By Christina Samuels

Boys and girls with autism spectrum disorder may share difficulties in communicating, but how those problems manifest themselves differs between the sexes—an important element for educators to remember, according to new research examining children with autism and their peer interactions.

For example, because boys tend to play more structured games, its easier to spot when a boy with autism is being excluded. Socialization among girls tends to be more fluid, so a girl with autism may appear to be fitting in with her peer group—but a closer look might reveal less-obvious rejection.

The research also shows that in general education classrooms, girls remain more connected to peers when they are in larger classrooms—21 students or more. Boys tended to have better social connections when they were in classrooms of 20 students or fewer. Researchers hypothesize that boys might do better with more individualized attention, while girls may thrive if they have more friendship options.

via New Autism Research Outlines Gender Differences in Social Interactions – On Special Education – Education Week.

By Christina Samuels

A comparison of two well-known interventions for young children with autism, LEAP and TEACCH, has found that both of them produce gains among students during the school year—and so does high-quality classroom instruction that is not tied to any particular model.

The findings suggest that common elements of good classroom instruction, including an orderly classroom environment, well-trained teachers and positive interactions between children and adults, may be more important for children with autism than instruction using any particular treatment model. The study was published in the June edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and the researchers have written a layman-friendly version of their findings.

via Study: High Quality Matters More Than Specific Model for Preschoolers with Autism – On Special Education – Education Week.

by Christina Samuels

The rates of autism for students of all races is on the increase, but students who are black, Hispanic, or American Indian are less likely to be identified with the disability compared to white and Asian students, according to a study published this month in The Journal of Special Education.

The study, “A Multiyear National Profile of Racial Disparity in Autism Identification,” compiled information collected by the federal government from 1998 to 2006 on the race and disability category of students in special education. Using that information, the researchers were able to calculate a “risk index,” or the percentage of all enrolled students from a racial group with a specific disability.

via Study: Minority Students Less Like to Be Identified With Autism.

by Christina Samuels

The long-awaited fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, known as the DSM-5, was released last weekend by the American Psychiatric Assocation with several revisions that affect conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that are common in school contexts.

The manual was last published in 1994 and updated in 2000. Many of these changes reflected in the DSM-5 have been the subject of widespread debate for several months. The diagnostic criteria also have potential to affect schools, though the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has its own definitions of disabilities covered under special education law.

via Revised Psychiatric Disorders ‘Bible’ Changes Disability Definitions.

by Christina Samuels

People with disabilities and their families have long relied on word-of-mouth to find disability-friendly community businesses, but that recommendation system has been given a new twist after a “hackathon” sponsored by AT&T in partnership with the advocacy group Autism Speaks.

Ryan Stevens, 25, and Cyrus Stoller, 24, both living in San Francisco, won $10,000 for creating RevTilt, a review site that allows users to suggest businesses that accommodate people with autism.

via ‘Hackathon’ Yields Review Site For Autism-Friendly Businesses.

From guest blogger Alyssa Morones:

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 50 school-aged children has an autism spectrum disorder. That’s a significant increase from 2008, when the CDC estimated that 1 in 88 children had the disorder.

The data for this report came from a study by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, which surveyed more than 95,000 parents with children under 17 years old.

via CDC Study Pegs Autism Prevalence at One Child in 50.

by Nirvi Shah

When a website is created to raise money for a child who has cancer, it might get a million clicks. But that kind of sympathetic outpouring is far more rare for children with mental health disorders, behavioral issues, or neurological conditions, said Kristine Melloy, the president of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders, who also works in St. Paul, Minn., public schools.

Yet when the media cited unnamed law enforcement officials who said the gunman in the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week may have had a form of autism or a mental health condition, the unconfirmed diagnosis was quickly blamed for triggering the massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary.

via Conn. School Shootings Unleashed Attack on Disabilities, Too.

By Nirvi Shah

Changes proposed to the diagnostic guide used by psychologists, including substantial changes to the definition of autism, are all but final.

Late last week, the American Psychiatric Association’s Board of Trustees approved the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5, which will be available when the manual is published in the spring.

via New Definition of Autism Drops Asperger, PDD-NOS Distinctions.

via TED: Faith Jegede: What I’ve learned from my autistic brothers – Faith Jegede (2012).

by Nirvi Shah

A new national study has found that intensive early intervention therapy effective at improving young children’s cognition and language skills can normalize the brain activity of those with autism.

The Early Start Denver Model also has been shown to decrease autism symptoms and improve social skills, researchers found in the study published Friday in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

The randomized, case-controlled, multi-centered study found that children who received the intervention showed greater brain activation when viewing faces rather than objects, a response typical of the normal children in the study, and the opposite of the children with autism who received other interventions.

via Early Autism Intervention Can ‘Normalize’ Brain Activity.

by Nirvi Shah

A new study finds that nearly half of children diagnosed with autism have tried to wander away from home, school, or other places, and many wind up missing, even temporarily.

The study, published online today in the journal Pediatrics, captures what parents of children with autism have described for years: that their children wander off, or elope. It confirms preliminary findings by researchers from the Interactive Autism Network and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

via Study: Nearly Half of All Children With Autism Wander.