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Early Autism Treatment Shows Promise

By On · Add Comment · In autism, behavior treatment, children, communication, Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), learning deficits, nuerodevelopmental disorder, social interaction, Son-Rise
Encouraging news for parents of autistic children: The first rigorous study of behavior treatment in autistic children as young as 18 months found that two years of therapy can vastly improve symptoms, often resulting in a milder diagnosis. Although small (only 48 children), the study out of the University of Washington had such encouraging results that it has been extended to several other sites.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Children with autism might also have co-morbid disorders including intellectual impairment, seizures and anxiety. The parts of the brain involved in autism include the frontal lobes, amygdala and cerebellum.

The study showed that early autism treatment led to increased IQ and improved language skills. Almost 30 percent of the children receiving early treatment were re-diagnosed with a less severe form of autism after two years, versus 5 percent of the others. No children, however, were considered “cured.”

The study followed the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) of early autism treatment, a form of behavioral training that focuses on social interaction and communication, which are both difficult for many autistic children. Because ESDM believes that families should be at the helm of their childrens’ treatment, parents worked along with therapists in teaching coordinated, interactive social relations through rewarding social engagement and developing joint play activities designed to build skills and “fill in” learning deficits. If you are interested to learn more about ESDM, please visit their site here.

This is very good news for autistic children and their parents. Early autism treatment is not new–the Son-Rise home-based program has been around since the 1970s–but this is the first to show, empirically, behavioral treatment improving outcomes for autistic children. Autism is complicated by many factors including classification and which treatment option is best. This study at least moves the field of autism treatment a little closer to verifiable and reproducible results. Bravo!

Vaccines: Protection or Poison?

By On · Add Comment · In Amanda Peet, autism, CDC, children, herd immunity, illnesses, Jenny McCarthy, The Dr. Nick Show, thimerosal, toxic, vaccinations
What do you think about vaccinations? Public health miracle or a conspiracy ploy by the pharmaceutical industry? Listen to this month’s episode of The Dr. Nick Show (episode 8) to get the scoop on vaccinations. For a taste:

Haven’t millions of lives been saved by vaccinations? Aren’t illnesses like whooping cough, diphtheria and the flu horrible enough to warrant mass protection? Most people sure think so.

But there is another camp–a group of people who feel strongly about not vaccinating their children. They think that vaccines are toxic and can cause more harm than good? There is concern that the rising number of vaccines (24 before the age of 2) are increasing the risk of autism in American children. According to one report, autism has gone up by 500% (check here, too) in the last 15 years. Check out the video below to hear one celebrity vaccine activist speak out against the toxic substances still present in a number of vaccines.

Where do you stand on the subject? Do you wonder about some of the preservatives put into vaccines, like thimerosal or aluminum? Can these preservatives lead to autism? Do you need to vaccinate against chicken pox…or the flu? Or do you think people who don’t vaccinate their children are crazy child abusers? You know, Guillan-Barré syndrome is a very real illness tied to vaccinations (check out some side effects as reported by the CDC). Perhaps you think like actress Amanda Peet does, that parents who don’t immunize their kids are “parasites”, since they leech off the responsible families who get vaccinated.

Oh wait, you didn’t know that? Yeah, it’s called herd immunity: If 80-85 % (give or take 5% depending on the infectious agent) of the population is immunized, then there is a very low chance of illness spreading since such a large number of people are already protected. If you listen to this month’s podcast, you’ll get information like this and more! It’s a must hear for anybody struggling with the decision on whether they should vaccinate or not.

No matter how you stand on the issue, please check out this month’s podcast, Vaccines: Protection or Poison?, to get all the information necessary to make an intelligent and informed decision. Don’t make assumptions or take anything for granted. This is a big issue and you need to know the facts. So take a few minutes to listen up, you’ll be happy you did.

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