Podcast: Everything you wanted to know, and more, about the revisions to the CDC developmental milestones

In February, the CDC worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics to update the developmental milestones that parents should use when referencing how their child is developing. These milestones describe what should be accomplished by times as young as 2 months and as old as 5 months. These are helpful to all parents who wonder “shouldn’t my child be walking by now” and “how many words should they be saying”? Pediatricians ask parents about these and parents are expected to know them, so prepare yourselves now. What are milestones? Why change them? What are the changes? Learn more on this week’s #ASFpodcast here.

Paper can be found here.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html

The Autism Science Foundation invites applications for its Suzanne Wright Memorial Research Accelerator Grants. These grants are designed to expand the scope, speed the progress, increase the efficiency or  improve final product dissemination of active autism research grants. This mechanism is also meant to allow creative use of existing data that has not previously been analyzed to ask a question relevant to autism research. The funding is not meant to fully support a project, but to leverage existing resources to accelerate the discovery of research findings. Projects that do not fit the goal of the mechanism or that do not adhere to the proposal preparation instructions will be returned without review.

Parents or caregivers of children with ASD sometimes have a lot of difficulty helping their child brush their teeth. Parents and caregivers of children not on the spectrum have difficulty helping their child brush their teeth. By working with families on an individual level, coaching, encouraging and breaking down each of the steps of tooth brushing into something manageable, a group of Medicaid-eligible parents helped their children learn these skills on some level by the end of the study. Incredibly, 93% of parents who are trying to do it all with less, stayed in the program and felt more confident about their abilities. This study also used a randomized clinical trial design which compared the training and coaching with just those who got some toothbrushes and toothpastes in the mail. In this week’s #ASFpodcast, you get to hear from the leaders and the therapists who helped these families, what they did, and what worked. Join me with Dr. Eric Butter, Kelly Birmingham and Dr. Rachel Fenning to hear more about this study. Listen to the podcast here.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35211746/

This year’s Day of Learning was a huge success, with topics ranging from biological sex differences to mobile technologies all the way to the importance and documented value of leisure activities in people on the spectrum. the speakers included a discussion of the IACC, sex differences, the value of prevalence data, mobile technologies, leisure activities, and a recognition of two advocates who made or make a difference in families: Samantha Els and Suzanne Wright. Listen to this week’s podcast here for a quickie, but don’t let it prevent you from watching the longer videos, a link to which can be found below.

2022 Day of Learning presentations in full

http://www.babynavigator.com

http://www.autismnavigator.com

On behalf of everyone at the Autism Science Foundation, I would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who took part in our incredible Day of Learning on March 30.

The answer is obviously “no”, however, animal models are necessary to help understand brain circuitry and improve interventions and supports for not just core symptoms but associated issues like anxiety, OCD, seizures and GI issues. Scientists view behaviors consistent with an ASD diagnosis differently, and this has created some problems in interpretation of animal model data. This week’s #ASFpodcast will break down a recent paper in Genes, Brain and Behavior which addresses inconsistencies in the literature and makes recommendations on how researchers should shift how they think about how they can replicate features of ASD in a model system. Listen to the podcast here.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35285132/

Environmental exposures, including toxic chemicals, can contribute to the causes of ASD. But how do other environmental factors, like behavioral supports, work in the brain to improve behaviors associated with ASD? For this, you need a broad interpretation of the term “environmental” and an animal model so you can see the mechanism involved. Studies show while environmental factors can contribute, they can also provide modifications in cellular and molecular function which support learning and improved developmental trajectory. Finally, on a different topic, are autistic adults more likely to be involved in a crime compared to other groups? No, they are not, but there are factors which affect the risk of being involved with the criminal justice system, at least in the UK. Read more in the studies below and listen to the podcast here.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34972219/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35259351/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35261275/

This week’s podcast focuses on innovative methodologies to understand how to reach black families, understand why and when autistic people prefer not to look at faces and how interventions can improve conversation and social communication. They use culturally and racially matched mentors, old home video tapes (keep taking those!) and machine learning to look not just at novel methods but novel ways of studying a particular outcome. Listen to the podcast here.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35232271/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35228613/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35229983/

Inspired by her grandson who is diagnosed with profound autism, Wright co-founded Autism Speaks. Els co-founded Sam’s Sibs Stick Together, which supports siblings of individuals with autism

NEW YORK — February 22, 2022 — The Autism Science Foundation (ASF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and funding innovative autism research, has announced that the late Suzanne Wright and Samantha Els will receive this year’s Caryn Schwartzman
Spirit Award. The award recognizes outstanding advocacy by a family member of a person with autism.

The awards will be presented at the ninth annual “Day of Learning” event on Wednesday, March 30. This year’s event will be hybrid for the first time ever, allowing people to attend in person at the New York Athletic Club, or virtually from across the globe.

Suzanne, who died in 2016, co-founded Autism Speaks in 2005 with her husband, then NBC President and CEO Bob Wright, after their grandson Christian received an autism diagnosis at age 2 ½. She raised millions of dollars to fund autism research and help families impacted by autism. A dynamic advocate, Suzanne was instrumental in convincing the United Nations to establish April 2 as World Autism Day and advocated for autism awareness on Capitol Hill and around the world.

“Suzanne put autism on the map with her tenacity, her courage and her warmth. I was honored to work with her and learn from her advocacy,” said Alison Singer, Co-Founder and President of the Autism Science Foundation. “Her efforts improved the lives of millions of people all over the world.” 

Samantha Els, sibling to her brother with autism, co-founded Sam’s Sibs Stick Together, a joint initiative between ASF and Els for Autism®, to provide extra support to siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Her brother Ben was diagnosed with autism when he was two and Samantha was six, and the pair have always had a special bond. Samantha is now a senior at Stanford University majoring in human biology with a concentration in global public health. Their parents, Ernie Els, World of Golf Hall of Famer and four-time Major Champion Ernie Els and his wife, Liezl, founded Els for Autism Foundation® in 2009.

“Samantha is an incredible advocate both for individuals with autism and the siblings who love them,” said ASF Chief Science Officer Dr. Alycia Halladay. “She devotes her time freely and shares openly with other siblings, shining a light on the importance of sibling research and on the unique challenges and joys of being a sibling to an individual with autism. Her unwavering dedication to the mission of Sam’s Sibs Stick Together is evident in all of her endeavors.”

The Caryn Schwartzman Spirit Award is presented annually to family advocates whose energy and commitment to enhancing the lives of individuals with autism best emulate Caryn’s. Caryn was a loving and dedicated mom and a tireless advocate who worked with the National
Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), Autism Speaks and the Autism Science Foundation to raise money, advance autism research and improve the lives of children around the country.

The Caryn Schwartzman Spirit Award will be presented at the Autism Science Foundation’s ninth annual “Day of Learning” event on Wednesday, March 30, which will feature TED-style talks by the nation’s top autism experts. Morning presenters from the CDC, the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) and other distinguished institutions will highlight important trends and topics in autism research. The afternoon talks will examine ways to improve the quality of life for people with autism by reviewing new data measuring the impact of common leisure activities.

Register for this year’s Day of Learning here.

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About the Autism Science Foundation
The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) is a 501(c) (3) public charity. Its mission is to support autism research by providing funding to scientists and organizations conducting autism research. ASF also provides information about autism to the general public and serves to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders and the needs of individuals and families affected by autism. To learn more about the Autism Science Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.autismsciencefoundation.org.

Media Contact
Kathy Ehrich Dowd
Autism Science Foundation
617-970-5842
kdowd@autismsciencefoundation.org

Several studies have linked the immune system to autism, but how are they connected? Two new studies this week illustrate differences in immune function in those with a diagnosis compared to those without, and also find differences in the blood of of pregnant mothers who go on to have an autistic child. Women who go on to have autistic girls show higher levels and more inflammatory markers than mothers who go on to have boys, the finding of elevated IL1 is now a finding that has been replicated across countries. However, it’s too early to tell if this information can be used to help with a diagnosis and it’s probably not specific to autism. But the message is the same as it was before: getting sick during pregnancy is not great. Get vaccinated! Stay away from sick people and wash your hands. Listen to the podcast here.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35110990/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34987169/