Professor Samuel Odom said it was often hard for parents of children with autism to access information on treatments. An international expert on the treatment of autism has warned Irish parents against interventions which are marketed as cutting edge technologies but have no basis in fact. Professor Samuel Odom, who is the keynote speaker at a major conference in Dublin today on special needs education, said it was often hard for parents of children with autism to access information on treatments or even to understand the information. I would advise them to ask: Where the evidence is that the treatment works? Can you show me where this has been tried in a very systematic way with students of autism that they actually get better? A number of alternative treatments in the US have emerged in recent years in educational settings, including dietary interventions, aquatic therapy, medical marijuana and stem cell therapy. These are sometimes promoted in opposition to applied behavioural analysis (ABA), which has been shown to be very effective, said Prof Odom. There has been a long-running battle by some parents of children with autism to have schools provide ABA as the sole method of treatment rather than a … Continue reading →

Professor Samuel Odom said it was often hard for parents of children with autism to access information on treatments. An international expert on the treatment of autism has warned Irish parents against interventions which are marketed as cutting edge technologies but have no basis in fact. Professor Samuel Odom, who is the keynote speaker at a major conference in Dublin today on special needs education, said it was often hard for parents of children with autism to access information on treatments or even to understand the information. I would advise them to ask: Where the evidence is that the treatment works? Can you show me where this has been tried in a very systematic way with students of autism that they actually get better? A number of alternative treatments in the US have emerged in recent years in educational settings, including dietary interventions, aquatic therapy, medical marijuana and stem cell therapy. These are sometimes promoted in opposition to applied behavioural analysis (ABA), which has been shown to be very effective, said Prof Odom. There has been a long-running battle by some parents of children with autism to have schools provide ABA as the sole method of treatment rather than a … Continue reading →

SALT LAKE CITY Autism spectrum disorders affect many families here in Utah. Finding specialized treatment can be tough and expensive. The Utah Health Department says the Utah Medicaid Autism Waiver Program is in high demand. Each year about 290 kids are accepted, and right now there are 25 open spots. There are so many children in the state who have autism and are seeking out services, and this program is able to provide that to a number of kids in this state that might not otherwise have resources to receive these types of services, said Kolbi Young with the Utah Department of Health. Those spots are expected to be taken quickly, but what's different about this program is it's not like traditional Medicaid where the guidelines are very strict in terms of family income and assets. "For this program parents don't have to meet financial eligibility guideline, so it's based upon the child's income and assets. There are many, many families who qualify who would not otherwise qualify for traditional Medicaid benefits, said Young. To qualify, a child must be between the ages of 2 and 6 who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and cant have more … Continue reading →

HENRICO, Va. (WRIC) - Today, one out of every 68 kids is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. That rate that has more than doubled over the last decade. And children are getting the news earlier than ever, thanks to improvements in screening. Jakeman Nowak's mom says she noticed her son acting differently early in life. "Our son's name is Jakeman. He just turned three. We first noticed he had some issues when he was very young." Jakeman wasn't much older than his little brother Xavier is now when their mom noticed something was off. "He was saying, like, dada, mama, yaya, nana, and all that completely disappeared. That was the red flag that there was something really different about him that we needed to take a look at." The Nowaks quickly learned their little boy is part of a growing number of kids getting the same news. Jakeman was diagnosed with autism. "Autism used to be considered a low-incidence diagnosis. It was about 1 in every 30,000 kids back then. Over the last 30 years though, we've seen that go from one in 10,000 to one in 5,000 to now about 1 in 68," said Adam Dreyfus, director of early … Continue reading →

A team of stroke experts from Merseyside has won two awards in just one week. The stroke team from Aintree University Hospital was presented with an award from the Stroke Association in recognition of their professional excellence before going on to triumph at the hospitals own awards ceremony. The Highly Commended Life After Stroke Award was presented by rugby stars Danny Cipriani and Mark Cueto, who play for Sale Sharks, at the Stroke Associations Life After Stroke Awards ceremony. Within days the group was named Outstanding Team at the hospitals Proud of Aintree Excellence Awards, which were presented by acclaimed Liverpool actress and comedienne, Pauline Daniels. The award recognised the work done by the team to enhance the experience of patients at Aintree, which has one of the biggest stroke units in the region. Dr Claire Cullen, consultant physician at Aintree University Hospital, said: We are all incredibly proud to have our work recognised. We are committed to providing the best possible care for our patients during their treatment and recovery and the Stroke Association plays an important role in this. To receive two awards in the same week is an honour and testament to the hard work of the … Continue reading →