QSAC Clinical Blog

Prognosis of Autism(s)

2009-07-01T23:26:00.016-04:00

Autism Genes Implicated in Early Neural Development Discovered

2009-05-01T09:44:00.002-04:00

Two recently published studies – the results of collaborative efforts of researchers from more than a dozen institutions, and led by Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia – have identified genes with important contributions to autism. One study pinpoints a gene region that may account for as many as 15 percent of

Inclusion Program for Students with Autism: A Controversy

2009-04-01T08:34:00.004-04:00

Inclusion is a term coined to describe the notion that students with disabilities including individuals with autism can or should be educated in the general education classrooms (mainstream of public education) despite of the severity of disabilities.The debate about the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings started 1975 when the US Congress passed the Individuals

Learning Websites for Children with Autism

2009-03-20T14:30:00.002-04:00

The following websites are wonderful resources for your children, especially the ZACbrowser, the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism.Special thanks to Suzanne Prestigiacomo, a parent who helped me put list this together.www.zacbrowser.com - ZAC is the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger

Functional Analysis of Problem Behavior

2009-03-20T11:25:00.003-04:00

Doug, 10, is enrolled at the QSAC Day School. He has a variety of independent skills. Doug used to engage in frequent and repetitive object-tapping (banging two items together). Due to his persistence tapping, it was difficult to return him to classroom activities and ongoing instruction. He seemed to engage in this behavior to escape or delay academic instruction. Some instructors felt the

Single-Dose Measles, Mumps Rubella Vaccines May Be Discontinued by Merck

2009-03-13T12:22:00.001-04:00

Merck & Co. has been producing monovalent (independent, single-dose) measles and rubella vaccines and was scheduled to make an individual mumps vaccine available this spring.Last December, Merck notified the CDC that it is no longer producing or taking orders for monovalent measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. The company has not announced whether or not it will make the single-dose versions

The Challenge of Changing Self-Injurious Behaviors in Autism

2009-02-10T00:30:00.019-05:00

Future Challenges of Individuals with Autism

2009-01-11T23:07:00.015-05:00

Recently we participated in a conference supported by Easter Seals Disability Services / Act for Autism and made possible by Mass Mutual Financial Group and conducted in cooperation with Autism Society of America about "Living with Autism Study". The main objectives of this conference were to identify lifetime challenges for people with autism, identify financial needs for families with special

Understanding Restricted, Repetitive and Stereotyped Patterns of behavior in Autistic Disorder

2008-12-02T00:27:00.004-05:00

Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior are diagnostic symptom domains of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Restricted and repetitive behaviors occur in most people with most forms of autism spectrum disorder. However not everyone with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder will have the same restricted and repetitive behaviors. Stereotypical behaviors are not specific to

Autism and Comorbid Features: Autistic Regression

2008-11-16T15:55:00.009-05:00

Autism Spectrum Disorder (

Autism and Environmental Factors

2008-10-12T20:31:00.004-04:00

In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM) released the data that about 1 in 150 8-year-old children in multiple areas of the United States had an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Changes in the diagnostic criteria and the awareness of autism will not alone explain this epidemiological explosion. Are there environmental

Therapeutic Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Challenging Behaviors of Autistic Individuals

2008-09-14T23:03:00.018-04:00

There are enormous amounts of both anecdotal and randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies about the neurobehavioral mechanisms of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in psychiatric disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders (

Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sexuality

2008-08-24T23:41:00.002-04:00

Last week we have the opportunity to attend to a sexuality training sponsored by Long Island DDSO and the Cody Center for Autism & Developmental Disabilities. In this training we reviewed why individuals with autism need sexuality training and support, how to provide support to them and how to address problematic sexual behaviors. Autism Spectrum Disorder and sexuality is a very challenging topic

Epidemiological Diagnostic and Treatment Trends of Autism in the Tri-State Area

2008-08-05T00:59:00.005-04:00

I would like to analyze a few epidemiological patterns on autism diagnosis’s and treatment that may help to enlighten the increasing incidence of autism. Epidemiological data collected from online surveys conducted by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) show that in the state of Connecticut, 41% of families with a member with autism reported that this member was diagnosed with autistic

Why Do Some Autistic Individuals Have Severe and Recurrent Problem Behaviors?

2008-07-25T10:08:00.003-04:00

Parents and staff often ask these questions when they are witness to an autistic adult individual who is engaged in what psychologists call, problem behaviors. An autistic individual may be hitting or punching himself or others, throwing a tantrum, running away (elopement), screaming or yelling loud in an agitated manner or assaulting others in different ways.There are two major frames of thought

Who knows What Is High-Functioning Autism?

2008-07-09T01:04:00.001-04:00

High-Functioning Autism (HFA) has been a controversial term which occasionally refers to and sometimes is used interchangeably with Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD, NOS). Great confusion and controversy about the definition of High-Functioning Autism (HFA) continue, with the main issue being whether or not Asperser’s Syndrome is truly

Pharmacological Approach to Treating Aggressive and Self-Injurious Behaviors in Autistic Individuals

2008-07-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

The pharmacological approach continues to be one of the important components of a comprehensive treatment for severe aggressive behaviors and self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in autistic individuals. One of the most captivating aspects of these severe problematic behaviors is their uncertain etiology. Severe aggressive behaviors and self-injury behaviors (SIB) can result in significant harm to

Functional Analysis of Autistic Severe Problematic Behavior

2008-06-17T07:43:00.000-04:00

From the perspective of the science of behavior, functional analysis has been one of the most used methodologies to assess severe problematic behaviors in autistic individuals. Functional analysis is a synthesis of the "cause-and-effect relationships" expressed in quantitative terms that identify the conditions that determine the occurrence or non-occurrence of a problematic behavior (Skinner,

Redefining Autism Phenotypes, Genotypes and Neurobiology

2008-06-04T00:44:00.000-04:00

Currently, scientists have developed different research approaches in associated areas and disciplines of the core symptom domains of autism spectrum disorder.

Governmental Influences in Autism Research

2008-05-12T23:56:00.000-04:00

In the autism community, we have observed an explosion in clinical research on autism, including the fields of developmental neurobiology, genetics, and psychopharmacology research. I will briefly outline some of the laws and research initiatives that have propelled autism research to the forefront of neurobehavioral science. The Public Law 106-310 amendment [Children’s Health Act 2000] gave

Pharmacological Prospects For The Treatment of Autism

2008-04-26T15:35:00.000-04:00

I reviewed with a mother of one of our consumers the status of her son’s care, health, and some alternative medication approaches. In brief, the consumer is part of the Residential/Day Programs and is developing challenging behaviors associated with compulsivity, irritability and mood dysregulation disorders. At Qsac we are not solely in favor of psychotropic medication as a treatment for autism

Autistic Anxiety: Hidden Triggers

2008-04-01T06:46:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, I received a call from a parent of one consumer who lives in our residential program. She was concerned about the antecedent of her son’s last mild self-injurious behavior with anxiety-like symptoms. When our team reviewed the case, we did not find a clear and contingent antecedent of this challenging behavior. In Dr. Kanner’s 1943 report on autism – one of the first ever

WORLD AUTISM DAY

2008-03-18T10:55:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 2nd April has been designated World Autism Awareness Day by the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The April 2 events will take place on three continents and in venues ranging from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to local bookstores and the worldwide web, and are expected to generate significant national and international media coverage.World Autism Day hopes to break

Benefits of Physical Activity for Autistics: A Multi-Modal Approach to Manage Problem Behaviors

2008-03-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to observe the operations of the Princeton Child Developmental Institute (PCDI). It was in this institute that the communication system so-called “Teaching Conversation to Children with Autism” and the “Activity Schedules for Children with Autism” were developed. During the tour through the facility we were attentive to understand how they were addressing

Comorbidity of Autism and Seizure Disorders

2008-02-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

At a QSAC meeting, there arose the question of what could be the underlying causes or triggers of impulsive behaviors and cognitive impairment for individuals affected by autism and epilepsy. Is the seizure disorder worsening the autistic symptoms? How could we effectively treat the co-occurrence of these problems? These are interesting questions that I would like to invite those who read this