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Yesterday’s Pathophilia reviews a group of studies (two by Mark and David Geier) about testosterone levels in autistic children. Pathophilia finds that testoterone is not increased in autistic children.
The Cambridge-based Autism Research Centre is also researching hormones in autistic individuals. The Foetal testosterone Longitudinal Study seeks to find out whether elevated levels of foetal testosterone […]
So, yes, I am forever hand-wringing about how Charlie doesn’t have enough verbal language to tell me things, like his stomach hurting and why in the world he is squinting.
And, like whether or not I already gave him a tablet of melatonin. Last night, I said I was going to, walked into the kitchen, realized […]
Here’s an alarm clock that doesn’t mess around, either reading AWAKE or SLEEP. According to its creator, the clock works on a 4-hour cycle; by following the directions, a user is supposed to be able to “enjoy the benefits of a 21-hour day”—-which is kind of how long of a day some parents of autistic […]
Summer school, that is—-Charlie’s first day of Extended School Year is tomorrow. (Yes, we’re back in Jersey, courtesy of a red eye to Newark Airport.) His last day of the regular school year was last Thursday so he’s only had a few days off. From experience, this very brief break is the best thing for […]
It’s April 1st and the start of “Autism Awareness Month”: There’ll be plenty in the news about autism and also appeals to support research—and what kind of research, in particular?
Last year (FY 2007), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) devoted $127 million to research autism spectrum disorders through “grants, contracts, research projects conducted as […]
We’re still going back and forth with Charlie’s case manager about a time for his IEP and annual review—-the district seems to want to have students’ meeting by the end of April (although it is possible for any member of the Child Study Team (CST) to call an IEP when that member wishes to; […]
There’s one thing that determines when I sleep: When Charlie goes to bed. (So, in his pre-melatonin days, when he fell asleep at midnight at the earliest, “bedtime” for me took on all the aura of some kind of promised land.)
According to a new study in the Journal of Labor Economics, the schedule for […]
It’s not the case for every family with an autistic child that I have met, but “lack of sleep” (for the child, for the parents) is a fairly frequent topic. For the past year-plus, we’ve been giving Charlie melatonin, an over-the-counter dietary supplement, to help him sleep, after a period of him falling asleep every […]
Researchers reverse effects of sleep deprivation notes today’s Science Daily:
Orexin-A, also known as hypocretin-1, is a naturally occurring peptide produced in the brain that regulates sleep. It’s secreted by a small number of neurons but affects many brain regions during the day and people who have normal amounts of orexin-A are able to maintain wakefulness. […]
Neighbors had inflatable turkeys up in their front yards the day after Halloween and there have been Christmas decorations in Target stores since before then: This gives me the message, holidays coming, do your decorating, buy those cards presents and wrapping paper, figure out your strategy for Black Friday……..
Yes, the holidays are approaching and Charlie, after […]
Autism mother gets on her soapbox.
Written by Kristina Chew, PhD [email] for b5media.
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