CHALMERS, Ind. — An autistic teen in Indiana is being hailed a hero for saving a friend’s life.

15-year-old Mason Stokes is a Boy Scout who attends Frontier Junior-Senior High School in Chalmers.

Because of his autism, he doesn’t understand most facial features or body language. But when a friend started choking at lunch, Mason immediately sprung into action.

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Allan Ketley, 63, was responsible for driving a group of disabled children from a school in Braintree to their homes.

On March 3 this year, Ketley picked the children up from school and, while driving, he became annoyed by the behaviour of a 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Ketley, whose wife was also on board as an escort for the children, pulled the bus over just outside the Dolphin Pub on the A120 near Coggeshall and yanked the teenager off it, before pushing him with both hands into a bush.

At the trial at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Ketley said that at no time did he physically touch the boy, although he did threaten to push him.

He said: “I was trying to show him how it felt to be nasty.”

But magistrates found Ketley guilty of assault by beating and he will be sentenced next month.

The court heard that the boy had been singing repetitive songs that were making the other children jump.

When the boy gave evidence he also admitted that he had been playing with the seatbelt of a girl in a wheelchair and misbehaved when he was asked to stop.

Ketley said that he had asked the boy to behave but he continued to disrupt the others, which is why he decided to pull over.

This Is Total Essex

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“We are now in the third human generation since the start of the chemical revolution, since humans have been exposed to these kinds of toxins. There is no doubt that we have been seeing real increases in mental disorders like autism and bipolar disorder,” said lead author David Crews, Ph,D., of the University of Texas.

For the study, researchers exposed pregnant rats to vinclozolin, a commonly used fungicide sprayed on fruits and vegetables and already known to disrupt hormones. Since researchers were not trying to determine the risk for humans but rather understand the phenomena caused by exposure, they used a “higher than expected” amount of the chemical than what is typically found in the environment.

PsychCentral

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Courchesne and his team used frozen brain tissue from the prefrontal cortex of autistic children, aged two to four, and control children who are not autistic, who had passed away to analyze brain tissue gene expression. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for cognitive communication and social development, and its development is abnormal in autistic children. They found that a large number of genes that control the number of brain cells were expressed incorrectly.

Many studies have shown that brain cells in autistic individuals may be too small and undeveloped. After cells are born, they differentiate into specific types of brain cells that are in charge of the different types of information processing. The abnormalities in these cells occur in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, the time span during which most brain cells are created.

“This evidence indicates that biological abnormalities in autism began in the prenatal stage and that the biological abnormalities of autism are complex,” Courchesne said. “They involve a number of large networks or systems in genes and then the regulation of those systems with too much or too little gene activity in those genes is responsible.”

They found evidence that many of the abnormally expressed genes correctly copied DNA during cell divisions. This suggests that the DNA defects associated with autism may not be detected while cells are dividing during prenatal cell development.

“Those DNA defects may creep into new cells that are being generated during prenatal development,” Courchesne said. “Those DNA defects may alter the functional integrity of brain cells.”

The Guardian

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However researchers found that taking medications to control fevers while pregnant may be effective in decreasing the risk of giving birth to a child with autism or other abnormal neurodevelopmental disorders.

“Our study provides strong evidence that controlling fevers while pregnant may be effective in modifying the risk of having a child with autism or developmental delay,” lead researcher Ousseny Zerbo from UC Davis said in a statement. “We recommend that pregnant women who develop fever take anti-pyretic medications and seek medical attention if their fever persists.”

While previous studies have linked maternal infections like congenital rubella, measles, mumps and influenza during pregnancy to developmental disorders like autism and schizophrenia, the latest study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, is believed to be the first to link fever from any cause, including flu, and its treatment during pregnancy to developmental delays in children.

The research, which was based on data from the Childhood Autism Risk from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study, included 538 children with autism, 163 children with developmental delay but not autism, and 421 typically developing children whose mothers completed surveys about whether they had the flu and/or fever during pregnancy and if they took medications to treat their ailments.

While flu during pregnancy was not associated with greater risk of having a child with autism or other developmental delays, fever from any cause during pregnancy was reported 2.12 times more by mothers of children with autism and 2.5 times more in mothers of children with other developmental delays, compared with mothers of children who developed normally.

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New research provides a snapshot of what life is like for school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder in the U.S.

The findings, which appear in the NCHS Data Brief, highlight areas where there is room for improvement, including earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and access to behavioral therapies and other services. The new study looked at children aged 6 to 17 with special health care needs and autism spectrum disorder in 2011.

More than half of school-aged kids were age 5 or older when they were first diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, the study showed. Less than 20% were diagnosed by age 2. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians screen children for autism at 18 months of age.

The CDC estimates that 1 in 88 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder. This is the umbrella term for a group of developmental disorders that can range from mild to severe and that often affect social and communication skills. Treatment is individualized, and often involves behavioral therapies to address developmental delays along with medication.

Earlier Diagnosis of Autism Is Possible

Of the children in the study, about 9 of 10 received one or more therapies. Most commonly these included speech or language therapy and/or social skills training. More than half of these kids took at least one psychiatric medication, including stimulants, anti-anxiety drugs, or antidepressants.

“Our data indicate that many children with autism — the majority — are getting some sort of services such as speech or other individual-based interventions,” says researcher Lisa J. Colpe, PhD, MPH, of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. “That is great news.”

Outside experts say there are still many gaps in the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder among school-aged kids in the U.S.

“Research tells us that children who start intervention earlier do better in the long run,” says Geraldine Dawson, PhD, in an email. She is the chief science officer at Autism Speaks. “We can reliably diagnosis autism by 24 months, so professionals need to do a better job, including screening all children at 18 and 24 months.”

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Il y a un an, les parents de Solal, petit garçon autiste, ont appelé à l’aide des bénévoles pour mettre en place la méthode par le jeu des 3i (intensive, interactive et individuelle).

Une équipe s’est mobilisée autour de l’enfant qui a énormément progressé depuis dans son ouverture vers le monde extérieur. Aujourd’hui, ses parents voudraient créer une structure d’accueil associative pour plusieurs enfants autistes.

« Il y a une quinzaine de familles concernées sur la périphérie nantaise et on voit qu’ils progressent tous. Mais cette méthode demande beaucoup de disponibilité et des locaux adaptés. J’ai pour ma part mis de côté mon activité professionnelle et nous avons réservé une pièce à la maison pour les séances », explique Mélissa Chauvier, maman de Solal.

Toutes les familles ne peuvent pas assumer ces contraintes, d’où l’idée de mutualiser des locaux et des temps de permanence partagés en une sorte de crèche parentale. « Du coup on a modifié les statuts de l’Arbre à lucioles pour pouvoir accueillir des enfants handicapés et nous cherchons des pour le local et les équipements ».

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La Maison des autistes au sein de la ferme Sénéchal ? Genevière Serrure, la présidente de l’association Sourires d’autistes, et toute son équipe y croient plus que jamais. L’aboutissement de ce projet pour lequel elle se bat avec conviction est selon elle, une suite logique des dernières conclusions des études diligentées par le gouvernement. Vendredi soir au foyer communal, Geneviève Serrure, avec la passion qu’on lui connaît pour exposer les faits, a annoncé avec enthousiasme que l’autisme avait obtenu le label de grande cause nationale 2012 : « C’est un formidable moyen de sensibiliser l’opinion et de mobiliser tous les acteurs, institutions, associations, politiques autour d’un handicap qui reste une grande souffrance pour les personnes atteintes et leurs familles. »

Dans le même temps, l’évaluation du plan autisme mené sur trois années, de 2008 à 2011, réalisée par le ministère des Solidarités et de la Cohésion sociale appelle, entre autres préconisations, à développer une palette de solutions en terme d’accueil et d’accompagnement pour les adultes autistes. Il s’agit de leur offrir des parcours de vie cohérents en évitant une rupture brutale de prise en charge de la personne quant elle atteint ses 20 ans. Sourire d’autistes a la réponse à cette dynamique, qui vise à relever le défi de l’inclusion sociale de ces personnes.

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Facilitar la vida a las personas con problemas de integración es uno de los objetivos que se ha marcado el Concello de A Illa para este mandato. Desde hace un año, la estrecha colaboración entre el Concello y entidades como BATA o Por Dereito está dando sus frutos. Un ejemplo de ello es la novedosa señalización a través de pictogramas que no solo sirve para facilitar la comunicación a personas con autismo sino también a los extranjeros.

El Concello de A Illa y asociaciones como Por Dereito o Bata han estrechado lazos de colaboración en los últimos meses, unos lazos cuyo objetivo es facilitar al máximo la integración de personas con autismo o con algún tipo de discapacidad psíquica. Los primeros pasos en esa colaboración surgieron a través de la biblioteca municipal, una de las primeras de la comarca de O Salnés en contar con libros de pictogramas.

La buena acogida de esa iniciativa permitió seguir dando pasos en el camino de la integración, primero instalando los pictogramas en los edificios municipales para que pudiesen ser reconocidos, y después en toda la señalización horizontal. “Esta señalización está dando muy buenos resultados, no solo con ese sector de la población, sino también con los extranjeros que no comprenden el idioma, ya que son muy fáciles de entender”, explica la edil de Servizos Sociais, Lola Folgar.

En su instalación el Concello de A Illa ha sido pionero en todo el Estado español, compartiendo ese honor con el de Málaga. Probablemente, en breve, no serán los últimos, ya que muchos otros municipios han comenzado a copiar el ejemplo y podrían instalar estas señales en sus territorios.

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El Ayuntamiento de Las Rozas ha firmado un convenio de colaboración con la
Asociación Nuevo Horizonte para el desarrollo del denominado ‘Proyecto ADILPA’, que promueve acciones dirigidas a la integración laboral de personas con autismo.

El alcalde de Las Rozas, José Ignacio Fernández Rubio, ha rubricado el acuerdo con Benito Junoy, vicepresidente de esta asociación radicada en el municipio.

Este Plan de Formación para la Inserción Laboral viene desarrollándose desde enero de 2001 y su propósito es la rehabilitación cognitiva y social en personas adultas con autismo para la optimización de su rendimiento laboral.

El programa se fundamenta en la filosofía del empleo con apoyo, requiere una formación mínima prevocacional y facilita la integración laboral y la permanencia en el puesto de trabajo. Se complementa con medidas especiales para la prevención y alivio del estrés y la mejora de las relaciones sociales.

Uno de los propósitos de este proyecto de investigación fue valorar el impacto positivo que el empleo con apoyo tiene en la calidad de vida y la sintomatología clínica de las personas con autismo, “ya que el desarrollo de un trabajo es un paso importantísimo hacia la plena integración social de estas personas”, subrayó el alcalde.

La firma de este convenio, del que se beneficiarán las personas con autismo que son atendidas por la asociación, permitirá la continuidad de este plan durante lo que resta de este año y en 2013.

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