Monthly Archives: February 2012

Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis has spent much of her career focused on Fragile X, a genetic condition involving a mutation on the X chromosome that causes cognitive disabilities, behavioral issues and other problems. New medications and therapeutic interventions have revolutionized life for people with the syndrome over the past 20 years, but Berry-Kravis, who runs the Fragile X Clinic and Research Program at Rush University in Chicago, said the most exciting discoveries are being explored now. She was in Houston recently for a meeting of the Fragile X Clinical and Research Consortium at Texas Children's Hospital and spoke with Chronicle reporter Jeannie Kever. Q. Tell me a little about Fragile X. How many people does it affect, and how does it manifest? A. The description everyone uses is, it's the most common inherited form of intellectual disability. It's also the most common known genetic cause of autism. Children will seem pretty normal as young babies, but then they'll present to their pediatrician with a delay in walking or acquiring other motor milestones. A delay in talking is common. They'll have ongoing learning difficulties. In elementary school, most of the guys with Fragile X will be in special education and have occupational … Continue reading →

TRENTON — Some parents look back at the moment their child was diagnosed with autism and remember it as the worst day of their lives. Not Meredith Blitz-Goldstein. The Verona mother said she already knew there was something seriously wrong with her 2-year-old son, Matthew. When he spoke, he uttered a word or two. He seldom made eye contact or slept through the night. Until he was diagnosed with a milder form of autism known as "pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified," she didn’t know how to help him. "I was very happy to have the diagnosis. I knew the monster I was dealing with. The diagnosis was like handing me the ticket to go forward," Blitz-Goldstein said. This is why she is among a growing number of parents alarmed by the recent news that the American Psychiatric Association has proposed a narrower redefinition of autism — one that focuses on children who exhibit the most disruptive behavior and difficulty communicating and forming relationships. Milder forms of autism, such as Asperger’s syndrome or Matthew’s diagnosis, would be dropped from the manual for mental disorders — the definitive reference guide for health professionals, researchers and schools, as well as from insurance … Continue reading →

Saturday, February 18, 2012    Last updated: Sunday February 19, 2012, 9:43 AM Max Braverman, 10, is obsessed with bugs and cannot handle any change in plans. Linda (Sandra Bullock) comforts her son, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), who has Asperger's syndrome, in 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.' 'Parenthood's' Max Braverman (Max Burkholder) also has Asperger's. Jake Bohm, 11, does not speak or make eye contact and cannot tolerate being touched — not even by his father. Oskar Schell, 9, is fixated on finding the lock to a key that his father — who died on 9/11 — left behind. These characters — from the TV shows "Parenthood" and "Touch," and the Oscar-nominated film "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" — have Asperger's syndrome or (in the case of Jake) another autism-spectrum disorder. Add these depictions to other recent projects about adults on the autism spectrum — including HBO's Emmy-winning "Temple Grandin," and the movies "Adam," and "Mozart and the Whale" — and you've got a much wider view than "Rain Man" presented in 1988. Why is this a hot topic in film and television right now? "The awareness is so much more heightened now than it's ever been in the past," says … Continue reading →