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Showing posts with label resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resources. Show all posts
CARD Winter 08 Newsletter - Hot off the Press!
To read the latest autism news around the nation and inside of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc - please click here.
New Research Raises Possibility of Prenatal Screening for Autism
Prenatal screening for autism moves a step closer to reality today as new research has found ways of potentially identifying the condition in unborn babies.
By Murray Wardrop, Telegraph.co.uk
Scientists at Cambridge University discovered that high levels of testosterone in the amniotic fluid of pregnant mothers was linked to autistic traits in their children.The findings raise the possibility of undertaking tests in the womb to detect the condition, which would allow parents the controversial ability to decide whether to terminate foetuses.
Scientists are now calling for a national debate on the consequences of the screening process, called amniocentesis, which is already used to detect Down's syndrome in unborn babies.
Parents of autistic children are especially critical of testing linked to
Sufferers of the disorder include people with extraordinary abilities in mathematics and music, as well as children who are unable to communicate and require lifelong care.
Critics point out that a prenatal test would not be able to identify such differences in the effects the disorder can have on individuals.
Director of the research team, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, told the Guardian: "If there was a prenatal test for autism, would this be desirable? What would we lose if children with autistic spectrum disorder were eliminated from the population? "We should start debating this. There is a test for Down's syndrome and that is legal and parents exercise their right to choose termination, but autism if often linked with talent. It is a different kind of condition."
Experts from the university's autism research centre discovered the testosterone link after studying 235 children from birth to the age of eight.
They found that when high levels of the hormone were found, children showed autistic traits such as a lack of sociability and verbal skills by the time they were eight.
Autism Society of America Publishes New Online Course
"Autism and the Environment 101" Offers Accessible
Information to All Affected by Autism
Bethesda, MD - The Autism Society of America is pleased to announce the release of its newest online course, "Autism and the Environment 101." Sponsored by the John Merck Fund, this introductory level course was designed to give individuals with autism spectrum disorders, parents, other family members, physicians, educators, or anyone affected by autism a general overview of the links between environmental toxins and autism.
"It is our hope that by developing balanced information and resources we can help people think through their options more effectively and with greater support," said ASA President & CEO Lee Grossman.
Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disability that typically appears in the first two years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. The rates of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have risen sharply in the last decade, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in 2007 that one in 150 children will be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Scientists suspect that an increasing amount of environmental triggers coupled with genetic vulnerability could explain the dramatic increases in the rates of ASD around the world."Autism and the Environment 101" examines some of the toxins present in our changing environment their affect on our bodies, the rapidly rising rates of ASD and the role of the government in regulating chemicals.
"It is our hope that by developing balanced information and resources we can help people think through their options more effectively and with greater support," said ASA President & CEO Lee Grossman.
Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disability that typically appears in the first two years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. The rates of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have risen sharply in the last decade, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in 2007 that one in 150 children will be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Scientists suspect that an increasing amount of environmental triggers coupled with genetic vulnerability could explain the dramatic increases in the rates of ASD around the world."Autism and the Environment 101" examines some of the toxins present in our changing environment their affect on our bodies, the rapidly rising rates of ASD and the role of the government in regulating chemicals.
It also discusses what we can do every day to protect ourselves and our children. Written in conversational language free of jargon, the online course is accessible to anyone, and takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. Most importantly, the course represents a new model of autism that sees it as a whole-body condition, with many opportunities for interventions and treatments that can lead to optimal outcomes for people with ASD, as opposed to the old model of a hard-wired genetic brain disorder."
While the idea that environmental influences could be harming our children is disturbing, this goes along with the possibility that changing the environment could help," said Dr. Martha Herbert, ASA's Director of Treatment-Guided Research and lead author of the course. "The best way to deal with this problem is through learning about what is going on and how to be empowered in our responses."A more detailed and extensive course, " Autism and the Environment 201" will be released in the coming months.
To learn more about autism and the environment or take the course, please visit ASA's Environmental Health Initiative at www.autism-society.org/research_envirohealth.
About ASA: ASA, the nation's leading grassroots autism organization, exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism. We do this by increasing public awareness about the day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest information regarding treatment, education, research and advocacy. For more information, visit www.autism-society.org.
About ASA: ASA, the nation's leading grassroots autism organization, exists to improve the lives of all affected by autism. We do this by increasing public awareness about the day-to-day issues faced by people on the spectrum, advocating for appropriate services for individuals across the lifespan, and providing the latest information regarding treatment, education, research and advocacy. For more information, visit www.autism-society.org.
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