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Can brain scans help personalize autism therapies and supports? … Institute at George Washington University. An Autism Speaks Meixner Postdoctoral Fellowship in Translational Research supported the research Dr. Yang describes here. Autism brain scans I’m glad to tell you about the promising findings of the … he or she would benefit from a given behavioral therapy or social training program. We did this with two very different groups of people affected by autism: young children and young adults. And each group completed a very different intervention … – at least at the current time. In theory, this might suggest that the person would do better with a treatment that supports and enhances key brain responses to social information. Already, various research teams are exploring ways to do …
Clinician Guide: Program Development and Best Practices for Treating Severe Behaviors in Autism … of life for autistic people and their families. To improve systems of care for this population, Autism Speaks convened a group of multi-disciplinary experts to develop the Clinician Guide: Program Development and Best Practices for Treating … The goal of this guide is to help providers: Expand their understanding of intense challenging behaviors in autism Support individuals experiencing significant behavior challenges who may harm themselves or those around them Develop …
The Autism Care Network works to expand access to autism diagnosis in Canada… becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the need for autism assessment. We’re fortunate to work with a wonderful group of community pediatricians who are engaged with lots of autistic kids, so we saw an opportunity for them to take on an advanced practice role in autism diagnosis. We began to work on developing the optimal training approach to support this group and came up with a three-step educational process. We’ve done the training three times now and we’re … child communicates, expresses themselves and plays. We also shared information about community resources, how the different supports and services are funded, and how families navigate services. The second phase was mentored assessments in the …
Want to make a difference? An autism advocate shares her tips… the tide for countless Hispanic families. Autismo en mi Vida, her pioneering non-profit, is not just offering bilingual support; it's revolutionizing the way Spanish-speaking families perceive and tackle autism. And with the platform of the … insights for families eager to ignite change in their communities. Have questions? Contact our Autism Response Team for support in Spanish (1-888-772-9050, ayuda@autismspeaks.org ) and English (1-888-288-4762, help@autismspeaks.org ) You’ve … need? Eight years ago, I formed Autismo en mi Vida with four parents I met in my son’s therapy office. It was a very small group and we just wanted to find people that we could talk to—somebody who could understand what we were going through, and …
Meet Martha… When Martha’s son, Josh, was growing up, Martha faced many challenges finding him the services and supports he needed to overcome his speech delay and behavioral challenges. Now, at age 21, Josh has grown into a bright, … graduation, he went off to a neurodiverse college for a year. That was incredibly stressful for him—they didn’t have the supports they purported to have for him. Then the pandemic happened, so he came home and did some online courses. Now, we’re … strengths and to support them to follow their dreams. Try to seek out support wherever you can, whether it’s in a support group, friends or family. Listen to your heart. If you feel like a situation isn’t working, don’t be afraid to change. The …
Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder (DS-ASD)… lead to a better understanding of your child’s behavior and give you access to critical autism resources, interventions and support that have been shown to improve outcomes. A formal diagnosis could: A formal diagnosis can legitimize a family’s concerns about their loved one’s development and open the door to greater community and support. Help parents and family members better understand, support and guide their loved one Explain why your loved one is … 2nd Edition, 2024 (Froehlke and Sattel) Professionals Recommendations to Providers Handout Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group USA (DSMIG-USA) Association of University Centers on Disabilities AAP Guidelines National List of Down Syndrome …
Autism and ‘optimal outcomes’… to rethink what we mean by “optimal outcomes” For years, we’ve been using this term to describe a relatively small group of people with autism who, with therapy and support, experience such a marked decrease in autism symptoms that they no longer meet the criteria we use to diagnose the … re-defining “optimal outcome” as the best possible outcome based on each child’s personal characteristics and available supports . We find this as a much more suitable concept for developing autism services and setting goals for each child, …
Meet Miles W.… showing signs of delays, my initial thoughts were of worry and fear. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I should be doing to support him, but I prayed a lot and asked the Lord to order my steps. I sought out speech and group speech therapies, as well as occupational therapy in school. Outside of school, I enrolled Miles in Tae Kwon Do, … be a greater focus on transition services for teens and young adults who have aged out of educational programs or community supports. Organizations like Autism Speaks need to continue to build relationships with companies to provide employment …
Study: Eye Contact Declines Early in Babies Who Later Develop Autism… with autism. The researchers tested each infant 10 times between 2 and 24 months. Initial levels of eye contact for both groups were similar. But infants who did not develop autism increased their eye contact over time, while eye contact … steadily declined among the 13 infants later diagnosed with autism. (Twelve of the 13 were from the high-risk baby siblings group.) In addition, those infants whose levels of eye contact diminished most rapidly were the most disabled by symptoms of … In fact, earlier eye-gaze studies done without eye-tracking technology failed to capture the pattern. The new results also support the strong role that genetic and prenatal factors play in the development of ASD, Dr. Wang adds. “Some people have …
One family’s story of navigating their son’s Down syndrome/autism dual diagnosis … also made Jake eligible for additional services, such as the state autism waiver, which provides him with community supports. The diagnosis also helped family members and school- and community-based providers to better understand the reason … It was also through the organization that I learned about and subsequently joined the Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group (DSMIG) DS-ASD committee, which provides expertise to healthcare professionals who work with individuals with Down …