Help With Autism

Researchers from Yale University have been studying the possible genetic origins of some of the impaired social behaviors of autistic children, such as their lack of close, bonding manners (i.e. hugging and touching). 

This latest find in autism research is set to be published today in “Biological Psychiatry.”

Scientists at UCLA are using music to invoke emotion from children who are suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  ASD makes it difficult for kids to understand their emotions and often leads to isolation in a social setting.

The idea is that the varied types of music will have a reactionary effect on the children and that doctors can use that to teach them facial expressions.

Fifteen children – between 10 and 13 – will be studied and subject to this new brand of autism therapy.

In Canada, kids who suffer from autism and whose families cannot afford the costly treatment are subject to a wait list where there is a current backlog of over 1,100 children.  One parent is fighting back in a show of non-violent protest.  Stefan Marinoiu, the father of a 15 year old autistic boy, started his hunger strike nine days ago with several more parents ready to join him.

Another concern is that the autism therapy offered by the public schools lack the proper one-on-one therapy that a child would need.  Parents are also demanding better financial assistance from the government.  The Court of Appeals will release their decision this summer.

As reported by AP: the Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.

Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism.

Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether many of the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally — but, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress.

Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities. In 2004, a committee with the Institute of Medicine concluded there was no credible evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused autism.

Nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that the vaccination caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.

The Office of Special Masters of the claims court has instructed the plaintiffs to designate three test cases for each of the three theories — nine cases in all — and has assigned three special masters to handle the cases. Three cases in the first category were heard last year, but no decisions have been reached.

Arguments are scheduled to go on throughout the month. A final decision could take several more months.

The families or the federal government can also appeal the decision of the special master to the Court of Federal Claims or to a federal appeals court.

The court Web site says more than 12,500 claims have been filed since creation of the program in 1987, including more than 5,300 autism cases, and more than $1.7 billion has been paid in claims. It says there is now more than $2.7 billion in a trust fund supported by an excise tax on each dose of vaccine covered by the program.

 Autism research was center stage this week as Missouri’s state legislators announced that they were putting together a 24 member panel to study autism to how to properly deliver services to those who suffer from it.

The group, known as the Missouri Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders, was initiated under the realization that more and more of the state’s children were being diagnosed as autistic.  The Commission is expected to submit its preliminary findings by July 2009.

Autism panel members would include lawmakers, state department leaders, college officials, doctors and parents who have autistic children.

The number of adults who suffer from autism in England will be counted for the first time.

Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis unveiled the project, which aims to include adults who have not yet been diagnosed.

The information will be used to devise the first Government strategy on adults with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, due to be published next year.

Mr Lewis said: “Adults with autism and Asperger’s syndrome are too often abandoned by services with their families left to struggle alone.

“We still don’t know enough about autism, but we do know that, left unsupported, it can have a devastating impact on those who have the condition and their families.”

As many as one in 100 children are believed to have autism, and the new study will partly focus on their transition into adult life.

The autism research is being led by a team from the University of Leicester.

A recent survey by the National Autistic Society revealed 63% of adults with autism feel they do not get enough support. The charity has welcomed the new study.

 As of the first of this year Norway has been the first country to ban amalgam fillings.

In addition they have banned any products produced, imported or exported or sold in the country with mercury.

According to Erik Solheim, Norway ’s Minister of Environment and Development:

“Mercury is among the most dangerous environmental toxins. Satisfactory alternatives to mercury in products are available, and it is therefore fitting to introduce a ban.”

Sweden has joined this action as of April 1, 2008.

Amalgam fillings are 50% mercury that continuously off gas throughout the life of the filling. This off gassed mercury enters the body and can move into vital organs like the brain, thyroid, heart and kidney and cause damage. Mercury blocks vital steps in the Krebs cycle and denatures neural proteins. In the pregnant mother the mercury vapor can enter the mother’s body and be concentrated in the fetus causing birth defects or other injuries.

The environmental impact is also significant. By EPA statistics, medical waste incinerators put out 70,000 pounds of mercury into the atmosphere every year.

This is significant when you consider that only 500 mg of mercury can contaminate a ten acre lake so that the fish cannot be eaten safely.

There is no reason to continue dental mercury as there are good substitutes for dental use. Vaccine mercury should also be banned as it is toxic to all who receive it.

MONTREAL — Canadian and U.S. scientists say they’re creating an autistic DNA database involving cases in which there is only one family member with autism.

Data from that group, which represents the great majority of autism spectrum disorders, is expected to lead to the discovery of new genetic factors that increase the risk of autism.

Dr. Eric Fombonne of Montreal Children’s Hospital said the Simons Simplex Collection effort involves a Canadian-U.S. consortium to gather DNA samples from 2,000 autism patients and their families during the next three years.

In addition, Fombonne said the database will be accessible online to the scientific community and will represent an invaluable tool for future research projects.

“This database will link state-of-the-art genetic analysis to very detailed behavioral assessments,” he said. “This is an unprecedented project that could greatly enhance our understanding of underlying biological processes.”

The research involves Baylor, Columbia, Emory, Vanderbilt, Washington, Yale and Harvard universities, as well as the universities of California-Los Angeles, Illinois-Chicago, Michigan, and Missouri and the University of Washington, as this will no doubt affect autism education.

The latest autism news coming out of Ohio is, unfortunately, not good.

As AP is reporting, a state advocacy group for people with disabilities has filed a complaint asking a federal court to prevent the enforcement of new rules that would reduce or eliminate services for autistic children.

The Ohio Legal Rights Service filed the complaint in U.S. District Court Friday on behalf of the Parents’ League for Effective Autism Services, a group of families receiving Medicaid services.

The complaint requests a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief prohibiting the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Department of Mental Health from enforcing rules proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland.

A state legislative panel approved the rules in February to bring Ohio’s program into compliance with federal Medicaid regulations.

The changes are to take effect July 1.

As reported by Reuters, scientists have found a link between children who are diagnosed with autism and parents who suffered from schizophrenia.  According to the study, schizophrenic parents or mothers with psychiatric issues doubled a risk of autism for their children.  The study was conducted for Swedish children born between 1977 and 2003. 

Like autism, mental illnesses can come in varied forms and also a differing number of treatments.  Also like mental illness, the exact causes of autism are unknown.