Pentagon under fire for proposed cuts to autism care

The Pentagon is under fire on Capitol Hill for a plan that critics say could leave thousands of military families whose children suffer from autism without access to the healthcare coverage they need. For the second time in as many years, the Department of Defense is proposing to slash payments to healthcare professionals who work with autistic children by as much as 15 percent. This would make it difficult for military families to find help for autistic children, critics say. The proposal has outraged dozens of lawmakers from both sides…

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Scientists Glean Insight On Rare Type Of Autism

Scientists at an independent Baltimore laboratory that studies the brain say they may have figured out how a rare form of autism called Pitt-Hopkins syndrome develops from a gene mutation, and they soon will begin testing a treatment. The scientists at the Johns Hopkins-affiliated Lieber Institute for Brain Development don’t expect a cure but believe children especially could have significant improvements in their intellectual, developmental and communication deficits. If the treatment – an existing drug intended to treat pain – is effective it could be tried on similar syndromes on…

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Meds and Pregnancy risks

Taking meds during pregnancy brings autism risk, benefits For a pregnant woman, the factors that can raise autism risk in her unborn child may seem to abound. Studies suggest that getting the flu, having a fever orgaining too much weight while pregnant can all boost the odds of having a child with autism. Certain medications may also raise the risk. For instance, pregnant women who take the epilepsy drug valproate are up to seven times more likely to have a child with autism than those who don’t. In the past…

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Child prodigies and Autism

Studying child prodigies could be the key to the autism breakthrough scientists have been waiting for Child prodigies have long been a riddle. Two academics, David Feldman and Martha Morelock, once complained—only somewhat facetiously—that “divine inspiration, reincarnation, or magical incantation” were the best explanations for child prodigies that science had to offer. But the psychologist Joanne Ruthsatz developed a startling hunch after a chance encounter with a music prodigy’s autistic cousin:  Could autism have something to do with prodigious talent? Full article can be found here at Business Insider  

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Amazon Echo – A virtual assistant for your home

I’m going to start this review with a quote from Wikipedia to get you up to speed quickly on what the Echo is: Amazon Echo is a wireless speaker and voice command device from Amazon.com. The device consists of a 9.25-inch (23.5 cm) tall cylinder speaker with a seven-piece microphone array. The device responds to the name “Alexa”; this “wake word” can be changed by the user to either “Amazon” or “Echo”. The device is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather,…

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Autism and Tablets

The following is an excerpt from an article Ipads and Autism: A perfect match? posted on the Autism Society of North Carolina blog: On April 3, 2010, Apple released the first generation iPad. Steve Jobs called it a “magical device,” and in many ways, that is exactly what it is: a slate of glass possessing the power of a computer, the vast content of the Internet, and a bottomless well of software applications or “apps.” The iPad literally puts the world at your fingertips, requiring only the operator’s fingers and imagination. Simply…

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