Reveal fitness tracker records stressors for children with autism

Fitness trackers are great, but their applications could go far beyond simply tracking how many steps you take. For example, they could be used to seriously help people who need it — like children with autism. That’s the idea behind a new health tracker from a company called Awake Labs, which has just launched an Indiegogo campaign for the Reveal — a fitness tracker that’s aimed squarely at helping kids on the autism spectrum. So how does the Reveal help these kids? Reveal essentially measures the wearer’s body’s response to anxiety, helping understand…

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Brain Scan Software can spot Adults with Autism

“THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS BEFORE. WE FINALLY OVERCAME THE PROBLEM.” A computer algorithm called a “classifier” can distinguish between adults with and without autism by studying brain scans. The software found 16 key connections that allowed it to tell, with high accuracy, who had been traditionally diagnosed with autism and who had not. The team developed the classifier with 181 adult volunteers at three sites in Japan and then applied it in a group of 88 American adults at seven sites. All the study volunteers with autism diagnoses had…

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Apple’s short film on Autism proves that accessibility features matter

Apple has released a couple of videos over the weekend starring Dillan Barmache, a 16-year-old kid who is autistic and non-verbal. These two films are powerful and also make a strong point in favor of accessibility features, specialized apps for autistic people and more. Autism affects social and communication behaviors. Autistic people have a hard time communicating with the world. But it doesn’t mean they don’t have things to say. It’s easy to shut yourself away when you have this disorder because you have a hard time talking with people around…

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Navy funds autism-screening app, hoping for help with PTSD

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Navy is paying for research into an app to screen for autism in the hopes that it could eventually be tweaked to look for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. While developmental and trauma disorders might at first appear strange bedfellows, the researchers and a PTSD expert for the VA say it could be an exciting new direction. Facial expressions can indicate the presence of autism, PTSD and other disorders. The Autism & Beyond app uses a smartphone camera and an algorithm to read children’s facial expressions…

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Tool Could Modify Genes to Treat Cancer, Autism

A new technique could allow scientists to edit and repair the human genome, and perhaps one day treat diseases or conditions linked to our genes. Researchers have figured out how to use the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9, on the messenger RNA that carries genetic instructions from the cell’s nucleus to make new proteins. The experiment, by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, could lead to new treatments for diseases caused by malfunctions in the messenger RNA, such as fragile X syndrome, some types of cancer, autism and…

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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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