Pets May Help Kids With Autism Develop Social Skills

HealthDay – 2 hrs 57 mins ago WEDNESDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Introducing a pet into the home of a child with autism may help that child develop improved social behaviors, new research finds.

The study, from French researchers, is the first strong scientific evidence that animals may help foster social skills in individuals with autism, but it also reinforces what clinicians have been hearing anecdotally for years.

"We hear from parents a lot that having a pet or interacting with an animal really helps their child's social behavior, but there hasn't been a study so far that has looked at that scientifically," said Alycia Halladay, director of environmental research at Autism Speaks. "This offers some intriguing evidence to confirm what parents have been saying."

Halladay was not involved with the study, which was published online Aug. 1 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Problems with communication are one of the hallmarks of autism and strategies to combat this are central to autism therapy.

According to Halladay, some people with autism use service dogs but usually to address a particular handicap, such as problems with motor coordination or hearing loss, although not yet for social skills.

Previous studies have verified that having a pet in the house actually improves family bonding and can improve the social skills of a non-autistic child as he or she learns to share with the pet and care for it.

To see if pets might have the same effect in children with autism, the study authors compared the children's social interactions (as reported by the parents of the children with autism) in three different settings: households that had never had a pet; homes that had had a pet since the child's birth; and households that had acquired a pet after the child turned 5.

In total, 260 individuals with autism were involved and the researchers were most interested in social interactions when the child was 4 or 5 years of age, because this is when the social impairments are often at a peak.

Out of 36 measures, participants who had acquired a pet after they were born scored higher in the two categories of "offering to share" and "offering comfort" after having the pet for a few years.

There was no relationship between each individual's IQ and the impact of the pet, leading the authors to conclude that "the benefits that the animals may have on individuals with autism don't seem related to how serious the autism was," said study author Marine Grandgeorge, clinical research associate at the Autism Resource Center of Academic Hospital in Brest, France.

Pets may promote pro-social behavior by acting as "distracters," Grandgeorge suggested.

"When a human is in a stressful situation, a pet seems to distract him/her from the

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Family History of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder May Up Kids' Risk for Autism

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Freezer damages brain samples used to study autism

A freezer malfunctioned at a Harvard-affiliated hospital that oversees the world's largest collection of autistic brain samples, damaging a third of the scientifically precious specimens and casting doubt on whether they can be used in research.

The director of the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center said the loss was "devastating," particularly in light of the increasing demand for brain samples among scientists searching for the cause of autism and potential treatments.

"Over the last 10 years, the autism tissue program has been working very hard to get the autism community to understand the importance of brain donation," Dr. Francine Benes said. Now many of those samples have been compromised.

The freezer failed sometime late last month at the center, which is housed at McLean Hospital in the Boston suburb of Belmont. At least 54 samples earmarked for autism research were harmed. Many of them turned dark with decay.

However, an initial review indicates that the DNA in the samples is intact and can still be used for genetic research. It's unclear, however, whether the samples could be used for the full range of neuroscience needs.

Thirty-two of the brains had been cut in half, with one side placed in a formaldehyde solution and the other placed in the freezer. The samples in the solution remain available for all research projects, the hospital said.

The frozen tissue samples are normally maintained at about minus 80 degrees Celsius, but the temperature had reached about 7 degrees

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Doubt Cast on Usefulness of 'Sensory' Therapies for Autism

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Autism Often Not Diagnosed Until Age 5 or Older: U.S. Report

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Employment Prospects Dim for Young Adults With Autism

HealthDay – 1 hr 38 mins ago MONDAY, May 14 (HealthDay News) -- Young adults with an autism spectrum disorder are less likely to continue their education or get a job after high school when compared to young adults with other disabilities, new research indicates.

According to the study, only about 35 percent of young adults with autism attended college and only 55 percent had a job during the first six years after high school. Overall, they faced a greater than 50 percent chance of being unemployed or not attending college when compared to those with other disabilities, the researchers reported.

More than half of autistic young adults had no participation in either work or education during the two years after leaving high school, and even six years later more than one-third were without work or higher education, the study found.

"Many families with children with autism describe leaving high school as falling off a cliff because of the lack of services for adults with an autism spectrum disorder," said senior study author Paul Shattuck, an assistant professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. "So much of media attention focuses on children. It's important for people to realize autism does not disappear in adolescence. The majority of lifespan is spent in adulthood."

Part of the reason that young adults struggle after high school is that a core feature of the disorder is difficulty knowing how to interpret social interactions and handle a wide variety of social situations, something that is a necessity in many jobs, experts say.

But researchers also note that more educational and job-related support could help people with autism -- including the wave of children recently diagnosed -- who will be aging over the next decade as they find their place in society.

"We need to find ways to make room for adults with autism in our communities and help them get connected to opportunities that people with other forms of disabilities are participating in," Shattuck said.

The study is published online May 14 and in the June print issue of Pediatrics.

In it, researchers examined data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2, a nine-year study of adolescents who were enrolled in special education because of autism, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities or speech and language impairments.

Compared with youth in the three other disability categories, autistic teens and young adults had significantly lower rates of employment and the highest overall rates of no participation in any work or education.

For example, only 55 percent of young adults with autism had paid employment, while 86 percent of those with a speech or language impairment, 94 percent of those with a learning disability and 69 percent of those with mental retardation did.

The education picture was a little brighter. About 35 percent of kids with autism attended a two- or four-year college; 51 percent of those with a speech or language delay did so, while 40 percent of those with a learning disability and 18 percent of those with mental retardation did.

For lower-income autistic teens and young adults, participation rates were even lower.

An estimated one in 88 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 50,000 youths with autism will turn 18 this year in the United States.

Peter Bell, executive vice president of programs and services for Autism Speaks and the father of a young adult with autism, said the transition to adulthood can be particularly difficult for the families of children with autism. During childhood, most services are centered in the educational system and children are entitled to receive a public education. In many states, special needs teens can continue to get some services through the schools until around age 20 or 21.

After that, parents have to seek help from the social services system, which is more fragmented and difficult to navigate. And yet, he added, the report is not all bleak.

"I was pleasantly surprised that about 35 percent went on after leaving high school to attend some form of college," Bell said. "I was told 16 years ago when my son was diagnosed that there was very little chance he would ever go to college. So the fact that over one-third of the autism population goes on to some form of education after school should say to a lot of parents, 'You shouldn't automatically assume your child is not going to go to college'."

His own 19-year-old son isn't attending college, but he does work at several jobs in their town, where he is a well-known and accepted part of the community, Bell added.

More information

Autism Speaks has a toolkit to help teens with autism and their families make the transition out of high school.

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Prenatal Smoking Linked to High-Functioning Autism in Kids

HealthDay – Fri, May 4, 2012 FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- If a woman smokes during pregnancy, it may increase her child's risk of high-functioning autism, a new study suggests.

But the raised risk was slight, experts said. And researchers found no association between maternal smoking and more severe forms of autism.

What the findings suggest is that although autism spectrum disorders share many of the same symptoms, subtypes of the disorder likely have many different genetic and environmental causes that vary from person to person and by type of autism, explained study author Amy Kalkbrenner, an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Zilber School of Public Health.

"We know 'autism spectrum disorders' is an umbrella term. What we're showing is the response to a environmental toxin may differ by the subtype of autism a child has," Kalkbrenner said.

The study was published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Kalkbrenner and her colleagues examined data on maternal smoking from birth certificates of nearly 634,000 U.S. children born in 11 states in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1998. That data was compared with information on 3,315 children aged 8 and under diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.

About 13 percent of the mothers smoked during pregnancy, and 11 percent of the mothers of kids with an autism spectrum disorder smoked during pregnancy, the investigators found.

According to the study, kids born to moms who smoked during pregnancy had about a 25 percent increased risk of having high-functioning autism, such as Asperger's syndrome. However, the results did not reach statistical significance.

Nor was smoking a clear risk factor for autistic disorder (a more severe form of autism).

The researchers noted that the data used in the study may underestimate the true prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among mothers who smoke because lower-income kids are less likely to be identified as having autism, and lower-income mothers are also more likely to smoke during pregnancy.

When researchers did another statistical analysis that took into account a suspected undercounting of kids with autism, the analysis did suggest a statistically significant association between smoking and high-functioning autism in offspring.

Alycia Halladay, director for environmental research for Autism Speaks, said the research is consistent with prior studies that have found either no association or only a mild association between smoking during pregnancy and autism in children. What's interesting about this paper is that it included data on large numbers of kids, she added, and it hinted at differences in the contributing factors for various types of autism spectrum disorders.

"It really supports the idea that there are multiple causes of autism, both genetic and environmental. When we talk about autism being one group or disorder, we really need to ensure we have these groups as well-defined as possible," Halladay said. "This is a very heterogeneous disorder."

There are multiple reasons why tobacco might raise the risk of autism, Kalkbrenner noted. Tobacco can restrict oxygen flow to the baby, while the nicotine is known to interact with the nervous system and cross the placenta into the developing fetus. "There are many potential biological pathways for which tobacco can harm the developing baby," she said.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that's characterized by problems with social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and restricted interests and behaviors. An estimated one in 88 U.S. children has the disorder, according to the CDC.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more on autism.

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'Publication Bias' Casts Doubt on Value of Antidepressants for Autism

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Half-Siblings of Those With Autism at Raised Risk for Disorder: Study

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In Mice, Drug Reverses Symptoms of Condition Linked to Autism

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Online Tool Could Diagnose Autism Quickly, Developers Say

HealthDay – 2 mins 52 secs ago TUESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- A new online procedure could cut from hours to minutes the amount of time it takes to accurately diagnose autism in young children, resulting in earlier treatment, a new report by Harvard Medical School researchers says.

The process relies on seven questions plus a short home video of an individual child.

The research team said its method could reduce by nearly 95 percent the time it takes to diagnose autism and could be easily included in routine child screening practices, greatly increasing the number of at-risk children who get checked for the disorder.

"We believe this approach will make it possible for more children to be accurately diagnosed during the early critical period when behavioral therapies are most effective," Dennis Wall, an associate professor of pathology and director of computational biology initiative at the Center for Biomedical Informatics, said in a medical school news release.

The research is published in the April 10 online edition of the journal Nature Translational Psychiatry.

Currently, children being evaluated for autism typically take a 93-part questionnaire and/or an examination that assesses several types of behaviors. These evaluations must be performed by a trained clinician and can take up to three hours to complete.

In many cases, there is a delay of more than a year between initial signs of autism and a diagnosis. This is due to waiting times to see a professional who can administer the tests and deliver the formal diagnosis, Wall explained.

He and his colleagues examined data from more than 800 people who were diagnosed with autism and found that only seven questions were needed to diagnose autism with nearly 100 percent accuracy.

The researchers also found that a shorter assessment of behavioral traits could be used to evaluate children, and this could be achieved by viewing short home video clips of children.

"With this mobilized approach, the parent or caregiver will be able to take the crucial first steps to diagnosis and treatment from the comfort of their own home, and in just a few minutes," Wall said.

One expert said that such a test would be useful, but more research into its effectiveness is needed.

"Although the accuracy and specificity of the abbreviated approach are impressive, it is likely that this abbreviated approach to testing may not be quite as accurate and discriminating when evaluating a more diverse sample than was included in the study just reported," said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

"At this time, concerned parents are advised to discuss concerns about their child's development with their pediatrician. Children under 3 years of age are entitled to a free developmental evaluation through their local early intervention program. Likewise, preschool children (ages 3 to 5) can be evaluated for free through their local school district," he added.

"Pediatricians and pediatric sub-specialists are generally able to make a clinical diagnosis of autism using current diagnostic criteria," Adesman said, and "families wishing a second opinion about a child with possible autism may wish to consult with a developmental pediatrician, child neurologist or child psychiatrist."

More information

Here's where you can find the seven-question survey.

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Autism research may be about to bear fruit

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Saying Obesity Causes Autism is Careless

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Mom's obesity tied to kids' autism, development

" in mom -- including high blood pressure or diabetes -- found the strongest links between obesity and autism-related disorders. Researchers also found ties between the other maternal metabolic conditions and developmental delays in kids. ...","exp":"","source":"y.newssocialchrome"

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Children Born to Obese Moms May Face Higher Autism Risk: Study

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Autism may be linked to obesity during pregnancy

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.

It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Study women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children. They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Since more than one-third of U.S. women of child-bearing age are obese, the results are potentially worrisome and add yet another incentive for maintaining a normal weight, said researcher Paula Krakowiak, a study co-author and scientist at the University of California, Davis.

Previous research has linked obesity during pregnancy with stillbirths, preterm births and some birth defects.

Dr. Daniel Coury, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, said the results "raise quite a concern."

He noted that U.S. autism rates have increased along with obesity rates and said the research suggests that may be more than a coincidence.

More research is needed to confirm the results. But if mothers' obesity is truly related to autism, it would be only one of many contributing factors, said Coury, who was not involved in the study.

Genetics has been linked to autism, and scientists are examining whether mothers' illnesses and use of certain medicines during pregnancy might also play a role.

The study involved about 1,000 California children, ages 2 to 5. Nearly 700 had autism or other developmental delays, and 315 did not have those problems.

Mothers were asked about their health. Medical records were available for more than half the women and confirmed their conditions. It's not clear how mothers' obesity might affect fetal development, but the authors offer some theories.

Obesity, generally about 35 pounds overweight, is linked with inflammation and sometimes elevated levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar and inflammation-related substances in a mother's blood may reach the fetus and damage the developing brain, Krakowiak said.

The study lacks information on blood tests during pregnancy. There's also no information on women's diets and other habits during pregnancy that might have influenced fetal development.

There were no racial, ethnic, education or health insurance differences among mothers of autistic kids and those with unaffected children that might have influenced the results, the researchers said.

The National Institutes of Health helped pay for the study.

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Obesity in pregnancy linked to autism

"Mothers who are obese or have diabetes during pregnancy may be more likely to have babies with autism or other developmental delays, a US study has said. (AFP Photo/Loic Venance)" title

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Pregnancy Length May Influence Severity of Autism

HealthDay – 1 hr 1 min ago FRIDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Children with autism who were born either prematurely or several weeks late may experience more severe symptoms than kids with autism who were born on time, according to a new study.

These children also may be more likely to inflict self-injury, researchers found.

Although the reasons their symptoms are more severe remain unknown, the study suggested it may have something to do with what caused the children to be born before 36 weeks' gestation or after 42 weeks.

"With preterm and post-term babies, there is something underlying that is altering the genetic expression of autism," Tammy Movsas, a postdoctoral epidemiology fellow at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, said in a university news release.

"The outside environment in which a preterm baby continues to mature is very different than the environment that the baby would have experienced in utero," she said. "This change in environment may be part of the reason why there is a difference in autistic severity in this set of infants."

The researchers examined an online database of 4,200 mothers with children with autism, ranging in age from 4 to 21 years. They grouped the children into one of four categories based on the timing of their birth: very preterm (fewer than 34 weeks' gestation), preterm (34 to 37 weeks), standard (37 to 42 weeks) and post-term (more than 42 weeks).

The mothers completed questionnaires about their child's symptoms. The study revealed very preterm, preterm and post-term children with autism had significantly more severe cases than children with autism who were born between 37 and 42 weeks gestation.

Although the study found a link between length of pregnancy and autism severity, it did not show a cause-and-effect relationship.

"Normal gestation age of birth seems to mitigate the severity of autism spectrum disorder symptoms, and the types of autistic traits tend to be different depending on age at birth," Movsas said.

For babies born late, the study's authors said prolonged exposure to hormones, higher rates of problems with the placenta and Cesarean section could play a role in the severity of a child's autism.

On the other hand, the study also revealed that very preterm babies show an increase in the mannerisms associated with autism.

Nigel Paneth, an epidemiologist at Michigan State, said that although autism has a strong genetic component, the findings indicate that something about pregnancy or the perinatal period may affect how autism manifests itself.

"This adds to our earlier finding that prematurity is a major risk factor for autism spectrum disorder and may help us understand if anything can be done during early life to prevent or alleviate autism spectrum disorder," he said in the news release.

The study was published online April 3 in the Journal of Autism and Development Disorders.

No one knows what causes autism. Other research published this week found that spontaneous genetic mutations and older fathers may influence a small number of autism cases.

According to recent figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 88 U.S. children has some form of the neurological disorder.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke provides more information on autism.

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Researchers Find Gene Mutations That May Be a Key to Autism

HealthDay – 2 hrs 26 mins ago WEDNESDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- Genetic mutations that arise spontaneously, as opposed to being passed through generations, could play an important role in the development of autism, new research suggests.

Three research teams sequenced the genes of children with sporadic autism, meaning it did not run in their families, and compared the sequences with those of their parents and siblings. Their results were published in three separate articles on April 4 in the journal Nature.

"We found that 15 to 20 percent of sporadic patients could be explained by 'de novo'

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Gene trawl shows clues, but also complexity, in autism

"A boy with autism is seen at a special school in 2006. Researchers said on Wednesday they had found three more genes implicated in autism and turned up some evidence to explain why the disorder occurs more frequently among children of older parents. (AFP Photo/Liu Jin)" title

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