Help With Autism

Last week we posted on the guilty verdict of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the man who had headed a study over a decade ago that linked autism with MMR vaccination. Earlier today there was more breaking autism news, as the Lancet medical journal officially retracted the paper by Dr. Wakefield and his colleagues. In lieu of the recent controversy, ten of the 13 authors who had worked on the original study redacted its conclusions.

The retraction comes after a regulator looked into the methodology that was used in amassing the study’s data. Although Dr. Wakefield has been found guilty in the case, the retraction only looked at how the research was conducted, not whether the study was correct or not—though the Lancet did refer to the research as “false.” Since its original publication, a litany of medical experts has rejected the findings of the study and state the MMR vaccinations are not a cause of autism.

Autism is a condition that can cause confusion and conflict in the family. A lot of parents do not know how to deal with their child’s autism, but there have been many breakthroughs regarding autism in recent years. Autism awareness has never been greater, and now there are dozens of informative resources that you can refer to to learn more about this affliction.

Through a variety of autism treatments, children can become more independent and self-reliant adults. There are autism societies all over the world, and there are even autism workshops that families can attend. Families with autistic children can benefit greatly from reading books on autism and attending lectures given by specialists.

As technology continues to advance at breakneck speeds, it seems that we are discovering more and more about diseases and their causes everyday. This week there is new autism news that may help explain the cause of the disease in some children. The findings come from researchers at John Hopkins University.

The study published in the December issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that commonly prescribed beta 2 drugs—those used to treat asthma and pre-term labor in mothers—may increase the chance of autism and other cognitive problems in children. The researchers suggest that the use of these drugs should be limited as much as possible during pregnancy. They also noted that further investigation would be needed to produce specific guidelines for the medications.

As reported recently in the Los Angeles Times, many more 8-year-olds have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder than was the case just two years ago. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ASDs were diagnosed in about 1 out of 100 Americans of that age. Two years ago the government estimated something along the lines of 1 in 150.

Autism spectrum disorders include autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome and atypical autism. Scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health were quick to point out that a higher diagnosis rate is not necessarily a cause for concern. Some suspect that the ability to discern the disorder has advanced with medical technology. Although it’s hard to draw definitive conclusions from this autism news, it certainly serves as a reminder about the problems associated with the disorder.

For many concerned parents, the question becomes how best to treat the disorder and free their children from a life rife with miscommunication and frustration. As always, the key is to trace the problem back to its source. If a child has undergone vaccination in the last few years, it’s important to schedule an appointment with a pediatrician to test for mercury traces in the body.

The birth of a child is supposed to be one of the highlights of a mother’s life. It offers her a chance to display a whole new side – that of caregiver and nurturer. Unfortunately, the joys of childbirth are occasionally tempered by disturbing circumstances. When children are found to have birth defects, parents immediately think of all of the special care and costs associated with the condition.

Although the precise cause of most birth defects is difficult to pinpoint, there are a number of well-known risk factors that have been shown to be contributors. For example, women with high rates of exposure to heavy metals during pregnancy put their unborn children at significant risk. The effects of birth defects mercury poisoning causes are lasting and far-reaching.

Luckily, the general awareness about mercury and its dangers to humans is more widespread these days than ever before. Mercury exposure is rare, but an overabundance of seafood – especially shark, swordfish, halibut, salmon and canned tuna – can cause harm to pregnant women. After childbirth, it’s crucial that parents pay close attention to the vaccines their kids receive. Mercury has been used as a vaccination preservative in the past, and parents can never be too careful.

In the last few weeks, a number of medical experts have raised concerns about the presence of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, in swine flu vaccines. But these H1N1 inoculations do not represent the first instance of thimerosal in vaccines. As is the case with all heavy metals, mercury is detrimental to the human body. It’s highly toxic even in small doses and wreaks havoc on the nervous system. Therefore, many people expressed fear and dismay about the possibility that their children had been treated with a vaccine containing trace amounts of mercury.

Interestingly, vaccine manufacturers maintain their claims that thimerosal is not harmful. According to them, the substance – more generically referred to as ethyl mercury – doesn’t present the same danger to humans as methyl mercury, which is present in fish. The fact remains, however, that the preservative was removed from many childhood vaccines in the late ’90s. Only just recently have we seen thimerosal come back with a vengeance.

No matter what the medical establishment has to say about the issue, many parents feel frustrated and scorned about their children developing autism soon after their vaccinations. Conscientious parents owe it to themselves and their sons and daughters to read up on any autism information at their disposal. Treatment options abound, and it’s best to explore all available possibilities.

In a recent study, researchers found that autistic children were able to learn through playing educational video games. Published around the web on autism news websites, The study found that about 40% of the autistic children involved showed improvements in their ability to learn and focus in the controlled environment of a video game. The children were able to grasp new concepts like math and reading better through a video game than in a classroom. In addition, an initial study of online video games showed that autistic children found it much easier to relate to their peers. Autistic children are often characterized as having difficulties with social interaction and communication, and through video games, it was possible for autistic children to interact and communicate with others in the online game environment. While there are no notable video games designed for teaching autistic children, there is definite potential for the field.

Video games have been used increasingly more often to educate children, and most children have responded well to interactive education through video games.

With a chelating agent, it’s possible to cleanse dangerous heavy metals from the body. It has been shown that chelation can be an effective treatment for certain behavioral disorders in adolescents. Chelation targets the dangerous metal toxins like mercury, arsenic, and lead, and converts them to inert forms of waste that are excreted through the body’s natural processes of waste disposal. In addition, chelation is approved by the FDA, and has been shown to be effective treating a number of different conditions. Chelation can also be an effective treatment for autism, as it can remove mercury from the body, which is one of the environmental factors that contributes to autism. Chelating do have a few potential dangers, so it’s important to be aware of all the factors before treating an adult or child with a chelating agent.

Chelating agents are available over the counter, and can be used in the home by the average person with no medical experience. Chelation is an excellent way to cleanse toxins from the body even if not treating a specific condition. We all build up small amounts of heavy metals in our bodies over the course of our lives.

President Obama made a lot of promises during his campaign, and one that affects all autistic children and parents of autistic children was his pledge to appoint a Federal ASD Coordinator.  Obama agreed to appoint this official to oversee and coordinate a nationwide effort to deal with ASD.  But as the government is attempting to implement so many changes right now, including stabilizing the economy and reforming the health care, it’s likely the Federal ASD Coordinator will be put on hold.  But for those most affected by autism, any autism news from the White House is good news. 

In addition, the new stem cell research program funding which has been approved by the Obama Administration could bring good news to millions affected by autism.  Better treatments for autism do exist.  

There’s no scientific method to diagnose autism except through monitoring its symptoms such as social withdrawal, impaired emotional response, and lack of communication skills.  There’s no laboratory test available to diagnose autism, thus scientists have been searching for biomarkers that would allow them to diagnose autism more easily.  In the Autism news of late, scientists have been looking for abnormal proteins or fluids in the body, including monitoring the saliva of autistic patients.  One protein, called phosphorylation, has been identified as having a much lower presence in autistic children versus healthy children. 

If Scientists could develop a test for autism, they could identify autistic children or children at risk for autism at birth, rather than waiting until the age of 2 or 3 to identify the symptoms of autism.  There is no cure for autism, but treatment is available, and the earlier autism is identified, the easier it is to begin the process of treatment.