ADOLESCENCE
Youth with Autism are More Socially Isolated than Other People
A study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders lead by Paul Shattuck looking at social participation among young adults with autism found staggering statistics. Nearly 40% of youth never met with friends. 50% never received phone calls for invitations to activities. Shattuck says "Autism is a lifelong challenge for most, and we need to find better ways of supporting people during this transition to adulthood." Learn more
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NIMH Withdraws Support for DSM-5
On behalf of NIMH, Tom Insel, Director, released a statement earlier this week withdrawing support from the DSM-5. The opinion is that the DSM lacks validity and is "at best, a dictionary". The NIMH has proposed a new classification system entitled Research Domain Criteria project which is a framework based on biological and genetic evidence, and takes into account cognition, emotion and behavior.
However, Dr. Insel and American Psychiatric Association President, Jeffrey Lieberman, M.D. have agreed that the DSM-5 along with the International Classification of Diseases, (ICD), represent the best information currently available for clinical diagnosis of mental disorders. Learn more
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FAMILYExhausted Parents Leave Autistic Son at Government Office  A family from Ottawa, Canada becomes so overwhelmed by their 19-year-old son with autism that they dropped him off at a government office last week. After asking for repeated help, and feeling "over-burdened, and under-funded", in a "heart-wrenching" move the family gave their son to the government to find him a new permanent home. Learn More
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 Girls with Autism May Need Different Treatments Than Boys There has long been a need to further research in differences that occur with girls with autism. Two recent studies to be presented at the IMFAR conference focused on gender differences in autism. One study compared visual scanning patterns in boys and girls with autism, looking for differences in learning and information acquisition. The second study reviewed the potential differences in genetics in boys and girls. Both studies did indeed find differences between boys and girls with autism. Learn More |
