Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Compendium Thread
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elffriend said:Right I have found an autism test (although it shouldn't be used for diagnosis). I scored 34 which is just into the autism spectrum although I would have called myself a loner (or as my colleague has just said a freak).
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html
I scored 11.
Yeah, Not to offend anyone, but if I was in a bad mood today I may have scored 40. It seemed more like a personality test than anything.
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score
Scored 13. About right, I imagine.
Scored 13. About right, I imagine.
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I scored 39... I guess that's bad :?
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Update: I took the Online Test and scored 30.
Is that good or bad I wonder??
I think it's because I'm a loner, have lots of social phobias and OCD (again not self-diagnosed: what can I say, I am a mass of neuroses
) and just don't feel comfortable around a lot of people. I mean, at a family get-together once my cousin had to drag me out of a corner. (Another time this same cousin found me hiding in the bedroom and forced me out. If it weren't for her I'd had no social life at all LOL!).
Ah well. At least I'm mentally interesting.
Is that good or bad I wonder??
I think it's because I'm a loner, have lots of social phobias and OCD (again not self-diagnosed: what can I say, I am a mass of neuroses
) and just don't feel comfortable around a lot of people. I mean, at a family get-together once my cousin had to drag me out of a corner. (Another time this same cousin found me hiding in the bedroom and forced me out. If it weren't for her I'd had no social life at all LOL!).Ah well. At least I'm mentally interesting.
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I scored 25. I was tested for Aspergers. They said that I had a lot of the symptoms, but not quite enough.
It seems people with Asperger´s have gotten enough in demand in the IT industry due to their special skills, that a special IT course has been made for them in Denmark. They have a homepage at www.aspit.dk but I don´t think they have an english version. Looking at the description, the course does not seem to have any major deviances from a normal IT education. I guess they just have the people working there better equipped to deal with Aspies as they call them.
Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
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Well, I know I don't have Asperger's, so I don't have to do a stupid test to find out.
I am a loner, but that is through unfortunate circumstance rather than through choice. I mean, I've worked in IT for so many years, most of the people I've met are socially retarded - which makes it incredibly difficult for me to make friends among such people.
When I do have friends, I find that no matter how friendly and entertaining and loyal I am, friends will always eventually drift away. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for it. I'm not rude, aggressive, unreasonable or argumentative.
I fear that I will die old and alone.
I am a loner, but that is through unfortunate circumstance rather than through choice. I mean, I've worked in IT for so many years, most of the people I've met are socially retarded - which makes it incredibly difficult for me to make friends among such people.
When I do have friends, I find that no matter how friendly and entertaining and loyal I am, friends will always eventually drift away. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for it. I'm not rude, aggressive, unreasonable or argumentative.
I fear that I will die old and alone.
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Puzzle of Countdown genius
Exclusive by Stephen Moyes 08/09/2007
He has been re-reading the Oxford dictionary all his life, studies bus timetables for fun and has taken Countdown by storm.
Jeffrey Hansford, 42, suffers from Asperger syndrome but is also a mathematical brainbox.
He stunned Countdown viewers last Wednesday after winning eight shows in a row to get a place in the TV quiz's quarter finals later this year.
For socially inept Jeffrey - dubbed Rain Man after the movie about a savant played by Dustin Hoffman - it has given him confidence he never had.
Jeffrey said: "Since I've been successful on the TV people have looked at me as a winner not a loser. I've never had that before.
"People have stopped me in Waitrose and said 'well done'. Usually they glance at me and immediately turn away, pretending they weren't really looking. I'm confident now and have been making plans for the future."
His sharp brain astounded everyone. He solved a nine-letter anagram in one second telling presenter Des O'Connor: "I have one in my bedroom. The answer is 'dartboard'."
Producer Damian Eadie said: "Jeffrey was getting the conundrums before we had a chance to start the Countdown music - in tenths of a second."
Yet his disability means he cannot hold down a job and was once accused of assaulting two librarians after trying to hug them while he was having a fit.
He lives in a care home with seven others with learning disabilities in Putney, South West London, and watching Countdown is part of his daily routine. He did maths puzzles at 26 months, could tell the time at 31 months, and write at 32 months.
He learns by repetition and can give any bus number and route in London.
His frankness had the Countdown crew in stitches - he kept referring to host Des O'Connor as the "75-year-old quiz-master". When Des talked about his forthcoming marriage, Jeffrey piped up, "Yes, wedding number four!"
Co-host Carol Vorderman said: "He is such as star. We get bogged down with social norms, and people who do not conform to our standards tend to stick out. He was a breath of fresh air; childlike with his excitement."
Jeffrey said: "I've got new confidence now and am planning trips on my own. I might even write children's books."
http://tinyurl.com/3y8b9e
There's hope for us all!
Exclusive by Stephen Moyes 08/09/2007
He has been re-reading the Oxford dictionary all his life, studies bus timetables for fun and has taken Countdown by storm.
Jeffrey Hansford, 42, suffers from Asperger syndrome but is also a mathematical brainbox.
He stunned Countdown viewers last Wednesday after winning eight shows in a row to get a place in the TV quiz's quarter finals later this year.
For socially inept Jeffrey - dubbed Rain Man after the movie about a savant played by Dustin Hoffman - it has given him confidence he never had.
Jeffrey said: "Since I've been successful on the TV people have looked at me as a winner not a loser. I've never had that before.
"People have stopped me in Waitrose and said 'well done'. Usually they glance at me and immediately turn away, pretending they weren't really looking. I'm confident now and have been making plans for the future."
His sharp brain astounded everyone. He solved a nine-letter anagram in one second telling presenter Des O'Connor: "I have one in my bedroom. The answer is 'dartboard'."
Producer Damian Eadie said: "Jeffrey was getting the conundrums before we had a chance to start the Countdown music - in tenths of a second."
Yet his disability means he cannot hold down a job and was once accused of assaulting two librarians after trying to hug them while he was having a fit.
He lives in a care home with seven others with learning disabilities in Putney, South West London, and watching Countdown is part of his daily routine. He did maths puzzles at 26 months, could tell the time at 31 months, and write at 32 months.
He learns by repetition and can give any bus number and route in London.
His frankness had the Countdown crew in stitches - he kept referring to host Des O'Connor as the "75-year-old quiz-master". When Des talked about his forthcoming marriage, Jeffrey piped up, "Yes, wedding number four!"
Co-host Carol Vorderman said: "He is such as star. We get bogged down with social norms, and people who do not conform to our standards tend to stick out. He was a breath of fresh air; childlike with his excitement."
Jeffrey said: "I've got new confidence now and am planning trips on my own. I might even write children's books."
http://tinyurl.com/3y8b9e
There's hope for us all!
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Inside the mind of an autistic genius
Daniel Tammet likes to call himself a high-functioning autistic savant. That means his brain is capable of learning a foreign language in a week and memorising vast chains of numbers perfectly
Ann Treneman
I would be lying if I said that I didn't expect Daniel Tammet to be at least a little odd. He has Asperger's, a form of autism, and is a savant with a talent for languages and numbers. This is a man who taught himself Icelandic in a week and once recited the first 22,514 digits of pi - from memory. For those of us who knew pi was infinite but never really got beyond 3.14, it all seems, well, almost alien. He hates that idea. Daniel thinks savants get a bad press and it is true that the only really famous savant is Raymond Babbitt, the hopeless but engaging genius of the film Rain Man. Daniel has been called the British Rain Man but bridles at the comparison. As he has said, he has a partner, a job, friends. “How could I be considered a Rain Man?”
Daniel is 29 (a prime number and therefore, for him, good) and, the moment we meet, I can see he is no Rain Man. He may have grown up in the East End, one of nine children, lonely and odd. But, over the years, he has taught himself, with amazing pertinacity, to behave “normally” and now, I have to say, he's almost cracked it. “Savants have been seen as something supernatural or alien,” he says, almost as we shake hands (a learnt behaviour for him). “We have been marginalised and mysticised. But people like myself are very much human.”
He gives a little smile and, for someone like him (Aspergerians often do not show emotion), this is the equivalent of a church peal. His voice, as light as his handshake, seems continental or, I note, a bit Eurotrash. He doesn't blink an eye (he is looking straight at me, another learnt behaviour). How did that happen to an East Ender? Well, he says, he now lives in Avignon, where the French also think his accent has a continental twang.
Why Avignon? “I fell in love,” he says. He met his partner Jerome while promoting his bestselling autobiography Born on a Blue Day a few years ago. Before its publication Daniel lived a quiet life, a rigid existence aimed at calming his many anxieties. “I was very happy but it was a small happiness,” he says. With Jerome, though, his life has changed. His new book, Embracing the Wide Sky, is, as its subtitle says, a tour of the horizons of the human mind. It is about liberating our brains and he agrees that this also reflects his new life.
I ask first about numbers, which, for many people, including me, make them feel stupid, not free. Daniel imbues all numbers with meaning and he loves primes. “But all numbers are beautiful,” he says. “All have a kind of beauty.”
Well, I say, what about 338. That is the address of his publisher, where we are meeting. That's not prime.
“It's not. It's twice 13 squared.”
Is it? My brain races and comes up with...nothing.
“You can really only understand numbers in the context of other numbers. Numbers belong to clusters of meaning. What I do with numbers, when I am visualising them, allows me to put them into a context. People do the same with language. This is one of the similarities between how savants and non-savants work.”
Hmm, I say, thinking, I have no idea what you are talking about.
“For me 338 is only understandable when in terms of 13. You take 13, which is prime, and you multiply it by itself, which is a square, and that makes 169 and when you double it you get 338. I knew that immediately. I am able to visualise these associations: 13 would be a wavy number, 169 would be like a waterfall. Take that waviness and multiplying it into a waterfall; double a number would be to curl it around in my mind so 338 is like a waterfall that curls and loops in your mind.”
Well, I say, trying to imagine a curly looping waterfall, can we all learn to do this? He nods. He says that nonsavants do the same with language. When we hear the word “giraffe”, we immediately link it with words like neck, tall, animal. “It's exactly the same with me with 338. The only difference, then, really is that you are able to visualise words but not numbers and I am able to do both.”
I like the “only” in that sentence but, still, it is fascinating. But then that's Daniel. He is slight, soft spoken, unemotional. If I were to visualise him it would be as a piece of tin glinting in the sunlight: his ideas are sharp but you can almost see his brain bending at times. But then, he's had to be flexible. Otherwise he'd be living in his own world, not ours.
etc....
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 575661.ece
Daniel Tammet likes to call himself a high-functioning autistic savant. That means his brain is capable of learning a foreign language in a week and memorising vast chains of numbers perfectly
Ann Treneman
I would be lying if I said that I didn't expect Daniel Tammet to be at least a little odd. He has Asperger's, a form of autism, and is a savant with a talent for languages and numbers. This is a man who taught himself Icelandic in a week and once recited the first 22,514 digits of pi - from memory. For those of us who knew pi was infinite but never really got beyond 3.14, it all seems, well, almost alien. He hates that idea. Daniel thinks savants get a bad press and it is true that the only really famous savant is Raymond Babbitt, the hopeless but engaging genius of the film Rain Man. Daniel has been called the British Rain Man but bridles at the comparison. As he has said, he has a partner, a job, friends. “How could I be considered a Rain Man?”
Daniel is 29 (a prime number and therefore, for him, good) and, the moment we meet, I can see he is no Rain Man. He may have grown up in the East End, one of nine children, lonely and odd. But, over the years, he has taught himself, with amazing pertinacity, to behave “normally” and now, I have to say, he's almost cracked it. “Savants have been seen as something supernatural or alien,” he says, almost as we shake hands (a learnt behaviour for him). “We have been marginalised and mysticised. But people like myself are very much human.”
He gives a little smile and, for someone like him (Aspergerians often do not show emotion), this is the equivalent of a church peal. His voice, as light as his handshake, seems continental or, I note, a bit Eurotrash. He doesn't blink an eye (he is looking straight at me, another learnt behaviour). How did that happen to an East Ender? Well, he says, he now lives in Avignon, where the French also think his accent has a continental twang.
Why Avignon? “I fell in love,” he says. He met his partner Jerome while promoting his bestselling autobiography Born on a Blue Day a few years ago. Before its publication Daniel lived a quiet life, a rigid existence aimed at calming his many anxieties. “I was very happy but it was a small happiness,” he says. With Jerome, though, his life has changed. His new book, Embracing the Wide Sky, is, as its subtitle says, a tour of the horizons of the human mind. It is about liberating our brains and he agrees that this also reflects his new life.
I ask first about numbers, which, for many people, including me, make them feel stupid, not free. Daniel imbues all numbers with meaning and he loves primes. “But all numbers are beautiful,” he says. “All have a kind of beauty.”
Well, I say, what about 338. That is the address of his publisher, where we are meeting. That's not prime.
“It's not. It's twice 13 squared.”
Is it? My brain races and comes up with...nothing.
“You can really only understand numbers in the context of other numbers. Numbers belong to clusters of meaning. What I do with numbers, when I am visualising them, allows me to put them into a context. People do the same with language. This is one of the similarities between how savants and non-savants work.”
Hmm, I say, thinking, I have no idea what you are talking about.
“For me 338 is only understandable when in terms of 13. You take 13, which is prime, and you multiply it by itself, which is a square, and that makes 169 and when you double it you get 338. I knew that immediately. I am able to visualise these associations: 13 would be a wavy number, 169 would be like a waterfall. Take that waviness and multiplying it into a waterfall; double a number would be to curl it around in my mind so 338 is like a waterfall that curls and loops in your mind.”
Well, I say, trying to imagine a curly looping waterfall, can we all learn to do this? He nods. He says that nonsavants do the same with language. When we hear the word “giraffe”, we immediately link it with words like neck, tall, animal. “It's exactly the same with me with 338. The only difference, then, really is that you are able to visualise words but not numbers and I am able to do both.”
I like the “only” in that sentence but, still, it is fascinating. But then that's Daniel. He is slight, soft spoken, unemotional. If I were to visualise him it would be as a piece of tin glinting in the sunlight: his ideas are sharp but you can almost see his brain bending at times. But then, he's had to be flexible. Otherwise he'd be living in his own world, not ours.
etc....
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_a ... 575661.ece
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Long and moving story here:
How the Horse Boy conquered autism
In a captivating new book that's become a publishing sensation, a father tells the incredible story of how horses and shamans have helped to alleviate his son's autism. John Mitchinson joins the family on a magical journey.
....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoo ... utism.html
How the Horse Boy conquered autism
In a captivating new book that's become a publishing sensation, a father tells the incredible story of how horses and shamans have helped to alleviate his son's autism. John Mitchinson joins the family on a magical journey.
....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoo ... utism.html
rynner2 said:
Diagnosed at 2, with PDD-NOS, which looks kinda like autism but doesn`t have the "key autistic components" allowing them to call it real autism... Incontinence (not uncommon at all in a 2 or 3 year old?!?) and crying fits (also not uncommon at all in regular 2 year olds, and will be 100 times worse if they lack any other method of communication like speech.) is not a severe disability in my eyes.
Surprise surprise - it isn`t uncommon for kids with other conditions causing what appears to be an autistic disorder (not textbook autism, that`s a different story) to rapidly improve somewhere between 3 and 5. Especially if it`s a speech development delay. In my opinion, the fact that they were around horses and shaman at that pivotal point is pure coincidence.
Good for them that their son improved, but I`ll put my money on it being caused by maturation of speech centers - not magical shaman.
James_H
And I like to roam the land
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Teachers, child psychologists thought I was autistic during my first year of school. They just meant that they didn't have a clue. Since that, they slapped the Dyspraxia label on me, which I'm not all too sure about either.tamyu said:
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Asperger's stress hormone 'link'
Children with Asperger's Syndrome may dislike change to their routine because of their different levels of the stress hormone cortisol, a study suggests.
The hormone is believed to make the brain more alert, and more able to cope with changes in the environment.
Writing in Psychoneuroendocrinology, researchers noted children with the autistic condition do not experience the normal morning "surge" of cortisol.
This may explain their need for routine and aversion to change, they suggested.
"Cortisol is one of a family of stress hormones that acts like a 'red alert' that is triggered by stressful situations allowing a person to react quickly to changes around them," said Mark Brosnan, a psychologist at Bath University.
"In most people, there is a two-fold increase in levels of this hormone within 30 minutes of waking up, with levels gradually declining during the day as part of the internal body clock.
"Our study found that the children with AS [Asperger's Syndrome] didn't have this peak, although levels of the hormone still decreased during the day as normal.
"Although these are early days, we think this difference in stress hormone levels could be really significant in explaining why children with AS are less able to react and cope with unexpected change."
People with Asperger's are usually more mildly affected than those with autism but they can nevertheless experience significant problems coping with daily life.
Often of average or above intelligence, they may perform well at school but have difficulties with communication and forming social relationships.
The team from the universities of Bath and Bristol hope their findings will improve understanding of the symptoms as a response to what the child sees as a stressful situation, rather than a behavioural problem.
Strategies can then be developed by parents, carers and teachers for avoiding situations which might cause distress.
"We have long known that anxiety is one of the key problems, and people use various coping strategies including cognitive therapy and small doses of anti-anxiety medicine," said Richard Mills, research director of Research Autism.
"We welcome these conclusions because anything that furthers our understanding of the nature of this anxiety is very helpful indeed," he added.
"We would now like to see similar work in adults."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7976489.stm
Children with Asperger's Syndrome may dislike change to their routine because of their different levels of the stress hormone cortisol, a study suggests.
The hormone is believed to make the brain more alert, and more able to cope with changes in the environment.
Writing in Psychoneuroendocrinology, researchers noted children with the autistic condition do not experience the normal morning "surge" of cortisol.
This may explain their need for routine and aversion to change, they suggested.
"Cortisol is one of a family of stress hormones that acts like a 'red alert' that is triggered by stressful situations allowing a person to react quickly to changes around them," said Mark Brosnan, a psychologist at Bath University.
"In most people, there is a two-fold increase in levels of this hormone within 30 minutes of waking up, with levels gradually declining during the day as part of the internal body clock.
"Our study found that the children with AS [Asperger's Syndrome] didn't have this peak, although levels of the hormone still decreased during the day as normal.
"Although these are early days, we think this difference in stress hormone levels could be really significant in explaining why children with AS are less able to react and cope with unexpected change."
People with Asperger's are usually more mildly affected than those with autism but they can nevertheless experience significant problems coping with daily life.
Often of average or above intelligence, they may perform well at school but have difficulties with communication and forming social relationships.
The team from the universities of Bath and Bristol hope their findings will improve understanding of the symptoms as a response to what the child sees as a stressful situation, rather than a behavioural problem.
Strategies can then be developed by parents, carers and teachers for avoiding situations which might cause distress.
"We have long known that anxiety is one of the key problems, and people use various coping strategies including cognitive therapy and small doses of anti-anxiety medicine," said Richard Mills, research director of Research Autism.
"We welcome these conclusions because anything that furthers our understanding of the nature of this anxiety is very helpful indeed," he added.
"We would now like to see similar work in adults."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7976489.stm
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- Aug 7, 2001
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This article (too long to post in full) adds to the debate around Prof. Nutt and his comments on marijuana...
The ultimate herbal remedy: Can cannabis improve autism?
The debate over its risks has split political and scientific opinion in Britain. But American mother Marie Myung-Ok Lee says cannabis isn't only safe enough for her autistic son – it's dramatically improved his condition
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 14756.html
The ultimate herbal remedy: Can cannabis improve autism?
The debate over its risks has split political and scientific opinion in Britain. But American mother Marie Myung-Ok Lee says cannabis isn't only safe enough for her autistic son – it's dramatically improved his condition
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 14756.html
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Boy, 13, with Asperger's syndrome vanishes in New York subway for 11 days
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 6:33 PM on 24th November 2009
A teenager with Asperger's syndrome spent 11 days living in the New York subway system after getting in trouble at school.
Police found Francisco Hernandez Jr, 13, hiding out in a Coney Island station late last month having survived for almost two weeks on a diet of news stand confectionery and snacks.
His parents claim authorities were reluctant to make his case a priority because they are Mexican immigrants. New York Police Department denied the claims.
Francisco is believed to have taken off on October 15 after he failed to complete a homework assignment and was told off for not concentrating in class.
According to a report in the New York Times, the youngster walked eight blocks to the Bay Parkway station and boarded a train because it seemed like the best place to hide.
The 13-year-old suffers from Asperger's syndrome - a form of autism that makes it difficult for sufferers to communicate or interact with others.
Fearing a scolding from his parents, Francisco removed the battery from his mobile phone.
When he failed to return home from school, his mother Marisela Garcia scoured the nearby subway station - a previous incident had seen Francisco go missing for five hours on the network.
After hours of searching, the police were called.
Over the next few days, officers interviewed teachers, classmates and distributed leaflets across the city showing the missing youngster's photograph.
But despite their efforts he remained unnoticed on the busy subway system.
Francisco told the New York Times that he spent his days riding trains to the end destination before switching tracks and heading in the other direction.
He lived on crisps, croissants and other snacks brought from the kiosks that litter the subway's stations.
And despite thousands of flyers being distributed, no-one recognised or even talked to him, he claimed.
'Nobody really cares about the world and about people,' he told the newspaper.
He was eventually found on October 26. A transit officer was studying a sign with Francisco's photo on it when he turned to see the boy sitting in a stationary carriage.
Apart from leg cramps, Francisco reported no physical ailments from his ordeal and is now back at school.
But his parents are now questioning why it took authorities so long to find the runaway on one of the world's busiest transport systems.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0XrhzBrHr
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 6:33 PM on 24th November 2009
A teenager with Asperger's syndrome spent 11 days living in the New York subway system after getting in trouble at school.
Police found Francisco Hernandez Jr, 13, hiding out in a Coney Island station late last month having survived for almost two weeks on a diet of news stand confectionery and snacks.
His parents claim authorities were reluctant to make his case a priority because they are Mexican immigrants. New York Police Department denied the claims.
Francisco is believed to have taken off on October 15 after he failed to complete a homework assignment and was told off for not concentrating in class.
According to a report in the New York Times, the youngster walked eight blocks to the Bay Parkway station and boarded a train because it seemed like the best place to hide.
The 13-year-old suffers from Asperger's syndrome - a form of autism that makes it difficult for sufferers to communicate or interact with others.
Fearing a scolding from his parents, Francisco removed the battery from his mobile phone.
When he failed to return home from school, his mother Marisela Garcia scoured the nearby subway station - a previous incident had seen Francisco go missing for five hours on the network.
After hours of searching, the police were called.
Over the next few days, officers interviewed teachers, classmates and distributed leaflets across the city showing the missing youngster's photograph.
But despite their efforts he remained unnoticed on the busy subway system.
Francisco told the New York Times that he spent his days riding trains to the end destination before switching tracks and heading in the other direction.
He lived on crisps, croissants and other snacks brought from the kiosks that litter the subway's stations.
And despite thousands of flyers being distributed, no-one recognised or even talked to him, he claimed.
'Nobody really cares about the world and about people,' he told the newspaper.
He was eventually found on October 26. A transit officer was studying a sign with Francisco's photo on it when he turned to see the boy sitting in a stationary carriage.
Apart from leg cramps, Francisco reported no physical ailments from his ordeal and is now back at school.
But his parents are now questioning why it took authorities so long to find the runaway on one of the world's busiest transport systems.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldne ... z0XrhzBrHr
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Autism link with migrant parents, study finds
Researchers have discovered that where you used to live could affect your child's chances of being autistic by up to five times.
The study looked at children whose mother had moved to the UK from outside Europe.
It showed an increased risk of autism in children whose parents had migrated from Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, the UK researchers said.
The greatest risk was for the Caribbean group, the BBC World Service reported.
Speaking on Health Check, Dr Daphne Keen, from St. George's Hospital London, said while the findings show a clear link between immigration and autism - they could not determine exactly why this was the case.
The research covered 428 children diagnosed with autism during a six-year period.
"We didn't find there was an increased risk in the parents who had migrated from other European countries," Dr Keen added.
"The size of the increased risk was greatest for the Caribbean group. This was at least five times.
"The risk was also very significant, but slightly less, for the African population and much lower, but still a little present, for the Asian population."
The study took into consideration that it may just be a case of ethnicity - rather than migration - that caused the rise in cases.
However, researchers compared their results with children born of UK-born parents with Caribbean, African and Asian roots.
"We found when we analysed the two factors together, that the risk fell considerably.
"It seemed to suggest that immigration was the major factor, and ethnicity was just possibly a factor."
One theory is that the stress of migrating could act as a "trigger" for the disability, a factor discovered in similar studies looking at the causes of schizophrenia.
"There have been some interesting studies that seem to suggest that those sort of stress factors and social isolation and so forth may operate as triggers."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8690683.stm
Researchers have discovered that where you used to live could affect your child's chances of being autistic by up to five times.
The study looked at children whose mother had moved to the UK from outside Europe.
It showed an increased risk of autism in children whose parents had migrated from Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, the UK researchers said.
The greatest risk was for the Caribbean group, the BBC World Service reported.
Speaking on Health Check, Dr Daphne Keen, from St. George's Hospital London, said while the findings show a clear link between immigration and autism - they could not determine exactly why this was the case.
The research covered 428 children diagnosed with autism during a six-year period.
"We didn't find there was an increased risk in the parents who had migrated from other European countries," Dr Keen added.
"The size of the increased risk was greatest for the Caribbean group. This was at least five times.
"The risk was also very significant, but slightly less, for the African population and much lower, but still a little present, for the Asian population."
The study took into consideration that it may just be a case of ethnicity - rather than migration - that caused the rise in cases.
However, researchers compared their results with children born of UK-born parents with Caribbean, African and Asian roots.
"We found when we analysed the two factors together, that the risk fell considerably.
"It seemed to suggest that immigration was the major factor, and ethnicity was just possibly a factor."
One theory is that the stress of migrating could act as a "trigger" for the disability, a factor discovered in similar studies looking at the causes of schizophrenia.
"There have been some interesting studies that seem to suggest that those sort of stress factors and social isolation and so forth may operate as triggers."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8690683.stm
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- 54,636
New brain scan to diagnose autism
By Jane Hughes, Health correspondent, BBC News
A brain scan that detects autism in adults could mean much more straightforward diagnosis of the condition, scientists say.
Experts at King's College London said the test identified tiny but crucial signs of autism, only detectable by computer.
Current methods of diagnosis can be lengthy and expensive.
But some experts say further research will be needed before the new technique can be widely used.
Autism Spectrum Disorder affects an estimated 1 in every 100 adults in the UK, most of them men. It varies from mild to very severe, and people with the condition can find the world appears chaotic and hard to understand.
Conventional diagnosis involves a team of experts who analyse behaviour and make a complex series of assessments.
The Medical Research Council study looked at 20 healthy adults and 20 adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
They were initially diagnosed using traditional methods, and then given a 15 minute brain MRI scan. The images were reconstructed into 3D and were fed into a computer, which looked for tiny but significant differences.
The researchers detected autism with over 90% accuracy, the Journal of Neuroscience reports.
"What the computer can do very quickly is to see that a patient has autism," said Professor Declan Murphy from the Institute of Psychiatry, who supervised the research, "even though their brain, to the naked eye, looks very normal."
Dr Christine Ecker, who led the study, said she hoped the findings might result in a widely available scan to test for autism.
"It could help to alleviate the need for the emotional, time consuming and expensive diagnostic process which ASD patients and families currently have to endure," she said.
Once a patient has a diagnosis, he or she is able to access help and support with managing the condition.
Joe Powell was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, 14 years ago. Before his diagnosis, he didn't speak at all.
Since then, he says he's made big progress in managing his condition.
His brain scan confirms his ASD. He says seeing his diagnosis charted in black and white made a big difference to him.
"You need to physically see it," he says.
"I know the autism is still there. The progress I've made in managing my condition is real, but it's still there."
The research team is now looking at whether the test would be effective on children.
The findings have been welcomed by the National Autistic Society, who say they add to the understanding of the condition. They say adults can find it very difficult to get a diagnosis of autism, and this may help.
However, they say without more awareness among doctors, it may be of limited use.
"There's still a woeful lack of awareness in GPs' knowledge of autism," said NAS centre director, Carol Povey.
"People with autism are often dismissed when they go to their GPs for help, so we have to make sure front-line professionals have awareness of autism so they can make appropriate referrals."
Professor Uta Frith from UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said much more work would be needed before the scans could be used for diagnosis. "This study shows that the subtle brain abnormalities associated with autism show a distinctive pattern," she said. "It is crucial that we learn more about what the brain abnormalities mean."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10929032
By Jane Hughes, Health correspondent, BBC News
A brain scan that detects autism in adults could mean much more straightforward diagnosis of the condition, scientists say.
Experts at King's College London said the test identified tiny but crucial signs of autism, only detectable by computer.
Current methods of diagnosis can be lengthy and expensive.
But some experts say further research will be needed before the new technique can be widely used.
Autism Spectrum Disorder affects an estimated 1 in every 100 adults in the UK, most of them men. It varies from mild to very severe, and people with the condition can find the world appears chaotic and hard to understand.
Conventional diagnosis involves a team of experts who analyse behaviour and make a complex series of assessments.
The Medical Research Council study looked at 20 healthy adults and 20 adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
They were initially diagnosed using traditional methods, and then given a 15 minute brain MRI scan. The images were reconstructed into 3D and were fed into a computer, which looked for tiny but significant differences.
The researchers detected autism with over 90% accuracy, the Journal of Neuroscience reports.
"What the computer can do very quickly is to see that a patient has autism," said Professor Declan Murphy from the Institute of Psychiatry, who supervised the research, "even though their brain, to the naked eye, looks very normal."
Dr Christine Ecker, who led the study, said she hoped the findings might result in a widely available scan to test for autism.
"It could help to alleviate the need for the emotional, time consuming and expensive diagnostic process which ASD patients and families currently have to endure," she said.
Once a patient has a diagnosis, he or she is able to access help and support with managing the condition.
Joe Powell was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, 14 years ago. Before his diagnosis, he didn't speak at all.
Since then, he says he's made big progress in managing his condition.
His brain scan confirms his ASD. He says seeing his diagnosis charted in black and white made a big difference to him.
"You need to physically see it," he says.
"I know the autism is still there. The progress I've made in managing my condition is real, but it's still there."
The research team is now looking at whether the test would be effective on children.
The findings have been welcomed by the National Autistic Society, who say they add to the understanding of the condition. They say adults can find it very difficult to get a diagnosis of autism, and this may help.
However, they say without more awareness among doctors, it may be of limited use.
"There's still a woeful lack of awareness in GPs' knowledge of autism," said NAS centre director, Carol Povey.
"People with autism are often dismissed when they go to their GPs for help, so we have to make sure front-line professionals have awareness of autism so they can make appropriate referrals."
Professor Uta Frith from UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said much more work would be needed before the scans could be used for diagnosis. "This study shows that the subtle brain abnormalities associated with autism show a distinctive pattern," she said. "It is crucial that we learn more about what the brain abnormalities mean."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10929032
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,636
Autistic brains "organised differently" say scientists
By Jane Hughes, Health correspondent, BBC News
People with autism use their brains differently from other people, which may explain why some have extraordinary abilities to remember and draw objects in detail, according to new research.
University of Montreal scientists say in autistic people, the brain areas that deal with visual information are highly developed.
Other brain areas are less active.
The National Autistic Society says the findings significantly increase understanding of the condition.
The research, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, pulls together 15 years of data on the way the autistic brain works.
It suggests that the brains of autistic people are organised differently from those of other people; the area at the back of the brain, which processes visual information, is more highly developed.
That leaves less brain capacity in areas which deal with decision-making and planning.
That may be why people with autism can be better than others at carrying out some types of visual tasks.
For example, some are able to draw highly accurate and detailed images from memory.
However, they can find it difficult to interpret things like facial expressions.
The condition varies in severity, with some people functioning well, but others completely unable to take part in normal society.
The researchers believe their findings may lead towards new ways of helping people to live with the condition.
"For example, this may show a means to help people to literacy in a much more natural way than the usual methods of helping autistic people," said Dr Laurent Mottron from the University of Montreal.
"The natural tendency is to think that autism is a form of disorganisation. Here, what we see is that it is a reorganisation of the brain," he said.
Autism experts regard the research findings as significant.
"This review highlights that autism should not only be seen as a condition with behavioural difficulties, but should also be associated with particular skill," said Dr Christine Ecker from the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College, London.
"It offers us unique insights into the way people with autism perceive their environment and helps us to understand some of their behaviour."
She said it added to the understanding of autism. "Knowing the strengths and difficulties of someone with autism may help to better understand their needs and help them maximize their potential."
Carol Povey of the National Autistic Society said: "This study is interesting as it begins to demonstrate why people with autism often show a strong single channel for focus and attention.
"Some adults with autism develop their own ways of coping with this experience, some seek out calm and quiet places, whilst others find creative outlets, like art, can help them both process the information as well as give others an insight into how they see the world.
"The more insight we have into the way autism affects sensory processing, the more people with autism, their families and professionals can develop strategies to make daily life easier."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12937009
By Jane Hughes, Health correspondent, BBC News
People with autism use their brains differently from other people, which may explain why some have extraordinary abilities to remember and draw objects in detail, according to new research.
University of Montreal scientists say in autistic people, the brain areas that deal with visual information are highly developed.
Other brain areas are less active.
The National Autistic Society says the findings significantly increase understanding of the condition.
The research, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, pulls together 15 years of data on the way the autistic brain works.
It suggests that the brains of autistic people are organised differently from those of other people; the area at the back of the brain, which processes visual information, is more highly developed.
That leaves less brain capacity in areas which deal with decision-making and planning.
That may be why people with autism can be better than others at carrying out some types of visual tasks.
For example, some are able to draw highly accurate and detailed images from memory.
However, they can find it difficult to interpret things like facial expressions.
The condition varies in severity, with some people functioning well, but others completely unable to take part in normal society.
The researchers believe their findings may lead towards new ways of helping people to live with the condition.
"For example, this may show a means to help people to literacy in a much more natural way than the usual methods of helping autistic people," said Dr Laurent Mottron from the University of Montreal.
"The natural tendency is to think that autism is a form of disorganisation. Here, what we see is that it is a reorganisation of the brain," he said.
Autism experts regard the research findings as significant.
"This review highlights that autism should not only be seen as a condition with behavioural difficulties, but should also be associated with particular skill," said Dr Christine Ecker from the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College, London.
"It offers us unique insights into the way people with autism perceive their environment and helps us to understand some of their behaviour."
She said it added to the understanding of autism. "Knowing the strengths and difficulties of someone with autism may help to better understand their needs and help them maximize their potential."
Carol Povey of the National Autistic Society said: "This study is interesting as it begins to demonstrate why people with autism often show a strong single channel for focus and attention.
"Some adults with autism develop their own ways of coping with this experience, some seek out calm and quiet places, whilst others find creative outlets, like art, can help them both process the information as well as give others an insight into how they see the world.
"The more insight we have into the way autism affects sensory processing, the more people with autism, their families and professionals can develop strategies to make daily life easier."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12937009
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,636
Between Ourselves - Series 6
A fascinating, and very personal, discussion between two people who have Asperger's Syndrome.
Presented by Olivia O'Leary.
Frederick Veal is in his late 40s, and was only diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome five years ago. He said the diagnosis made sense of his entire life: of the difficulties, the strange habits, the problems holding down a job. He gives a frank and fascinating description of his early life - an obsession with spinning, sensitivity to noise (he could hear humming coming from electric sockets), head-banging. Since his diagnosis he has been able to learn certain coping techniques which make life more bearable.
Ben Delo found out he had Asperger's at the age of 11, when he bugged his parents' telephone calls. This early diagnosis means he began the process of learning and copying many of the idiosyncratic, nonsensical, but necessary social habits that the rest of the world take for granted; things like shaking hands and making eye-contact.
Asperger's Syndrome is named after the Austrian psychologist who first described it, Dr Hans Asperger. It's at the milder end of the autism spectrum and those with it have difficulty with social interaction, with reading social situations, with communicating.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... Episode_1/
Well, I've learned something - Asperger's does not rhyme with Hamburgers...
A fascinating, and very personal, discussion between two people who have Asperger's Syndrome.
Presented by Olivia O'Leary.
Frederick Veal is in his late 40s, and was only diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome five years ago. He said the diagnosis made sense of his entire life: of the difficulties, the strange habits, the problems holding down a job. He gives a frank and fascinating description of his early life - an obsession with spinning, sensitivity to noise (he could hear humming coming from electric sockets), head-banging. Since his diagnosis he has been able to learn certain coping techniques which make life more bearable.
Ben Delo found out he had Asperger's at the age of 11, when he bugged his parents' telephone calls. This early diagnosis means he began the process of learning and copying many of the idiosyncratic, nonsensical, but necessary social habits that the rest of the world take for granted; things like shaking hands and making eye-contact.
Asperger's Syndrome is named after the Austrian psychologist who first described it, Dr Hans Asperger. It's at the milder end of the autism spectrum and those with it have difficulty with social interaction, with reading social situations, with communicating.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... Episode_1/
Well, I've learned something - Asperger's does not rhyme with Hamburgers...
Elana4's post about Aspergers, is excellent! It is a broader spectrum than most people think, and a sufferer can, an does often receive lots and lots of flack for what they consider, innocence. A sufferer is left confused and often angry or very saddened by the reactions of others, because they themselves are clueless to what the fuck they have supposed to done to offend anyone, be it in their humour, or comments. Still, the sufferer learns to take it in their stride, and plod on regardless, but inside, it hurts.
Has anyone seen this site? https://www.stopcallingitautism.org/
In my opinion, a lot of those considered to have Aspergers are just plain and simple socially inept. It's not so much a mental disorder but lack of social education. I know quite a few people who work with computer and are unable to take part in small-talk. They don't suffer from a mental condition; they just aren't skilled in social interaction.
Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
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- Sep 18, 2001
- Messages
- 52,877
- Location
- Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
DrStump said:
Yup, pretty much everybody in my office is incapable of everyday conversation. Drives me nuts.
Working in the computer biz has made it hard for me to find friends.
Spudrick68
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2008
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- 3,723
I know a bloke who's eyes truly light up if he hears the word 'Linux' anywhere in the vicinity and will seek that person out. 
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2009
- Messages
- 1,584
While there well may be many socially inept folks in the computer industry, it doesn't follow that Autism is just a symptom of social ineptitude. There maybe some correlation between people who have certain talents and Autism (did anyone else catch that documentary about the contestants in the Maths Olympics? A good 75% of the contestants were somewhere on the spectrum), some people who are socially inept are just, well, twats.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,636
Autism: Brainwaves 'show risk from age of six months'
By James Gallagher, Health and science reporter, BBC News
It may be possible to detect autism at a much earlier age than previously thought, according to an international team of researchers.
A study published in Current Biology identified differences in infants' brainwaves from as early as six months.
Behavioural symptoms of autism typically develop between a child's first and second birthdays.
Autism charities said identifying the disorder at an earlier stage could help with treatment.
It is thought that one in every 100 children has an autism spectrum disorder in the UK. It affects more boys than girls. While there is no "cure", education and behavioural programmes can help.
One of the researchers, Prof Mark Johnson from Birkbeck College, University of London, told the BBC: "The prevailing view is that if we are able to intervene before the onset of full symptoms, such as a training programme, at least in some cases we can maybe alleviate full symptoms."
His team looked for the earliest signs of autism in 104 children aged between six and 10 months. Half were known to be at risk of the disorder because they had on older sibling who had been diagnosed with autism. The rest were low risk.
Older children with autism can show a lack of eye contact, so the babies were shown pictures of people's faces that switched between looking at or away from the baby.
Sensors attached to the scalp looked for differences in brain activity.
In low-risk babies, or high-risk babies that did not develop autism, there was a large difference in the brainwaves when looking at each type of image.
There was a much smaller difference in the brainwaves of babies who developed autism.
Prof Johnson said: "It is important to note it is not a 100% predictor. We had babies who flagged up warning signs who did not develop autism."
There were also babies who did develop autism who had low-risk brainwaves. The test would need to be more accurate before it was used routinely.
Prof Tony Charman, Centre for Research in Autism and Education at the Institute of Education, said: "Differences in the use of eye gaze to regulate social interaction are already a well-recognised early feature in many children with autism from the second year of life.
"Future studies will be required to determine whether measurements of brain function such as those used in our study might one day play a role in helping to identify children at an even earlier age."
Christine Swabey from the charity Autistica said: "The hope is that this important research will lead to improved identification and access to services for future generations.
"Ultimately, the earlier we can identify autism and provide early intervention, the better the outcomes will be."
Dr Georgina Gomez-de-la-Cuesta from the National Autistic Society said: "Further research to investigate these differences will eventually lead to earlier recognition of the condition.
"Early intervention is very effective in supporting those with autism, so recognition in infancy can only be beneficial in helping individuals with autism reach their full potential.
"However, this important research is still in its early stages, and larger studies looking at several early markers of autism will be necessary before a robust clinical diagnosis could be possible at such a young age."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16740758
On R4 this morning, it was also pointed out that this reinforces findings that MMR vaccine does not cause autism, because these babies were much too young to have had the jab.
By James Gallagher, Health and science reporter, BBC News
It may be possible to detect autism at a much earlier age than previously thought, according to an international team of researchers.
A study published in Current Biology identified differences in infants' brainwaves from as early as six months.
Behavioural symptoms of autism typically develop between a child's first and second birthdays.
Autism charities said identifying the disorder at an earlier stage could help with treatment.
It is thought that one in every 100 children has an autism spectrum disorder in the UK. It affects more boys than girls. While there is no "cure", education and behavioural programmes can help.
One of the researchers, Prof Mark Johnson from Birkbeck College, University of London, told the BBC: "The prevailing view is that if we are able to intervene before the onset of full symptoms, such as a training programme, at least in some cases we can maybe alleviate full symptoms."
His team looked for the earliest signs of autism in 104 children aged between six and 10 months. Half were known to be at risk of the disorder because they had on older sibling who had been diagnosed with autism. The rest were low risk.
Older children with autism can show a lack of eye contact, so the babies were shown pictures of people's faces that switched between looking at or away from the baby.
Sensors attached to the scalp looked for differences in brain activity.
In low-risk babies, or high-risk babies that did not develop autism, there was a large difference in the brainwaves when looking at each type of image.
There was a much smaller difference in the brainwaves of babies who developed autism.
Prof Johnson said: "It is important to note it is not a 100% predictor. We had babies who flagged up warning signs who did not develop autism."
There were also babies who did develop autism who had low-risk brainwaves. The test would need to be more accurate before it was used routinely.
Prof Tony Charman, Centre for Research in Autism and Education at the Institute of Education, said: "Differences in the use of eye gaze to regulate social interaction are already a well-recognised early feature in many children with autism from the second year of life.
"Future studies will be required to determine whether measurements of brain function such as those used in our study might one day play a role in helping to identify children at an even earlier age."
Christine Swabey from the charity Autistica said: "The hope is that this important research will lead to improved identification and access to services for future generations.
"Ultimately, the earlier we can identify autism and provide early intervention, the better the outcomes will be."
Dr Georgina Gomez-de-la-Cuesta from the National Autistic Society said: "Further research to investigate these differences will eventually lead to earlier recognition of the condition.
"Early intervention is very effective in supporting those with autism, so recognition in infancy can only be beneficial in helping individuals with autism reach their full potential.
"However, this important research is still in its early stages, and larger studies looking at several early markers of autism will be necessary before a robust clinical diagnosis could be possible at such a young age."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16740758
On R4 this morning, it was also pointed out that this reinforces findings that MMR vaccine does not cause autism, because these babies were much too young to have had the jab.