Autism Blog with Lisa Jo Rudy June 2006 Archive

A Message from Hannah Gutstein and RDI
A few weeks ago, the staff of the Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) treatment center created a link on their newsletter to my About.com site. A number of people took ... Read More

Thursday June 29, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Autism May Be Diagnosable at Birth
A new study by researchers at Yale Medical School suggests that children with autism spectrum disorders are born with unusual placentas. That could mean ultra-early intervention -- and much ... Read More

Thursday June 29, 2006 | permalink | comments (1)

Web Radio Event: About.com Guide to Autism Interviews Dr. Stanley Greenspan
Dr. Stanley Greenspan is the developer of the DIR (Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based)/Floortime therapeutic model for children on the autism spectrum. Floortime has become a well-established therapy, and is increasingly ... Read More

Wednesday June 28, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Drugs Used to Treat Autism
Why would drugs be used to treat a disorder for which there's no medical cure? Drugs are generally prescribed to autistic patients to manage specific symptoms -- not to ... Read More

Wednesday June 28, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Can You Offer Haircut Advice?
A reader asks for your advice: I have a 5 year old autisic son who hates to get his hair cut. He becomes out of control and fights, kicks, bites,screams ... Read More

Tuesday June 27, 2006 | permalink | comments (11)

Adults on the Spectrum, Today on NPR
Today on NPR, the hosts of All Things Considered conducted interviews with Michael John Carley (founder of Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership, or GRASP) and other autistic adults. ... Read More

Monday June 26, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Is It OK To Grieve When a Child Is Diagnosed with Autism?
When a couple is expecting a child, they dream of the future. For many Americans, that imagined future includes family outings, soccer games, college, career, wedding, grandchildren... Of ... Read More

Sunday June 25, 2006 | permalink | comments (18)

Visiting Kyle's Treehouse
The Westphal family created the Kyle's Treehouse website and associated foundation in honor of their son Kyle, a young man with autism spectrum disorder. They feel that intensive treatment ... Read More

Saturday June 24, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Fourth of July Assault on the Senses
The Fourth of July is a veritable cornucopia of sensory overload. From the parades to the firecrackers and fireworks to the crowds at neighborhood barbecues, it's hard to imagine ... Read More

Friday June 23, 2006 | permalink | comments (6)

Autism Diagnosed at Birth?
A new discovery at Yale University may point the way to diagnosis of autism at birth. The announcement of the discovery in Medical News Today states that unusual folds, ... Read More

Thursday June 22, 2006 | permalink | comments (2)

Updates for About.com Readers
Thanks everyone for your questions to Dr. Steven Gutstein, developer of RDI, and Carol Gray, developer of Social Stories (tm). I am now working with the staff at RDI ... Read More

Monday June 19, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Avoiding Autism: A Disturbing Solution
According The Advertiser, an Australian publication, University College Hospital in London has applied to use IVF sex selection techniques to help couples with a family history of autism by destroying ... Read More

Monday June 19, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Department of Defense May Fund Autism Research
Each year, the Department of Defense funds medical research into issues that impact on the military and their families. Autism Speaks, a powerful fundraising and lobbying oganization which recently ... Read More

Sunday June 18, 2006 | permalink | comments (2)

Doctor Who Raised MMR Issue May Face Charges
Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist whose research launched a decade of concern over a possible relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism, may face legal charges. An article ... Read More

Friday June 16, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Autreat, A Retreat for Autistic Adults, Comes to Philadelphia
Autism Network International will be holding its annual "Autreat" in Philadelphia between June 26-30. According to the ANI press release, "It is an opportunity for autistic people and those ... Read More

Thursday June 15, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Ask An Expert Your Autism Questions
Autism experts are few and far between. In Pennsylvania, there are a grand total of 13 developmental pediatricians -- and no more than a handful of psychologists who specialize ... Read More

Wednesday June 14, 2006 | permalink | comments (5)

An Alternative Perspective: Live Virus Vaccines and Autism
Most parents don't really think a whole lot about the live viruses injected into their children at birth and during toddlerhood. It's just what we do to keep our ... Read More

Tuesday June 13, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Website Offers Reports on Services for Teens and Adults on the Autism Spectrum
Don't let the name fool you. The Asperger Foundation International is about much more than Asperger Syndrome. In addition to information on issues of interest to folks with ... Read More

Monday June 12, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Call for Stories of Spiritual Giftedness Among Autistic Individuals
Bill Stillman, author of Autism and the God Connection, will be working with a filmmaker to create a documentary based on the ideas in his book. Bill is seeking ... Read More

Sunday June 11, 2006 | permalink | comments (1)

Finding the Right Camp for Your Autistic Child
Still looking for the perfect summer camp for your child with autism? Vince Ianelli, About.com Guide to Pediatrics, offers this list of camp options for kids with a variety ... Read More

Saturday June 10, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Ask Social Skills Questions of Expert Carol Gray
Carol Gray is a teacher and consultant who, in the early 1990's, developed a social skills teaching approach called "social stories." These stories, now used in schools and therapeutic ... Read More

Thursday June 8, 2006 | permalink | comments (12)

Can High Expectations Sabotage a Parent's Relationship with Their Autistic Child?
A New York Times Op-Ed piece by Cammie McGovern came out yesterday. The article, called Autism's Parent Trap, suggests that stories about children "fully recovered" from autism are forcing ... Read More

Wednesday June 7, 2006 | permalink | comments (4)

Reading the Research about Autism -- Carefully
As the About Guide to Autism, I've signed up for the Google news alerts about autism. I'm on various autism listserves. And I'm on the mailing list for ... Read More

Tuesday June 6, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Book Review: Autism and the God Connection
Have you ever noticed that people on the autism spectrum seem to have a unique connection to the unseen? In this unusual book, autism advocate and author Bill Stillman ... Read More

Monday June 5, 2006 | permalink | comments (3)

Helping Parents Manage Their Feelings About an Autistic Child
A child with autism may not speak, smile or hug. Yet that same child may demand all your time, energy, love and courage. Day after day, you may ... Read More

Sunday June 4, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

Is Autism on the Rise?
Is there an autism epidemic? Or is the rise in autism diagnoses really a matter of new diagnostic criteria, greater awareness, and better services for children with autism diagnoses? ... Read More

Saturday June 3, 2006 | permalink | comments (9)

ABA and Autism
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is one of the oldest forms of therapy for individuals with autism. But what is it? How does it work? Is it ... Read More

Friday June 2, 2006 | permalink | comments (0)

High Emotion and Autism
The myth says that people with autism are unable to read others' emotions...unable to empathize...and often have limited emotions of their own. Yet many people on the autism spectrum ... Read More

Thursday June 1, 2006 | permalink | comments (7)