Inflammatory system response and the relation to Autism

Here's an interesting article on the body's response to inflammation and the relation to Autism

Fox News Article on Inflammation and Autism

“What we found was when they were on the worm, there was an improvement in three difrent scales that measured rigidity, flexibility or insistence on sameness,” Hollander said.  “It turns out people with autism, they’re creatures of routine and habit, and if there’s an unexpected deviation, they tend to get upset and protest… But we got an improvement in three different measures of this, and as a result they were having less protest.”
Hollander noted that while their findings still need to be replicated, both sections of this study help to support the idea that regulating the immune and inflammatory responses in patients with autism may effectively lower their ASD symptoms.
“I think one of the things we’re starting to see is that a number of different genes involved in inflammation response are up-regulated in autism,” Hollander said. “Up until this point, there have been very little efforts to try and address this.  So this is kind of exciting, because there are a lot of ways to modulate the immune system, and some of that knowledge can now be applied in terms of developing new treatments.”

I've read about the TSO eggs before and how they help with Autism.  I'm happy to see this research being taken seriously.  Maybe they can make some advances in treating Autism.

Misc. Bits and Pieces

Going to throw out some bits and pieces of stuff that has come to mind lately

Sleplessness and Insomina

Sleplessness is something that Aspies and ASD kids in general have as a general rule.  Bailey was a night owl from the time he was born.  I laughed at parents who were telling me that they could put their infants down to sleep at 7pm at night and have them sleep until 7pm the next morning.  Bailey was never that way.  Still isn't today.  Bailey has never been able to go to sleep before 10pm in all his 12 years.  Dont tell me about "Feberizing" - we tried all the tips, tricks, deprivation, pretty much anything you can name, we tried.  I've found that Bailey's body takes time to wind down from the stress and activity of the day.  I have found that soft music and movies or shows with soothing sounds seem to help with this.  I know that "experts" say no TV after a certain time of night - but when it comes down to the parent getting sleep or dealing with a child who is going until 1 or 2am in the morning, a little TV never hurt anyone.  I believe that there is some truth to the fact that diet can help/hurt with insomina.  Obviously loading a kid up with sugar isn't useful when trying to get them to sleep.  I've found that allowing Bailey to snack lightly (again, as non-sugary of a treat as possible) before bed seems to assist with the winding down process and helps him to get to sleep and stay asleep longer.

Focus and Change of direction

It's interesting how it seems that Aspies and ASD kids seem to get misdiagnosed with ADHD so easily.  I believe that the symptoms that the doctors see are misleading.  Aspies in particular are EXTREMELY focused on whatever the current task is at hand.  One issue that Bailey's teachers have struggled with over the years is getting Bailey to change from one task to another.  Even at home, there are times when I have to call his name and get him to focus entirely on me before I can give him new instructions for a new task.  This is important for Aspies.  Sometimes you need to give them this "cushion" to shift gears between one task or another.  They can't just pick up and go as other kids do.  Their brain needs time to refocus on the new task to work out what steps need to be taken next.

Which brings me to my next point - Change of direction.  Aspies hate change.  Tradition and familiarity are safe for them.  Any time you introduce change to the Aspie's environment it is key to do this as slowly and carefully as the situation allows.  Sometimes the situation doesn't allow and you have to change on the go and take the Aspie along for the ride.  Be prepared during these times for the inevitable "moment" as the Aspie will struggle with organizing thoughts and actions to incorporate the change.  For the parent of an Aspie it is key to try and map out the new task as clearly as possible and to give expectations of what the end game is for the Aspie.  Sometimes this means outlining something as simple as picking up toys or putting away books.  Tasks like that may seem simple for other children but for the Aspie, these tasks can often require additional direction be given to allow their brain organize and act on the new task at hand.

Inspiring Autism Story

Here's an inspiring story of a young man with Autism.  I give credit to his family for the support he's received.  He is more on the non-functional side, but completely able to do far more than what doctors said he would be able to do.

Inspirational story of young man with Autism

From the story:

Billy Pagoni is refusing to give up on his hopes for a higher education.
Diagnosed with severe autism at 18 months old, 21-year-old Billy has trouble speaking and communicating with others, making it difficult for him to integrate into a typical college environment.
Nevertheless, Billy had always dreamed of attending college, with hopes of one day becoming a professional chef.  However, according to his mother, Edith, there are currently no university programs suited to meet his special needs.

Autism Speaks has some issues

I'm not a huge follower of "causes".  In fact, I'm a little down on supporting large "organizations" for the purposes of some charitable effort.  My charity usually involves giving directly of my time, efforts, or money to someone in need.  There is a lot of corruption that goes on in charities in the current day.  Beyond corruption, a lot of the larger organizations are very top heavy.  When you see leaders making  tens of thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dollars to run a charity - you've ceased to be defined as a charity in my opinion. 

That being said, I do see the need for some larger organizations that can be used for large disaster events or recovery efforts, etc.  The Red Cross comes to mind.  Although, they too have become a shell of their former selves/goals.  The Red Cross is entirely too political lately. 

I was recently made aware of some issues with Autism Speaks.  They are one of the larger autism specific charities around.

Moms organization chastises Autism Speaks

Some of the dispute revolves around the fact that Autism Speaks has no one on the autism spectrum in their leadership counsel.  They also seem to lack a balanced view of autism and its causes, treatments, etc.

I don't have a lot of commentary on the linked article.  Just offer for your reading pleasure.

Dr Manny responds to article from earlier today

Dr. Manny Alvarez, a contributor for Fox News, read the article I posted earlier today about the store Cashier who had Aspergers getting berated by a customer who thought he was moving too slow.

I don't agree with Alvarez on everything, but he does have a good quote in the story

Dr. Manny responds to bullying of Aspie Cashier

People need to understand that individuals on the autism spectrum are going to face challenges as they try to incorporate themselves into the fabric of a working environment. Every time I write a story about autism, in which I relate personal anecdotes about my son, many people thank me for sharing the struggles that our family faces on a day-to-day basis. But consequently, I also receive hateful comments from people expressing very insulting thoughts they may have about both my son and myself.  As a father, these comments hurt, but I don’t take them to heart, because I know that these people are misinformed.  And ignorance can sometimes be the driving force for animosity.
No matter what, I will always stand up for the rights of people on the autism spectrum and try to spread awareness about this disorder.

I was unaware that Dr. Alvarez had a son with autism.  He is right that there are a lot of ignorant people that just don't understand autism and what the limitations are of those who have it.

Maybe my small blog will help some people to understand and help support the millions of children and adults who are Aspies trying to make it in this crazy, mixed up world.

Deliberate Aspergers employee gets yelled at

This story kind of dovetails off to something that I was wanting to cover this week anyway.

Story of man with Aspergers getting yelled at

From the Story:

A SUPERMARKET employee with Asperger's syndrome was berated by a customer for checking out her groceries too slowly. Chris Tuttle was left stressed and upset by the altercation… until his sister stepped in.
Jamie Tuttle-Virkler posted the story of what happened to her brother on Facebook and asked people who know him to leave a comment if he's ever made them smile.
"Yesterday at Wegmans, a customer yelled at him and then in the middle of her transaction, left to complain loudly to a manager, came back to his line and he was so shaken, dropped a candle she bought on the ground and it shattered," she posted.
"The customer's problem? Chris was checking her out...TOO SLOW and she was furious. She yelled at him, the manager and anyone else who would listen."

One thing that is common for those with Aspergers (Aspie) is to be very deliberate with whatever it is they are working on.  This would only apply to something that has there interest or something that is very important.  Telling this man in the story to "hurry up" would not work.  In order to change the current mindset of an Aspie you must first get their attention, and then explain why the direction change you are about to introduce is important.  Then, make sure that the change of direction is understood and followed.

With Bailey, prior to his diagnosis, this was one of the harder aspects of Aspergers for me to understand.  Getting him to change tasks or to change how he was approaching tasks was nigh on impossible.  I thought it was Bailey being beligerent or disobedient to me as a parent.  Since his diagnosis I am very aware to try and inform Bailey whenever he will need to change tasks or to change environments (if we are getting ready to go somewhere).  This seems to brunt the frustration some and helps him to change gears towards the new direction.

Interesting article on ASD infants and eye contact

It's been known for some time that ASD children have an issue with holding eye contact.  There are many studies and books on this issue. 

Now, they are finding out that an ASD diagnosis could be made in infants as young as 2 months old by using an eye contact test.

Fox news Story on Autism and Eye contact in Infants

From the story:

Infants that later developed autism were found to show declines in how long they looked at the caregiver's eyes, starting around ages 2 months to 6 months.

Interesting.