We're nearing the end of April which has been Autism Awareness Month and it is time to reflect over what you have done to help make a difference in regards to this cause.Toy 'R Us has been pushing Autism Awareness by sending out e-mails to people who opted into their online newsletters. Being one of those people I have been smiling each time I see one of their e-mails in my inbox.
Today they had a downloadable PDF of ten toys which they say "speak to autism." I'm going to link to it so you can have a copy, too because in addition to talking about toys they sell which is their marketing ploy, it also discusses the reasons why certain toys might be helpful. I found the information helpful and enlightening.
Today their are nearly 1.5 million children in the United States alone who have been diagnosed with a form of autism. An estimated 150 additional children are add to that number each year. These numbers are alarming and they should make it obvious just how important it is for more research to be done in this area. Research in terms of the cause, the biological effects, treatments and a cure are absolutely necessary.
Click through with this link for information on different Autism Awareness Walks all around the world. Make sure you at least participate by educating yourself further on the topic but it would be wonderful if you could also participate in a walk for the cause and/or donate money to fund research.
As cliche as it might sound, it is true we can all make a difference one person at a time.
Labels: autism
Yes, it is true, I read Science Daily. Now that we're done laughing about that, I wanted to quickly mention one of their tatest articles about autism. Research suggests children, specifically boys, who have autism are at a higher risk for Vitamin D and Calcium deficiencies. So even though they have higher levels of growth hormones and can often be very tall, they are also slender due to thinner bones. You can see the problem that might arise. If their bodies are taller they will need stronger bones to support their limbs. This might be why many children with autism break so many bones.
The doctors involved with this research stress that more investigation needs to be done, but that it is a good idea for you to include a dietician into your child's plan of action when it comes to their disorder.
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Labels: autism
From a very young I age I became fascinated with the autism spectrum disorder. Observing children has always been something I revel in and I often can sense things in children that other people cannot. When it comes to autism I am intrigued as to why it causes such turmoil in some children and is barely noticeable in others. I have bought books, done research and signed up for all sorts of groups and newsletters to learn more.This morning doing my daily reading through the news I stumbled across an article about how studying children with autism while they are running a fever has caused the need for further observation with doctors.
Researchers studied 30 patients with autism and the results were overwhelming. "They found that a fever of at least 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit improved symptoms such as arm flapping and body rocking, as well as irritability and hyperactivity." Clearly the disorder is completely neurology based, but how can a fever decrease those symptoms?
Of course the argument from other doctors is that a fever can cause lethargy in anyone. But to me this doesn't sound like a matter of lethargy. And a fever of 100.4 is still low enough that it shouldn't change your actions THAT much.
A fever can restore nerve cell communications in the brain, perhaps because the extra heat causes slight inflammation. The stimulation in children with autism causes them to behave more calmly and less erratically. Perhaps instead of being completely due to nerve cell communications it is also due to the immune system focusing efforts on healing the infected part of the body. Or maybe it is related to some sort of bacteria made by the body of a person with autism...? Because when you have a fever bacteria will begin to die due to the higher temperatures around it. Once your immune system stops inducing a fever because it has fought the infection then your body returns to normal temperature and the bacteria can fester again. So if for some reason there is a certain residue of bacteria made by the brains of people with austism then it would make sense they behave substantially different during a fever.
I don't know the answers, I'm not a doctor, but I am thrilled beyond belief that this study has brought forth such questions and possibilities. It has definitely got me thinking!
SOURCE
I really must quickly blog about this, nerd or not, I think it is very interesting and educational. As most of you know, I am fascinated with the brain, in specific, neurological disorders.
Autism is one of the disorders that has most intrigued me. And since I frequently peruse the National Institute of Health's website, I was pleased to see the latest study on Autism.
Largest-Ever Search for Autism Genes Reveals New Clues
In short, the article discusses the link between this disorder and chromosome 11.
"A site on chromosome 11 most strongly linked to autism in this study harbors genes for proteins that shuttle glutamate across the synapse."
Chromosome 11 only represents 4 to 4.5 percent of your DNA make-up. It, unfortunately, is already known to be one of the most disease ridden chromosomes in our genetic make-up. Chromosome 11 has been linked to things ranging from breast cancer to more rare diseases like beta-ketothiolase deficiency. The specific gene that is being looked into is neurexin 1. Neurexin belongs to a family of genes that help nerve cells communicate.
Anyway, basically, being able to pinpoint this is huge in the study of autism. Scientists and doctors have always thought that autism might have something to do with a person's genetic make-up, but until this study have been unable to prove that theory. Yay for the Autism Genome Project!
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