ABA4Autism or other Neuropsychological Disorders

Clinic Notes: Weak Head and Neck Control and Autism

2012-05-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Weak head and neck control in babies has always been a red flag for developmental delays. But a new study at the Kennedy Krieger Institute finds weak head and neck control could also signal autism.

Clinic Notes: Autism Causes Problems for Young Adults in School and Workplace

2012-05-15T13:42:00.001-07:00

A recent study published in the journal “Pediatrics” finds that Young adults with autism do not do well in school or the workplace. These adults with autism were a product of special education programs. Most were unemployed and were not able to attend college or find a job. A good case for keeping children with autism mainstreamed it seems to me.

Clinic Notes: Where does Geek end and Asperger’s Begin?

2012-04-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Since I have published studies on the etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders, have a clinical practice of mostly children with Autism, develop apps for children with Autism, I am know as an, “Autism Expert.” (I am reminded of a song lyric from an old Eagles song- “The more I know, the less I understand.”) And one thing, among many others, that I don’t understand is where does Geek end and Asperger’s begin? Asperger’s has been linked with scientific genius and many speculate that Einstein, Bill Gates, and most of Silicon Valley have Asperger’s. There are many children that I see who are diagnosed with Asperger’s and do well in a specific area, but are socially inept and often lack “common sense.” We have all had professors who pontificated on their subject in the classroom as well as social gatherings oblivious that they were boring their “audience.” Well the short answer is I don’t know. But I am dismayed that the new version of DSM will do away with Asperger’s as a diagnostic category and just label these special, often wonderful people, as high functioning Autism.

Clinic Notes: Autism and Poverty Redux

2012-04-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

Children from low-income families are less likely to be diagnosed with autism and therefore less likely to receive treatment. In large cities like New York City there are program like the NEST program, which try to help identify how children with autism might behave. In Harlem schools are recruiting high functioning children for inclusion into the regular curriculum. Something nice.

Clinic Notes: Being Poor and Having Autism

2012-04-13T09:13:00.001-07:00

A California study found that being poor and having autism sucks. Again money talks and children of higher income parents progressed where those of lower income parents did not. It’s all about having money for services and it is not fair. But providers like myself cannot keep a clinic open without money.

Clinic Notes: Hope for Children with Autism

2012-04-10T10:50:00.001-07:00

The American Academy of Pediatrics finds in a new study that children with autism, even those who are low functioning, ten percent improve significantly over time. The key is early intervention and an acceptance of the differences between normally developing children and children with autism..

Clinic Notes: Autism Epidemic a National Emergency

2012-04-06T11:16:00.001-07:00

I see 40 or so kids in my clinic weekly most of whom have autism. I am overwhelmed. According to Autism Speaks, a child diagnosed with autism will cost $3.2 million for medical services, long term care, and lost income. They tally up annual cost if 1 child in 88 has autism to be a staggering $126 billion. Now I am really overwhelmed.

Clinic Notes: Increase in Autism: Real or Better Diagnosis?

2012-04-04T10:34:00.001-07:00

With the new CDC figure saying that 1 child in 88 now has autism a controversy has started hat we have heard before. Is the increase real or is diagnosis getting better? Every time I hear this I get a little irritated. What difference does it make? We don’t know what causes autism so we can’t change the numbers. Perhaps the increase generates new hypotheses, but unless we can correlate the increases with something else and then prove a causal relationship the increase is not meaningful. No government planning is going on. And as far as therapy if a child has problems you treat those problems no matter the diagnosis. My waiting list is always getting longer no matter what the number say.

Clinic Notes: More Evidence for Faulty Serotonin Genes

2012-03-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

Another recent study in a mouse model finds that the level of the neural transmitter serotonin in the brain, which is under genetic control, reduces the serotonin levels at the synapse and may be responsible for Autism. This make since because medication which raise serotonin levels, the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) are helpful in children with autism.

Clinic Notes: Military Pilot Program for Autism Treatment Extended

2012-03-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Good news for military families with children. The Pentagon is extending Tricare’s insurance plan, which pays for 10 hours of ABA each week. Several members of Congress want to extend the coverage to military retirees and those on leave for medical reasons. Certainly a benefit they deserve after their sacrifice for our country.

Clinic Notes: As Society Adjusts to the Autism Epidemic

2012-03-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Those of us who work with children on the Autism Spectrum in clinical setting everyday sometimes forget that children with autism miss our on a lot of activities that other children find rewarding. I was delighted to see that Broadway offered an autism friendly production of “The Lion King” and many popular restaurant chains are having staff training to make eating out with a child with autism more enjoyable. Now I read that churches, synagogues, and mosques are also doing what they can to include families with autism and other special needs. Recently, a minister I knew called me and asked if iPads would keep children with autism occupied so their families could worship. I told him that should work and he brought five and is now interested in finding apps on religious topics the kids on the spectrum could use. Interestingly, public schools seem to have the most difficulty adapting to the autism epidemic. But then it is not really fair to require them to treat a neurological disorder without providing the resources.

Clinic Notes: Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Plan App

2012-03-06T14:18:00.001-08:00

The majority of parents and other caregivers who bring their children to my clinic are drowning in a sea of autism information and misinformation. I have seen countless children diagnosed and misdiagnosed with autism and treated and mistreated by different therapies. I have watched children with autism grow into adulthood; and know how the story ends for children who get the recommended therapies and those who do not. So I have developed an app that covers issues with diagnosis and treatment. What works and what doesn’t and what parents have to do to give their child the best chance at being mainstreamed. Go to iTunes and find my Autism Dx and Treatment .

ABA Programs for Kids with Autism

2012-02-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

My ABA eBook in now available on iTunes for your iPad with iBooks and on your computer with iTunes.
Description
This book contains 25 ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) programs, plus many more helpful tips for helping your child with Autism. These ABA programs are designed as guidelines for parents and caregivers of children with behavioral problems and developmental delays associated with neuropsychological disorders, such as autism.

Clinic Notes: Do iPads Apps Really help Children with Autism?

2012-02-17T07:51:00.001-08:00

Recently a number of blog posts and online articles have asked if iPads apps really do help children with autism. These authors correctly point out that there are no empirical studies comparing the progress of children with autism who have the opportunity to use the many programs available to those who do not have the opportunity. At the same time many parents of children with autism are holding fundraisers to buy an iPad for their children with the idea that the iPad will help their children well beyond any other methodology currently available. Well, it would be hard to do empirical studies. Of course the control group would not get an iPad while the experimental group would. So the question could be asked is that ethical? Also these studies would be difficult for other technical reasons and after the studies were completed I don’t know if we would know more than we do now.
At the Children’s Treatment Center we use iPads with all of our kids with autism as well as other disorders. I bought iPads for all my grandchildren for Christmas and they are normally functioning. I am an app developer for Apple and do have a vested interest in the sale of apps, but I personally am convinced, as are many others, that the positive effect that I see with children who come to our clinic as well as my own grandchildren is overwhelming. The iPad holds the child’s attention like nothing else I have seen in my forty years of practice. Learning is fun as it should be. Yes the evidence is anecdotal not scientific, but much like asking the question is eating good for you. Do we need a scientific study?

Clinic Notes: A Drop in the Number of Children Diagnosed with Autism

2012-02-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

In my clinic 80-90% of the children I see each week have a diagnosis of autism. And I have a wailing list that I can’t get to. I’m sure many of the kids on the waiting list will also have an autism diagnosis, too. The American Psychiatric Association is in the process of redefining the diagnostic criteria for autism for the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to be released in May 2013. This is the fifth edition of the “bible”, which is used by doctors to diagnose, study and treat “mental” illnesses. I’m not sure how many of the children that I see will loose their autism diagnosis under the new guidelines, and possibly loose services. Asperger’s is going to disappear and the kids with Asperger’s are not happy with that. They say that they do not have high functioning autism and I agree with them. So what’s the upside to the change in diagnosis? Beats me.

Clinic Notes: Ecstasy for Autism?

2011-12-29T11:50:00.001-08:00

A few anecdotal reports have reported success in treating autism with marijuana. Proper investigational protocols were not followed and the therapist often got in trouble professionally and sometimes legally. Now the rave drug, MDMA better known as ecstasy is being suggested as a treatment for autism because reportedly it increases sociability, communication, and empathy in adult subjects with autism. The reported changes remained long after the drug had worn off. MDMA increases the level of vasopressin, a neurochemical known to mediate sociability, and oxytocin, a hormone that affects love and bonding. So pilot studies are being reviewed and should start soon. Interesting.

Clinic Notes: French Politics and the Treatment of Autism

2011-12-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

In 1943, after American psychiatrist Leo Kanner published the first paper on autism, psychoanalytically oriented psychiatrists, blamed moms for autism. These so-called “refrigerator mothers”, who were emotionally cold and rejecting, caused a psychosis in their children which was similar to schizophrenia. (Very few autistic children actually develop adult schizophrenia.) Unfortunately, mothers at the time not only had to deal with an autistic child they also had to deal with their guilt. Psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim wrote extensively about the relationship between emotionally distant mothers and their autistic children. In the 60’s, following the publication of Bernard Rimland’s Infantile Autism many psychologists, psychiatrists, and of course neurologists, thought biological factors caused autism. I had dinner with Bettelheim in the early seventies and I tried to discuss the role of biological factors in autism with him. He refused to accept the possibility and told me in no uncertain terms to go read his books. There I would find everything I find all of the answers about autism. At the time I thought he was a relic from the past and did not think about him until I read recently that in France Bettelheim’s legacy is flourishing. Parents of children with autism are offered psychoanalysis as treatment for their children with autism despite research showing that it is ineffective. Apparently, French politics is heavily influenced by the psychoanalytic community.

Clinic Notes: Symptoms, Syndromes, and the Autism Spectrum

2011-11-29T14:26:00.001-08:00

If you spent a few hours in the waiting room at The Children’s Treatment Center where I treat children, most of whom have Autism or Asperger’s diagnosis, you would be confused. Children on the Autism Spectrum are different—very different. At the lower end of the Spectrum we have children who are low functioning and often have a comorbid diagnosis of Mental Retardation, and are in special education classes at school. At the high end of the Spectrum we have children with high functioning autism and/or Asperger’s, who usually mainstreamed in school, but have more than their share of social problems. To add to the confusion you would also see kids with a dual diagnosis such as ADHD and Autism or Autism and ADHD, which even confuses me. Of course, part of the problem is there is no biological marker for Autism. But part of the problems is a carelessness among clinicians in diagnosing a syndrome, which is a collection of symptoms, and then adding a syndrome such as ADHD, which is a symptom often that makes up the syndrome Autism. In my view, this is a recklessness among clinicians that confuses parents, teachers, and other caregivers.

Clinic Notes: Children with Autism Have Unique Faces

2011-11-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

A recent study at the University of Missouri found that different facial characteristics could be used to diagnosis children with autism. The facial characteristics are not so prominent that children could be picked out in a crowd as is the case with Down’s or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The diagnostic facial features are measured from 3 dimensional images taken of the face. Children with autism had statistically broader upper faces, wider eyes, a wider mouth and a wider philtrum. These features were formed before birth so this would imply a genetic cause of autism.

Clinic Notes: Dr. Gary Brown's Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Parents and Caregivers

2011-10-11T13:38:00.001-07:00

Parent and caregivers hear so much discussion and get so much advice about autism that they are confused. Many times they go in so many different directions that they are not efficient in managing time and money and providing effective therapy for their child with autism. Over the years countless parents and caregivers have asked me to write a summary of what they should do to provide the most effective treatment for their child with autism. So on my website, www.aba4autism.com, I have provided a 7 page summary titled, Dr. Gary Brown's Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Parents and
Caregivers. All of the issues regarding diagnosis and treatment of autism are covered.

Dr. Gary Brown's Autism Apps Party

2011-10-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Dr. Brown's Apps is participating in the A4cwsn 3rd FB App Party thru 10/3! 50% of the proceeds from our app sales this weekend go towards helping children with special needs. Our Colors app will be $5 and all our other apps and packs will be only $2 each! Check out A4CWSN for free apps and promos all weekend long!!! And don't forget A4cwsn - Australia and A4cwsn - Canada

Clinic Notes: Different Strains of Autism

2011-09-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

In previous blogs I have discussed that obvious variability that exist in the behavior of the children with an autism diagnosis who come to our clinic. The Autism Spectrum ranges from children at one end who are low functioning to children at the other end who are high functioning children with autism and Asperger’s. It has never been clear if we are dealing with one disorder with varies in its severity or multiple disorders. A recent study form the University of California Davis MIND Institute sheds some light on this. In a study that started in 2006, brain growth, exposure to environmental variables, and genetic factors were examined. The 350 children in the study ranged in age from 2 to 31/2. Two sub types of autism were identified. A group of boys with enlarged brains developed normally until 18 months of age and then regressed into an autism diagnosis. Another group did not regress but showed sighs of autism early and had compromised immune systems. The investigators theorized that other subtypes would emerge in future studies. Of course identifying groups early would allow clinicians, such as myself, to individualize treatment plans.

Clinic Notes: Brain Imaging and Autism

2011-09-07T11:35:00.001-07:00

There is no biological marker for diagnosing autism as there is for other chronic disorders. This makes research more difficult because we are not sure if our “autism group” is “contaminated” by children with other neurological disorders. Treatment is not hampered so much because these kids need treatment no matter the diagnosis and at this point treatment is pretty much the same for different neurological disorders—treat the symptoms. Researchers at Stanford are using a new Mri technology called called "multivariate searchlight classification." In this method the brain is divided into a three-dimensional grid, and each cube of the brain is examined for its volume of gray matter. Hopefully, this procedure will allow a diagnostically useful comparison between normally developing children and children with autism. Of course, the cost of diagnosis will be phenomenal.

Clinic Notes: Marriage Patterns and Autism

2011-08-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

I see thirty or forty children diagnosed with autism in my clinic each week. The children are a good sample of the spectrum ranging from low functioning non-verbal to high functioning very verbal. The children at the high end of the spectrum are usually diagnosed with Asperger’s, a diagnosis that will not appear in the next DSM because it has been voted out. Hmm. These children with Asperger’s—excuse me—High Functioning Autism are very interesting—remarkable talents in tech areas, but not up to par in conversation and social skills. It is clear that more females are showing up in this category over the last several decades. This can be seen in the number of female college graduates in math, science, and engineering. Well, what would happen if the male High Functioning Autism met a female with High Functioning Autism. Perhaps love and marriage and a meshing of genes that would produce offspring that could account for the growing number of children diagnosed with autism over the last decade according to well known autism researcher Simon Barron-Cohen of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge. An interesting hypothesis that needs data.

Clinic Notes: Something Nice

2011-08-19T12:28:00.001-07:00

Okay I know that I usually blog about clinical and research issues concerning kids on the Spectrum, but this was just too nice to pass up. The Theater Development Fund has said that it will present “The Lion King “in an autism friendly presentation on Broadway. The usual visual and auditory stimuli that would be too much for a child with autism will be toned down and a guide for families will be sent out prior to the performance so the child will know what to expect. This will be the first Broadway show in history to play to present a special performance for children with autism. The October 2 matinee tickets will be reduced for the autism audience.