I recently had a patient present to the office for a neurological consultation regarding a learning disability, ADHD or an issue relating to the autism spectrum. It appears that the little girl was spacing out and had difficulty concentrating. In my seminars, I always speak about patients on the autism spectrum not having any hard lesions. That is to say, their MRI is normal in regards to not having any tumors, infections, malformations etc. For example if the child has a tumor, then his diagnosis is not autism but would be whatever type of tumor was found. It is only when all these hard lesions are ruled out that the diagnosis of autism is considered. This type of screening ensures that we are then dealing with a functional lesion. This means that all the structures in the brain are present. It then becomes a question of the function of the brain, its connections and coherence. Another fairly common test that is  performed on a child suspected of being on the autism spectrum is an EEG. In this case, we would be looking for seizures. In the case above we would be concerned with absent seizures in which the patient seems to space out or be  “absent” consciously even though they are present physically. In my practice ,we have quite a few patients that have both a history of an autism diagnosis as well as a seizure disorder. Please be aware that a patient can have an autism spectrum disorder, a seizure disorder or they may have both. The patient’s treatment will of course be affected by the category into which they fall. for example functional neurologist often use light as a technique  to introduce a stimulus into the visual system. If the patient recently had an EEG in which the flashing of lights triggered a seizure, then that information certainly needs to be considered when developing a treatment plan for that particular patient. In any case, many patients being evaluated for these types of conditions will have an MRI and an EEG performed as part of their work up. Those tests should exclude other conditions being a cause of your child’s issues and your child not being part of the autism spectrum. A recent study in the Journal of  Brain Development found that 24.6% individuals in the study with infantile autism had at least one epilepsy diagnosis versus 1.5% in the comparison group. The take-home of this article is make sure your basics are covered so that  the most appropriate treatment plan can be instituted for your child.

Brain Dev. 2010 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]

Don’t forget about this weekend’s free seminar regarding childhood neurobehavioral disorders in Tampa Florida. Topics under discussion will include hemispheric integration therapy, functional medicine  for autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities, autism assessment and intervention and RDI. The speakers will include Dr. Danielle Sutton and Kathryn Peter as well as myself. Jules Burt from the high heel hike will also be speaking. The seminar will be held at the Hillsborough County children’s board in Ybor city. Check-in is at 830  am with a question and answers starting at three o’clock. For more information go to http://www.hitautism.com/events download the PDF.

I had the opportunity to go to the Surfers  for Autism event in Cocoa Beach this weekend. It was a fabulous event. The event was well organized and very efficient. Clearly, it was not the first time that they had done this. The volunteers were all very caring. The kids got to surf all day or just try surfing depending on their interest and tolerance. Free water and smoothies were provided all day. A free lunch was served to all participating in the event. It was a super event overall and I wanted to let you all know as there is another one in Daytona coming up. Here is the link once again

http://surfersforautism.org/index.html

The most common although certainly not the most popular diet for those on the autism spectrum is the gluten-free diet. In my practice, I find that I have the least resistance to recommending supplements. I have moderate resistance to recommending therapies. I have the most resistance when asking someone to comply with a diet. The most common diets we recommend are the elimination diet and the gluten-free diet. Although we offer assistance such as introductory information, support from other parents and even shopping trips to the grocery store guided by more experienced parents, many still seem to struggle with the gluten-free diet. Please check out this website that will ship ready to prepare gluten-free meals to your door. Obviously, there is a cost but for some the convenience is worth it. Here is the link  http://www.gfmeals.com/ and here is a link on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/gfMeals?ref=mf

This summer is not over yet. I am still getting request from parents for camps and ideas to keep the kids busy and yet progressing over the summer. I became aware of this extreme sports camp. It is not for everyone. Location for a camp like this  becomes an issue. Costs also factors into deciding whether you might participate in something of this nature. Still, I feel obligated to pass the information along to you, so that those of you that can and would like to attend, can  check it out. As always, please keep the e-mails and suggestions coming so I can pass them along to others. Here is the link, see if it is something that meets up to your standards and that you would like your child to do.

http://www.extremesportscamp.org/register_now_5.html

I am getting alot of recommended web sites, tips camps and the like sent to me by all of you as I always hoped. This allows me to bring this information to your attention. This type of information being shared can allow someone in the United Kingdom to help someone in Utah. Please do not underestimate the difference you might make in another person’s life by passing on this this type of information. Here is a book and someone”s story that you should check out  http://www.autismguide.org/

I received this notfication from Monica Wharton of Disability Radio and thought I would pass it on to everyone. I know many of you are very in touch with politics and the law.

EEOC to Celebrate ADA 20th Anniversary July 22

Speakers to Discuss Landmark Disability Law

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will observe the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 22 with two panels of civil rights experts discussing the landmark law.

Under the theme of “Celebrating the ADA: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” ten speakers, including EEOC officials and authorities on disability law and practice, along with the complainant in a key EEOC disability rights case, will explore the “nuts and bolts of EEOC work” as well as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which expanded the ADA’s scope. The agency will also present awards to current and former EEOC Commissioners and staff who played key roles in the passage of the ADA, promulgation of regulations and guidance under the ADA, and enforcement of the ADA.

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 2:00 p.m.

PLACE: EEOC Headquarters, Training Center, 131 M Street, NE, Washington, DC

SPEAKERS:

EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien

EEOC Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum

Wade Henderson, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Andrew J. Imparato, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Association of People with Disabilities

Randel K. Johnson, Senior Vice President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Laura Hinton, National Outreach Coordinator, EEOC

Lisa Clinton Jones, Investigator, EEOC Baltimore Field Office

Allison Nichol, Deputy Chief of Disability Rights Section, U.S. Department of Justice, and Former EEOC Trial Attorney, Chicago District Office

Jean Kamp, Associate Regional Attorney, EEOC Chicago District Office

James Hill, Charging Party in EEOC v. Extra Space Management Inc.

John Mosby and Marilyn Cain Gordon, Class Counsel in Glover v. United States Postal Service

The presentation will also be live-streamed on the agency’s website.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Additional information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/7-15-10.cfm

I received this email and think it is worth everyone checking out. I think this would be helpful for many of you out there.  The link is www.senassist.com

I have been working with children with autism for over 10 years starting with ABA before qualifying to teach. Our software is based closely on TEACCH. It’s aimed at primary children, but secondary students also really love it. First the child chooses their motivational character from a choice of 48. Next they work through 6 independent tasks based on 6 speech therapy exercises – prepositions, pronouns, spelling, sequencing, comprehension and matching. On each task they have to get between 3 and 6 ticks to move on to the next activity. Once they have completed all six they get a personal certificate to print. There are four skill levels and also a related story with animated writing with symbols.

The aim of our software is to eventually get more children with special needs, particularly those with autism into the workplace in the future doing computer related jobs where they can learn routines and have fulfilling jobs working with computers.

Having seen that children in mainstream schools do not always have access to teachers with special needs training I wanted to create something that parents and teachers can switch on, see work and then find out a bit about all the theory.

It also allows students with a wide range of abilities to be taught together as the software allows a teacher to easily differentiate and assess abilities.

Please take a look at our site senassist.com and let me know if you would like further information to post on your site. There is a lot!

I look forward to hearing from you…

Kind regards,
Adele Devine

You all know by now that I always speak about lack of coordination being the most common finding associated with kids on the Autism Spectrum. It would then follow that riding a bicycle would be something that many of you would have found as somthing that your child has difficulty with. Riding a bike is a  part of normal childhood that all children should experience. The tip is to take the pedals off of the bike ( no training wheels) and have the child learn to balance himself on the bike by walking ( pushing with his feet) as one does with a skate board. This is done for three days. On the fourth day you put the pedals back on and the child should have a much easier time making the transition. These are the types of tips I hear from one parent and try to pass on to all of you out there. Please send me any type of tips you may have that have made your life easier and therefore might help make another mom, dad or child’s  life easier.

I received an e-mail today regarding an organization putting on skating camps for children on the autism spectrum. It is a nonprofit organization. The camps are provided at no cost so as to make them available to anyone regardless of means. Naturally, as with all nonprofit organizations, donations are appreciated. I have included the link below for you to further investigate. For those in Tampa, there is a clinic planned in October. I tried to put this up on the site as soon as possible so those that need advance planning can coordinate their schedules. We are also putting this on the support group site www.hitautism.net as we will probably make a play date type event when askate comes to town. http://www.askate.org/