Top 7 Autism News for the Week That Was: 11th August, 2015

Here is your weekly dose of autism news for the week spanning 3rd August to 11th August 2015. We didn’t find 10 encouraging news items, so made do with 7 for this week. The performance of the Indian team at the Special Olympics World Summer Games, massive donation raised by Jon Stewart on his last day, possible autism diagnosis test and more are in the news for the right reasons. Read the latest autism news for the week that was: 3rd to 11th August 2015. And do let us know what you think.

India wins 173 medals at the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2015

The performance of the Indian contingent at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, 2015, held at Los Angeles, is nothing short of exemplary. Our athletes have won a total of 173 medals including 47 Gold, 54 Silver, and 72 Bronze medals. This is better than the 156 medals that they had won in the last edition of the Games held in Greece in 2011. The number of participants also rose from 236 in the last edition to 275 this time. These efforts have truly made us citizens proud.

Another likely cause of autism identified by doctors

A recent study has suggested that a genetic switch left “on” could be a likely cause of autism in children. While studying the cell of a child with autism, scientists found that a key enzyme needed for a developing brain seems to be permanently switched on rather than intermittently being switched on and off for a neuro-typical brain. This research was published by the University of North Carolina. We would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Jon Stewart’s last day on the Daily Show helped raise $2.2 million for autism

On the night of Thursday, 6th August 2015, Jon Stewart hosted the Daily Show for the last time. However, his epic 16-year-long stint ended with a gesture that no one will never forget. By teaming up with the charity fundraising company Omaze, Stewart raised over $2.2 million for New York Collaborates for Autism (NYCA). The contribution came from a total of 47,048 people across 78 countries. God bless you, Jon Stewart!

Therapy shows that horses can help people with autism learn new skills

The founder of the Cork Area Network for Families with Autism Spectrum (CANFAS), Val Davin, points out to evidence that children with autism connect a lot with all animals, especially horses. She organizes summer camps and riding lessons for young adults and children with autism at the Tulligmore Equestrian Centre in Ballinhassig, Ireland. She has said that some non-verbal children have spoken their first words when astride a pony. The ponies and horses develop a close affinity with the children and teenagers and vice versa. This is heartening. We hope to witness trends like this to address autism in India too.

Families of autistic children in Indianapolis get respite services thanks to a donation

HighPoint Global, an Indianapolis-based government contractor, has donated about $125,000 per year to fund a program launched by the Autism Society of Indiana. This program provides up to 20 hours per week of respite care to families of children with autism. For these families, the autism society hires someone trained to visit their homes and give the primary caregivers some break. The caregivers can spend time doing something that feeds their spirits and rejuvenate, which, in turn, makes them better caregivers. The CEO of HighPoint Global, Ben Lanius, has a 16-year-old son who has autism and Down syndrome. Lovely gesture, don’t you think?

Psychologists in the UK develop an autism self assessment test

A self assessment test to diagnose autism has been developed by psychologists at Cardiff University. This autism assessment measures the extent to which adults are affected by repetitive behavior. It will now be tried, tested and rolled out across clinics across the UK. The research has displayed consistently high scores across 311 individuals with autism in common habits and patterns like fiddling obsessively, lining up objects and arranging them in patterns, etc. This test will allow affected people to assess themselves at clinics and will offer a boost to current autism diagnosis and assessment tests.

Golden retriever helps children with autism surf the waves

Ricochet, a golden retriever, who was rejected from being a service dog because of her love for chasing birds, is now an accomplished surfer, and utilizes her skills to help amputees and people with autism (including children) to take up the hobby. Ricochet interacts and surfs with children with special needs, people with disabilities, wounded warriors and veterans with PSTDs, giving them confidence and helping them develop balance. A dog is truly the best friend of homo sapiens.

Have some news to share that we missed? Do leave a comment. We would love to hear from you. Have a lovely week.