Alexander Tundakov on Flickr

Breast feeding has been linked to many benefits for both baby and child, so it sounds surprising that anyone would link it to an increase in autism for the child.

The problem, is not with breastfeeding, however, but with toxins that leak into breast milk from the environment, such as PCBs.

This risk is no reason to break out the bottle, says Dr. Chung Wong at autisable.com.

“What we have to remember is that this study was on rats and while it is important to encourage research into the harmful toxins in our environment, and their affect on our babies’ brains and development, the benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh this unproven link to autism. Plus a survey carried out in 2006 – “Breastfeeding, infant formula supplementation, and Autistic Disorder: the results of a parent survey” by Stephen T Schultz et al. concluded that:

“The results of this preliminary study indicate that children who were not breastfed or were fed infant formula without docosahexaenoic acid/arachidonic acid supplementation were significantly more likely to have autistic disorder.”

“Breast is still definitely best.”

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Age of Autism’s Kim Stagliano has written a post on the benefits Enhansa has produced in her children.

“We use Enhansa, and we’ve seen results in each of the girls. One of my daughters’ reading level has advanced from second grade to fourth grade during the school year. Another is clearly more aware of her surroundings and participating with the family. The other day she grabbed her sister’s hand and said, “Come on!” after pretty much ignoring her sibling since her birth. Receptive speech and ability to follow directions has leaped in one of my darlings too.”

According to its manufacturer’s site Leesilby.com, Enhansa has been clinically proven to do the following:

• Increases levels of Glutathione within the cell
• Reduces levels of nearly every inflammatory cytokine found to be elevated in Autism
• Improves liver detoxification
• Chelates Lead and Cadmium and protects brain and body from damage caused by Mercury
• Decreases levels of oxidized (GSSG) Glutathione. Oxidized Glutathione has been found to be elevated in Autism

There are thousands of parents who wait eagerly on the edge of their seat for the latest supplement or medicine that promises to improve their child’s symptoms.

With any medication, there are probably quite a few “water pills” that do no more than give these parents hopes that cannot be fulfilled.

Have you had personal experiences with Enhansa and can you similarly vouch for it?

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be_khe on Flickr

A boy with autism in North Carolina found the pet of his dreams-a pot belly pig named Loopey.

“He started interacting and it was great to see that,” Lisa Pia, mother of the boy, Anthony, said. “Who would have thought that the love of a potbellied pig would help bring an autistic boy out of his shell?”

Things were going well with Loopey and the family until they suspect a neighbor decided to snitch after spotting the pig in the yard.

City ordinances in Fayetteville, N.C. currently prohibit livestock as pets, but the family has been fighting to declare Loopey, a pot bellied pig, as technically not livestock.

They’ve gotten support from several council men and friends and family have worn “Loopey For Autism” T-shirts at city council meetings.

The city is reconsidering the decision, but until then, Loopey remains on the farm the family got him from.

Source

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Arturo de Albornoz on Flickr

According to a study by the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), which is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the rate for autism for children in the U.S. is now at 1%.

However, the study also found that a good majority of these children went on to “lose” the diagnoses later in life or had symptoms that improved so much the condition didn’t affect them.

Other key findings in the study:

1. At some point in their lives, 1-in-63 US children (160-per-10,000) will have an ASD diagnosis
2. The percentage of boys who apparently lost their original diagnoses was 34.6%
3. The percentage of girls who apparently lost their original diagnosis was 44.5%

Read more about the new findings at huffingtonpost.com.

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Adam

We’ve mentioned how television is picking up on the trend to display autistic characters on primetime.

Now, BBC News magazine has touched on the fact that autism is often portrayed in the most optimistic of ways.

Brilliance and savant skills make for good ratings from the audience, but these roles rarely give the reality of how difficulty the disorder can be for those affected.

And stereotypes fail to show those on the spectrum can have diverse abilities, not just in math or other quantitative areas.

“By far, the majority of people with autism do not have any kind of savant ability,” said Dr Stuart Murray professor of contemporary literature and film at the University of Leeds and author of the book Representing Autism.

Dr. Murray says the films tend to focus on two types of story lines:

* the disability provides some kind of incredible skill or quality that “makes up” for the negative, or
* the person finds a way to “rise above” adversity

“It’s a very sexy way of looking at autism,” says Jonathan Kaufman, president of Disability Works in the US and technical consultant for Adam, a movie in which an Asperger’s man falls in love.

Sexy sells, even if it’s for a disability. But are your everyday autistic individuals in society paying a price because they can’t live up the Hollywood standards in real life?

Read the entire article at news.bbc.co.uk.

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TheAlieness GiselaGiardino 23 on Flickr

No, it’s not a sci-fi look into the future.

It’s a project created by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researcher Nilanjan Sarkar, Ph.D. and colleagues.

They’ve built a robot that, through physiological measurements such as heart rate, skin response, temperature and muscle movement, can monitor the emotional states of autistic children.

The robot is said to predict emotional states like happiness and anxiety with an accuracy of 80%.

Can we get these for normal couples as well in efforts to decrease the divorce rate due to lack of understanding from the opposite partner?

Read more about the robot and watch a video at news8austin.com.

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glennmcbethlaw on Flickr

The Autism Alliance of MetroWest has developed a package to help school nurses interact with autistic children.

The packet includes special scripts the nurses can use to better communicate with students, as well as pictures to help children communicate their medical issues and letters that can be sent home to parents.

The packet contains tools for recognizing common maladies in school settings such as a stomach ache.

Like many professionals, school nurses aren’t always educated on or prepared to deal with the autistic child.

“When I was there, I was really blown away by how little they knew about it, and how eager they were to learn about autism,” said Nannette Ohman, executive director of Autism Alliance of MetroWest.

The packet sell for around $150 and can be purchased from the Autism Alliance of MetroWest at autismalliance.org or calling 508-652-9900.

via metrowestdailynews.com

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strollers on Flickr

Sue Pederson, a psychologist, and her colleagues at the Fraser Child and Family Centre in Minneapolis have recently found that ipod use can help those with Asperger’s learn to fit in socially.

They’ve come up with the idea to program an ipod to act as an “inner voice” or prompt, telling those with Asperger’s how to interact in various social situations.

Basically, short videos and slides would appear on the electronic devicea, and similar to a “Social Stories” type of teaching, these videos and slides would guide Asperger’s individuals in daily interactions.

“I think it’s going to spread like wildfire,” said Pederson.

Source

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