Using Algorithms to Diagnose Autism Faster

Online Tool for Faster Autism Diagnosis

This is a very interesting, quick article about a new autism diagnostic tool developed by Dennis Wall and his team from Harvard.  Considering the rise in ASD prevalence, it will be fascinating to follow this new tool to see whether it holds up as a reliable and valid means of diagnosing children on the Autism spectrum.

http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/04/12/online-tool-for-faster-autism-diagnosis/37260.html

Has anyone used the Autworks survey yet?  I’d love to hear feedback!

Screening Tools for ASD

This article is a quick read about useful screening tools to help identify children with ASD.  Its approachable language makes it a great reference for teachers and parents as well as professionals!  Thanks PediaStaff for posting the link!

http://www.pediastaff.com/blog/best-practice-in-screening-students-for-autism-spectrum-disorders-asd-7947

Autism Signs in 6 Month Old Brains

I’m always amazed at what science can uncover.  Let’s hope this is the beginning of a fruitful path of future research!  The following article is from Scientific American: Autism Signs Appear in Brains of 6-Month-Old Infants.

Enjoy!

The Upside of Dyslexia

This is a fascinating article about the distinctive aptitudes of kiddos with dyslexia.  If you work with any of these kids, you might benefit from this quick read 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/the-upside-of-dyslexia.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=annie%20murphy%20paul&st=Search

Alzheimer’s Update

You might be seeing kiddos in the schools all day long, or working on minimal pairs therapy with preschoolers in your clinic, but our field is beautiful because it encompasses communication across the lifespan. Even if your niche is birth-3, staying up to date on the other specialties of speech-language pathology can be invigorating and enlightening.  With that in mind, here’s a NYTimes article from the other day:

Path Is Found for the Spread of Alzheimer’s

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/health/research/alzheimers-spreads-like-a-virus-in-the-brain-studies-find.html?_r=1

Enjoy this chance to learn a little more about a part of our field you might not encounter every day!