesta, Action Research Leader at the National Autistic Society said: "This is an interesting study which supports the suggestion that people with autism may well process visual information differently to their peers.

"We warmly welcome all research which helps us further our understanding of autism, and how best to help and support those with the condition. Autism is a complex and lifelong disability, affecting an estimated half a million people in the UK, and the right support at the right time can make a huge difference to people's lives."

Some facts and figures (source: The National Autistic Society)

* Autism is thought to affect around half a million people in the UK today that means 1 out of every 100 people has autism.

* Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways.

* Boys are four times more likely to develop autism than girls.

* People with autism often want to make friends but due to their disability find it difficult.

* 40% of all children with autism wait more than three years for a clear diagnosis.

Journal reference:

1. Anthony Atkinson. Impaired recognition of emotions from body movements is associated with elevated motion coherence thresholds in autism spectrum disorders. Neuropsychologia, June 2009

Adapted from materials provided by Durham University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Forum: News and Articles

Kids don't come with a manual. Positive Parenting for Challenging Behaviors

heather0474 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:29:52 GMT

I am attaching a flyer I received about a training. It is presented through OTAC Oregon Technical Assistance Corporation and FACT Family and Community Together. They provide excellent trainings and these are free. I highly recommend going.

Forum: Upcoming Events

Asperger's and employment

heather0474 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:19:50 GMT

I received this link in an e-mail a few days ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/5795952/Who-says-Aspergers-sufferers-are-unemployable.html

Forum: News and Articles

Career Planning for Individuals with ASD

heather0474 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:04:46 GMT

Career Planning for Individuals
with Autism Spectrum Disorders

October 21-22, 2009
_________________________________

Register Now!

After several years of planning, Spectrum Training is delighted
to announce that our two day Autism Career Planning conferences
are now ready. After much dialogue with career planners,
transition teachers, parents and other ASD concerned persons we
planned these conferences to meet those specific, critical needs.

This high caliber career planning is the key to a successful
future with positive long-term outcomes and is ESSENTIAL for:
* Career counselors, job developers/job coaches, rehabilitation
administrators and vocational coordinators
* Special education administrators, teachers, teacher assistants,
case managers, therapists
* Students, parents, caregivers

_________________________________

Date and Location:

October 21-22, 2009 Seattle, WA

http://www.spectrumtrainingsystemsinc.com/seattlecareer.html
_________________________________

Conference Schedule Day One:

Career Planning
A. Introduction to ASD & Career Planning
B. Communication Skills in the Initial Interview
C. Interview Communication Graffiti Activity
D. Structuring the Interview Environment
E. Interview Structure Activity
F. Theory of Mind
G. Building the Career Portfolio
H. Career Portfolio Development Activity
I. Partnering with the Business Community
J. Business Development Activity

Career Assessment
A. Creating the Evaluation Plan
B. Assessment Processes for Job Seekers With ASD
C. Skill/Interest Testing
D. Assessing Social/Communication Skills
E. Career Assessment Activity

Conference Schedule Day Two:

Workplace Supports
A. Workplace Problems
B. Natural Support Development
C. Make/Take Workplace Supports
D. The Classroom as Simulated Workplace
E. Minnesota Work Adjustment Theory
F. Environmental Analysis
G. Work Values Graffiti Activity

Social Communication in the Workplace
A. Social Coaching
B. Basic Steps to Self Advocacy
C. Courtesy Rule Card Activity
D. Sins of the System
E. How to Aid Understanding
F. Conversation Speech Strategies
G. Asking Questions and Listening Strategies
H. Tools to Help Improve Social Communication
I. Social Stories Activity
J. Comic Strip Activity
K. How to be a Competent Communicator
L. Environmental Supports
M. Social Interaction Checklist

Implementing the Career Plan
A. Career Strategies in Action
B. Final Wrap Up Q & A Session

Presenters:

James Emmett is a national leader in development of employment
services for persons with autism spectrum disorders as well as
in assisting corporations in creation of outreach efforts to the
disability and autism communities. He is an individual with a
disability and a parent of three daughters with disabilities.
James currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of
Integrated Behavioral Systems (www.integratedbehavioralsystems.com)
and is a Partner in the consulting firm Two Steps Forward
(www.twostepsforwardinc.com). He graduated with a Master's Degree
in Rehabilitation Counseling from Illinois Institute of Technology.
James recently completed 1.5 years working as the Disability
Program Manager for Walgreens helping set up the company's national
disability initiative (www.walgreensoutreach.com). He also assisted
Easter Seals National in laying the foundation for their national
autism services network.

Karen Steffan, MS, CRC has worked in the field of Rehabilitation
and Transition for over 26 years and has been the LADSE Transition
and Vocational Program Coordinator for the past 15 years. Karen's
experience spans a broad spectrum of responsibilities including
job development and placement, classroom instruction, program
development, grant writing, professional development and training,
project management, and program administration in public and
not-for-profit sectors. Karen provided employment, transition,
and advocacy training to thousands of colleagues in private through
university settings. She has lead the Transition Alliance Next
Steps Training Team for the past 20 years, training parents on the
topic of effective transition planning. Karen has been a board
member on local and state boards such as G&A Human Rights Committee,
Illinois Job Placement Division, Suburban Access, Seguin Services
and IAPSE. She is a member of multiple professional associations
including ACTE, NRA/IRA, ARC and Advocates United.

Prices
Two Day Professional:
Early Bird Through Sept 21 - $175
Regular After Sept 21 - $205

One Day Professional:
Early Bird Through Sept 21 - $125
Regular After Sept 21 - $140

Two Day Parent or Young Adult:
$120

One Day Parent or Young Adult:
$80

Details are available on the following site:
http://www.spectrumtrainingsystemsinc.com/conferences.html

Thank you!
Spectrum Training Systems, Inc.
spectrumtrainingsystems@yahoo.com" target=_blank>spectrumtrainingsystems@yahoo.com
920) 749-0332

Forum: Upcoming Events

Program for adults on the spectrum and college expereinces

heather0474 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:02:36 GMT

I received this link from a colleague.

Intriguing program for adults on the spectrum and subsequent college/university
experiences:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/03/EDPN193F67.DTL

Forum: News and Articles

Research suggests children can recover from autism

cskate — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:51:04 GMT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090509/ap_on_he_me/us_med_autism_recovery

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, Ap Medical Writer Sat May 9, 4:45 pm ET

CHICAGO Leo Lytel was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. But by age 9 he had overcome the disorder.

His progress is part of a growing body of research that suggests at least 10 percent of children with autism can "recover" from it most of them after undergoing years of intensive behavioral therapy.

Skeptics question the phenomenon, but University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein is among those convinced it's real.

She presented research this week at an autism conference in Chicago that included 20 children who, according to rigorous analysis, got a correct diagnosis but years later were no longer considered autistic.

Among them was Leo, a boy in Washington, D.C., who once made no eye contact, who echoed words said to him and often spun around in circles all classic autism symptoms. Now he is an articulate, social third-grader. His mother, Jayne Lytel, says his teachers call Leo a leader.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, involves children ages 9 to 18.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, called Fein's research a breakthrough.

"Even though a number of us out in the clinical field have seen kids who appear to recover," it has never been documented as thoroughly as Fein's work, Dawson said.

"We're at a very early stage in terms of understanding" the phenomenon, Dawson said.

Previous studies have suggested between 3 percent and 25 percent of autistic kids recover. Fein says her studies have shown the range is 10 percent to 20 percent.

But even after lots of therapy often carefully designed educational and social activities with rewards most autistic children remain autistic.

Recovery is "not a realistic expectation for the majority of kids," but parents should know it can happen, Fein said.

Doubters say "either they really weren't autistic to begin with ... or they're still socially odd and obsessive, but they don't exactly meet criteria" for autism, she said.

Fein said the children in her study "really were" autistic and now they're "really not."

University of Michigan autism expert Catherine Lord said she also has seen autistic patients who recover. Most had parents who spent long hours working with them on behavior improvement.

But, Lord added, "I don't think we can predict who this will happen for." And she does not think it's possible to make it happen.

The children in Fein's study, which is still ongoing, were diagnosed by an autism specialist before age 5 but no longer meet diagnostic criteria for autism. The initial diagnoses were verified through early medical records.

Because the phenomenon is so rare, Fein is still seeking children to help bolster evidence on what traits formerly autistic kids may have in common. Her team is also comparing these children with autistic and non-autistic kids.

So far, the "recovered" kids "are turning out very normal" on neuropsychological exams and verbal and nonverbal tests, she said.

The researchers are also doing imaging tests to see if the recovered kids' brains look more like those of autistic or nonautistic children. Autistic children's brains tend to be slightly larger than normal.

Imaging scans also are being done to examine brain function in formerly autistic kids. Researchers want to know if their "normal" behavior is a result of "normal" brain activity, or if their brains process information in a non-typical way to compensate for any deficits.

Results from those tests are still being analyzed.

Most of the formerly autistic kids got long-term behavior treatment soon after diagnosis, in some cases for 30 or 40 hours weekly.

Many also have above-average IQs and had been diagnosed with relatively mild cases of autism. At age 2, many were within the normal range for motor development, able to walk, climb and hold a pencil.

Significant improvement suggesting recovery was evident by around age 7 in most cases, Fein said.

None of the children has shown any sign of relapse. But nearly three-fourths of the formerly autistic kids have had other disorders, including attention-deficit problems, tics and phobias; eight still are affected.

Jayne Lytel says Leo sometimes still gets upset easily but is much more flexible than before.

Forum: News and Articles

A Genetic Clue to Why Autism Affects Boys More

cskate — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:46:41 GMT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090520/hl_time/08599189975600

By ALICE PARK Alice Park Wed May 20, 6:20 am ET

Among the many mysteries that befuddle autism researchers: why the disorder affects boys four times more often than girls. But in new findings reported online today by the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers say they have found a genetic clue that may help explain the disparity.

The newly discovered autism-risk gene, identified by authors as CACNA1G, is more common in boys than in girls (why that's so is still not clear), and the authors suggest it plays a role in boys' increased risk of the developmental disorder. CACNA1G, which sits on chromosome 17, amid other genes that have been previously linked to autism, is responsible for regulating the flow of calcium into and out of cells. Nerve cells in the brain rely on calcium to become activated, and research suggests that imbalances in the mineral can result in the overstimulation of neural connections and create developmental problems, such as autism and even epilepsy, which is also a common feature of autism. (See six tips for traveling with an autistic child.)

"Our current theories about autism suggest that the disorder is related to overexcitability at nerve endings," says Geri Dawson, chief science officer of Autism Speaks, an advocacy group that provided the genetic data used by the study's authors. "It's interesting to see that the gene they identified appears to modulate excitability of neurons."

For the new study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), combed the genetic database of the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), a resource of DNA from 2,000 families with at least one autistic child. The scientists focused on the more than 1,000 genetic samples of families in which at least one son was affected by the disorder, prompted by the results of an earlier study using the same database, which identified a rich autism-related genetic region on chromosome 17 that contained genetic variants more common in boys than in girls. While nearly 40% of the general population has the most common form of CACNA1G, one variant of the gene was more prevalent in autistic boys, researchers found. "There is a strong genetic signal in this region," says Dr. Daniel Geschwind, director of UCLA's Center for Autism Research and Treatment and one of the study's co-authors. "But this gene doesn't explain all of that signal or even half of it. What that means is that there are many more genes in this region contributing to autism." (See pictures of inside a school for autistic children.)

That's not surprising for a disorder as complex as autism - actually, a spectrum of developmental disorders involving impairment in language, social behavior and certain physical behaviors - with symptoms that range widely in number and severity. So far, studies have linked a handful of genes, all of which play a role in the way nerve cells connect and communicate, with autism spectrum disorders. It's likely not only that a large number of genes contribute to the disorder, but also that a different combination of genes - as well as unique interactions between genes and environment - are responsible for each individual case of autism.

So it's certainly a daunting challenge to begin teasing out the individual genes that may contribute to autism, as the UCLA team has with CACNA1G, but databases like AGRE make the job slightly easier. The next step will be to try to use known autism genes to help develop screening tools or early interventions. "We are going to have a much better understanding of the causes of autism over the next five to 10 years," says Dawson. "We're in a period of great discovery."

Forum: News and Articles