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What Percentage Of Kids Have Autism

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What Are The Current Regulations In The Uk

Ask Dr. Doreen: Why is the Percentage of aggression in Children with Autism Higher than NT Children?

There are currently no regulations in place to ensure teachers in mainstream schools have qualifications and experience in teaching autistic children.

We contacted The Department of Education who could not give us any information in this area. We too contacted The Institute of Education at the University of London, who informed us that their teaching courses do not provide any training in teaching special needs children.

In order to have experience in teaching special needs children, teachers would have to go on to do a Masters degree in Special Needs.

Currently, the only regulation in place in the UK in mainstream schools is that every school must have a designated SENCO who will communicate the needs of the student to the relevant staff.

Dan Leighton, speaking on behalf of the National Autistic Society highlighted the issues: The problem is there is no initial teacher training in relation to teaching children with autism – this is not directly regulated by the Department of Education.

Leighton went on to say, Access to a specialist teacher is patchy, with relatively few local authorities providing autism advisory teachers for schools. It is the responsibility of the SENCOs and head teachers to ensure that staff have access to adequate training and expertise.

This highlights the lack of structure in the education given to autistic children – some head teachers and SENCOs may be more proactive than others.

Who Resolution On Autism Spectrum Disorders

In May 2014, the Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Comprehensive and coordinated efforts for the management of autism spectrum disorders ,” which was supported by more than 60 countries.

The resolution urges WHO to collaborate with Member States and partner agencies to strengthen national capacities to address ASD and other developmental disabilities.

How Is Autism Spectrum Disorder Treated

ASD is most often a life-long condition. Both children and adults with autism benefit from behavioral interventions or therapies that can teach new skills to address the core deficits of autism and to reduce the core symptoms. Every child and adult with autism is unique. For this reason, the treatment plan is individualized to meet specific needs. It is best to begin interventions as soon as possible, so the benefits of therapy can continue on throughout the course of life.

Many people with ASD often have additional medical conditions, such as gastrointestinal and feeding issues, seizures and sleep disturbances. Treatment can involve behavioral therapy, medications or both.

Early intensive behavioral treatments involves the entire family and possibly a team of professionals. As your child ages and develops, treatment may be modified to cater to their specific needs.

During adolescence, children benefit from transition services that promote skills of independence essential in adulthood. The focus at that point is on employment opportunities and job skill training.

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Variations In Autism Prevalence Occur At The Community Level Rutgers Study Finds

In some New Jersey communities up to 8 percent of children have autism spectrum disorder more than triple the national average, according to a Rutgers study.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the study appears in the journal Autism Research.

Researchers analyzed data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network a group of programs funded by CDC to estimate the number of children with autism looking at 5,453 children in public school districts in Essex, Hudson and Union counties who were 8 years old in 2016.

Summary And Future Directions

Autism Statistics

Research specifically focusing on co-occurring ADHD and ASD has only recently evolved, being previously limited by the DSM-IV exclusion criteria. What we have so far learned is that both disorders frequently co-occur, and when they do, they cause greater morbidity, and create a more complicated clinical challenge. The new DSM-V, allowing for a dual diagnosis, will hopefully facilitate research, by eliminating the exclusion of many patients and allowing the study of broader phenotypes. Most recent research focuses on etiology and clinical presentations, with less direct work on treatment and early intervention protocols. Very few studies have looked at pre-school children presenting with both conditions, on the impact of early intervention in this age group and its effect on developmental trajectory. Furthermore, many of the above quoted studies have used parent and/or teacher rating scales to assess clinical profiles, rather than direct clinical diagnoses of the two co-existing disorders. In the future, as a dual diagnosis is officially possible, studies using direct clinical assessment of both comorbid diagnoses are essential.

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What Other Experts Think

The finding of increased risk in younger grandparents is novel, said Thomas Frazier, PhD, a professor of psychology at John Carroll University in Ohio and the former chief science and program officer for Autism Speaks.

It could mean that young grandparents convey some risk to their children that magnify, or at least complement, increased risk in the parent, Frazier told Healthline.

For example, if young grandparents also have less money, and this results in poorer nutrition, that could impact the biology of the parent. These biological impacts might then be magnified in older parents, he added.

Frazier says the study suggests there may be some environmental factors that affect the child. But he says the results need to be repeated and show whether the grandparent effect remains after controlling for the advanced parental age.

For research, it suggests we should try to understand the factors, genetic and possibly epigenetic, that get transmitted from parent to child, and how this seems to result in greater problems for the child in older parents, he explained. Are there ways we can reduce these impacts? Supplementation? Exercise? Other parent health factors?

Bottom line? We need to study this more, Frazier said.

Jenn Lynn is the mother of a son with ASD. Shes an ASD advocate and the executive director of Upcounty Community Resources, a nonprofit serving those with disabilities.

Healthline asked Lynn for her reaction to the study.

How Common Is Autism Spectrum Disorder

Based on most recent CDC report, ASD is estimated to affect about 1 in 54 children, with boys being more likely to have ASD than girls. There were more than 5 million adults in the US, or 2.21% of the population, with ASD as of 2017. Government statistics suggest that the prevalence of ASD has risen 10% to 17% in recent years.

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How This Is Helping

A better understanding of the prevalence and characteristics of ASD and autism among children with Down syndrome is helping families and professionals recognize and diagnose the condition more accurately, and to recognize the differences between autism in children with Down syndrome and among otherwise typically developing children.

Research suggests that repetitive behaviors, liking sameness and restricted preferences are common behavior traits in all children with Down syndrome – with and without ASD – and therefore, on their own, not indicative of autism.

Research suggests that parents and practitioners should make full use of the children’s social strengths and strengths in imitation and gesture to develop their social interaction and communication skills in the early years.

Bridging The Ethics Gap

Autism Cases Up 29 Percent in 2 Years

The problem is that traditional oversight mechanisms, such as institutional review boards at government or academic research institutions, as well as the private boards utilized by pharmaceutical companies, are not accessible to most independent researchers. Traditional review boards are either closed to the public, or charge fees that are out of reach for many citizen science initiatives. This has created an “ethics gap” in nontraditional scientific research.

Biohackers are seen in some ways as the direct descendents of “white hat” computer hackers, or those focused on calling out security holes and contributing solutions to technical problems within self-regulating communities. In the case of health and biotechnology, those problems include both the absence of treatments and the availability of only expensive treatments for certain conditions. As the DIYbio community grows, there needs to be a way to provide assurance that, when the work is successful, the public is able to benefit from it eventually. The team that developed the one-hour Covid test found a potential commercial partner and so might well overcome the oversight hurdle, but it’s been 14 months since they developed the test–and counting.

In short, without some kind of oversight mechanism for the work of independent biomedical researchers, the solutions they innovate will never have the opportunity to reach consumers.

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Whats Causing This Increase

Study authors suggest that the near-800-percent rise in autism cases has more to do with increased reporting and better screening methods than an actual increase in the number of people living on the autism spectrum. Despite their findings, researchers say they still cant rule out the possibility that more people are developing ASD in recent years.

As there is not really a plausible reason why autism should increase more in adults and females our study suggests the change is probably due to increased identification, and not more people with neurodevelopmental disorders per se, says lead author Ginny Russell in a university release.

However, autism is not like a continent awaiting discovery. The definition of what constitutes autism has changed over time, and females and adults were not often thought of as having autism 20 years ago. The vocal work of charities and media coverage, combined with changes in policy has led to more assessment centers for adults, and an autism narrative that many women and girls identify with. Consequently demand for diagnosis has never been higher.

The Research By The Numbers

The team of researchers studied data from Danish national health registries that included three generations and nearly 1.5 million children.

They found that the chance of having ASD for children born to parents who are in their 30s is up to 10 percent higher than parents who are 25 to 29 years old.

The researchers also reported that the chance is 50 percent higher when the parents are in their 40s or 50s.

We observed that children with young maternal grandparents and children with young and old paternal grandparents had higher risk compared with children of grandparents who were 25 to 29 years old at the time of the birth of the parents, Liew said.

He says these findings, however, are unique and require further replications.

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Hong Kong Sar Of China

According to the Autism Partnership, the Hong Kong SAR of China has an autism rate of 49 for every 10,000. The government of Hong Kong suggests that there are about 3,800 residents with the disorder in their jurisdiction. In Hong Kong, among its student population, less than one percent are affected with the disorder. One autistic charity organization in the city of Hong Kong helps autistic children by providing therapy, although similar organizations have found it difficult to exist there because of a lack of government support.

Spotlight On: Racial And Ethnic Differences In Children Identified With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Whats with the rise in autism rates?  The Government is ...

ADDM reports have consistently noted that more white children are identified with ASD than black or Hispanic children. Previous studies have shown that stigma, lack of access to healthcare services due to non-citizenship or low-income, and non-English primary language are potential barriers to identification of children with ASD especially among Hispanic children. A difference in identifying black and Hispanic children with ASD relative to white children means these children may not be getting the services they need to reach their full potential.

This ADDM report found that the racial and ethnic differences in identifying 8-year-old children with ASD persist, but also some indications that the differences may be narrowing.

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Report Of The National Autism Spectrum Disorder Surveillance System*

In Canada, among children and youth 5-17 years of age:

  • An estimated 1 in 66 have been diagnosed with ASD
  • Males were identified with ASD 4x more frequently than females. One in 42 males were diagnosed with ASD. One in 165 females were diagnosed with ASD.
  • More than half of children and youth had received their diagnosis by age 6 and more than 90% of children and youth were diagnosed by age 12.

*Report finding are based on 2015 health, education and social services data collected from seven participating provincial and territorial governments , representing 40% of children and youth in Canada.

Acknowledgements: This work was made possible through collaboration between the Public Health Agency of Canada and participating provincial and territorial governments and expert advice from the Autism Spectrum Disorders Advisory Committee . This infographic was developed by PHAC, no endorsement by provincial and territorial partners should be inferred.

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How Was Nass Developed

The 2008 Federal Budget committed to establishing a surveillance system for developmental disorders in Canada as part of the federal Action Plan to Protect Human Health from Environmental Contaminants. The initial focus has been placed on the surveillance of ASD in children and youth .

Following an initial phase to hire core staff to begin consulting provinces and territories and planning the development of NASS, PHAC established the ASD-Advisory Committee in 2011 to advise on the most effective approaches to capture data on ASD across Canada. Members of this committee include national experts from the areas of surveillance, epidemiology, psychology, medicine, education and knowledge translation and, representatives from national stakeholder organizations that represent individuals and families living with ASD.

The environmental scans were one of the major consultation pieces that informed the development of NASS, including: NASS ASD surveillance case definition the data elements to be sought NASS data dictionary and other national infrastructure components. The environmental scans were also instrumental in initiating partnerships with PT data holders and, in validating that education, health and social services sectors would be the key data sources for developing NASS.

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How Are The Speech And Language Problems Of Asd Treated

If a doctor suspects a child has ASD or another developmental disability, he or she usually will refer the child to a variety of specialists, including a speech-language pathologist. This is a health professional trained to treat individuals with voice, speech, and language disorders. The speech-language pathologist will perform a comprehensive evaluation of the childs ability to communicate, and will design an appropriate treatment program. In addition, the speech-language pathologist might make a referral for a hearing test to make sure the childs hearing is normal.

Teaching children with ASD to improve their communication skills is essential for helping them reach their full potential. There are many different approaches, but the best treatment program begins early, during the preschool years, and is tailored to the childs age and interests. It should address both the childs behavior and communication skills and offer regular reinforcement of positive actions. Most children with ASD respond well to highly structured, specialized programs. Parents or primary caregivers, as well as other family members, should be involved in the treatment program so that it becomes part of the childs daily life.

Action To Improve Poor Performance Against Waiting Times

Autism report: Why the increase in cases?

Children and young people with ASD have shone a light on the problems accessing EHC plans. Doctors have seen this across the health-service and are helping patients to manage the health consequences.

It is important that the Government recognises the scale of the issue, and develops a more in-depth understanding of the long-term solutions that are urgently needed. Specific actions that are required include:

  • the government should conduct a formal review into the issues facing the delivery of EHC plans in England
  • adequate long-term funding should be provided to local authorities, and then to schools through the high-needs block, in order to meet the increased demand for support from EHC plans.

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What Role Do Genes Play

Twin and family studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism. Identical twin studies show that if one twin is affected, then the other will be affected between 36 to 95 percent of the time. There are a number of studies in progress to determine the specific genetic factors associated with the development of ASD. In families with one child with ASD, the risk of having a second child with the disorder also increases. Many of the genes found to be associated with autism are involved in the function of the chemical connections between brain neurons . Researchers are looking for clues about which genes contribute to increased susceptibility. In some cases, parents and other relatives of a child with ASD show mild impairments in social communication skills or engage in repetitive behaviors. Evidence also suggests that emotional disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia occur more frequently than average in the families of people with ASD.

Intellectual Disability And Asd

Individuals with Intellectual Disability have deficits in intellectual and adaptive functioning, which are observed during development . Intellectual functioning includes the ability to reason, problem solve, plan, think abstractly, exercise judgment, and learn. Adaptive functioning refers to the skills needed to live in an independent and responsible manner, including communication, social skills, and self-help skills .

While Intellectual Disability used to be diagnosed solely by administration of an IQ test, current guidelines emphasize the need to use both clinical assessment and standardized testing. Specifically, to receive a diagnosis of Intellectual Disability, an individual must have an IQ score near to or below 70 as well as significant impairments in adaptive functioning compared to other same-age individuals.

About 1 percent of the general population is thought to have Intellectual Disability, and about 10% of individuals with Intellectual Disability also have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder or autistic traits. However, a much higher percentage of individuals on the autism spectrum have Intellectual Disability.

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