Category: Therapy

Therapy Cat Helps 6-Year-Old Girl With Autism

AHO Admin

  Wherever 6-year-old Iris Grace Halmshaw goes, 2-year-old Thula is sure to follow. When Iris is painting outside, Thula is always nearby, exploring in the garden. They play with the same toys in their fairy-tale-like playroom, take baths together, learn new things together, go on adventures and fall asleep together after long, exciting days. They sound like sisters. And while the two best friends are like family, there is one striking difference: Thula is a Maine Coon cat and Iris is a child with autism, diagnosed at age 2. Together…

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Scientists Glean Insight On Rare Type Of Autism

AHO Admin

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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