For those unsure of how to deal with a loved one diagnosed with autism, Tuesday marked the day to get an extensive lecture on the disorder from an accredited professional who teaches it.

Notre Dame assistant professor Joshua Diehl gave a presentation on autism at the Dow Center on Hillsdale College’s campus. a packed room watched closely as Diehl explained the ways families and  organizations can deal with the disorder more effectively, outlining the pros and cons of several teaching methods related to autism but advised breakthroughs take time.

“Children with autism don’t learn things the way we do,” he said during the conference. “It’s a time-consuming process. there is no magic bullet.”

Diehl said if someone has a child who has been recently diagnosed with autism, they should visit autismspeaks.org, a website with several free resources to learn more about the disorder and how one can more effectively deal with autism. Some symptoms of autism are difficulty communicating, repetitive behaviors and self harm.  

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Autism is a complex disorder without one single cause. Autism manifests itself in a variety of ways and its symptoms range in severity from individual to individual. Although the symptoms vary, they encompass communication and social difficulties.

There is no one known cause of autism, but the Autism Society reports that “it is generally accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function.” Brain scans of children with autism show differences in the shape and structure of the brain as compared to normally developing children.

Genetics may play a role in the development of autism. No single gene has been identified as a cause of autism, but some families have a pattern of autism. Some children, it appears, are born susceptible to autism. Research is being conducted on whether some genes may interfere with brain development that results in autism, and whether problems during pregnancy or delivery may play a role.

Researchers are also studying whether environmental factors play a role in the development of autism. Metabolic imbalances, exposure to certain chemicals, and viral infections may be related to the development of autism.

Individuals who have certain medical conditions such as Fragile X syndrome, congenital rubella syndrome, untreated phenylketonuria (PKU), and tuberous sclerosis have been found to have autism more frequently, leading researchers to believe there may be a connection between these conditions and autism. also associated with an increased risk of autism are some harmful substances ingested by pregnant women.

Heavy metals such as mercury are more prevalent in our environment today than they have been in the past. Individuals who have ASD or are at risk for developing it have a decreased ability to detoxify and metabolize these toxins.

Research regarding the link between vaccines and autism, however, has not been proven by research. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted numerous studies on the safety of vaccines and the link between thimerosol, a preservative used in vaccines. The studies have found the there is no association between autism and vaccines.

So what causes autism? There are theories worthy of further research that may help uncover causes and connections, but at this point, there is no one identified cause of this complex syndrome.

Courtesy of etniesThe etnies x Autism Speaks collection is available now through the etnies Web store.

etnies Footwear has teamed up with Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, to create a line of co-branded kid’s footwear. Ten percent of proceeds of sales of the co-branded shoes, with a minimum of $10,000 per year, will be donated to Autism Speaks to help raise awareness and support Autism Speaks in their continued efforts to fund autism research, as well as develop resources and treatments.

etnies BMX pro Brian Kachinsky has rallied behind the cause. “Individual sports like BMX, can have a positive effect on children with autism,” says Kachinsky. “When etnies made me aware of the Autism Speaks organization, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the effort,” he adds.

Currently, etnies is offering two co-branded models, the Fader and RVM, which are available in children’s sizes and sold in the etnies Web store. according to Kachinsky, an X Games Bronze Medalist who has been a part of the etnies BMX pro team for the past several years, etnies plans to expand their efforts. “The collection will expand to include adult footwear and apparel in coming seasons,” says Kachinsky. “Also, in April, etnies and Autism Speaks are planning to host a clinic for kids diagnosed with autism to come and learn how to ride BMX and how to skateboard. It’s going to be rad.”

Autism, a developmental disorder that appears in the first three years of life, affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Over the past two decades, autism prevalence as risen by up to 600 percent. Today, one in every 110 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. And for Kachinsky, the cause hits close to home. “I have friends who have made a career working with autistic children and I admire their dedication in working with those living with autism,” he says. “I also think it’s part of my role as pro to utilize that status and influence for positive efforts like Autism Speaks.”

Cody Yorketnies BMX pro Brian Kachinsky has rallied behind the etnies x Autism Speaks cause.

Autism remains a challenging condition for children and their families, but the outlook today has improved. Today, with the right therapy, many of the symptoms of autism can be mitigated, though most people will have some symptoms throughout their lives. Kachinsky believes that the joint effort between etnies and Autism Speaks will help raise awareness of the disorder. “As a pro BMX rider, I believe that being a good role model is crucial. Kids are paying close attention to what we do. And if we take their attention and expose them to different causes and amazing organizations like Autism Speaks, we can educate them and hopefully encourage them to support the causes that are important to them personally.”

Additional etnies athletes supporting the Autism Speaks cause include skateboarders Jose Rojo and Ryan Sheckler, BMXer Aaron Ross, FMX pro Kyle Loza, and etnies surfers Kai Otton and Sally Fitzgibbons.

Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Since then, Autism Speaks has grown into the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

To learn more, visit etnies.com.

A group of parents of children with autism spent the one morning last week getting advice from behavior specialists with the Brownsville Independent School District on how to make the holidays less stressful.

In a parent training called “Autism 101,” the specialists presented material to help parents understand the characteristics of autism and strategies for working with children who have autism spectrum disorders, or ASD.

The Autism Society of America defines the disorder as a complex developmental disability that affects a personâ??s social interaction and communication skills. as many as one in 10 children are thought to be affected. Symptoms usually show up by the time a child is 3. ASD generally refers to the severity of the disability, which manifests itself in numerous but predictable ways.

BISDâ??s Special Services Department is well aware of autism and ASD, offering special classes for children with the disorder as well as trainings for parents like the one offered last week.

At one point, Suzette Yekel, the behavior specialist leading the discussion, offered a list of warning signs for autism:

>> Inappropriate laughing or giggling

>> Difficulty expressing needs

>> Inappropriate response to sound

>> Sustained unusual repetitive play

>> Uneven physical or verbal skills

>> No real fear of danger

>> Apparent insensitivity to pain.

Before autism was understood as well as it is today, some autistic people were actually operated on without anesthesia because doctors thought they didnâ??t feel pain, Yekel said, quickly adding that autistic people do , in fact, feel pain.

As Yekel presented the training, David Delgado, another BISD behavior specialist, translated what was being said into Spanish for anyone who didnâ??t fully understand. Then, if someone commented or asked a question in Spanish, he would translate that back into English.

Parents received a list of holiday survival tips for children with autism promising that “with a bit of planning the holidays can be memorable and successful for your child.” the list included advice on how to stick to routines, plan for social gatherings, go shopping and do decorations and gifts.

Pete Zepeda, whose son is 4 and has autism, said he found the training useful.

“Heâ??s everything to us,” Zepeda said of his son. “The more information we can find, the better. I learned some more stuff today. … Now I donâ??t feel like weâ??re the only ones. I feel like weâ??re in a large group of people that are not just making themselves scarce but who want to better inform themselves about this kind of disorder.”

BISD will have two more trainings for parents of autistic children, on Feb. 16, titled “Strategies for the Home” and on April 13 titled “Behavior: make and take.” both are at Vela Middle School, 4905 Paredes Line Road.

The training also presented a list of 10 things a child with autism wants people to know about him or her:

1. “I am first and foremost a child. I have autism. I am not primarily autistic.”

2. “My sensory perceptions are distorted.” (Children with autism often donâ??t read social cues well and have difficulty recognizing the meaning of tone of voice.)

3. “Please distinguish between â??I wonâ??t (choose not to) and I canâ??t (am not able to)â??”

4. “I am a concrete thinker. that means I interpret language very literally.” (Use simple language with autistics. They are very visual people.)

5. “Please be patient with my limited vocabulary.”

6. “I am visually oriented. I learn visually.”

7. “Please focus on what I can do rather than what I canâ??t do.”

8. “Please help me with my social interactions.”

9. “Try to identify what triggers my meltdowns.” (People with autism do not like being told “no,” they often donâ??t have the ability to delay gratification.)

10. “Love me unconditionally.”

Her day might begin at 2 or 3 in the morning, when her 9-year-old autistic daughter, Ashlyn, wakes up next to her. And from that moment on, Jackie Polvado’s life is a full-out sprint.

“Ashlyn still sleeps with me because it’s the only way we can get any sleep. but I’ve been up day and night, like when my daughter was up for 48 hours, screaming,” said Polvado of Keller, Texas.

“It’s exhausting, and there’s no end in sight.”

for families with children with autism spectrum disorders — a range of developmental disabilities that cause social, communication and behavioral problems — each day can be emotionally overwhelming, stress-filled and isolating.

Family and friends shy away. the child’s behavior can leave parents prisoners, trapped at home. if they venture out, passers-by stare, wondering why the child isn’t under control.

“Sometimes, the parents think they’re admitting failure when they ask for help,” said Shanel Tarrant-Simone, the single mother of twin 10-year-old autistic sons. “‘I’m the parent; I should know how to deal with it.’

“But no parent is equipped to do this.”

And while neither of these moms could imagine hurting their children, they can begin to understand the hopelessness Saiqa Akhter may have felt when she allegedly killed her two children in Irving, Texas, last month, or how overwhelmed a single mother in New York was to kill her 12-year-old autistic son and then herself.

“People on Facebook were very quick to say, ‘Oh my God, how could she do this?’ but I say, how did she get to that point?” said Tarrant-Simone of Frisco, Texas. “The isolation and hopelessness — I’ve felt them.”

still, nothing can excuse what these women did, Polvado said.

“The resources are there — there aren’t enough of them, and they cost money, but there is help,” she said.

but day in, day out, many families with autistic children say they struggle on alone.

“We don’t have other friends coming and offering to babysit our children,” said Clay Boatright of Plano, Texas, with wife Carole the parents of three daughters, including autistic 10-year-old twins. “They don’t have friends inviting them over for sleepovers. what we have is people saying, ‘Wow, that must be tough.’”

Cases on the rise

unfortunately, the number of Autism Spectrum Disorder cases is soaring. Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say almost 1percent of children have autism or another ASD. Diagnoses in Texas increased 400 percent in the past 10 years, a trend that has officials searching for ways to teach affected students — and pay for it with the state facing a budget shortfall of up to $18 billion.

Dr. Catherine Karni, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and medical director of the outpatient clinic at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, said some of the increase can be explained by a broader definition of the autism spectrum, which includes Asperger’s syndrome, Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.

“So you have severely autistic children and others with something that doesn’t show the full symptoms of autism,” Dr. Karni said. “You have more people.”

more awareness of autism and better diagnostic tools also increase the numbers.

“But most likely, there is an increase in prevalence. We don’t know how much, or why. We believe there is a genetic component — all the research points to that, and this tends to aggregate in families,” she said.

Some speculate that environmental pollution can be a contributor. others blame childhood immunizations, though research hasn’t shown any clear correlation, Dr. Karni said. Certain metals that used to be a part of vaccines have been removed, but cases of autism continue to increase.

With the causes unclear, there is no cure. “We have different treatments. We have behavioral treatments. We use medications in psychiatry that might help with specific symptoms,” Dr. Karni said. “But they don’t cure autism.”

Improvement possible

Early diagnosis and treatment are currently the best ways to bring improvements, Dr. Karni said.

“Our clinic goes down to 12 months of age, because the earlier the diagnosis and intervention, the better the result,” she said.

“It’s a small window of opportunity — a child’s first five years — because of the plasticity of the brain at that age,” she said. “After the fifth year, the results are not as good.”

but getting an early diagnosis can be difficult.

Tarrant-Simone’s sons were born prematurely, but were home within 11 days and showed all the normal signs of progress except for speaking.

“At 12 months, it just wasn’t coming along,” she said. but when she pointed it out to their pediatrician, she was told, “They’re boys; they’re preemies.”

“You’re a mom — you know something is wrong with the child,” she said, “but they were doing all this other stuff — smiling, laughing, interacting with each other. so a lot of the concerns I raised were just swept under the rug.”

Polvado’s daughter was social, too, and developmentally advanced. she had no problems with language. “Her first word was ‘cat,’” her mom said. but there were mild signs at an early age — she hated the sound of laughter, even as an infant.

“Then it was a slow progression,” Polvado said. “She started obsessing on eating only certain foods. And her language was slowing down. it wasn’t functional. she could say ‘cat,’ ‘dog,’ ‘shoe,’ but she would never say ‘juice’ because she was thirsty.

“I knew something was wrong and asked my pediatrician about it, and he said don’t worry about it. Everyone said nothing was wrong.”

the American Academy of Pediatrics has worked over the last few years to educate pediatricians on ASDs, Dr. Karni said.

“Obviously, a child who doesn’t talk may have other things, too, so it isn’t easy to make this diagnosis,” she said. “The important thing is to send the child to specialists. Pediatricians need to have their antenna up and refer these cases.”

but if that doesn’t happen, she said, parents need to find services on their own.

Learning life skills

Even if the diagnosis comes too late for early intervention, some parents believe that appropriate kinds of education can provide the life skills their children need.

“As kids are diagnosed and progress through the school system, we need to identify what their true skills and talents are,” Boatright said. “What are their strengths? what do they like to do? how can that be enhanced and made marketable?”

the need for proper programs is a national issue that needs immediate attention, said Rita Shreffler of Nixa, Mo., executive director of the National Autism Association.

“Almost 1 percent of the kids in this country have autism,” she said, “so what do we do?

“A study a few years back said the lifetime cost of care for individuals who need round-the-clock help is $3.2million,” she said. “I don’t think people realize that 1 in 110 children or even more have an ASD, and they’re coming of age. so it’s important that we find treatment.

“Otherwise, this will fall to the taxpayers, at $3.2 million each.”

Naturally, the future hangs most heavily on the parents of autistic kids.

Will there be a cure someday? who will care for their child when they are gone? can the child find friendship, happiness?

“I have a motto in my life: There’s no such thing as false hope,” said Polvado, who with her husband, Lamarque, publishes a magazine called Connections Kids to provide a list of available services. “I hope for the best. I hope Ashlyn will recover and find her dream job, get married and have children. That’s always going to be my hope.

“Then, of course, there’s reality. the reality is we may not achieve that. so we take it day-by-day, hour-by-hour. I’m hoping for recovery, I’m working for recovery. but if in 10 years she can function but needs assistance, I’m OK with that.

“I just want Ashlyn to be happy and healthy.”

By the numbers

·Roughly 1 percent of children in the United States — 1 in 110 — have an autism spectrum disorder, with developmental disabilities running from slight to severe.

·ASDs occur in children of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but disorders are four to five times more likely in boys than girls.

·Studies of identical twins show that if one has an ASD, the other will be affected 60 percent to 96 percent of the time. in nonidentical twins, if one has an ASD, the other is affected 0 percent to 24 percent of the time.

·Parents who have a child with an ASD have a 2percent to 8percent chance of having another affected child.

·a 2009 report showed that 41percent of children with an ASD also had an intellectual disability — an IQ of 70 or below.

·about 40 percent of children with an ASD don’t talk at all, and an additional 25 percent to 30 percent have some words at 12 to 18 months of age and then lose them. others may speak, but not until later in childhood.

·On average, medical expenses for someone with an ASD are about five times higher than for those without an ASD.

— Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionRESOURCES Many websites offer information on ASDs, from support groups and service providers to age-specific information that could help indicate whether a child has a disorder. U.S. Centers for Disease Control: cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html Autism Society of America: autism-society.org First Signs: firstsigns.org