Let’s Talk About How We Diagnose and Treat Mild Autism – Part II: Treatment

Treatment for Mild Autism

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Focus in Treatment?

Children with mild autism are treated with a very specific approach that involves clearly delineating the problem behaviors and tendencies. In that respect, we need as much detailed information about what goes wrong, and what goes well, in what situations, to what extent, for how long, and how frequently? Detailed written descriptions or, even video can be helpful. The more we know, the more effective the treatment plan.

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Let’s Talk About How We Diagnose and Treat Mild Autism – Part I: Diagnosis

Mild Autism Diagnosis

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Let’s set the stage

The process of diagnosing autism is rather straightforward, such that it’s a wonder that so many kids are misdiagnosed. It may come as a surprise to you that, from my clinical experience, the issue is under, not over-diagnosis. In that respect, time and time again I have kids in my office for whom there has been ongoing struggles and difficulties in the home, school, and in the community, and parents are dumbfounded why their child is having such difficulties. In that respect, their child has been evaluated elsewhere and diagnosed usually with anxiety, ADHD, or ODD. However, again, time and time again, parents come to me with a suspicion that ‘something more is going on’ and, by and large, they’re right.

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How to Listen so Your Kids Will Too: The Art of Reflective Listening

Reflective Listening and Parenting

Written by Dr. John Carosso

You get into an argument with your spouse. You know your point is valid but you’re having trouble getting your mate to acknowledge your view; instead, he just wants to “move on” and “forget about it.” So, he tries to change the subject and you’re left feeling unheard and misunderstood. You’re simply not ready to “move on” and you feel ‘stuck’ and frustrated. As you’re stewing over the problem, you think that, if only your point of view was acknowledged, even in disagreement, you’d feel more at-ease and prepared to move-on. Well, the same thing happens every time you want to “move on” past your child’s disappointment, frustration, anger, or problem.

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Preparing Your Kids For ‘Back to School’

Back to School tips

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Yes, it’s that time

It’s that ‘back to school’ time. Yes, it’s sad to see the summer coming to a close and definitely time to get back to the school routine.

Summer vs. School Routine

Need I mention the difference between summer and school-year routines? If you start about 2-3 weeks out, it’s much easier to ship your kids into shape. Otherwise, it’s a culture-shock for your child, and not too pleasant for you either.

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Study: Does the Immune System Have a Role in Battling Autism?

New study finds mice may need infection-fighting molecules to socialize.

Molecules that protect the body from infection may be needed for mice to socialize with their peers, according to a study published today in Nature. This double duty could help safeguard the health of animals that live in close quarters.

The findings bolster an emerging link between the immune system and conditions such as autism, says lead researcher Jonathan Kipnis, professor of neuroscience at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. “Whether we like it or not, there is a piling up of evidence that the immune system has a major impact on brain function: The brain is not isolated from the rest of the body,” he says.

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Autism: Dealing with Aggression and Tantrums

Written by Dr. John Carosso

The question:

I was recently asked an excellent question from a parent with an adorable, nonverbal child with autism. The concern is that the kiddo does not seem to understand consequences such as time-out, and loss of privilege has little impact. The aggression reportedly often stems from, for example, a sibling being in close proximity, not getting what she wants, or related frustrations.

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How do People with Autism Experience Empathy?

I decided to write about this as a result of an article I posted on SNJ’s social media a while back about autism and empathy. It had such a great response from all our readers that it’s clearly an emotive subject.

Many people posted about how their own children or themselves experience the feeling of others. One comment was, “You can’t taste the food if you don’t open the wrapper,” and another parent commented (about their child), “If he sees suffering of others on TV he gets really upset and even sends his pocket money in appeals to help others.”

There is a lot of information on the web about whether people with a diagnosis of autism experience empathy. Although I haven’t read them all in depth (I would be there forever), I have looked through many of the articles, the summaries and conclusions of some peer-reviewed articles as well as some of the blog/information-type posts.

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Autism Behavioral Therapy: Still The Best Method To Help Reduce Autism In Children Today

A child with Autism syndrome is one of the most challenging obstacle any parent can have. Seeing your child acting differently is something you can barely see. How you wish, you can put a stop to it , however it is a sad fact that even with all the upgrades in technology, the fact remains that there’s still no permanent cure for autism in children. However, the most common type of treatment is the behavioral and speech therapy, yet for every autistic child, treatment is not all the same and it depends upon the gravity of the situation.

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Study: Insurance Mandates Lead to More Children Diagnosed and Treated for ASD

While a positive outcome, researchers believe this increase represents only a fraction of the children in the United States living with autism spectrum disorder.

PHILADELPHIA –State mandates requiring commercial health plans to cover the cost of services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have resulted in an increased number of children being diagnosed and treated for ASD, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings will be published in the July 11th issue of JAMA Pediatrics.

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Why Empowering Students with Autism Pays Dividends for Tech Companies

People on the autistic spectrum offer genuine benefits to the workforce that tech companies are picking up on.

We know that career opportunities for people with autism are limited. As Helen Dyer from CASPA told me, some 85% of people with autism are not in full-time employment. The reasons for this aren’t hard to understand from a societal perspective: the way we hire people has a comical overreliance on one-one-one rapport and social cues – something that people with autism typically struggle with, to varying degrees of severity. The path to employment relies less on being able to perform a job well and more on being able to banter about doing a job well. In that respect, people on the autistic spectrum are at a natural disadvantage before they even enter the interview room.

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