Autism Spectrum Disorder DSM-5

As we have previously posted up an article on the changes of the DSM-5, here's a video that explains the changes in greater detail:

 

 

Taken from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILiX9gGd0Ik

Brotherly Love

Here's a beautiful story of an individual explaining what it is like to have a brother with autism. Watch and share their inspiring story.

 

 

Taken from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHC0FzywHGY#action=share

Empowering Autistic Adults

An interesting video! Take a look:

10 Famous People With Autism

10. Albert Einstein

One notable person who deserves a place on our list of 10 famous people with autism is Albert Einstein. He was not able to read early in his childhood. He had difficulty in social situations and had lots of learning difficulties in school. He did not care much about how he looked or dressed or what he ate. His difficulties in school can probably be traced to the fact that there were no teaching techniques for autistics when he was young so he had no skills to learn the pattern that was taught then. Einstein’s almost un-natural focus on his work early in life led him to outdistance everyone in his study of physics and the development of his mathematical breakthroughs and the theory of relativity.

9. Amadeus Mozart

 

Amadeus Mozart one of the most gifted of composers in musical history may have been autistic. He had great difficulty negotiating normal social situations. His hearing was very sensitive and loud noises made him physically ill. He constantly was observed making facial expressions and was always actively moving his feet and his hands. He was literally unable to carry on an intellectual conversation. It is said that one day he became bored and jumped over tables in the room and meowed like a cat while doing somersaults. His overachieving genius in the field of music far outdistanced his contemporaries and was off the scale in the depth and enormity of his work.

8. Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton was not very adept at social small talk or even conversations that most people would have. He many times forgot to eat because he was so focused on his work. He was not ever able to make any close associations with people because he apparently did not know how, nor was he interested at all in people. He relied a great deal on routines, which he used to order his life. For example if he were scheduled to present a lecture, the lecture would occur even if there were no one present to hear it. Of course Newton became one of most famous and renowned physicists in history.

7. Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was as a child very solitary. As he grew he avoided contact with people, preferring to write letter rather than communicate directly. He eventually focused on things and gadgets. His nearly total focus on natural items led to this theory of evolution, which occupied almost all of his time. He was very fixated and was a visual thinker, a trait common to autistics.

6. Thomas Jefferson

 

Thomas Jefferson was shy, did not like public speaking, and did not relate with other people well. He was very eccentric and would attend important meetings wearing slippers always with a mocking bird sitting on his shoulder. His obsession with writing letters and a passion for always remodelling his home are autistic characteristics. He also had difficulty with finances and died having considerable debts. His genius and focus gave us the third presidency of the United States, Declaration of Independence, and the Louisiana Purchase.

5. Michelangelo

 

Michelangelo had genius as an artist that ranged far beyond genius and may have been a symptom of an autistic person. He would become lost in his work to the detriment of eating and caring for his personal hygiene. He had no real feel for relationships with people and was very brusque and rude at times. He was very obsessive and followed very strict routines and regimentation. The result of his work such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Pieta has graced the rest of us mightily.

4. Lewis Carroll

 

Lewis Carroll, author of Alice In Wonderland was a person who had a severe lack of social skills. He was very skilled in mathematics and was a minor inventor. He did not interact well with adults, but enjoyed the company of children instead. His writings took us to strange, mythical places that only his imagination could concoct.

3. Hans Christian Andersen

 

Hans Christian Andersen was known for his fairy tales for children such as the “Ugly Duckling” and “The Little Mermaid”. As a child he was awkward and had difficulty socially. He had difficulty cultivating any social skills and was fixated upon his writing. He exhibited signs of deep inner turmoil, which is reflected, in his writing.

2. James Joyce

 

James Joyce was an author noted for the difficulty that readers had in negotiating his works such as “Ulysses” and “Finnegan’s Wake”. He was extremely intelligent had had strange habits and phobias. He was very self-centred and exhibited a certain disdain for others. Critics claimed that is writings were made purposely difficult in order to maintain a certain distance between him and his readers. His difficulty of maintaining any close relationships and fanatic focus on his work were autistic in nature.

1. Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was an inventor and engineer noted for his expertise in electricity and energy. His intelligence and knowledge is said to have far surpassed Thomas Edison who is said to have “borrowed” some of Tesla’s ideas. Tesla was very eccentric and did associate well with people. He maintained his celibacy and would not enter a room if the room number was not divisible by 3. He was a recluse totally focused on his work and had many autistic behavioural patterns.

While there are certainly many more famous people who were probably autistic and deserve a place on the 10 famous people with autism list, this is a good cross section of people that illustrate some of the classic autistic behaviours, yet had unique genius which contributed mightily to the world around them and the world in general.

 

Taken from: http://www.omgtoplists.com/people/top-10-famous-people-with-autism-and-their-achievments/

Something To Ponder On...

Below is an interesting article on a study that was conducted by the University of Missouri School of Medicine on whether children with autism have distinct facial features. The results prove to be quite intriguing. Take a read below:

 

Google Image

 

Children with autism have distinct facial features: Study

(CBS) Scientists may not agree on what causes autism, but a new study that looked at kids' facial characteristics might help researchers understand the origins of the developmental disorder.

 

PICTURES: Is it autism? Facial features that show disorder

 

The study found that children with autism have distinct differences in facial characteristics than typically developing children.

 

"There is no clear answer about whether autism is caused by genetics or by environmental influences," study author Dr. Kristina Aldridge, assistant professor of anatomy at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, said in a written statement. "If we can identify when these facial changes occur, we could pinpoint when autism may begin to develop in a child."

 

For the study - published in the Oct. 14 issue of Molecular Autism - researchers compared facial features in 64 boys with autism with faces of 41 typically developing boys, all 8-12 years old, with a 3-D camera system. After mapping out 17 points on faces, the researchers found significant differences between the two groups.

 

The study found children with autism had wider eyes, and a "broader upper face," compared with typically developing children. According to the study, children with autism also had a shorter middle region of the face - including the nose and cheeks - as well as a wider mouth and philtrum, the divot above the lip and below the nose.

 

The study also found that children with more severe autism traits such as behavioral problems, language difficulties, and repetitive behaviors had distinct facial differences from other children with milder autism.

 

Aldridge said finding out when these changes occur will enable researchers to focus on finding the disorders' underlying causes.

 

"Knowing that point in time could lead us to identify a genetic cause, a window of time when the embryo may be susceptible to an environmental factor, or both," she said.

 

One out of every 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). People with an ASD may experience difficulties with social interaction, communication, intelligence, or behavior.

 

The CDC has more information on autism.

 

Taken from: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20123858-10391704/children-with-autism-have-distinct-facial-features-study/

 

Click here for another article that also supports this study.



Changes In The DSM-V

One of the most important changes in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The revised diagnosis represents a new, more accurate, and medically and scientifically useful way of diagnosing individuals with autism-related disorders.

 

Using DSM-IV, patients could be diagnosed with four separate disorders: autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, or the catch-all diagnosis of pervasive developmental dis- order not otherwise specified. Researchers found that these separate diagnoses were not consistently applied across different clinics and treatment centers. Anyone diagnosed with one of the four pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) from DSM-IV should still meet the criteria for ASD in DSM-5 or another, more accurate DSM-5 diagnosis. While DSM does not outline recommended treatment and services for mental disorders, determining an accurate diagnosis is a first step for a clinician in defining a treatment plan for a patient.

 

The Neurodevelopmental Work Group, led by Susan Swedo, MD, senior investigator at the National Institute of Mental Health, recommended the DSM-5 criteria for ASD to be a better reflection of the state of knowledge about autism. The Work Group believes a single umbrella disorder will improve the diagnosis of ASD without limiting the sensitivity of the criteria, or substantially changing the number of children being diagnosed.

 

People with ASD tend to have communication deficits, such as responding inappropriately in conversa- tions, misreading nonverbal interactions, or having difficulty building friendships appropriate to their age. In addition, people with ASD may be overly dependent on routines, highly sensitive to changes in their environment, or intensely focused on inappropriate items. Again, the symptoms of people with ASD will fall on a continuum, with some individuals showing mild symptoms and others having much more severe symptoms. This spectrum will allow clinicians to account for the variations in symptoms and behaviors from person to person.

 

Under the DSM-5 criteria, individuals with ASD must show symptoms from early childhood, even if those symptoms are not recognized until later. This criteria change encourages earlier diagnosis of ASD but also allows people whose symptoms may not be fully recognized until social demands exceed their capacity to receive the diagnosis. It is an important change from DSM-IV criteria, which was geared toward identifying school-aged children with autism-related disorders, but not as useful in diagnosing younger children.

 

The DSM-5 criteria were tested in real-life clinical settings as part of DSM-5 field trials, and analysis from that testing indicated that there will be no significant changes in the prevalence of the disorder. More recently, the largest and most up-to-date study, published by Huerta, et al, in the October 2012 issue of American Journal of Psychiatry, provided the most comprehensive assessment of the DSM-5 criteria for ASD based on symptom extraction from previously collected data. The study found that DSM-5 criteria identified 91 percent of children with clinical DSM-IV PDD diagnoses, suggesting that most children with DSM-IV PDD diagnoses will retain their diagnosis of ASD using the new criteria. Several other studies, using various methodologies, have been inconsistent in their findings.

 

DSM is the manual used by clinicians and researchers to diagnose and classify mental disorders. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) will publish DSM-5 in 2013, culminating a 14-year revision process.

APA is a national medical specialty society whose more than 36,000 physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treat- ment, prevention and research of mental illnesses, including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at www.psychiatry.org. For more information, please contact Eve Herold at 703-907-8640 or press@psych.org.

© 2013 American Psychiatric Association

 

Taken from: http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx

Permata Kurnia

Permata Kurnia, a centre to be opened in 2015 for about 100 children with autism, is currently looking for the best approach in handling children with autism. Recently its patron, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, visited the Tree House School in Muswell Hill in London, which uses ABA as their form of approach. Take a read of the article below:

 

Permata Kurnia to help kids with mild autism

LONDON: Permata Kurnia – to be opened in 2015 in Sentul – will help educate and train about 100 children with mild autism.

 

The working committee for the Permata Kurnia programme is looking into getting the best technique for its learning and education programme for autistic children.

 

“It has to be the best method and approach taken and we have to get it right (from the onset),” said Permata Negara patron Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor after visiting the Tree House School in Muswell Hill in London, which is a special school for children aged three to 19 diagnosed with autism.

 

“I am definitely impressed with what I have seen at the Tree House. We are still in the midst of finding out what is the best technique.

 

“It can either be an American or British method, or even a combination of both,” she said.

 

Rosmah had in 2010 visited the Ivymount School in the United States where music is used to help children understand their lessons better.

 

The Permata Kurnia centre, which is a new programme under Permata Negara, will help teach autistic children and address the problems faced by them.

 

 

Full article can be found here: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/07/04/Permata-Kurnia-to-help-kids-with-mild-autism.aspx

 

Click here for a related article.

Permata Kurnia Centre for Autistic Children

PUTRAJAYA: Permata has introduced a new branch to its programme, the Permata Kurnia programme (Permata Autisme), which is a comprehensive early intervention programme for autistic children and their families. 

Permata patron Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, who is also the prime minister's wife, said a Permata Kurnia centre worth RM28 million would be set up on 2.6 acres of land in Jalan Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

 

It is expected to be ready by February 2015.

 

"Children with autism cannot be treated but they can be managed. There are some who have high cognitive capabilities which cannot be developed due to social and communication deficits.

 

"Therefore, early intervention is important for autistic children to teach them how to live, take care of themselves, play and mingle.

 

With early intervention, they have the chance to be independent and not rely on intensive care," said Rosmah, at the programme's pre-launch ceremony in Seri Perdana here today.

 

She said the programme would also lessen the burden of families because sending autistic children to special centres would cost between RM2,000 and RM10,000 a month. - BERNAMA

 

 

Taken from: http://www.nst.com.my/latest/rm28-mil-permata-kurnia-centre-for-autistic-children-rosmah-1.248125

Autism's Point of View

 

Insights on autism, from an individual with autism herself. Temple Grandin gives us her views.

 

Spreading Through The Web

EAP Malaysia was recently highlighted on Healing Thresholds; "a free website dedicated to healing the lives of families touched by autism". This website provides an intensive directory of various autism therapies for parents, therapists, teachers and physicians.

Take a look at what they wrote about us:

News: Wisconsin Early Autism Project Goes to Malaysia

The Early Autism Project Malaysia (EAP) is the first autism organization in Malaysia. The director, Jochebed Isaacs, trained at the Wisconsin Early Autism Project. Isaacs explained, "Through early intervention programmes, children with autism learn to express themselves better and recognise the basic skills of life like playing with other children and identifying bullies." EAP begins with children as young as 18 months and works with them one-on-one. The therapy focus of EAP is based on applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and therapists work with each child on language, social skills,cognitive skills, and preparation for school. Currently EAP charges parents a fee, but they are working on a budget-friendly plan and also offer a free blog, Autismmalaysia.

Read the full original article here.

"iPad as a Visual Modelling Tool"

Recently there was a snippet of EAP in the news. One of our therapists was observed using the iPad as a visual modelling tool. A visual model (or video model) is a form of observational learning in which desired behaviors are learned by watching a video demonstration and then imitating the targeted behavior. In other words, our therapists will record themselves engaging in the expected behavior and show it to the children. Our kids will watch the video and learn what is expected of them. Henceforth, therapist and child will role model and practice the targeted behavior.

 

Here at EAP Malaysia, the iPad is widely used by our kids and staff. Most times, the iPad is a motivating factor for our children, thus used solely as a reinforcer to reward our kids after they have reached a specific target or collected enough tokens. Other times the iPad can be used to do certain programs in a more approachable and fun way. Children can learn to differentiate items and match them to those similar as well as learn do to puzzles. With this method our children simultaneously become reinforced whilst learning.

puzzles

matching

While the iPad is widely used with our kids at EAP Malaysia, the most common usage of the iPad around the globe is as a communication tool. Those that are non-verbal can find their voice through the use of various apps that have been specifically designed for these individuals. Here's a short video showing how the use of an iPad can go a long way for individuals with autism.

Re: Clarification on Our Media Coverage

Following the error in the previous article that The Star Newspaper posted, another article was published by The New Straits Times that served better justice to EAP Malaysia.

This article projects the importance of early intervention programmes and highlights the current affairs at EAP Malaysia. Furthermore, our Director conveys a few messages explaining some features of autism and the benefits of such intervention programmes.

Read the full article here.

 

This second article depicts a real-life account of one of the family's at EAP Malaysia, and how ABA has been a great benefit to not only their children but themselves too.

Read the full story here.

On another note, EAP Malaysia truly appreciates the opportunity to spread awareness on autism as well as the publicity on the services that we offer.

Clarification on Our Media Coverage.

The Star Newspaper recently published the following article about special education in Malaysia. (Here is the online version) EAP Malaysia was one of the companies featured in the story. We always appreciate the opportunity to spread awareness on autism and on the support and services that we offer. 

However we would like to clarify that the centre image depicting a circle of adults and children is not ours. The privacy and dignity of our children are two of the many values we uphold here at EAP Malaysia. In addition, we are known as Early Autism Project Malaysia and not Autism Malaysia Centre as stated in the article. 

The Star Newspaper will be publishing a short follow-up story this Sunday. So keep a look out for it and get yourselves a copy! 

Jacob Barnett on TEDxTeen.

EAP Malaysia shines the spotlight on Jacob Barnett, a child prodigy and math genius  diagnosed with mild autism at age 2. He was said to be "...socially withdrawn, even among family members, and was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. His parents started using a typical method for treating children with Autism, floor time therapy, where children are allowed to focus on subjects that interest them. Barnett showed an early interest in astronomy and...[click to view the rest of his story] "

He was featured on 60 Minutes at age 13, an American television program on CBS News, and then recently on TedxTeen in 2012. 

We thought we'd share it with you:

A Mother's Story on Instagram

I’ve had comments saying how “normal”, healthy, and happy Sammy seems in all my pictures. At first I admit I was a little shocked that people would assume that just because my daughter is autistic, she may not be like other children. After some thought and looking at other people’s perspective it makes sense, especially if they aren’t around autistic children.

Honestly before having my daughter I never really took the time to understand how autism affected kids. Also, the autism spectrum is so large that not every autistic child has the exact same struggles.

It’s hard because Sammy’s outer appearance shows a child who doesn’t have struggles or a disability, but she does. This is not sad or bad it’s just the way God made her. I automatically feel a bond with other mother's who care, love, and see the daily struggles that autism has on other children. It’s easy to decide that others don’t want to understand or won’t ever understand but the hard part is using any opportunity to educate and give new perspective on autism.

Yes my girl is healthy and happy because she needs simple things like love and care that all children require. She also needs “extras” like speech therapy and a special classroom setup for autistic children. The “extras” I hope will prepare her to live in the world with little to no struggles.

The thing about autism is you don’t know if your child will speak, feed, and bathe on their own, be able to work in a social environment, have friends, drive, live on their own, and lots more. I don’t hope that Sammy gets married and goes to college. My hopes are on a much more basic level. I hope she can grocery shop without assistance, that her speech keeps excelling, and that her self-stimulatory behavior is less noticeable when she’s an adult. Those are just a few of the hopes I have.

Please stay curious, read about autism, approach parents that have a child with autism and ask thoughtful questions. Autism is very much real and just because you can’t see the struggles it doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.

Love,

Sue and Sammy. 

. . . . .

Sue and Sammy are based in Arizona, US. Sue is a frequent Instagram user and uses this medium to spread awareness on the beauty of autism through snapping amazing photos of her own daughter, Sammy. All photos above belong to her and this testimonial has been taken directly from her recent Instagram update. 

You may follow her at "sueshine" on Instagram. 

Another BFM Interview with Jo.

A little late to highlight but always relevant: BFM interviews Jochebed on The Positives of Raising an Autistic Child. 

"To many families, hearing the diagnosis of autism can feel like bad news and a life sentence of hard work and confusion ahead. Yet it's ignoring the fact that there are many positives associated with this as well, including skills in mathematics and aesthetics, focus, and even computer skills..." - BFM

Catch up on the interview HERE. 

Pet Support & Autism

I recently lost a family dog, Toto, a Shih Tzu. He was a friendly and gentle dog who grew up with us since he was a puppy. We always had children in the household and he loved them! He wouldn’t mind when my niece pulls his tail, grabs his front paws or holds up both front legs and instructs him to “Walk! Walk!”. Sometimes Toto will reciprocate the play too by running and chasing my niece gently.

When I was working as a therapist, Toto tagged along to a few therapy sessions with me. I thought I’d get Toto to join us during play times as Kenny (nickname) loves animals and Toto is a gentle dog. With Kenny’s mom’s consent, I prepared Kenny to meet Toto. Kenny got really excited when he finally saw Toto! Kenny spontaneously used a lot of verbal requests in efforts to play with Toto, asking me to open the gate, put on the leash, etc.

Like many other kids, Kenny didn't really know the 'right' way to play with Toto, but Toto was compliant as usual, and went along with the play. Kenny spontaneously told Toto to “Walk! Walk! Toto, walk!”, and sometimes “Run!”, too. Of course, there was a lot of follow up to do as “playing with pets” needed to be added into the therapy afterwards. But it was really nice to see how motivated Kenny was in trying to play with and communicate with Toto. It was also nice to see the attention and love that Kenny gave Toto within that short 15 minutes of play.

So when I heard about pet therapy and how pet dogs can help people with autism, I wasn’t skeptical about it at all. As a dog owner I experienced first-hand the bond that you can have with a pet dog and that they can be the best companion to have. Having a pet of such nature makes it easy for a person with autism to build a strong bond with the pet. Once a good rapport is established, more social skills can be developed from there.

Of course having a pet dog as an addition to the family can be stressful if not managed properly. There are many things to consider before getting a pet: Are any of your family members allergic to pets? Does your household have enough capacity? Is there any animal-related fear that your child might have? Most importantly, are you ready for another addition to the family?

This write up might sound more like a pet care article but I would like to emphasize on the fact that as parents, caretakers, and teachers of children with autism, it doesn’t hurt to try new methods that claim to be able to help our kids learn and progress. Just remember to consider the suitability and the safety of the therapy to your child. Every child is different and so it is important to do what works for your child. 

Written by 

Lee Yu Ying

Consultant, EAP Malaysia

EAP Malaysia on Astro Awani

During Autism Awareness Month in April, EAP Malaysia had the privilege of being featured on Astro Awani two days in a row. We are excited to see that awareness on autism is indeed spreading fast in Malaysia. 


If you missed out, here are the videos for your viewing! These programs are in Bahasa Melayu. Do pass the link on to friends and family who may be interested to know more about EAP Malaysia. 

iPad gives voice to kids with autism

Sharia Siddiqui uses an iPad to help her communicate. Her father says it's "given her a sense of control she never had."

(CNN) -- Sharia stood immobile in front of the television, transfixed by its images, unaware of the world around her. Her family called her name over and over again, but she did not respond. It was that moment when they knew something was wrong.

Initially, they thought it was a hearing problem. When they found nothing wrong, they decided to take 2-year-old Sharia to a specialist at an early detection center in 2009.

"Within five minutes of looking at Sharia, (the specialist) said that she has autism," said Sharia's father, Fawad Siddiqui. "A very clear case of it." 

Siddiqui, 38, and his wife, Ayza Sheikh, were under the impression that Sharia was simply a late talker. Originally from Pakistan, the Siddiquis had no relatives to advise them on their first child. Speech, occupational and behavior therapies helped some. But Sharia still struggled with communication.A family's struggle with autism

Then, in 2010, Apple's iPad was released. Siddiqui, a Columbia, Maryland, resident who shared his daughter's story on iReport, said that before having the iPad, Sharia's only way of communicating was crying. She was non-verbal and had no way of expressing what she wanted or how she was feeling.

Apple's touchscreen gadget wasn't the first tablet computer and isn't the only one now. But it quickly emerged as the overwhelming market leader, introducing millions of people worldwide to the concept of a computer that dwells somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop and offers a large screen full of images and icons with which the user can interact with a single touch.

"What the iPad has done has given her a sense of control that she never had before," Siddiqui said. "She knows when you touch it, something is supposed to happen. She knows she doesn't need to cry, she needs to point."

At first, Sharia enjoyed watching movies and playing games. However, through therapy and at home, she was introduced to apps such as Proloquo2Go, First Words, ABCs and Me and Puzzle Me, to name a handful. She soon learned to put together short sentences like "I want Dora" to express what she wanted. 

A communications revolution

Proloquo2Go was Sharia's first app and the first real augmented communication app, released first for iPhones in 2009.

AAC, or augmentative and alternative communication, is a series of interventions used to help children with severe communication disorders communicate. Many apps are designed based on this method of therapy.

David Niemeijer, founder and CEO of Amsterdam-based AssistiveWare, creator of Proloquo2Go, said that 90% of AAC users use an iPad for communication, and more than 25% use an iPhone or iPod Touch, according to the company's surveys. About half of them reported improved speech abilities. A search for "autism apps" for the iPad in Apple's App Store brings 764 hits. About 142 were released this year. 

Similarly, dozens of assistance and education autism apps have sprung up on tablets and other devices running Google's Android operating system. The accessibility of online stores as a platform for apps has opened a new avenue for parents. Those with the know-how are able to create apps based on their child's specific needs.

Tricia Estrada of San Diego has developed apps for her son, Evan. The app and website Wonkido has a series of animations, each about four to five minutes in length, depicting various social skills such as "asking to play" and "going potty." By watching, kids acquire a database of episodes to draw from for future social situations, she said.

Estrada said the most appealing facet of the iPad is its mobility. Before, when Evan needed to learn a new concept in the middle of soccer practice or while at a restaurant, she had no way of showing him until the therapist gave him a card or bought a DVD weeks later. With the iPad or iPhone, it's immediate.

"I think (the iPad) is revolutionizing the augmentative communication field," said Dr. Oliver Wendt, assistant professor of speech, language and hearing sciences at Purdue University. "It's a very cost-effective system. Before, we had these expensive, bulky items, which now can be replaced with an iPad."

The equipment that was used previously could cost $9,000 to $15,000. 

iPads are now available for as little as $399. A majority of the apps on the iPad are paid apps that cost 99 cents to $299.99. Some of these prices may seem rather expensive for regular iPad users, but autism communities are thrilled...

This article was taken directly from CNN.com. To read the rest of this article, click here.

How My Son Taught Me About His Autism

After he was diagnosed with Asperger's, I read all I could. But I learned the most just from listening to him

BY JOSLYN GRAY

“My brain has big doors,” he began, “and it has almost the same doors as everyone else. The other people have black doors. I have purple doors instead of black doors. That’s why they’re different.”

I thought I understood my Little Dude. That assumption changed recently, when he suddenly began explaining to me how his brain works. I do not know what prompted him to share this display of cognitive awareness, except that since he started preschool — in the Preschool Program for Children With Disabilities at our local elementary school — he seems more aware of the fact that he’s a little different.

Until recently, he’s been shielded from that. Protected within the nest of family and close friends, Little Dude has always been considered charming, if shy; intensely bright, if overly focused. Our fourth child and our only son, my husband and I chalked up much of his quirky behavior to “boyishness.” His interests, though surprising in their intensity, seemed typical in subject: “Thomas the Tank Engine,” “Go Diego Go.” The fact that he knew, at age 4, the name of every character in all six “Star Wars” movies evidenced to us an excellent attention span, a tremendous capacity for detail, and a budding interest in science. We did not think it signaled a disorder.

But there had always been developmental concerns. His vocabulary was enormous, but his speech was often unintelligible to most people. He mastered the use of various Wii remotes but could not take off his own shoes. He refused to toilet train. He reached sensory overload at places that delighted other children; we learned to avoid the zoo, children’s museums and crowded playgrounds. Gradually, his life became more and more isolated.

When the diagnosis was made official — congenital encephalopathy and Asperger syndrome — it was more relief than surprise. By then, the diagnosis had become the all-access pass for occupational therapy, speech therapy and a school that would help him get ready for kindergarten despite the fact that he didn’t use a toilet yet. The diagnosis made sense within the context of our family. Many traits that go hand-in-hand with Asperger — anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, sensory processing disorder — are rampant in our family tree. The more I read about Asperger, the more I saw these quirks in myself. When I asked the neurologist if he sees traits through generations, he said that often the child with Asperger is simply the tallest peak in a large mountain range.

After the diagnosis, I threw myself into research. I read a myriad of books, websites and articles, all with wildly differing viewpoints: Asperger is a disability or it is an evolutionary advantage; it is painfully isolating or it is blissfully freeing. The pieces that helped me most were written by young adults who had been identified with Asperger as children. Their stories of bullies, misunderstandings and systemic educational failure drove me to tears but gave me hope that if I read them all, understood them, I could somehow safeguard my son’s happiness. In the first two weeks of preschool, confused about how a class walks in line, Little Dude was shoved four separate times.

Every night, I sit in Little Dude’s room while he is falling asleep. I use that time to write, and to answer his worries, and to listen to him quietly repeat multiplication facts to himself. He asks me questions, like whether bears are real, and if bears are kept in cages, whether the cages are very, very safe. It was out of the blue, then, when he asked me if I wanted to know what’s in his brain. At the time, I happened to have my laptop on. I typed it verbatim.

“I have a little doorknob on a little door that has 10,000 computers in it,” he said. “There are even little doors that have more. I have this control panel with two levers. You pull the lever, and then I can think of something. So that’s how my brain works.

“I count the ABC’s and then I try to get the letters. So that’s how I know the ABC’s. And now I don’t forget them anymore. I go ABC, DEFG, HIJK, LMNOP, QRS, TUV, WXY and Z. Now I know my ABC’s, next time won’t you germ with me.”

He paused. I did not want him to stop. I wanted to know everything, because I think that knowing him will let me protect him. I am wrong, of course.

“Is that how you do math?” I asked, quietly. I was afraid to move his train of thought. “Do you do math with the levers?”

He shook his head no.

“This door called the Multiplication Center is almost as close as the library in my brain. It has one computer, and then I have four, and tomorrow I will have 16. And then I have these little flaps that you flip and you color them and see if you make some multiplication, the math, the worksheets.”

He continued down the hallway of his mind.

“Down in my lab I think about germs. I think about Pull-Ups and I think about ‘Star Wars,’ Indiana Jones, Batman. Legos are in my lab.

“And guess what else? Next over there I got the attic. That attic is full of junk. There are beach balls and stuff everywhere, a lot of things in there. And I think people have played with them.

“I have a school place. This one is kind of like my classrooms, but mine is mixed up. It is upside down, kind of. I have the school Legos, they go right there, because I have this little shelf that we can put things, but we don’t put things at the bottom.”

He paused again. We breathed together in the darkness, silently. People with Asperger syndrome often experience the world as stressful, convoluted, upside down. Foreign. Alien. The authorTony Attwood theorizes that this feeling of being out of place, a difficulty with social integration and success, is why so many people with Asperger are attracted to science fiction.

None of these thoughts is of interest to Little Dude, so I keep them to myself. People with autism are said to have impaired Theory of Mind, or mind blindness: the inability to see things from a perspective other than one’s own. Little Dude has a degree of that; he perceives other people’s emotions but has difficulty understanding their intentions or motivations. When another 4-year-old chases him in play, Little Dude cannot imagine why someone is running at him. Instead of reveling in the game, he is terrified. For my son, the ability to understand other people’s minds — what they think, and why — seems like a magic trick.

I know that listening to him like this can’t necessarily save him. But it is a relief to me that, clearly, he knows his own mind.

Joslyn Gray is the mother of four children, including one with Asperger syndrome. She writes about parenting and chaos at the blog stark. raving. mad. mommy.

This article is taken directly from Salon.