The Daily Thing

Researchers now believe that they can reliably spot “tells” that a child is autistic as early as 14 months in some children but are still stumped by children who regress from normal to autisic behavior.

USATODAY.com: “Children with autism can be identified as early as 14 months old, the youngest age at which the disorder has been diagnosed, a study by researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore suggests.

But about half the time, symptoms may not show up until months later. That suggests at least two distinct paths leading to autism: one that starts early in life and one in which a child seems to develop normally and then regresses, losing language and social skills.

Results of the study, the first to follow toddlers from 14 months until they turn 3, could allow earlier treatment to reduce the effects of autism, says Rebecca Landa, lead author of the report published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.”

Tags: Autism, In the News by admin
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A New Jersey assemblyman is asking the state legislature of New Jersey to look into a possible link between sonograms and autism. The Assemblyman cites a recent study that showed sonograms have the ability to move certain brain cells that are commonly associated with the disorder.

Daily Record: “Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio, R-Montville, introduced legislation Monday that would direct the state Department of Health to investigate the possible relationship of sonograms to the increased incidences of autism. Pennacchio’s bill, A-3669 also directs the Commissioner of Health to work in conjunction with various medical groups to begin to develop a protocol for the usage of sonograms on expectant mothers.

The Assemblyman cited various scientific, published studies that show a displacement of brain cells associated with autistic children and the ability of sonograms to displace those cells. Two neuroscientists, Dr. Philip A. DeFina, and Dr. Sandlin Lowe, both of the New York University School of Medicine’s Brain Research Laboratories and the International Brain Research Foundation, have been working closely with the Assemblyman on this issue.

‘The evidence that these doctors have presented to me shows that the unwarranted effects of sonogram use and its possible link to autism certainly warrants further investigation,’ said Pennacchio.”

Tags: Autism by admin
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Being the father of a child with autism I’m always on my guard against potential hazards, maybe more-so than normal parents. Here’s an article from over at the Science Blog that gives parents a new reason to worry, small magnets.

Evidently the magnets can come from any number of household items and toys may cause perforations in the bowel, intestine, and stomach.

Science Blog: “Swallowing foreign objects is a common occurrence among children, primarily between the ages of 6 months and 3 years. Approximately 80 percent of the objects that reach the stomach will pass through the gastrointestinal tract on their own. However, up to 20 percent will need to be removed surgically. While a single swallowed magnet may pass, in many instances, multiple magnets will become lodged in the intestines.

Dr. Oestreich wrote the letter to Radiology after a 12-year-old autistic boy was admitted to CCHMC with abdominal pain. Abdominal x-rays revealed multiple objects with metallic density throughout the small intestine and possibly the large intestine. The next day, surgeons removed a large number of small magnets that had been part of a toy. The magnets caused several areas of small bowel necrosis and local perforation.”

Wow! That’s enough to scare any parent. Everyone grab all those little plastic letters your kids love to stick all over the refrigerator and throw them in the trash.

Tags: Autism, From the Web, In the News, Uncategorized by admin
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