Autism (Video)

Recognizing the early signs of autism and seeking early intervention can improve outcomes. UCSF Clinical Professor Dr. Barbara Bennet explains the signs that may indicate a child is at risk for an autism spectrum disorder. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 28913]

People with autism have difficulty with language and social interaction as if they are trapped inside their own brains. There is no cure. Dr. Alysson Muotri of UCSD devised a Fairy Tooth Kit Collection campaign in which autistic and unaffected kids could donate their baby teeth when they fell out. Using the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technique, Muotri's team extracted pulp cells in the teeth and converted them into brain cells. The autistic brain cells showed distinct deficiencies in the petri dish which could be reversed. In this seminar presented to the governing Board of California's Stem Cell Agency, Dr. Muotri describes these results in more detail. [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 28241]

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrates high heritability, familial clustering and ~4:1 male to female bias, yet the causes are only partially understood, due to extensive clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) promises added value to identify novel ASD risk genes, as well as new mutations in known loci, but an assessment of its full utility in an ASD group has not been performed. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 25984]

Although Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) appears to be universal, the contexts in which it occurs are distinctive. Yet little research has been conducted on ASD in diverse cultures within the U.S., or in countries outside of the U.S. or Europe, with little reliable information yet reported from developing countries. Drawing on research in the U.S., South Africa, and South Korea, Richard Grinker, an anthropologist at George Washington University and parent of a child with autism, discusses the complex relationship between culture and diagnosis in the context of changes in autism awareness, prevalence, diagnostic practices, and community outreach.

Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 25990]

As the number of preschool children identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) increases each year, so too will the number of children with ASD moving into adolescence. Catherine E. Lord, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses studies that aims to determine predictors of adolescent outcome measured in adaptive skills, quality of life, positive affect, behavior problems and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The project represents a shift in emphasis from attention primarily to negative outcomes to consideration of coping strategies for individuals and families and their impact on well-being and independence. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 25987]

Despite exciting advances in our awareness and understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there has been relatively little progress in prevention of this form of neurodevelopmental disorder, or in the development of evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for people with ASD and their families. In addition, most of what is known about the epidemiology, genetics, clinical manifestation and course, treatment, and nearly every other aspect of autism is based on research in high income countries, where fewer than 10% of births occur and less than 20% of the population lives globally. Maureen Durkin, director of the Graduate Program in Population Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, reviews some of the recent developments in the epidemiology of ASD and describe opportunities to expand the horizons of ASD epidemiolog. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 28483]

The last several years have ushered in a new era in the genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The combination of new genomic technologies, shared resources across laboratories, and the participation of an increasingly large number of families in research have led to a series of seminal discoveries. Dozens of areas of the human genome and specific genes have so far been identified as strong risk factors in ASD, the role of new (or de novo) mutation has been confirmed in multiple studies, and a surprising relationship between genetic risk factors for autism and a range of other neurodevelopment disorders has been uncovered. This lecture will review this recent progress and address the next steps in moving from the systematic discovery of ASD genes to a fuller understanding of the neurodevelopment processes that underlie social disability. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 28484]

Impairments in language and communication are among the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These impairments are often the first symptoms to emerge and parents may raise initial concerns about their baby, later diagnosed with ASD, because he or she fails to communicate and has not begun speaking. In this talk Helen Tager-Flusberg presents data from two large-scale longitudinal studies that focus on the early development of language in this population: a study of infants at risk for ASD and a study of toddlers with ASD who were followed from age 2 to 4, with an emphasis on which factors predict variability in language outcomes in ASD. Series: "MIND Institute Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders" [Health and Medicine] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 25989]