Autism Thinks

Babies on the Move: The origins and importance of spontaneous movements 

with Professor Christa Einspieler

Join us to hear a moving conversation with Professor Christa Einspieler, a neurophysiologist from the Medical University of Graz. Einspieler is a trailblazer in the field of infant development and she was a pioneer in creating the general movements assessment (GMA). GMA assesses the spontaneous (general) movement patterns of infants for early identification of infants at increased risk for cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions like autism spectrum disorders.

This is the first part of a series called 'Babies on the Move', where we're on a mission to learn more about how observing movement can tell us about the neurodevelopment of young infants.

Full Transcript: https://rb.gy/x51qd

Further Reading:

General Movements Trust - https://general-movements-trust.info/5/home

Prechtl, H. (2001). General movement assessment as a method of developmental neurology: New paradigms and their consequences The 1999 Ronnie MacKeith Lecture. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 43(12), 836-842.

Einspieler, C., Prechtl, H. F., Bos, A. F., Ferrari, D. F. M., & Cioni, M. (2008). Prechtl's method on the qualitative assessment of general movements in preterm, term and young infants. Mac Keith Press.

Einspieler, C., Prayer, D., & Marschik, P. B. (2021). Fetal movements: the origin of human behaviour. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 63(10), 1142–1148. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.14918

In this Autism Thinks episode, historian John Summers brings a fresh perspective. He is newly affiliated as a research fellow in History and Disability with the think tank New America and has been the President and Editorial Director of Lingua Franca Media. As a historian, he starts from the beginning, bringing context into the bigger picture as he discusses various issues in the realm of autism, from behaviorism and autism care services to transportation needs and adult group homes. 

Full Transcript of the Episode - https://bit.ly/3SyE65v ; Music excerpts used in this podcast are from the royalty-free music library by composer Kevin MacLeod.

John Summers' website -
https://johnsummers.co

The Shocking School article -
https://bostonreview.net/articles/the-shocking-school/

The Group Home Racket article - https://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2021/1121summers.html

As Private Equity Comes to Dominate Autism Services article - https://www.thenation.com/article/society/private-equity-autism-aba/

Spinning their Wheels article -
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2017/12/18/quality-of-service-for-disabled-child-ends-with-start-of-bus-ride-of-up-to-two-hours/

A Small Piece in Many Different Journeys: Innovating Healthcare & Medical Technology
Dr. Emily Reiser joins us this Autism Thinks episode, sharing how she makes innovation dreams come true. She is currently the Associate Director at Texas Medical Center (TMC). As a former Senior Manager of Innovation Community Engagement, she helped aspiring entrepreneurs and startups launch new technologies for public health at the Texas Medical Center's innovation arm, TMC Innovation. She describes her role as an interconnector, bringing together startups, entrepreneurs and innovators with clinicians and their patients-- a crucial piece in many different journeys. Further, she speaks more about disparities in healthcare and supporting the disabled community through new technologies. If you are an inspiring innovator or interested in medical technology, tune in for Dr. Reiser's invaluable words of advice.

Useful Resources/ Links:
Texas Medical Center Innovation:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/tmcinnovation
https://twitter.com/tmcinnovation?s=21

Dr. Emily Reiser:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyreiser
https://twitter.com/em_reiser?s=21

Music/ Soundbites Featured: shorturl.at/drvA0

This episode, Dr. Nadia Rachdaoui continues to share her story. She is the founder of biotechnology company, NutrArgan, and a former faculty member at the Endocrinology Program in the Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University. Her story is a story of a true scientist, a story of obstacles and lessons learned along the way— and at the same time, it’s a story of resilience and hope. 

NutrArgan, Biotech company founded by Nadia
https://nutrargan.com

Dr. Rachdaoui's Open Letter
https://sites.google.com/view/mentoring-in-academia/home

NIH Re-entry Supplement Links
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-18-592.html

https://orwh.od.nih.gov/career-development-education/research-supplements-promote-re-entry-biomedical-and-behavioral

NIH R21 Grant
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r21.htm

NIH Grant Policies
 https://grants.nih.gov/policy/nihgps/index.htm

Useful Blogs/ References -
https://www.brains-explained.com/things-to-know-starting-postdoc-part-1/
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/07/12/an-alternative-approach-to-measuring-community-engagement-in-higher-education/
https://neuronline.sfn.org/professional-development/recognizing-and-addressing-power-dynamics-in-science-and-academia
https://today.duke.edu/2020/03/confronting-power-dynamics-academia

In this Autism Thinks episode, Dr. Nadia Rachdaoui shares her story that highlights the importance of mentoring in academia. She was a faculty member at the Endocrinology Program in the Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University. She narrates incidents that occurred with her mentors at Rutgers, supported by her colleagues, friends, family and others moved by her story. Her story is a story of a true scientist, a story of obstacles and lessons learned along the way— and at the same time, it’s a story of resilience and hope. 

Dr. Rachdaoui's Open Letter - https://sites.google.com/view/mentoring-in-academia/home

NIH Re-entry Supplement Links - 

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-18-592.html, 

https://orwh.od.nih.gov/career-development-education/research-supplements-promote-re-entry-biomedical-and-behavioral

NIH R21 Grant - https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r21.htm

Growing up in Long Island, NY, Khaaliq Crowder is a recent graduate in Journalism from the University of New Haven. He joins us for this fun podcast episode, sharing his experiences as an autistic advocate and media journalist. Highlighting the power of connection, he gives advice for other autistic individuals navigating through college, internships and careers. 

Music/ Soundbites featured:
Excerpt from Khaaliq Crowder's video clip from Sirius XM's Sway in the Morning Show ( on Instagram)
Prod. Riddiman - optimistic
Prod. Riddiman - Mixtape - Vintage Hip Hop Freestyle Beat
Arctic Circle Music - Short and Sweet ( LoFi Studying)
TODAY Show - Haley Moss Sets Her Own Limits And Becomes First Autistic Lawyer In Florida

In this podcast, we are amazed by our sensational guests Jamiyl Samuels and Tracy-Ann Samuels. Jamiyl, a creative writer of novels to screenplays, and Tracy-Ann, a social worker and Rutgers alumnus, are the co-founders of The Amazingly Sensational Kids (T.A.S.K), creating children's books that educate, entertain and empower. 

As parents of an awesome autistic child named Trey Samuels, they have advocated on behalf of this community with respect to access to education and services, anti-bullying, interfamily communications and social dynamics. The T.A.S.K book series, 'The Amazingly Awesome Amani' and 'Sensationally Super Sandy', are inspired by their son Trey's courageous journey as an autistic child navigating the realities of life through his vivid imagination as well as their super daughter Aja Samuels who supports her brother and advocates for autism acceptance and empowerment. 

Links to Resources:T.A.S.K website - https://www.theamazinglysensationalkids.com
W.r.e.a.c Havoc website - https://www.wreachavoconline.com
Google Document with Resources - https://bit.ly/3oBf6gt
Guide to accessing HCBS by ASAN - https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Accessing-HCBS-Guide-v1.pdf
Recent news article related to police reform - https://www.monroenews.com/story/news/2021/05/21/mimis-mission-carleton-police-joins-effort-protect-autistic-children/5176600001/

This episode, Elizabeth Rosenzweig shares her story as she pursues her PhD in Quantitative Biomedicine at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Her thesis research focuses on statistical methods and software development for group-based modeling of longitudinal data using maximum likelihood estimation. She speaks about obstacles she has faced in her life and the importance of believing in yourself and being supported by others who believe in you, especially as an autistic self-advocate.

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In celebration of National Horticultural Therapy week (March 14 - 20, 2021), Rutgers Psychology graduate student, Master Gardener and horticultural therapy intern, Elisabeth Black shares her words of wisdom and experiences with gardening as well as helping her students learn the art and science of gardening. 

Elisabeth is also a high school teacher for students with special needs, and teaches several classes with organizations like JoyDew Foundation and schools like New Road School of NJ and Hunterdon Central Regional High School. She is currently studying how horticultural therapy can positively impact individuals, especially her autistic students, using biomarkers and other quantitative methods. 

This week, Dr. Daniel Moreno De Luca tells us more about his work as a Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist, as well as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. As a physician-scientist, he incorporates genetics research into his clinical practice and uses the field to bring precision medicine to psychiatry. 

He tells the story of his journey as a physician-scientist and highlights the importance of representation among individuals of different backgrounds, languages and cultures in the medical field.

JAMA Network Article by Dr. Moreno De Luca —
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2772252?preview=true&utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Journal_of_American_Medical_Association_TrendMD_1