Dr Manny worries revision to (DSM-IV) in 2013 could make autism diagnosis more difficult

According to an article written by Dr Manny Alvarez, he is worried about the proposed revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) in 2013.

Dr Manny reveals that a recent study highlights that there are challenges of diagnosing autism as the disorder tends to go hand-in-hand with a variety of other mental and behavioral conditions, other disorders like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities can make it difficult to diagnose a child or can delay improvement in kids that are diagnosed early.

Dr Manny is in agreement with the experts who claim when a revised definition of the disorder comes into effect, getting a diagnosis could become even more difficult than it already is. Since doctors agree that early intervention programs significantly improves outcomes and is invaluable to these children, Dr. Manny fear the revision will reduce the number of children being diagnosed which will bring down the number of children qualifying for early intervention services.

As a doctor and father of a child on the autism spectrum Dr. Manny claims that early intervention has helped his son to mature and develop social skills over the years.

Premature or under weight baby's link to Autism

Pre-mature or under weight babies are five times more at risk of developing autism, a study has revealed a link between low birth weight and children diagnosed with autism.

All along premature babies were known to be at risk of health problems and cognitive delays but the study of Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing is the first to establish a link between low birth weight and autism.

The study followed children over time to confirm the link between low birth weight and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a large group of infants followed for 21 years.

Researchers tracked 862 children who were born between 1984 and 1987 in three counties in New Jersey. The children weighed between 500 and 2,000 grams at birth.

Screening of these children at age 16 as part of a larger psychiatric follow up revealed that 117 of 623 patients showed positive results for autism spectrum disorders  that is roughly 18%.

Diagnostic testing was also done on a proportion of the patients who screened positives (about 60%) and those that screen negatives (24%) at age 21. Of 70 who screened positive as adolescents, 11 (14.3%) were confirmed as having autism spectrum disorders.

In light of these results the Researchers estimated a 5% occurrence of autism in premature babies compared to 1% found in the general population.

Information from

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com

http://www.tgdaily.com

http://www.webmd.com

Summer births or low oxygen during delivery may have a risk for autism

Low oxygen during delivery may put baby at risk for developing autism. Oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain combined with genetic predisposition might have an effect on development. This is a finding from a recent study conducted by Researchers analyzing data from 64 previous studies relating to perinatal (birth) and neonatal (post-birth) risk factors relating to the disorder. The data from the previous studies included low birth weight, induced or early labor, cesarean, breech births, forceps delivery, jaundice and discolored amniotic fluid were also examined. The risk factors involved decreased blood flow to the brain which can lead to increased dopamine levels. Elevated levels are typically found in those who have been diagnosed with autism.

From these factors several events were found that may be related to autism. These events are  having the umbilical cord around baby’s neck, meconium entering the lungs, abnormal fetal presentation or breech delivery, fetal respiratory distress, birth injury or trauma, low 5-minute APGAR score, newborn seizures, low birth weight, multiple births, low blood iron and being born in the summer. Babies born in summer have an elevated occurrence of autism in 6 out of 12 studies. The reason for the relationship of time of the year are unclear but the researchers think this could be from variation in viral or other infections, nutritional factors or vitamin deficiencies.

The study doesn’t conclude whether a child will develop autism if deprived of oxygen during birth but it does provide insight to the factors involved.

Genetic Mutation link to Autism

A new research shows many irregular genetic mutations in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.(ASD)

Genetic mutation is a permanent change in the DNA chain that builds up a gene. It range from a single building block of DNA to a large measurement of chromosome.

The researchers found 11 out of 21 newly occurring mutations altered proteins. This may lead to clues of biological trail in development of Autism. In light of this knowledge about the way this abnormality in protein affect could result in possibility to design a prevention method or a treatment drug. 

After the examinations of the children and their families chosen for the study they learned that four children found with disrupting new genetic mutations which could have been the cause of autism were among the severely autistic group.

Autism and Savant syndrome

Savant syndrome is an extraordinary ability possessed by some people.  Almost 50 percent of these geniuses emerge from autistic population. All savant people are not autistic and all autistic people are not savants. Autistic children or adults with above or below average IQ levels can be found with this exceptionally rare phenomena.

Savant syndromes signify remarkable memory in individuals.  Ability to recognize, count and memorize in many different ways and forms like Rhythms in music, calculating calendar, calculating in lightening speed, exceptional artistic work, and record minute details or repeat an operation endlessly efficiently.

What if it’s not Autism?-Dr. Goldberg’s theory

Dr. Goldberg’s prediction of Autism that it’s not a disorder but a disease which is curable does raise hope. Dr. Goldberg claim that Autism, ADHD and like disorders are an epidemic which needs medical attention. The President of the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Medical Advisory Board Dr. Michael J. Goldberg's opinion of the reason behind Autism is Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome (NIDS)

As most of the children with Autism are physically healthy but have unstable immune system; in Dr. Goldberg’s opinion unless there’s another medical problem the immune system is what that's creating the mis balance / dysfunction in the brain so the first thing to check  is the functions of all the systems in the body. 

When Autism strikes it pays no heed to ethnicity, creed or realm

Autism Spectrum Disorders happens to different children in different ways with diverse conditions.  As we are all aware that this doesn’t happen in any particular race, belief or nation and its not a situation which descends from anyone’s accountability. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) comprise many disorders they are:-

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) comprises many disorders they are:-

Autism - a neurodevelopmental disorder that usually occurs within the first three years. The condition display delay in social interaction, delay in using language for social communication and delay in development of imaginative play.

Asperger's Syndrome- a form of autism which affects how a person makes sense of the world, process information and relate to people.

 Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)-  a condition on the spectrum that shows some, but not all, of the symptoms associated with classic autism. That can include difficulty socializing with others, repetitive behaviors, and heightened sensitivities to certain stimuli.

 Rett Syndrome (which affects only girls) - a disorder of the nervous system that leads to developmental reversals, in the areas of language expressions and use of hands.

Also there are other conditions found in children related to Autism and requires special help.  They are:-

ADHD- a condition often confused to autism in both conditions children display hyperactivity and inattention as children but as they grow older Autism children may become more detached and with right environment their hyperactivity reduces where as ADHD children have to be treated with medicine to reduce their hyperactivity. Down's syndrome is a lifelong condition that causes delays in learning and development. It cannot be cured, but people with the condition can be supported to live a happy and independent life. 

Down's syndrome- a lifelong condition causes delay in learning and development. It cannot be cured, but they do learn to walk, talk and be toilet trained but in general will meet these developmental milestones later than children who do not have Down's syndrome.

Dyslexia -a learning difficulty which affects the expansion of literacy and language related skills. It is likely to be present at birth and effects for life.

Dyspraxia is immaturity in the way the brain processes information, it affects the planning of actions what and how to do it, and creates difficulty in associating language and thoughts.

Hyperlexia, Children with this condition have an extraordinary ability to read at a very young age. They also have an extreme fascination with symbols, letters, and numbers. These children also have a below normal ability to understand language. They may also have language delays and social problems.

All these conditions are unfortunate circumstances that happen to beloved children of some parents.  The severity of these conditions differs from one child to other.  The parents of children with mild conditions are more fortunate but all these parents go through the same heartache and stress in concern for their beloved children. So as parents of children with special needs there should be an understanding and bondage between themselves that should not be restricted by any boundaries. 

It is true and often complained fact by parent's of children with Autism, that SOME (I have capitalized SOME because I’m talking about a very small percentage, not everyone have a frame of mind like this) parents of typical children tend to think less of parents of a child with Autism they discriminate and criticize in situations. So as parents of children with Autism I think if we expect others to understand our situation then its important that we have an understanding between ourselves too.

One month of Autism Awareness

One month in 12 months in a year is devoted to create support and awareness about Autism. Month of April, Autism Awareness month is almost over for this year. It brought hope to everyone connected in some way with Autism, I hope somewhere these wishes were fulfilled but still there’s no optimism here, not yet anyway. At this end also 2^nd of April was highlighted as the Autism Awareness Day. In every news bulletin it was mentioned as Autism Awareness Day.

During this month Information about what is Autism Spectrum Disorder? What are the causes? What are the symptoms? What do these children feel? What do they go through? What are their needs?  Who can help? What needs to be done? What’s not being done? All the answers to these questions were promoted across the globe to spread awareness.

As world marks the Autism Awareness month in some places  it is marked as national autism awareness month else where many associations, communities and organizations have held events, programs, conferences, campaigns, etc. to mark and popularize the month.  This included Fundraising events, recreational events, walks for autism, lighting up blue campaign –in association to this event as a pledge to raise awareness all in support lighted up in blue on 1^st and 2^nd of April. All the popular iconic land marks, residents and websites were lighted and set up in blue. Clothes were worn in blue Muslim women who supported the campaign’ Blue hijab Day’ wore their hijabs in blue.

As awareness is the foundation for ensuring the requirements for children with autism. I hope the Autism Awareness month ends in triumph for all concerned. I hope the month leaves behind some ray of hope. I hope it has gained entrée for more people to health care, necessary services and progress to ease the lives of youths with autism.

Why do they have autism in the first place?

There’s no answer to this question yet? We all wonder why and what causes Autism? Research has been going on for years but still there’s been no reason singled out to determine the cause of Autism. Autism Research is one of the most challenging researches in medical science. Medical Science has found a number of causes that lead to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Despite the research and the findings a way to prevent or cure autism is still not found. The absence of an understanding about the cause makes it hard to find effective therapies and interventions. Now that there’s been more improvement in detection and diagnosis of autism it is estimated that 1 in 110 people has an autism spectrum disorder.

When the term autism is mentioned it depicts connection to the brain. Scientists have found relatedness in brain and autism in different ways. Their research shows that mechanism of a brain’s formation gives implications to understand diseases like mental illness, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and autism. The cerebral cortex and cerebellum of the brain suggest to autism, these areas are which control movement, concentration and mood regulation. It has been discovered that brain cells need to create links early on in their existence, when they are physically close together, to ensure successful connections across the brain throughout life. The number of connections between nerve cells in the brain can be regulated by an immune system molecule, according to studies.

Genetic component-as cause of autism are accepted more today. About 40% of autism cases have been identified as genetically inherited. A number of genetic causes are being associated to autism. Some may affect the brain development, some affect the way brain cells communicate some make a child defenseless to the disorder while some conclude the severity of symptoms. Each problem related to genes may be minor in few cases but altogether the influence is substantial. Some genetic components are inherited while others depend on changes in genes.

Pregnant women who are given Labor inducing drugs or who have yeast infection or poor diet or hormonal or immune system changes during pregnancy have a higher possibility for giving birth to children with ASD.

Babies exposed to high testosterone and certain pharmaceuticals in the womb, have been found to have a higher risk to babies developing autism disorder. Also a second child born within twelve months of their siblings is three times more likely to be diagnosed with Autism compared to those born three or more years apart

Older parents- Have a higher risk of having children with autism; A study shows that women who are 40 years old have a 50 percent greater risk of having a child with autism than women who are between 20 and 29 years old. The age may relate to genetic mutation which occurs in the sperm or egg as the parent grows older.

Environmental factors cause many health problems hence autism might also be a consequence of it. Scientists are researching whether viral infections or air pollutions have any connection to autism.

Vaccines -Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination linked with autism found no base to it. No study has proved that vaccines have anything to do with autism but lot of speculations and controversies have happened regarding the subject. The1998 study done by Andrew Wakefield turned out to be a fraud. Other studies have also been done and no evidence has been found as yet relating to vaccines.

Mercury poisoning could be a reason for incurable diseases and there is no cure for autism also so mercury exposure and pesticides are also linked to autism.

Once a myth about lack of affection in the child's mother was assumed to lead autism. Thankfully refrigerator mother is no longer considered as a cause of autism.

My son was also exposed to some of the causes above and he is also vaccinated for MMR but unless a definite resolution is found how will we know what happened to our children? Where did we go wrong or what was that went wrong?