Depression in Autism – More Than Meets The Eye?
Depression in Autism – More Than Meets The Eye? High rates of depression and suicide in autism Depression is a common and serious problem in autism, and one of the main contributors to poor quality of life. Both children and adults with autism experience high...
‘From Bench to Biopharma’ International Conference on Translational Research in Autism – Day 1 Recap
‘From Bench to Biopharma’ International Conference on Translational Research in Autism – Day 1 Recap Synchrony symposia, organised by The BRAIN Foundation in partnership with UC Davis MIND Institute and CalTech, is the first and only international...
NEW UK Autism Research Hub: The Synapse Centre for Neurodevelopment ESNEFT
NEW UK Autism Research Hub: The Synapse Centre for Neurodevelopment ESNEFT The Synapse Centre for Neurodevelopment The Synapse Centre, based within the ESNEFT (East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust) is a new research centre based in the East of England...
Addressing Poor Health & High Death Rates in Autism
Addressing Poor Health & High Death Rates in Autism “We must first recognise ASD as a whole body disorder” Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD, is traditionally seen as the result of behavioural and neuropsychiatric dysfunction. However there is a strong...
My Son’s Autism and Disability: Unintended Consequences of a Polarised Debate
My Son’s Autism and Disability: Unintended Consequences of a Polarised Debate The social and medical models of disability What could possibly motivate a busy parent like myself, with not enough hours in the day, to take time out to write about the social and medical...
Brain Plasticity in Autism- new approaches from Yale University
All brains are able to change by forming new neural connections. This ability to change is known neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. The capacity of the brain to, under the right circumstances, re-organize itself physically and functionally underpins trans-cranial Direct Current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment modality. Harry D. Schneider PhD, MD, MPH, Consultant in Neurolinguistics to the Joy Hirsch PhD, Director of Brain Function Laboratory, Yale University School of Medicine, will share his decades of research and clinical experience of tDCS…
Synchrony 2019 – Translational Research in Autism symposia
The first Brain Foundation annual symposia, Pleasanton, California 8-10 of Nov 2019, aimed to connect researchers with clinicians, donors & stake holders to help translate research efforts into evidence-based treatments for autism and its co-morbidities. It highlighted the need for multidisciplinary collaboration, detailed diagnostics and personalised treatment…
Transcranial direct current stimulation tDCS – a novel treatment for autism?
One of the treatment modalities that has shown the greatest promise for reducing symptoms of autism in recent years is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The most recent study confirmed and expanded on the findings of previous investigations, which strongly indicate that tDCS could have positive effects on cognition, behaviour and physical health, and improve quality of life and autonomy for a large percentage of individuals with autism.
Misperceptions of ASD Neurodiversity and Health Recovery
As a Chartered Psychologist, child development researcher and author in the autism/ASD field, I frequently meet misperceptions of neurodiversity in relation to programmes for autism and health recovery. Somehow or other the belief has developed that to offer such help to an individual on the autistic spectrum is to deny their neurodiversity. In this blog I suggest a new way of looking at this subject…
Cannabis for Treating Core and Comorbid Autism Symptoms – Where are we at?
Several studies published in recent months investigated the effects of cannabis-based products for treating autism. Although the studies were open-label and relatively small in scale, the overall results were overwhelmingly positive, with statistically significant improvements in social communication, language, restrictive/repetitive and challenging behaviours.
An Introduction to Vision Therapy as a Treatment for Autism
I hope that my journey in vision therapy will serve not only as a roadmap for people with mild autism to find their way out of the labyrinth of disability but as something that can provide clues to help those with more severe autism find their way to a life more fully lived.