The Latest in Original Autism News/ A University Support Program, A Possible Re-definition, and Obesity as Latest Cause of Disorder

(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on April 9, 2012)

I have read a few curious and interesting articles regarding autism in the past week. The first, and most peculiar, article was one in my father’s latest issue of Arkansas, a magazine exclusively for members of the Arkansas Alumni Association. The short article discusses a support program at the University of Arkansas, which is designed to help autistic college students who have the cognitive abilities to succeed but require more help than their neurotypical peers. More information on this program can be found at the University’s website.

In other news, some experts at the American Psychiatric Association have proposed that the definition of autism is “needed in order to dump confusing labels and clarify that autism can involve a range of symptoms from mild to severe.” There is concern expressed by some parents of mildly autistic people regarding the proposed redefinition. They are afraid that their children would be excluded from support programs and effectively diminish chances of academic success and a normal life. But they are being assured that such a scenario will not happen. The Telegram & Gazette article in which this latest autism news story was reported can be found here.

And just today, I read a small article in this morning’s Telegram & Gazette that reported a study, released online today in the journal Pediatrics, linking autism to obese women. This is one of the very first studies to list obesity as a contributing factor to the development of autism alongside genetics. However, this latest theory may be considered ludicrous to many non-obese mothers of autistic children. Until more studies are done and the obesity-autism theory is either confirmed or disproved, it is unclear how a mother’s obesity might affect the fetal development of offspring. A more complete version of the article can be found here.

Original Comments

David Abramson
May 11th, 2012 at 9:52 pm

Hey there. Checking out some different blogs about Autism and other disabilities. I likey! Mental diagnosis is an interesting issue, especially with Autism. Are you in favor of the re-definition? 

Cheers,
David

Gabriel
June 16th, 2012 at 5:35 pm

It’s not the puzzle piece that’s the prleobm, it’s the word AUTISTIC I dislike.It removes a person’s individuality and makes assumptions about their learning, behaviour and socialibility.They are probably going to change my eldest son to Mild Mental Retardation once the psychometric testing is completed… or back to Speech/language delayed with global delays.But isn’t that what Autism is?? But this dx will deal with what he can do or could do in the future… not with what he can’t or shouldn’t be able to do.I have issues with the usage of labels… I keep getting asked… now why I am not fighting to keep the ASD label. If it makes assumptions about him… why should I… lets move forward.Personally, lets just ditch the labels all together and write a proper IEP… one that uses his strengths to go up, over and around his weaknesses turning them too into strengths.Sheri