Re: OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language Woes

[Guest guest]

My daughter could only remember the last word that was said to her & she would repeat it when she first started talking again 2+1/2 yrs. ago. Her teachers told me she was only trainable retarded & now if we can cut down on behaviors, she will be fully mainstreamed in school. She does way better receptively & creatively than expressively. She still doesn't spit out conversational sentences but can let you know what she wants & uses 3-4 words at once.

I wonder if hearing & proicessing is like an like an echo? Some do have echolalia. Jenn L

OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language Woes

From firstcoastnews.comBrain Waves Are Window into Autism Language WoesPosted By: Carla 22 hrs ago By LINDSEY TANNERAP Medical WriterCHICAGO (AP) -- Unique brain wave patterns, spotted for the first time in autistic children, may help explain why they have so much trouble communicating.Using an imaging helmet that resembles a big salon hair dryer, researchers discovered what they believe are "signatures of autism" that show a delay in processing individual sounds.That delay is only a fraction of a second, but when it's for every sound, the lag time can cascade into a major obstacle in speaking and understanding people, the researchers said.Imagine if it took a tiny bit longer than normal to understand each syllable. By the end of a whole sentence, you'd be pretty confused.The study authors believe that's what happens with autistic children, based on the brain wave patterns detected in school-age children in their study.The preliminary results need to be confirmed in younger children, but the researchers hope this technique could be used to help diagnose autism in children as young as age 1. That's at least a year earlier than usual, and it could mean behavior treatment much sooner. Papanicolaou, director of the clinical neurosciences center at University of Texas's Houston campus, said the study makes a major contribution to autism research."It gives us a window through which we get a picture of some of the neurological conditions responsible for the peculiar behaviors in autism," said Papanicolaou, who was not involved in the research.Dr. McPartland, a Yale University autism researcher who also wasn't involved in the study, called the results "preliminary, with promise." Whether the patterns found in the study exist in all autistic children is uncertain, but they're worthy of more study, he said.Study results were prepared for release Monday at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.Finding biomarkers -- like the brain waves -- that could enable earlier diagnosis and treatment is the "holy grail" for autism scientists, McPartland said. Now, doctors typically diagnose autism through parents' reports and by observing behaviors that often don't emerge until at least age 2, he said.The brain wave study used noninvasive technology called magnetoencephalography, MEG for short. It measures magnetic fields generated by electrical currents in brain nerve cells, and records brain activity in real time.Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had 64 autistic children ages 6 to 15 listen through headphones to a series of rapid beeps while under the helmet-like device, which recorded the brain's response to the sounds. Those brain waves, shown as highlighted areas on an imaging screen, were compared with responses in a group of non-autistic children.In autistic children, response to each sound was delayed by one-fiftieth of a second."We tend to speak at four syllables per second," said , the study's lead author and the hospital's vice chairman of research. If an autistic brain "is slow in processing a change in a syllable ... it could easily get to the point of being overloaded."Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have autism, a disorder involving poor verbal communication, repetitive behaviors such as head-banging, and avoidance of physical or eye contact.There is no cure but behavior treatment and sometimes medication can lessen symptoms.Among those in the study was Leiby, a 9-year-old Mount Laurel, N.J., boy with mild autism and sometimes hard-to-understand speech. He said he felt like an astronaut wearing that big helmet, and called the whole experience "cool." was diagnosed at age 2. Since then he's had extensive treatment including speech therapy. He's in a regular third-grade class, loves cross-country running and hopes to become an engineer.Before participating in the study last year, "we didn't have an answer" about his language difficulties, said 's mother, Kim. "It helped shed a lot of light.", the study author, said the findings fit with a leading theory that suggests autism is "a disorder of connectivity in the brain."MEG technology also has been used to map brain tumors and to evaluate epilepsy. McPartland said a few previous studies have used MEG and related technology to study other aspects of autism, but with inconsistent results.Associated Press

[Guest guest]

Does this come as a surprise to anyone? I thought it was relatively well known that a good many children with autism also have central auditory processing problems. One would hope that more research was being conducted into how these children can be helped, rather than on finding new ways to show that they have problems with auditory processing.

Aasa

Subject: OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language WoesTo: EOHarm Received: Monday, December 1, 2008, 6:06 PM

From firstcoastnews. comBrain Waves Are Window into Autism Language WoesPosted By: Carla 22 hrs ago By LINDSEY TANNERAP Medical WriterCHICAGO (AP) -- Unique brain wave patterns, spotted for the first time in autistic children, may help explain why they have so much trouble communicating.Using an imaging helmet that resembles a big salon hair dryer, researchers discovered what they believe are "signatures of autism" that show a delay in processing individual sounds.That delay is only a fraction of a second, but when it's for every sound, the lag time can cascade into a major obstacle in speaking and understanding people, the researchers said.Imagine if it took a tiny bit longer than normal to understand each syllable. By the end of a whole sentence, you'd be pretty confused.The study authors believe that's what happens with autistic children,

based on the brain wave patterns detected in school-age children in their study.The preliminary results need to be confirmed in younger children, but the researchers hope this technique could be used to help diagnose autism in children as young as age 1. That's at least a year earlier than usual, and it could mean behavior treatment much sooner. Papanicolaou, director of the clinical neurosciences center at University of Texas's Houston campus, said the study makes a major contribution to autism research."It gives us a window through which we get a picture of some of the neurological conditions responsible for the peculiar behaviors in autism," said Papanicolaou, who was not involved in the research.Dr. McPartland, a Yale University autism researcher who also wasn't involved in the study, called the results "preliminary, with promise." Whether the patterns found in

the study exist in all autistic children is uncertain, but they're worthy of more study, he said.Study results were prepared for release Monday at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.Finding biomarkers -- like the brain waves -- that could enable earlier diagnosis and treatment is the "holy grail" for autism scientists, McPartland said. Now, doctors typically diagnose autism through parents' reports and by observing behaviors that often don't emerge until at least age 2, he said.The brain wave study used noninvasive technology called magnetoencephalogra phy, MEG for short. It measures magnetic fields generated by electrical currents in brain nerve cells, and records brain activity in real time.Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had 64 autistic children ages 6 to 15 listen through headphones to a series of rapid beeps while under the

helmet-like device, which recorded the brain's response to the sounds. Those brain waves, shown as highlighted areas on an imaging screen, were compared with responses in a group of non-autistic children.In autistic children, response to each sound was delayed by one-fiftieth of a second."We tend to speak at four syllables per second," said , the study's lead author and the hospital's vice chairman of research. If an autistic brain "is slow in processing a change in a syllable ... it could easily get to the point of being overloaded."Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have autism, a disorder involving poor verbal communication, repetitive behaviors such as head-banging, and avoidance of physical or eye contact.There is no cure but behavior treatment and sometimes medication can lessen symptoms.Among those in the study was Leiby, a 9-year-old Mount

Laurel, N.J., boy with mild autism and sometimes hard-to-understand speech. He said he felt like an astronaut wearing that big helmet, and called the whole experience "cool." was diagnosed at age 2. Since then he's had extensive treatment including speech therapy. He's in a regular third-grade class, loves cross-country running and hopes to become an engineer.Before participating in the study last year, "we didn't have an answer" about his language difficulties, said 's mother, Kim. "It helped shed a lot of light.", the study author, said the findings fit with a leading theory that suggests autism is "a disorder of connectivity in the brain."MEG technology also has been used to map brain tumors and to evaluate epilepsy. McPartland said a few previous studies have used MEG and related technology to study other aspects of autism, but with inconsistent

results.Associated Press

[Guest guest]

--cemtral auditory processing AKA peripheral nerve damage

- In EOHarm , Aasa wrote:

>

> Does this come as a surprise to anyone? I thought it was relatively

well known that a good many children with autism also have central

auditory processing problems. One would hope that more research was

being conducted into how these children can be helped, rather than on

finding new ways to show that they have problems with auditory

processing.

>  

> Aasa

>

>

>

>

> Subject: OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language

Woes

> To: EOHarm

> Received: Monday, December 1, 2008, 6:06 PM

>

>

>

>

>

>

> From firstcoastnews. com

>

> Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language Woes

> Posted By: Carla 22 hrs ago

>

> By LINDSEY TANNER

>

> AP Medical Writer

>

> CHICAGO (AP) -- Unique brain wave patterns, spotted for the first

> time in autistic children, may help explain why they have so much

> trouble communicating.

>

> Using an imaging helmet that resembles a big salon hair dryer,

> researchers discovered what they believe are " signatures of autism "

> that show a delay in processing individual sounds.

>

> That delay is only a fraction of a second, but when it's for every

> sound, the lag time can cascade into a major obstacle in speaking

and

> understanding people, the researchers said.

>

> Imagine if it took a tiny bit longer than normal to understand each

> syllable. By the end of a whole sentence, you'd be pretty confused.

>

> The study authors believe that's what happens with autistic

children,

> based on the brain wave patterns detected in school-age children in

> their study.

>

> The preliminary results need to be confirmed in younger children,

but

> the researchers hope this technique could be used to help diagnose

> autism in children as young as age 1. That's at least a year

earlier

> than usual, and it could mean behavior treatment much sooner.

>

> Papanicolaou, director of the clinical neurosciences center

at

> University of Texas's Houston campus, said the study makes a major

> contribution to autism research.

>

> " It gives us a window through which we get a picture of some of the

> neurological conditions responsible for the peculiar behaviors in

> autism, " said Papanicolaou, who was not involved in the research.

>

> Dr. McPartland, a Yale University autism researcher who also

> wasn't involved in the study, called the results " preliminary, with

> promise. " Whether the patterns found in the study exist in all

> autistic children is uncertain, but they're worthy of more study,

he

> said.

>

> Study results were prepared for release Monday at the Radiological

> Society of North America meeting in Chicago.

>

> Finding biomarkers -- like the brain waves -- that could enable

> earlier diagnosis and treatment is the " holy grail " for autism

> scientists, McPartland said. Now, doctors typically diagnose autism

> through parents' reports and by observing behaviors that often

don't

> emerge until at least age 2, he said.

>

> The brain wave study used noninvasive technology called

> magnetoencephalogra phy, MEG for short. It measures magnetic fields

> generated by electrical currents in brain nerve cells, and records

> brain activity in real time.

>

> Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had 64 autistic

> children ages 6 to 15 listen through headphones to a series of

rapid

> beeps while under the helmet-like device, which recorded the

brain's

> response to the sounds. Those brain waves, shown as highlighted

areas

> on an imaging screen, were compared with responses in a group of

non-

> autistic children.

>

> In autistic children, response to each sound was delayed by one-

> fiftieth of a second.

>

> " We tend to speak at four syllables per second, " said

> , the study's lead author and the hospital's vice chairman

of

> research. If an autistic brain " is slow in processing a change in a

> syllable ... it could easily get to the point of being overloaded. "

>

> Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have autism, a disorder

> involving poor verbal communication, repetitive behaviors such as

> head-banging, and avoidance of physical or eye contact.

>

> There is no cure but behavior treatment and sometimes medication

can

> lessen symptoms.

>

> Among those in the study was Leiby, a 9-year-old Mount

Laurel,

> N.J., boy with mild autism and sometimes hard-to-understand speech.

> He said he felt like an astronaut wearing that big helmet, and

called

> the whole experience " cool. "

>

> was diagnosed at age 2. Since then he's had extensive

> treatment including speech therapy. He's in a regular third-grade

> class, loves cross-country running and hopes to become an engineer.

>

> Before participating in the study last year, " we didn't have an

> answer " about his language difficulties, said 's mother,

> Kim. " It helped shed a lot of light. "

>

> , the study author, said the findings fit with a leading

> theory that suggests autism is " a disorder of connectivity in the

> brain. "

>

> MEG technology also has been used to map brain tumors and to

evaluate

> epilepsy. McPartland said a few previous studies have used MEG and

> related technology to study other aspects of autism, but with

> inconsistent results.

>

> Associated Press

>

[Guest guest]

There was something about this in Portia Iverson's book

" Strange Son " , there was a Doctor that told Tito M that they could

help this lag time by some treatment. However since none of the stuff in

the book was able to be published none of it was persued that I know of.

However this would be an argument for auditory integration therapy. I

have always believe there is a lag time with my son. There is a reason

these kids like repetition because they get lost the 1st time they hear

something. This is certainly not new news however their suggestion that

only behavioral and drug therapy can benefit is ridicules and more than sort

sighted. Can someone tell me what drug can help you hear faster???-

From:

EOHarm [mailto:EOHarm ] On Behalf Of Aasa

Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 8:09 PM

To: EOHarm

Subject: Re: OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language

Woes

Does this come as a surprise to anyone? I thought it was

relatively well known that a good many children with autism also have central

auditory processing problems. One would hope that more research was being

conducted into how these children can be helped, rather than on finding new

ways to show that they have problems with auditory processing.

Aasa

From: jenna.keefe

Subject: OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language Woes

To: EOHarm

Received: Monday, December 1, 2008, 6:06 PM

From firstcoastnews. com

Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language Woes

Posted By: Carla 22 hrs ago

By LINDSEY TANNER

AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- Unique brain wave patterns, spotted for the first

time in autistic children, may help explain why they have so much

trouble communicating.

Using an imaging helmet that resembles a big salon hair dryer,

researchers discovered what they believe are " signatures of autism "

that show a delay in processing individual sounds.

That delay is only a fraction of a second, but when it's for every

sound, the lag time can cascade into a major obstacle in speaking and

understanding people, the researchers said.

Imagine if it took a tiny bit longer than normal to understand each

syllable. By the end of a whole sentence, you'd be pretty confused.

The study authors believe that's what happens with autistic children,

based on the brain wave patterns detected in school-age children in

their study.

The preliminary results need to be confirmed in younger children, but

the researchers hope this technique could be used to help diagnose

autism in children as young as age 1. That's at least a year earlier

than usual, and it could mean behavior treatment much sooner.

Papanicolaou, director of the clinical neurosciences center at

University of Texas's Houston campus, said the study makes a major

contribution to autism research.

" It gives us a window through which we get a picture of some of the

neurological conditions responsible for the peculiar behaviors in

autism, " said Papanicolaou, who was not involved in the research.

Dr. McPartland, a Yale University autism researcher who also

wasn't involved in the study, called the results " preliminary, with

promise. " Whether the patterns found in the study exist in all

autistic children is uncertain, but they're worthy of more study, he

said.

Study results were prepared for release Monday at the Radiological

Society of North America meeting in Chicago.

Finding biomarkers -- like the brain waves -- that could enable

earlier diagnosis and treatment is the " holy grail " for autism

scientists, McPartland said. Now, doctors typically diagnose autism

through parents' reports and by observing behaviors that often don't

emerge until at least age 2, he said.

The brain wave study used noninvasive technology called

magnetoencephalogra phy, MEG for short. It measures magnetic fields

generated by electrical currents in brain nerve cells, and records

brain activity in real time.

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had 64 autistic

children ages 6 to 15 listen through headphones to a series of rapid

beeps while under the helmet-like device, which recorded the brain's

response to the sounds. Those brain waves, shown as highlighted areas

on an imaging screen, were compared with responses in a group of non-

autistic children.

In autistic children, response to each sound was delayed by one-

fiftieth of a second.

" We tend to speak at four syllables per second, " said

, the study's lead author and the hospital's vice chairman of

research. If an autistic brain " is slow in processing a change in a

syllable ... it could easily get to the point of being overloaded. "

Experts say one in 150 U.S. children have autism, a disorder

involving poor verbal communication, repetitive behaviors such as

head-banging, and avoidance of physical or eye contact.

There is no cure but behavior treatment and sometimes medication can

lessen symptoms.

Among those in the study was Leiby, a 9-year-old Mount Laurel,

N.J., boy with mild autism and sometimes hard-to-understand speech.

He said he felt like an astronaut wearing that big helmet, and called

the whole experience " cool. "

was diagnosed at age 2. Since then he's had extensive

treatment including speech therapy. He's in a regular third-grade

class, loves cross-country running and hopes to become an engineer.

Before participating in the study last year, " we didn't have an

answer " about his language difficulties, said 's mother,

Kim. " It helped shed a lot of light. "

, the study author, said the findings fit with a leading

theory that suggests autism is " a disorder of connectivity in the

brain. "

MEG technology also has been used to map brain tumors and to evaluate

epilepsy. McPartland said a few previous studies have used MEG and

related technology to study other aspects of autism, but with

inconsistent results.

Associated Press

[Guest guest]

We used digit spans to work my sons auditory processing and got major WOWS with language and overall function. The ability to read non-verbal body language normalized along with the progress, his ability to follow instructions, his ability to interact socially on an NT level, his ability to do math word problems..... the list is ENDLESS of how working his auditory sequential processing changed his life.

When I started this work with him, he was processing auditory information at the age of 11 at the level of a 5 year old. Once we identified the issue, it took about 8 months of doing digit spans 3-4 times a day to get him up to normal levels. My son.... who was considered a special education LIFER at the time immediately was able to mainstream successfully. Today, even though he still has fine motor issues and some issues with his central detail vision (which we are also working on right now with a vengence), he attends regular school in grade 8, has normal peer relationships with the other kids only thinking that he has food allergies. Fixing auditory processig issues and working his ears in pretty much every way imagineable pretty much changed his entire life right around.

I believe that this area is so unidentified.... we spent years of working with therapists (9.5 years of system speech therapy and OT) without ANYONE ever mentioning this issue. I could have saved my son years of pain and emotional angst had we identified this sooner. Of course, back when my son was a tyke there wasn't a whole lot of information on the internet like there is today. His diagnosis is developmental dyspraxia/apraxia so I wasn't even researching autism at the time..... too bad or we would have discovered biomed and all of the other wonderful therapies when he was a lot younger too!

So... this is hard work.... but it works tremendously. It doesn't cost anything to do and is pretty easy. There are computer programs out there that you can buy such as Brainbuilder and Simply Smarter but I prefer to do digit spans with my son on my own.... he tends to be more compliant, I can make it a little less boring and we can do them anywhere. I just use a white board, write the digit spans down and bring them everywhere we go. Today, we only do it once a day and now we are actually at advanced levels and my son's level of auditory processing is now better then mine! Too funny!

Auditory short term memory is extremely important to work in many/most of our children but if you attack it hard and don't give up, you can make wonderful, powerful changes in your child's life.

Janice

[Guest guest]

What are digit spans???

Barb

Re: OT - Brain Waves Are Window into Autism Language Woes

We used digit spans to work my sons auditory processing and got major WOWS with language and overall function. The ability to read non-verbal body language normalized along with the progress, his ability to follow instructions, his ability to interact socially on an NT level, his ability to do math word problems..... the list is ENDLESS of how working his auditory sequential processing changed his life.

When I started this work with him, he was processing auditory information at the age of 11 at the level of a 5 year old. Once we identified the issue, it took about 8 months of doing digit spans 3-4 times a day to get him up to normal levels. My son.... who was considered a special education LIFER at the time immediately was able to mainstream successfully. Today, even though he still has fine motor issues and some issues with his central detail vision (which we are also working on right now with a vengence), he attends regular school in grade 8, has normal peer relationships with the other kids only thinking that he has food allergies. Fixing auditory processig issues and working his ears in pretty much every way imagineable pretty much changed his entire life right around.

I believe that this area is so unidentified.... we spent years of working with therapists (9.5 years of system speech therapy and OT) without ANYONE ever mentioning this issue. I could have saved my son years of pain and emotional angst had we identified this sooner. Of course, back when my son was a tyke there wasn't a whole lot of information on the internet like there is today. His diagnosis is developmental dyspraxia/apraxia so I wasn't even researching autism at the time..... too bad or we would have discovered biomed and all of the other wonderful therapies when he was a lot younger too!

So... this is hard work.... but it works tremendously. It doesn't cost anything to do and is pretty easy. There are computer programs out there that you can buy such as Brainbuilder and Simply Smarter but I prefer to do digit spans with my son on my own.... he tends to be more compliant, I can make it a little less boring and we can do them anywhere. I just use a white board, write the digit spans down and bring them everywhere we go. Today, we only do it once a day and now we are actually at advanced levels and my son's level of auditory processing is now better then mine! Too funny!

Auditory short term memory is extremely important to work in many/most of our children but if you attack it hard and don't give up, you can make wonderful, powerful changes in your child's life.

Janice