Don't Worry; Be Happy; Brain Imaging May Catch Autism Sooner; Horseback Riding As Therapy

"I wish I can show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being."...Hafiz


How To Create A Happy Future For Your Child With Autism

Dr. Krysti DeZonia of the Training, Education and Research Institute (TERI) presented clear recommendations to ensure your child with autism has a happy future after you are gone.

• Be sure there are people in your child's life who are not paid to be there. Start now in developing strong circles of support.
• Develop your child's social skills. If not, life without you can be lonely and unhappy.
• Help your child develop a plethora of interests. In addition, ensure everyone knows about their favorite activities.
• Futures planning is not enough. It's as important to develop a life quality plan. You can learn more about life quality planning at http://www.terriinc.org/ and click on "Life Quality Services."
• Finally, help your child do things that society values. These include developing relationships with friends, the community and business owners to name just a few.

And Dr. DeZonia offers one last tip: Remember, you are more important to your child's present and future life quality than any therapy, plan or treatment.
(Autism Support Network)


Brain Imaging May Catch Autism Sooner

At this point in autism research, it's almost impossible to diagnose autism at six months. But that might change soon.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina at Chapel Hill, using a special kind of MRI on 15 babies who had a sibling with autism, found those babies had weaker connections.

"This is really before we can pick up any differences behaviorally," said Dr. Jason Wolf. "If we can go earlier and earlier in our interventions, we can prevent autism from fully manifesting" added Dr. Wolf.
(Click2Houston)




Horseback Riding As Therapy

Horseback riding can be valuable therapy for individuals with autism. Those who teach individuals with autism ride horses point out the following benefits:

• Develops communication and social skills
• Develops sensory skills
• Develops motor skills
• And results in better responses to verbal cues and external stimuli

Horse back riding is also great therapy because horses are companion animals. Horses are not demanding and are acutely aware of the rider's smallest movement, attitude and emotion. Because of these behavioral characteristics, horses are effective in creating a bond with riders with autism that encourages communication and interaction. Just as important, horse back riding builds a trusting relationship that is rewarding, life-changing and fun.
(Regarding Horses)



4 Your Bookshelf

Conference News

2012 International Autism Conference. August 1-2, 2012.  ICC, Jerusalem, Israel. Contact ICare4Autism at http://www.icare4autism.org/ for more information.