LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles along with Autism Speaks recently co-sponsored an event to launch the website Interacting With Autism, a comprehensive website where parents, educators and healthcare providers can explore the latest information on autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The event, held at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts, was highlighted by a multiscreen viewing of the video-intensive website. The day also included expert panels on autism, including The Causes of Autism which featured Heather Volk, PhD, a principal investigator at The Saban Research Institute who spoke about the link between freeway pollution and autism. Families enjoyed refreshments throughout the day as well as performances, activities for children and a considerable array of representatives from organizations that serve individuals with ASD. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles was an early partner in developing this website with the goal of helping families everywhere have the necessary information to be successful in getting a diagnosis and navigating services. Michele Kipke, PhD, principal investigator of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network Center of Excellence at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, said, Our early involvement in this important project was driven by our desire to provide families with the tools they … Continue reading →

Video: Theres much more awareness of autism, but what support you get depends on where you live and how long the wait lists are. Shirlee Engel reports. As we researched this autism series, we heard over and over again complaints about long wait times for diagnosis and treatment. So producer Bryan Mullan and I decided to try to map it out for viewers. How long do you have to wait in each province? We quickly discovered its not that simple. READ MORE: Autism treatment means months on wait lists, relocation for some Canadian families Provinces dont officially track these wait times. Unlike a hip replacement or a transplant list, there is no central database where parents sign up their kids to be assessed and treated. Ontario alone is divided into nine different regions, each with their own lead agency that administers Intensive Behaviour Intervention services. I couldnt even get a ballpark figure from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. We started our search with the provincial ministries. Many got back to us with broad statements about the process for diagnosis and treatment, but no concrete information about how long families will be left to wait. So we tried the … Continue reading →

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ReAttach is a new intervention, based on attachment. Practical research has pointed out that the ReAttach therapy can be of great importance for people with autism. This is concluded from the continuous practical research of Paula Bartholomeus into the advantages that can be reached for people with Aspergers syndrome, PDD-NOS, autism spectrum disorder, or with a mental disability and autism, using the ReAttach therapy. Bartholomeus expects to be able to present more results at the National Autism Congress in Den Bosch, Netherlands. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist has shown that positive measurable changes can occur for all these groups on different developmental domains, in only three months. The results of children with severe communicational problems, who have for instance lost their ability to speak and have not spoken for years, are surprising. Three children with comparable developmental problems have regained their ability to speak. On top of that, they have made comparable progression in the areas of play, social functioning and behavior. People with autism and a normal level of intelligence show significant improvement in executive functioning, social cognitive skills (Theory of Mind and social concept formation) and social communicational skills. Paula Bartholomeus is the developer of … Continue reading →

Above: Theres much more awareness of autism, but what support you get depends on where you live and how long the wait lists are. Shirlee Engel reports. TORONTO Lack of funding and long wait times for autism treatment can mean many Canadian children dont get the early intervention that one mother believes makes all the difference. I just feel like [early intervention is] well worth it, said single mom Brigitte Forget. When you see what my son has accomplished in seven monthsits amazing. Forgets son is three-year-old McKeigan, who she moved from Ottawa to Alberta to get faster treatment. Forget left her two older children, both in their 20s at the time, back in Ontario. I had no choice at that time. It was just what I could do to better his life and where I could get help as soon as possible for him, said Forget. At an autism workshop in Ottawa soon after McKeigan was diagnosed, she was told if she wanted treatment quickly, it would mean $160 an hour for a speech pathologist. And thats just a speech pathologist, not an occupational therapistIm a single mom. Theres no way I can make this on my own out … Continue reading →