Interim survey results: "Autism Parents Survey on Health & Education Experiences".  The survey can be taken here.

Interim survey results: "Autism Parents Survey on Social Care Experiences", the survey can be taken here.  Both surveys are ongoing and are only 10 questions each.  Please share far and wide.

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Video of an autistic girl called Carly Fleischmann, considered very low functioning, who because of their assumptions, amazed everyone with her intelligent level of communication by PC.​  Not so "low functioning" after all...

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New research on autistic women as mothers - we are great mothers!

 

Extract from a very important discussion about the accepted (but non-diagnostic) terminology of "low functioning" and "high functioning" in autism:​

 

"The confusion among parents and professionals is between "level of functioning" (intellectual ability), and "severity of autism." I know of children who are labeled "high functioning" who have severe autistic traits (very rigid/inflexible thinking, very resistant to change and uncertainty, and meltdown over simple snags in their day.) However, they are considered "high functioning" because they are very verbal, get good grades in school, and can do personal care independently. I have also met children who are considered "low functioning" because they are nonverbal, have difficulty with performing personal care, and difficulty with academics, but who's autism traits are less severe; more flexible in their thinking, handle daily transitions easier, can reference others better, and have fewer meltdowns. So, level of functioning doesn't also correlate with the severity of the autism. Just because a child is labeled “high functioning”, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have severe autism. Many people confuse the two, which can often exclude some from treatment, or lower the expectations for others."

 

False accusations against parents of autistic children - the myth of FII/MSBP (as reported by Autism Eye magazine) and how asking for support for your child can get you accused.   The NAS is aware of these accusations but has yet to speak out.  People are questioning what help the NAS is to people.

 

These research findings of 1 in 64 are not the 1% epidemiology that official figures claim (but it is 1.5625% ). And when you see the 2nd paragraph about all the undiagnosed children out there too (which makes it , it's clear authority is lying or not bothering to keep accurate statistics as all authorities are now required to do! There is an increase of autism - the so-called autism epidemic. Clearly there is an environmental trigger in the genetically vulnerable for at last a large sub-section of autism, causing these rising rates. http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/194/6/500.long

 

"Prevalence of autism-spectrum conditions: UK school-based population study" 2009 study by Simon Baron-Cohen et al.

 

"By adjusting the estimate derived from the SEN register (that is, based on whole classes and not a 29% response) for the additional number of cases that would be expected if all the children were directly observed, the prevalence estimate is 157 per 10 000 or 1 in 64 (95% CI 99–246).

 

Overall, for boys and girls together, for every three known cases, there are at least two undiagnosed cases of autism-spectrum conditions (making the prevalence well over 2%) in the primary school population, or a ratio of 3:2 (known:unknown). There is no evidence of a difference in the undetected estimate of cases for boys and girls, despite a clear difference in the overall ratio of boys:girls with autism-spectrum conditions."

 

(also see http://www.ageofautism.com/2016/02/adult-autism-data-fabrication-in-the-united-kingdom-part-1.html and http://www.ageofautism.com/2016/02/the-true-data-revealed-adult-autism-data-fabrication-in-the-united-kingdom-part-3.html and http://www.ageofautism.com/2016/02/adult-autism-data-fabrication-in-the-united-kingdom-part-2.html)

 

This 2002 NAS report links in with the previous links on autism data fabrication. Although the figures are 12 years old and therefore out-of-date, the discrepancy between the truth and official statistics is what is important. That discrepancy is likely to be worse now. (see previous post link for insight on this).

 

"Autism in schools crisis or challenge?

 

The National Autistic Society has sought the views of teachers on the numbers of children with autism spectrum disorders and the provision available to them. The present survey indicates that the number of children with autism spectrum disorders throughout the school environment in Britain exceeds current prevalence rates. The National Autistic Society estimates the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in the total population to be 1 in 110. The recent Medical Research Council review of autism determined a prevalence estimate of 1 in 166 in the population of children under eight (MRC, 2001)."

 

Intense World Theory of autism.

 

Genetic link discovered between 5 disorders: Bipolar disorder, ADHD, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia and autism.

 

Neuroscience research for autism.

 

Become an autism research volunteer with the NAS or the ARC.

 

The DSM5 (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual) changes, and whether they have an impact on the UK, where we use the ICD10 (International Classification of Diseases), which is also pending revision.  Let's hope they learn from the mistakes of the American DSM5!

 

​Temple Grandin on the DSM5: “Sounds like diagnosis by committee”

 

"Evidence weak for Social Communication Disorder" https://spectrumnews.org/opinion/viewpoint/evidence-weak-for-social-communication-disorder/  SCD is not categorised as an autistic spectrum disorder.  This means that such a diagnosis will not trigger autism support services.  High-functioning individuals (particularly those with Asperger's) will be vulnerable to being misdiagnosed with this because they are masking and mimicking socially.  Females will be the group most impacted, they often don't have repetitive behaviours and restricted interests - or they manifest in a different way.  "The major distinction between SCD and autism is that SCD does not include repetitive behaviors or restricted interests" and "Indeed, my colleagues and I received a grant in 1998 to investigate this class of language disorder that seems to lie somewhere between autism and specific language impairment (SLI). The trouble was that we never found any children who met the criteria for pragmatic language impairment who didn’t also have either autism or SLI, especially when we dug into their developmental histories." and "All clinical diagnoses are subject to cultural bias or interpretation, a point that is emphasized in the DSM-5. But SCD is probably even more vulnerable to this kind of bias than any other disorder. "

The American ​National Institute of Mental Health does not agree with the DSM5 approach and categorisation, they would like a system incorporating genetics, imaging, cognitive science, and other levels of information to lay the foundation for a new classification system, not just a symptom-based approach towards diagnosis.  This would be very helpful towards avoiding misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis.

 

Tony Attwood suspecting what is clearly true, regarding dropping Asperger's from the DSM (ICD draft revision appears to be following suit): http://consumer.healthday.com/cognitive-and-neurological-health-information-26/autism-news-51/guideline-changes-have-asperger-s-community-on-edge-675368.html

 

"The medical insurance companies and other agencies will save money," Attwood said. "I can't say that this has been the driving force of the change; all I know is that this is the highly probable outcome. With fewer people being diagnosed, it's going to be less expensive for the agencies that support such individuals -- either government or private."  They will find a way to block spending money whenever they can.

 

"Autism Strategy could Waste Money" article.

 

Autism gene discovered by researchers.

 

The truth about the "Can people really grow out of autism?" question.

 

"Diagnosis Eludes Many Girls With Autism" article.  Information from the NAS on the struggle many females with autism have to get assessed and diagnosed.  Research does not include females, the diagnostic criteria were all researched on males!  Clinicians still have outdated views that autism is a male condition, and many females are misdiagnosed or fail to get a diagnosis.  Females present differently to males with autism.  THE NAS says: "The National Autistic Society’s Lorna Wing Centre have seen a steady increase in the number of girls and women referred. Because of the male gender bias, girls are less likely to be identified with ASD, even when their symptoms are equally severe. Many girls are never referred for diagnosis and are missed from the statistics. At The Lorna Wing Centre, emphasis is placed on the different manifestations of behaviour in autism spectrum conditions as seen in girls and women compared with boys and men."

 

Do OCD and Asperger's co-exist?

 

ARC range of validated clinical tests for Asperger's (including scoring) by Simon Baron-Cohen.

 

Study "Reduced activity during cognitively demanding tasks has been reported in the default mode network in typically developing controls and individuals with autism."

 

Clinical validity of the ADOS-2 (one of the most widely used diagnostic tools in the UK) is only 77% accurate in higher-functioning individuals.  Here is a best practice blog by a clinician which discusses this.

 

Court case involving autism, discussed on my blog here: https://planetautismblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/courts-of-protection-msbpfii-and-autism/