NetWellness Autism

Autism

L. Arnold MD, MEd — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:10:00 EST

Question: why my 13 year old continues to put things in her mouth, and chews on everything?

Answer: Mouthing things is typical for infants as a way of exploring and learning about the environment. With maturity, the exploration is done more with the hands and in other ways and mouthing is confined to things identified as food. However, several things can cause the less mature mouthing to persist o . . .

Ask an Expert: L. Arnold MD, MEd, Autism

Aspergers, Schizophrenia or Both?

Luc Lecavalier PhD — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:08:00 EST

Question: I`m a 19 year old male and as far back as i can remember [during childhood as well] i have always had obsessions and social problems.

I have always been obsessed with numbers and dates etc, remembering phone numbers, car plates and peoples birthdays.

Limited interests such as biology, vide . . .

Answer: Hello, I encourage you to see a licensed mental health professional (i.e., a psychiatrist or psychologist) if you feel distraught and want a better understand of what you are experiencing.

A psychiatric evaluation is meant to lead to treatment planning and a diagnosis is only part of the . . .

Ask an Expert: Luc Lecavalier PhD, Autism

Vitamin D

L. Arnold MD, MEd — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:06:00 EST

Question: My grandson is 7 and has been diagnosed with autism. I read an article that said low levels of vitamin d have been associated with autism. If we gave our grandson some supplemental vitamin d, would it help? Thanks.

Answer: We can't be sure vitamin D will help, but it is not likely to harm if supplemented in moderation. Each individual's nutritional status should be evaluated.

In recent research we have found that although on average children with autism consume an adequate diet as a group, most have deficiencies . . .

Ask an Expert: L. Arnold MD, MEd, Autism

Autism over Time

Daniel Coury MD — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:05:00 EST

Question: Can some people grow out of autism/aspergers?

Answer:

A large percentage of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) improve as they mature, with behaviors that caused difficulty when they were younger becoming less problematic. This is especially true in Asperger's cases, where these people have good cognitive abilities and learn to compensate . . .

Ask an Expert: Daniel Coury MD, Autism

Food

Paula Rabidoux PhD/CCC-SLP — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:05:00 EST

Question: Is there any evidence that Food Chaining works with older children? My son is a young teen. He is an extremely picky eater, typical of Asperger`s, plus he has some other stuff, we call him Alphabet soup, for all the acronyms.

The food pickiness has gotten worse since middle school started and I . . .

Answer: Dear Parent: You've already tried and completed many excellent interventions for your son. Food chaining is a behavioral intervention to address food selectivity and has been used successfully with many children.

My concern in your case is that your son's food selectivity has recently worsened . . .

Ask an Expert: Paula Rabidoux PhD/CCC-SLP, Autism

Adopted child and birth fathers

L. Arnold MD, MEd — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:05:00 EST

Question: I may be adopting a newborn who has a sibling with autism. Would different birthfathers have any outcome on this baby being autistic?

Answer: The answer to this question depends partly on how much genetics contributes to autism. The current thinking is that the genetic contribution is substantial, possibly through conferring vulnerability to environmental stressors. Genetic vulnerability would come half from each parent if it depends on n . . .

Ask an Expert: L. Arnold MD, MEd, Autism

Autism and translocation of 1 & 4 chromosomes

Daniel Coury MD — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:03:00 EST

Question: I am a mother of four and have a balanced translocation involving chromosomes 1 and 4. I have 2 children (b) and (g) who both have an imbalance creating extra chromosome 4. Both have Autistic like tendancies only one, the boy, has been diagnosed as having Autism. He also has mild craniosynastosis, n . . .

Answer: This is a common question arising from our increasing ability to look at very specific chromosomal and genetic changes. The answer is: We don't know.

At present, several hundred gene abnormalities have been identified in children with autism, and among them are a variety of abnormalities with b . . .

Ask an Expert: Daniel Coury MD, Autism

Autism

L. Arnold MD, MEd — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:02:00 EST

Question: I am a mother of a 2 year old boy. Can you tell me if there is real link between Vaccines and autism. I have been giving vaccines to our son on a regular basis but after reading everywhere about the link between vaccinatons and autism I am really worried my son might get autism. Is Autism a conditio . . .

Answer: More research is needed regarding causes of autism. Although there is clearly a genetic predisposition, genes are only expressed through interaction with the environment, which could include the increased frequency and variety of vaccinations (among other things). However, vaccinations have not been . . .

Ask an Expert: L. Arnold MD, MEd, Autism

Has my nephew been misdiagnosed or misled?

Paula Rabidoux PhD/CCC-SLP — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:01:00 EST

Question: My nephew is 6 years old. He did not speak a single word until he was 4.5 years old. He does speak now, but speaks as though a person who is deaf speaks. He is not very coordinated or athletic. He is rather slow and clumsy. He usually has a snotty nose and doesn`t care. He just seems to behave like . . .

Answer: I'm glad that your nephew is in school and doing well. Based on your description of his characteristics: very late to talk, speaks like a person who is deaf, slow and clumsy, aloof and simple, does interact with people - I would also be concerned about your nephew's development.

To identify any . . .

Ask an Expert: Paula Rabidoux PhD/CCC-SLP, Autism

Could my daughter be autistic?

Daniel Coury MD — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:11:00 EST

Question: I think she might be autistic at the moment im on my wits end wondering what could be the cause of her behavior. First of all she appears in her own world and finds it hard to react to things going on around her lets say someone waving at her,at the mall or anywhere crowded she gets really disorient . . .

Answer: Thanks for your question. The description you give for your child is indeed confusing. When you describe her language as quite normal, it suggests this is not autism. When you describe these episodes of being in her own world, and being disoriented as to how to respond to others sometimes, it is les . . .

Ask an Expert: Daniel Coury MD, Autism