• Parenting News

    Enhanced motion perception in autism may point to an underlying cause of the disorder 

    1. Categories:
    2. Autism Spectrum

    Conduct Disorders Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study.

    Such heightened sensory perception in autism may help explain why some people with the disorder are painfully sensitive to noise and bright lights. It also may be linked to some of the complex social and behavioral deficits associated with autism, says Duje Tadin, one of the lead authors on the study and an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester.

    "We think of autism as a social disorder because children with this condition often struggle with social interactions, but what we sometimes neglect is that almost everything we know about the world comes from our senses. Abnormalities in how a person sees or hears can have a profound effect on social communication," says Tadin.
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    Study finds nearly 5 million asthmatics worldwide could benefit from antifungal 

    1. Categories:
    2. Asthma and Allergies,
    3. Medication

    Conduct Disorders An estimated 4,837,000 asthmatics with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) could benefit substantially from antifungal treatment, say researchers from the University of Toronto and Manchester University.

    Their work has also re-estimated the total number of asthmatics worldwide – to reveal a staggering 193 million sufferers. Twenty-four million asthma sufferers live in the United States, 20 million each in India and China, and seven million in the United Kingdom.

    Clinical studies have shown that oral antifungal drugs significantly improve symptoms and asthma control in asthmatics with ABPA, treatment endorsed by the Cochrane Collaboration. This is the first time that a global estimate of ABPA numbers has been made.
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    90% of pediatric specialists not following guidelines for preschoolers with ADHD 

    1. Categories:
    2. ADHD/ADD

    Conduct Disorders Some prescribe medication too soon; others not even as a second-line treatment

    A recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York examined to what extent pediatric physicians adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical guidelines regarding pharmacotherapy in treating young patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The results showed that more than 90 percent of medical specialists who diagnose and manage ADHD in preschoolers do not follow treatment guidelines recently published by the AAP.

    "It is unclear why so many physicians who specialize in the management of ADHD -- child neurologists, psychiatrists and developmental pediatricians -- fail to comply with recently published treatment guidelines," said Andrew Adesman, MD, senior investigator and chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park. "With the AAP now extending its diagnosis and treatment guidelines down to preschoolers, it is likely that more young children will be diagnosed with ADHD even before entering kindergarten. Primary care physicians and pediatric specialists should recommend behavior therapy as the first line treatment."
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    Children with milk allergy may be 'allergic to school' 

    1. Categories:
    2. Asthma and Allergies

    Conduct Disorders Chalk dust can contain milk protein, triggering respiratory symptoms

    Many of today's school teachers opt for dustless chalk to keep hands and classrooms clean. But according to the study this choice in chalk may cause allergy and asthma symptoms in students that have a milk allergy.

    Casein, a milk protein, is often used in low-powder chalk. When milk allergic children inhale chalk particles containing casein, life-threatening asthma attacks and other respiratory issues can occur.

    "Chalks that are labeled as being anti-dust or dustless still release small particles into the air," said Carlos H. Larramendi, MD, lead study author. "Our research has found when the particles are inhaled by children with milk allergy, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath can occur. Inhalation can also cause nasal congestion, sneezing and a runny nose."
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    UCSB researchers successfully treat autism in infants 

    1. Categories:
    2. Autism Spectrum

    Conduct Disorders Most infants respond to a game of peek-a-boo with smiles at the very least, and, for those who find the activity particularly entertaining, gales of laughter. For infants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), however, the game can be distressing rather than pleasant, and they'll do their best to tune out all aspects of it –– and that includes the people playing with them.

    That disengagement is a hallmark of ASD, and one of the characteristics that amplifies the disorder as infants develop into children and then adults.

    A study conducted by researchers at the Koegel Autism Center at UC Santa Barbara has found that replacing such games in favor of those the infant prefers can actually lessen the severity of the infants' ASD symptoms, and, perhaps, alleviate the condition altogether.
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