A Message to Parents

Dear Parents, I am finally back after a long silence for almost two years. It is very hard to disengage myself from thinking and writing about...

Archive for July, 2013

A Dilemma: Where Does Asperger’s Syndrome Belong?

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Asperger’s Syndrome used to be classified as a distinct disorder different from the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). The new (DSM-5) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder has simply included the Asperger’s Syndrome within the ASD. By doing this the disorder loses its diagnosis and becomes part of the autism spectrum. A compromise would be

A New More Accurate Way to Diagnose and Treat Autism

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

The way ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) has always been diagnosed, is based on the professionals’ (pediatrians, psychologists, psychiatirics, specialized therapists…) social interaction with the child. Then, the professional’s opinion supported by parents observations are usually the traditional way to give a child a diagnosis. This novel technology can provide a more accurate, objective, and early

Genetics and Autism

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Here is another research to confirm a correlation between autism and genetics. The cerebellum is involved in the expression of autism condition/ behavior. Read the full article here. nadia shanab

Temple Grandin in The Bay Area, California This Friday

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

This is a great news for the Autism Community. Dr. Temple Grandin is the keynote speaker in the Autism and Asperger Conference this Friday, July 26, 2013. Not only Temple will be there, but her mother, Eustacia Cutler, the great lady behind all the success, is giving a speech too. Dr. Melmed, a leading developmental

A New Study to Help Define The Biological Basis of Autism

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

One short way to define autism used to be : “A different brain wiring”. The study mentioned below proves that this definition is absoutely correct. A new study reported yesterday (July 22, 2013) by HealthDay News (Serena Gordon) about how the autistic brain is wired. Results of the study were published July 22 online in

No Correlation between Prenatal Exposure to Low-Level Mercury and Autistic-Like Behavior

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Researchers believe that “gentetics” and “environmental” factors are two of the main causes of autism. The exposure to heavy metals -like lead, cadmium, and mercury- is believed to represent one of the environmental threats to the child’s development. A new research published today in ScienceDaily is announcing great news for parents. The research run in Seychellels,

Summer Is The Best Time to Hone Talents

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

In the last two posts autism-tips.com/?p=1866 and autism-tips.com/?p=1870 I talked about the importance of encouraging individuals with autism  and special needs in general to practice and develop their special interests and talents. Why is the summer break, in particular, is a great time to do so? First, it is the longest break of the year,

A Special Interest Is Power

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Individuals with autism might not be doing very well academically, but they might have hidden talents and capabilities. Some of them are real artists playing musical instruments, dancing, painting, drawing, here is an example…Others are very good with mechanics and manual work like Temple Grandin the amazing designer of live stock facilities. Some of them

Home-Schooling

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

Communication and social interaction are  one of the major goals in raising and educating a child with autism. To enable and encourage communication and social interaction to be practiced successfully, kids within the same setting or environment should have some interests in common. For some children, SDC (Special Day Classes) are not the best match for their

Categories of The Autistic Brain

By Nadia Shanab | Uncategorized

In her new book, Temple Grandin, the most famous high-functioning autistic person in the world, adds a new category of the autistic brain. Her hypothesis was scientifically confirmed by researchers. She defines her own brain as a “visual” brain. The second kind is the “verbal” brain. Recently a new category was added, namely the “pattern”