A New App May Help With Early Diagnosis of Autism

A new video analysis tool may help spot early signs of autism. The software, which is currently under development as a tablet application, tracks and records infants’ activity during videotaped autism screening tests.

Results show the program is as effective at spotting behavioral markers of autism as experts giving the test themselves, and the software performs better than non-expert medical clinicians and students in training.

“We’re not trying to replace the experts,” says Jordan Hashemi, a graduate student in computer and electrical engineering at Duke University.

“We’re trying to transfer the knowledge of the relatively few autism experts available into classrooms and homes across the country. We want to give people tools they don’t currently have, because research has shown that early intervention can greatly impact the severity of the symptoms common in autism spectrum disorders.”

Read the full story here.

Photo Credit: Tia/Flickr

Temple Grandin Goes on a Journey Inside Her Brain

Fascinating brain imaging done on Temple’s brain at Carnegie Mellon University. The discovery is incredible, and it explains so much about why autistic and aspergers kids would be brilliant at some things, but lack the socially acceptable skills.. Worth watching and sharing with parents of neuro-typical kids!

Happy Birthday!

So Sam is now officially 12. One more year of pre-teen-hood.. officially, because unofficially he’s already there. He was so excited he could hardly sleep for days.

He wrote his list of presents he “needs” and just to make sure I don’t forget, he also emailed me his detailed list. With prices and possible places where I can find them. His number one wish was to have a NintendoDS 3D.. I have refused to get one for him every since they came out. So now, the guilt really got me, and I succumbed to yet another digital mind numbing device. He’s been so attached to his iPad lately, that I figured, he will get the 3D and forget all about his wonderful science apps that he is using now. But I couldn’t not get it for him after he asked and begged since Thanksgiving last year.. Then followed the numbered and alphabetically organized Hero Factory and Star Wars lego sets.  The list was fairly long, but I couldn’t help but aplaude the fact that he knows exactly what he wants, and has spelled it out perfectly!

So, one day of shopping and a couple of hundred dollars later, I had checked everything off the list, plus my own list: Balloons – check, Cake ingredients – check, a bottle of carbonated apple juice in a fancy champaign looking bottle – check. Yes, I did make him a Vanilla Cake with Vanilla cream filling and sliced almonds on top…

The morning of his birthday, I took one of the balloons and went to wake him up. He shot out of his bed, unlike other mornings when he takes his time to wake up… He grabbed the balloon, said “thank you!” and rushed downstairs.. I was running after him to tell him that he doesn’t have time to open presents now, as we had to leave very soon to get to an appointment. He turned around and said “I know I just want to check if you got it correctly…. ”  Wow, no pressure.

He peaked carefully in every bag, nodding in approval, and mumbling. .”uhum.. yes.. ok.. yeah..that’s it..” and then he said, “You are missing two..but that’s ok, I love you anyway..” He was about to rush upstairs again to get ready, but I stopped him. I said “Sam, aren’t you going to say something?” “Oh, Thank you!” he said.. And rushed again.

If he were your neurotypical 12 year old,  he would be considered selfish, inconsiderate, bad mannered… But Aspergers and Autistic people don’t think like you and I. And there is nothing wrong with not using the generally accepted rules of courtesy.

The funny thing is, that sometimes, Sam would blow your mind with courtesies – he would introduce his grandmother to people we meet outside of home, he would open the door and hold it for other people, he would ask his tutor how her weekend was, and if she would like something to drink. It inevitably makes me ask myself, whether it’s family members that he considers unworthy of his effort to be courteous. Or is it may be the fact that he thinks, ah well, they know I love them, and they love me, so why should I keep telling and showing them something they already know..

But also, people easily forget that children and adults with Aspergers are not as tuned in to other people’s emotions as neurotipicals are. They don’t understand why they need to say all these niceties when they’ve made a logical request, they’ve calculated everything, they’ve asked you, and you’ve delivered. So the logical thing would be to check if everything is in place, and oh, yeah, some things are missing, but “I Love You Anyway!”

That last statement for me was more than enough to show me that he appreciated the presents and he loves me. I will take anything and understand and encourage him to be more sensitive. But unless I actually give him specific examples, feed him lines in certain situations, he will not voluntarily come up with it. And it’s not something that Sam or any child like him should be punished for, if they don’t do. Their brains are wired differently, and unless caretakers, teachers, parents and relatives, understand this, the children will suffer, and they will not know exactly why. There is no need for the “consequence” route. It will not sink it! It will not have the desired effect, and ultimately it will make them more resentful, because they don’t understand WHY they are being punished!

I love the fact that he built all of his 6 lego kits in less than 5 hours… A task that would probably take me 5 days… And I don’t guarantee success..

He may not be always on the ball with other people’s emotions, but boy, is he focused, smart and skilled!

Happy Birthday Sam!!! I love you too!

–Mom

I say potato, you say Angry Birds! or “BEHIND THE CURTAIN”

The Sun was shining straight into his eyes, making him squint and wrinkle up his nose. This half-old, half-baby look gave him an appearance of a wise man who never had interest in keeping up with the time that flowed around him. Like a stone in a river, he just got shinier and smoother, but didn’t engage in the race of the water currents. He looked at me and said, “So, you want to play a game? I know my brother has Angry Birds on his phone, so we can get it on my iPad too and play it!”  But that wasn’t what I had in mind. I wanted to play a word association game.

He looked at me and his first reaction was “Is it on the computer? Do you have a toy with it? Is it on your phone?” “No,” I said. “Oh, so then it will be very boring!”

I can see how a conversation without a device in the middle can be a problem, not only for children on the spectrum, but also to people of all ages. I’ve noticed, (myself included) that there hardly are any more uninterrupted conversations. A quick glance to check if someone messaged me, or to just see the time…

He was apprehensive, but we started anyway. I wanted to find out how far from a word’s meaning he can deviate, so I can try to track his thought process and see what led him to that word.. How Jung-esque of me to attempt to enter my child’s mind, by tricking my way in behind the colorful curtain of his world.

“Potato!” – I said. “Angry Birds!” was his answer. That’s great, I thought! There is an abstract notion and logic that I could go after with some additional questions to find out, what led him from potato to the Angry Birds game. Alas, as our game progressed, I found that his initial response, was simply reiterating his desire to play a game that involved a device, rather than a psychological journey of association.

In this case, I said to myself, let’s go the other way, and say something expected, to see what else he will come up with. So I said “Bird!” “Trees!” he replied.

Me: Bench –  Sam: Chair

Me: Piano – Sam: Harp

Me: Japan – Sam: Tokyo

Me: Elevator – Sam: Escalator

Me: Shopping – Sam: Target

Me: Bullet – Sam: Shotgun

Me: TV – Sam: Video

Me: Boxing – Sam: Figiting

Me: Doves – Sam: Seagulls

Me: Fabric – Sam: Hair

Me: Music – Sam: Notes

Me: Paint – Sam: Colors

Me: Elephants – Sam: Grey

Me: Venus – Sam: Mercury

Me: Books – Sam: Library

Me: Mountains – Sam: Hills

Me: Cheese – Sam: Cheddar (his favorite)

Me: Winter – Sam: Summer

Me: Mexico – Sam: Scandinavia

Me: Desk – Sam: Table

So, needless to say, my Jung-inspired experiment failed. There are only a couple of times when he had an unpredictable answer that shone some light, and brought hope that with practice, this may be a good communication enriching tool. The one kernel of hope is in Fabric-Hair, where I thought he is definitely reaching out of his pre-conditioned self.

Ever since I found out (or rather, accepted the fact) that he is on the spectrum, I have been looking for common ground, for shortcuts, and baits, for his personality and knowledge to come out. When he was a baby, and wasn’t expected to speak, we had most intense “dialogues” with our eyes.  I’d look at him with a thought of a game I want to play with him, or a place i want to take him to, but I wouldn’t verbalize it. And he would look back at me with an expression of “I got it! I’m so excited, I can’t wait! Let’s do it! Let’s go!”  Once, my mother noticed me looking in his direction in that manner, and asked what I was doing. My dad told her “They are talking… Leave them alone!” The connection with him has always been very intense. So much so, that his ability to recognize my emotional status without me telling him anything, was absolutely amazing. There was a time, when I had a lot on mind. So one day, even though I smiled and told him we would go to eat ice cream if he wanted, he sat in the back of the car, and said – “I have the saddest mom in the world.  And I don’t know what to do to help her be happy.”  This of course was at a much later time. He was about 7 or 8 when he made these Yoda-like observations.

Now, at age 12, with a deeper new voice, almost 5.7′ tall, and a bit of facial hair, he seems so much more adult and “proper.”  Together with his baby high-pitched voice, he seems to have sadly lost some of his eccentric, almost clairvoyant ability to read the deepest secret feelings of people..

Given the fact that he is diagnosed with all these disorders (Aspergers, Autism, ADHD, in no particular order of importance), at age 12, his thinking is quite straight forward. Using correlation with an almost mathematical precision,  he moved from one word to the next, conforming carefully to what’s expected to be the “correct” answer.

In a way, although not completely successful, societal norms, have robbed him of his ability to be entirely spontaneous and creative… With some exceptions he provided answers, that in the “real” world will be accepted, in a multiple choice setting. How sad is it, that the most that’s expected of our kids is to make a choice of 3 or 4 answers, with only one considered correct. Well, what if, when left without options for correct answers, children like Sam, as well as the so called “neurotypical” kids, can look beyond what’s already discovered, catalogued, numbered and regurgitated a million times, and actually INVENT something new! What if it’s the 21st century, there is more that we don’t know, rather than what we know. Kids like Sam hold the key to creativity and unconventional ways of achieving goals, shortcuts to success, which we may have long lost, given all the norms and rules we need to follow.

I observe Sam growing up and as much as my concern about what will happen to him as he gets older, is growing proportionally with him, there is a sense of promise. There is also a feeling of security, that he will be ok. In all his corkiness, dorky-ness and naiveté, there shines through, a steadfast determination to achieve and learn whatever stands in his way of knowledge and perfection. He approaches everything with curiosity of a child, the methodical research of a scientist, and the repetition and preparation of an actor. His joy is infectious, his smile is like sunshine and I know, that he will go places. On his terms and on his time…