FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- It's not a particular brain region that makes someone smart or not smart. Nor is it the strength and speed of the connections throughout the brain or such features as total brain volume. Instead, new research shows, it's the connections between very specific areas of the brain that determine intelligence and often, by extension, how well someone does in life. "General intelligence actually relies on a specific network inside the brain, and this is the connections between the gray matter, or cell bodies, and the white matter, or connecting fibers between neurons," said Jan Glascher, lead author of a paper appearing in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "General intelligence relies on the connection between the frontal and the parietal [situated behind the frontal] parts of the brain." The results weren't entirely unexpected, said Keith Young, vice chairman of research in psychiatry and behavioral science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple, but "it is confirmation of the idea that good communication between various parts of brain are very important for this generalized intelligence." General intelligence is an abstract notion developed in 1904 that has always been somewhat controversial. "People noticed a long time ago that, in general, people who are good test-takers did well in a lot of different subjects," explained Young. "If you're good in mathematics, you're also usually good in English. Researchers came up with this idea that this represented a kind of overall intelligence." "General intelligence is this notion that smart people tend to be smart across all different kinds of domains," added Glascher, who is a postdoctoral fellow in the department of humanities and social sciences at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Hoping to learn more, the authors located 241 patients who had some sort of brain lesion. They then diagrammed the location of their lesions and had them take IQ tests. "We took patients who had damaged parts of their brain, tested them on intelligence to see where they were good and where they were bad, then we correlated those scores across all the patients with the location of the brain lesions," Glascher explained. "That way, you can highlight the areas that are associated with reduced performance on these tests which, by the reverse inference, means these areas are really important for general intelligence." "These studies infer results based on the absence of brain tissue," added Paul Sanberg, distinguished professor of neurosurgery and director of the University of South Florida Center for Aging and Brain Repair in Tampa. "It allows them to systemize and pinpoint areas important to intelligence." Young said the findings echo what's come before. "The map they came up with was what we expected and involves areas of the cortex we thought would be involved -- the parietal and frontal cortex. They're important for language and mathematics," he said. In an earlier study, the same team of investigators found that this brain network was also important for working memory, "the ability to hold a certain number of items [in your mind]," Glascher said. "In the past, people have associated general intelligence very strongly with enhanced working memory capacity so there's a close theoretical connection with that."
MMR doctor proved right in week he was condemned as 'dishonest' In the week that the doctor at the centre of the controversy over the MMR vaccine and autism was called “dishonest, irresponsible and callous” by a medical disciplinary board, a new study has been published that suggests he could be right all along. Researchers in New York have discovered that children with autism spectrum disorder also had inflammation in the ileum, part of the small intestine – the exact same discovery made by Dr Andrew Wakefield, who may now lose his medical license following a 30-month hearing at the General Medical Council. Wakefield noted that the children he saw also had been given the triple MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, and he speculated that it might be the cause. After the publication of his paper in The Lancet in 1998, vaccination rates dropped dramatically as parents in the UK refused to have their children vaccinated. The new study, from the New York University School of Medicine, discovered that 143 children with autism spectrum disorder also suffered from chronic gastrointestinal symptoms, and inflammation in the small intestine. As the vaccine is compulsory in the US, where the children live, it is reasonable to assume that most, if not all, were vaccinated – although the researchers do not suggest that it was the cause of the inflammation they detected. (Source: Autism Insights, 2010; 2: 1-11). Story from WDDTY: http://www.wddty.com/mmr-doctor-proved-right-in-week-he-was-condemned-as-dishonest.html
I can't wait for Sebastian to come home for his birthday this weekend,we are going to have sooooo much fun!!!!!!!
I am not a big tv person..I don't even have cable...but I found the show The Middle a while back and am hooked! It's quite clear that Brick, youngest child is aspie. I love watching this show becuase it is like reliving my grown son's childhood! I can laugh and laugh now at things that back then worried me. It also goes to show...tv shows are starting to mirror what so many of us have already lived. If you have not seen the show...here is a link...watch the first one and you will catch on to Brick quickly. Oh I picked my son up at the airport the other day..and found him after fight, sitting waiting for his baggage...a big thick book in his hands, loving every minute of life. I have the grown up version of Brick.... :) http://tvgorge.com/shows/the-middle/
:-) I'm new here. I just wanted to blog and introduce myself and my family.. I can tell I will be using this site a lot.. If for nothing else, at least for support from those in similar situations and for self stress relief due to blogging ( there's some thing rather calming about getting it all out there.. haha) I am the mom of three amazing kiddos. Ceairra is my eldest and just turned 8. She's in the second grade and despite every thing going on around her she is amazingly well adjusted and happy. She enjoys tap dancing and basket ball and daily, is finding new things she wants to try. Our son Evan is 5. He was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome in June of 2009. He is an extremely gifted child, learning to read at the age of 3. He hopes to one day be a " junior lawyer" or "junior president". When I questioned him as to if either of these existed he told me that he would " do extensive research on google" to find out.. lol. Needless to say, he is amazing. Our youngest daughter is 2. And when I say she is 2 I do mean that she also ACTS like she is 2.. haha.. attitude and all. She is gaining her independence and when asked any thing thru out out the day, her response is a simple " NO!" The other two members of our family include my husband and I. I am a full time student, starting late at the age of 26..hehe.. but determined to make it work. I am majoring in education and Behavioral science. My husband Ron recently turned 31 years young. At the age of 28 he went in to end stage heart failure, and as of 6 months ago, is a HEART TRANSPLANT SURVIVOR!! Yah! Ron! .. As you can see, I am thrilled beyond belief by how blessed we have been. Any how, That is enough introduction for now.. but I hope to learn more about all of you soon and have the chance to browse the site some more to take advantage of all the information. Being new to this, I am really hoping to learn more about the public school system and our rights as parents :-) Tina
I remember getting the crushing diagnosis of autism from our neurologist
Posted By : KevinLivsDad on 04th Feb 2010
What a Difference Talk about a long time between posts (More on my Son part 36) It has been over 2 months since my last entry... WOW! Quite a while, well let me see what I can piece together and still try to keep it under a few pages. Not that it matters. I am not expecting a lot of readers or comments.. I am writing this for me probably more than for anyone else. Sometimes my stress level just seems to demand some sort of outlet, this is as good as any and probably better than most other options. Guess I will start with venting a little bit and then move into events and hopefully it will all come together in some decent order that can be followed by anyone who reads this. Part of me wants to scratch the part of the last entry nominating the teacher for sainthood, but then my Catholic guilt reminds me that she probably tried as hard as she could, I even remember at one thinking maybe we broke her (referring to her teaching spirit). I am sure she just got to a point where she could not take it anymore. On the advice of our advocate we did get our son into see a behavior specialist in early December, within a few weeks of the last IEP. After his visit the doctor prescribed a medication he felt my stem his aggressive behavior. I was against the medicine immediately. More truthfully, I was scared! Scared... of a couple of things: 1) For me: How much will it change him – I know his aggressive behavior is not acceptable in a school environment, but I do not want to chemically change him. He IS MY SON. I LOVE HIM FOR WHO HE IS PERIOD. 2) For Him: How will it change him? What will he think is going on? Will there rebound when the medicine wears off in the afternoon? Will this be a lifelong medication? Now here is where it gets a little more scary. I began researching the drug on line and while two independent studies were cited as showing a decrease in aggressive behavior in children with autism, no clear explanation was given as to how?. Are you thinking the same thing I am? Even after calling the drug information line for the manufacturer of the medicine. “You designed and then made the drug. How can you not have at least an idea of how it works do decrease the instances of aggressive behavior?” That conversation could be an entire entry on it's own. We decided to at least postpone trying the medication until he completed the MUSC study on DHA which would be the end of the year. Now back to the school. His school schedule was changed to try and minimize the number of teachers he would have to interact with during his normal day. For reasons never fully explained to us he would no longer have any instruction from Mrs L. Instead he would be moved to Mrs. C's classroom for most of the morning lessons and then would spend most of the afternoon with the Mrs. T, a Special Educator, at the school. Her environment was very small 1 to 2 other students. From day 1 in Mrs. T.'s environment, it never seemed to work well. On the Tuesday, before the last week of school before Christmas break, I was called and asked to come pick him up he is suspended for 3 days for hitting Mrs T in the face. My wife picked him up the day before and spoke directly with Mrs. T, who told her when she tried to do hand over hand prompting with him after an initial refusal he it her in the neck.. no mention of completing a disciplinary form or intent to request suspension was even mentioned or eluded to. Yet, here the next day I am called and told he is suspended for 3 days (Wed, Thurs, & Fri) because of that incident. I was livid, why was I not told the day of the incident, why waste a day? Why was this not conveyed the to my wife when she picked him up the day before. I received some lame excuses about it being late, near the end of the school-day and time was a factor. I guess I feel somethings are important to work a little late for. That night I tried contacting our advocate, who is difficult to get a hold of, with no luck. I read through the student handbook and found something that I thought, based on my interpretation, was against the rules for them to suspend him. Well, it was my mis-interpretation so my efforts to get him in the school the next day were rebuffed. I did contact Dr. G the next day and we had a lengthy conversation on the phone where the ambiguous policy in the manual was explained to me. Although I still disagreed, because why suspend a student, which could be interpreted as a reward (at least by a student who thinks and interprets things differently than others) consequences should be made evident at the time of negative behavior, not 20 hours later! Because, if the number of days on suspension nears 10, the student cannot be suspended anymore until a meeting is held between all the concerned parties, so it begs the question what does the school do with the child until that meeting is concluded. Anyway, after very lengthy discussion with the Dr, I was able to convince her to call the principal on our son's behalf and allow him to at least attend his class's Christmas party, since socialization is such an important and critical aspect of countering Autism. We were able to get this done for him. I was thrilled if for no other reason that the principal told me the suspension WOULD stand. After the first of the year we started trying the medication. The results was like night and day. His energy level remained the same, everything seemed to be the same, except for aggressive behavior. The first 3 weeks back at school, no aggressive tendencies were reported. We had a few instances of pushing or tapping, but they were noted to be of a non-aggressive nature. We were ecstatic. Then the fourth week. A case of hitting, then a second second case. All were the results of someone else hitting him. We began stressing to him that he should raise his hand and inform the teacher. The third case he admitted to hitting back, but after raising his hand to tell the teacher. Now today, suspension for a day for hitting a student in the face at recess who tugged on the back of his jacket. I am still gathering some of the details regarding this newest instance. Some more backfill of information. We have also changed providers for his ABA therapy services at home. We are more than thrilled with how different things have been since. More consistent visits form the therapy coordinator/lead (we are talking weekly here). No missed visits from the line therapist. We have added sessions with a speech therapist from the same provider. All work TOGETHER. Communication is better. Tracking therapy tasks, goals, progress, techniques updated almost daily. Progress... phenomenal! The contact the school, to discuss how to coordinate techniques for homework, receive feedback on his efforts during class, his progress, his behavior. The let the school know how they are working to minimize his negative behaviors and offer suggestions to them. I said communication is better; no, it is GREAT! We do see progress in him, we see him growing, we see him trying. I keep reminding myself how challenging this must be for him.
I know I shouldn't complain. There are so many other families who have much more complicated cases than mine. But there are days I just don't think I can go on much longer. No matter how much therapy, one-on-one time and social stories I do, nothing really seems to change for the better. My son is now 15 and in that uncoordinated, scatter-brained stage of adolescence! Now, normally, this would be fine and more tolerable if he didn't have autism. But the autism just complicates everything. For instance, take his bathroom manners. He used to be so clean and neat in the bathroom. He didn't like the feeling of messy. Now, I constantly find urine "spilled" on the floor or poop smeared on the toilet seat and inner rim, left over from his clean-up attempts. Or the toilet plugs up at least once a day because he can't pay attention long enough to listen for and watch that the toilet flushes properly. He uses WAY too much toilet paper and wet wipes and poops up a storm that fills the bowl. All that combined makes for one giant and nasty mess. Then there's the spit of water and toothpaste all over the bathroom counter, sink and mirror. We renovated the bathroom specifically based on his special needs. We put in large, vessel sinks that we hoped would "contain" the mess! Didn't work! I end up having to clean the bathroom 2-3 times a day. His younger brother is so disgusted by this (because it hits his things) that he refuses to use the same bathroom as his older brother. Hey, I don't blame him. When it's shower time, he doesn't pay attention to whose towel he uses. He just grabs whatever one is hanging nearby. And the water on the floor? The amount of it just about equals what you'd need to fill a small kiddie pool outside in your backyard! It's discouraging. No matter how much time I spend teaching him, showing him, instructing him, pleading with him, begging him to please be more careful and watch what he's doing, the worse it becomes! I'm simply too tired, weary and worn out to be able to do anything else in my house. By the time I finish cleaning up after his mess in the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen/living room areas, I don't want to clean anything else in the house! I'm not getting any of my other projects done.
Posted By : momof2boyz on 03rd Feb 2010
This summer I observed a special needs classroom with children from all over the autistic spectrum. It was such a humbling experience and I will never forget it. There was a child in the class who had been involved in an incident a week prior that, when told to me, blew me away. The child had seen one of the female children trying to take her pants off, and he immediately went up to her and made motions suggesting a sexual encounter. Mind you, he was seven years old. The mother was single and refused to talk to any of the staff at school after the incident was brought up. It made me feel terribly for the child, who did not know he was doing anything wrong, as well as the mother, who clearly was not prepared to make lifestyle changes conducive of getting her son the best help he could get. I told myself that if I could become involved in the effort to educate the populace, find progressive and more effective treatment options and support for families with an autistic member, then perhaps I could contribute to the reduction of such instances as I was told about in that classroom.
