Therapeutic riding for autism

Therapeutic riding puts autistic youth in saddle of life | Life | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

The special-needs teacher ambles into the classroom to meet another new student. She's walked to the ramp where the boy waits countless times before. Each time, she's there to make a fresh connection with someone for whom connections don't always come easily.

The teacher is a 20-year-old quarter horse named Scarlet. The student is a 5-year-old boy, Paul, who has autism. He's my son.

Paul, who loves hugs and kisses, is learning to read and can count to 100. He adores animals, especially horses. Any time he goes to a petting zoo, he lights up just being near them.

But Paul also compulsively flaps his hands or wiggles his fingers. Standing still is tough for him; he'd rather jump in place. He speaks at a 3-year-old's level and often repeats a question rather than answer it. He has poor fine-motor skills. He watches other children but doesn't join them. When he does, it's with roughhousing that's often too rough — he doesn't know another way to play. Paul doesn't have friends.

For me, the worry nearly every mother experiences about her child being accepted and loved is magnified tenfold. In searching for something Paul could feel a part of, I discovered a group that brings horses and people with disabilities together. I found hope in SIRE, a nonprofit that operates three therapeutic equestrian centers for children and adults in greater Houston.

For the past seven years, a red-dirt corral at Sienna Stables near Missouri City has served as Scarlet's classroom. The 15-hands-tall chestnut is one of dozens of horses that work with SIRE, which offers riding instruction to both the mentally and physically disabled.

"She really does care about her riders. She knows who's on her back," says Joelle Devlin, who has been with SIRE for 18 years. "She turns her ears back to check on her rider. … She stops if her rider gets off balance."

Balance is an important element of therapeutic riding, or hippotherapy. Devlin explains that the side-to-side motion of a horse's gait promotes body awareness and addresses vestibular, or inner ear, issues. She touts the improved muscle tone and concentration that come with therapeutic riding. She describes how perfect alignment and posture on horseback stimulate the entire central nervous system, which in turn promotes "motor planning" in the brain. In my son's autistic brain.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/7701686.html#ixzz1VOyccF40

Dr James Morton (AEIOU Early Intervention)

Dr James Morton - ABC Conversations with Richard Fidler

Abilify (Aripiprazole) for Autism: Safe?

Autism News: Study Looks at Long-Term Side Effects of Abilify (Aripiprazole) in Autistic Children | Ultimate Autism Guide

Many children with autism take the medication Abilify (aripiprazole) to help control irritability and other symptoms associated with autism. Although prior research has shown that Abilify is generally effective for treating irritability, the drug lacked sufficient research focused on its long-term safety and tolerability. A recent 52-week clinical trial attempted to determine the long term side effects of aripiprazole. The findings were published in an article titled Safety and Tolerability of Aripiprazole for Irritability in Pediatric Patients with Autistic Disorder: a 52-Week, Open-Label, Multicenter Study.

More http://ultimateautismguide.com/2011/08/autism-news-long-term-side-effects-of-abilify-aripiprazole/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UltimateAutismGuide+%28Ultimate+Autism+Guide%29

Advocates of Treating Autism with Cannabis Disavow "Partnership" with UC Irvine - Orange County News - Navel Gazing

Advocates of Treating Autism with Cannabis Disavow "Partnership" with UC Irvine - Orange County News - Navel Gazing

A Denver biotech company and Los Angeles nonprofit foundation dedicated to the treatment of autism are disavowing their previously announced partnership with UC Irvine.

The clarification comes more into focus when you know the players. The firm, Cannabis Science, develops pharmaceutical products from marijuana plants. The Unconventional Foundation for Autism (UF4A) promotes cannabis-based medical research and clinical trials for those afflicted with the disorder.

Psychiatry.uci.edu

Dr. Rebecca Hedrick

​A March 20 Cannabis Science announcement about its partnering with UF4A included this line:

"To date, we have already partnered with the University of California Irvine Medical Center to oversee our cannabis-based Autism research. Included in this group of advisors is the Dean of Medicine at UCI, and child psychiatrist Dr. Rebecca Hedrick, M.D."

The use of cannabis to treat autism is portrayed as the subject of a presentation Hedrick made earlier this year, according to the UF4A website.

However, this week, Cannabis Science released the following:

Cannabis Science wishes to clarify that the partnership is only a partnership with UF4A. Cannabis Science has no relationship or affiliation with the University of California, Irvine, the Dean of the UCI School of Medicine, or any of its faculty ("UCI"). UF4A has no affiliation with UC Irvine, though UC Irvine psychiatrist treats the autistic son of UF4A founder, Mieko Hester-Perez. Neither UCI nor Dr. Hedrick is conducting research into medical marijuana and autism.

More http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/08/cannabis_science_uf4a_uc_irvin.php

The Importance of Early Intervention

Early Intervention is Best | San Diego Jewish Journal

The Importance of Early Intervention

According to recent findings, millions of children in the U.S. have social-emotional, cognitive and developmental disorders. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders, in particular, has grown to one in every 91 American children, according to Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization.

Left unidentified and untreated, these disorders can interfere with children’s ability to succeed in school and with their ability to build successful relationships as they age. Although pediatricians and other groups, including the National Institutes of Health, have called for broad-spectrum screening for these disorders in children as young as 6 months, no real progress has been made, leaving most of the work in the hands of educators and parents. A recent study by the National Institute on Mental Health revealed that no one group is consistently screening kids, be it teachers or pediatricians.

http://sdjewishjournal.com/site/2421/early-intervention-is-best/

Autism and Ketogenic Diets

Evolutionary Psychiatry: Autism and Ketogenic Diets

Scientific Learning's software aims to improve brain function in autistic children | ZDNet

Scientific Learning's software aims to improve brain function in autistic children | ZDNet

Autism Spectrum Disorder is on the rise, with as many as 1 in 100 children born with the condition. Children with the neurological condition often struggle with reading and comprehension. But there’s evidence that new software can actually help bring about positive changes in the brain, improving both reading and social skills.

Anthem, Blue Shield to cover ABA Therapy

Autism, healthcare: Anthem, Blue Shield to cover therapy for autistic children - latimes.com

Two of California's largest health insurers have agreed to pay for costly behavioral therapy for thousands of autistic children — services the companies have long resisted covering.

Under pressure from regulators, Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross said they would pick up the initial cost of a treatment known as applied behavior analysis.

CIGNA ABA Therapy for Autism LAWSUIT

National Lawsuit Filed to Allow CIGNA Coverage of ABA Therapy for Autism

Historically, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has not been covered by most insurance plans but as time has proven the therapy to be one of the most effective treatments for autism spectrum disorders, an increasing number of companies are adding the benefit. CIGNA Insurance, though, has a nationwide policy of classifying ABA as experimental and therefore does not provide coverage. A new lawsuit filed this week in Philadelphia could change that.