November 7, 2012 Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online Researchers from Yale School of Medicine recently discovered that, when provided earlier treatment, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) showed serious improvements in behavior, communication and brain function. Dr. Fred Volkmar, Kevin A. Pelphrey, and other researchers at the Yale Child Study Center published the study on early treatment, paving a way for brain change in autistic children. The findings were discussed in a recent issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The brain systems related to social perception had positive reaction to the pivotal response treatment, a kind of early intervention behavioral program that was developed at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Along with parent training, the treatment included a section just focused on play and includes areas for learning and development. ASD is a heterogeneous disorder, and research aimed at understanding treatment must address this heterogeneity, noted Pelphrey in the statement. Both the children in our current study made progress, but their degree of progress and level of skills at the end of treatment were distinct. Researchers explained how pivotal response treatment could help children as young as two years of age. In the … Continue reading →

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 7, 2012 Emerging research suggests early treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can significantly improve behavior, stimulate communication and enhance brain function. Yale School of Medicine researchers have published their study findings in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Researchers Fred Volkmar, M.D., Kevin A. Pelphrey, Ph.D.,and colleagues say the study findings suggest that brain systems supporting social perception can be improved when an early intervention behavioral program is administered. In the study, investigators used a technique called pivotal response treatment. This treatment includes parent training, and employs play in its methods. ASDs are complex neurobiological disorders that inhibit a persons ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and are often accompanied by behavioral challenges. Until recently, the diagnosis of autism diagnosis typically was not confirmed until a child was about three to five years-old. As a result, treatment programs were developed for this older age group. Today, Volkmar and his team are diagnosing children as young as age one. The combination of an early diagnosis and then application of the pivotal response treatment intervention has been revealing. Pivotal response treatment, developed … Continue reading →

Scientists at Auckland University's Centre for Brain Research say they have gained new understandings of the causes of autism, opening up new avenues for possible treatment. The ground-breaking research, done in collaboration with Stanford University in the United States, looked at brain cell communication and genetic mutations in people with autism. The team discovered that autism was caused by mutated brain proteins, called Shank3, weakening communication between brain cells. Head researcher Jo Montgomery said that the discovery was exciting because it meant treatments could be investigated. "Brain cells are incredibly sociable cells in the brain and they talk to each other all the time," she said. "There are about 10 trillion brain cells connected by about 10 billion synapses which gives you an idea of how much chatter is going on in your brain at one time, and all that chatter underlies how you see things, how you move, how you learn and how you remember things. "What we showed is that when you have these autism-associated mutations, this changes how synapses in the brain function." Dr Montgomery said there was definitely reason to get excited about the possibilities for a cure for autism, at some stage in the future. … Continue reading →