Social interaction and communication are essential characteristics of the human experience. As humans, we desire to create and develop relationships with each other. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental condition that impairs this ability to relate. The spectrum refers to the fact that there are multiple conditions characterized by similar features all grouped together under this one disorder. These conditions include “classic” autism, Asperger syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. There are also varying degrees of severity associated with ASD. So, depending on the disorder and degree to which a person suffers from this disorder, there is truly a wide spectrum of possible conditions created by ASD that many people around the world must deal with.

Autism is usually detectable within the first three years of life due to observation of cognitive symptoms common to most forms of the disorder. Biologically, researchers have found that autistic children often have enlarged cerebral and cerebellar volumes. There has also been some connection with ASD and certain chromosome variations. Autism is most commonly diagnosed through cognitive evaluation, though. The three symptoms that are noted most often are trouble with communication, issues involving reciprocal social interaction, and stereotyped behaviors such as obsession over specific interests and repetition of certain words or actions. Many severely autistic children do not develop speech and, if they do, it occurs at a significantly later time than a child without ASD. Eye contact is rarely made, emotions are not expressed, and there is a noticeable difficulty in understanding other’s feelings and thoughts. Any combination of these symptoms challenges a child’s development and many families are left trying to find an effective way to help their children learn and grow.

This is where the Ipad enters. Steve Jobs has invented some amazing technology. But it is even more impressive when this technology is able to help a child express feelings, words and ideas when this would otherwise be impossible. According to the Center for Disease Control, today 1 in 88 U.S. children in diagnosed with ASD. This is a 78 percent increase from data collected a decade ago. These numbers are astounding. The reason for such an increase is still being explored. Possible explanations include better diagnosis techniques or just a general increase in the number of people born with ASD. With such a high occurrence of autism in the United States and no known cure, more families are exploring different ways of assisting their children. With its sleek appearance and massive number of “apps” the Ipad has become one of these ways to help. In October of 2011 60 Minutes aired a segment about the potential use of the Ipad for teaching autistic children and providing them with a “voice.” I recommend viewing the piece below:

iPad and Autism Feature on 60 Minutes

Sources:

The Upside of Autism – The Wall Street Journal

Brain Abnormalities in Autism – American Academy of Neurology

About Autism – NIH

Some Genetics of Autism – American Journal of Human Genetics

The Odd Couple via Omahype

Have you ever considered there to be commonalities between autism and anorexia? Up until a few weeks ago, the idea  never crossed my mind. I was more focused on how that other autism study about vaccines was proven to be a complete hoax.

On February 10th, researchers at the University of Bath in England released some information on an upcoming paper that is to be published in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology. Dr. Mark Brosnan and the rest of his research team have possibly found a correlation between autism and eating disorders. Although there have been hints to this relationship in clinical settings (the news blurb refers to women diagnosed with eating disorders producing high scores on a “questionnaire that measures characteristics associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)”), no formal research had been performed to test the strength of the relationship between the two diseases.

Dr. Brosnan studied 61 boys and 71 girls between the ages of 11 and 14  to make up a total of 132 children. His reasoning for testing this age group was to see if there was a correlation between the two disorders at a young age in a “non-clinical population.” All of the students filled out questionnaires that examined their characteristics and how strongly they relate to autism and eating disorders. The to be published results suggest that there is indeed a link between the two disorders, and the relationship is especially strong between “eating disorder, attention to detail and communication skills.”

In addition to the results of the research being simply interesting, Brosnan has stated that finding this relationship is key since “‘The application of one research area to another may contribute to a better understanding of both clinical conditions.’” Brosnan then goes on to describe how autism is seen as a disorder that mainly affects men, and eating disorders mainly affect women. However, his research shows that high scores relating to “attention to detail” and “poor communication skills” were found the most among those who expressed the largest tendencies toward eating disorder. High scores in these two areas of the autism assessment were the greatest predictor of a high score on the eating disorder assessment, not sex of the student.

This paper has yet to be published, so more complex questions about the study will remain unanswered until the research is officially published. However, these implications prove to be very intriguing. Keep an eye on it. I know I will.

Eating disorders linked with autism in school children – University News of the University of Bath