Autism Soccer: Research

Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Autism Glass: A Solution for Gaze Avoidance

Autism glass is a set of wearable glasses that allow children to see their parents through a system and a smartphone application.

There might be a way to help your children learn how to look you in the eyes.

Every growing child faces challenges in its development. In the case of autistic children, the hardships are even more. Numbers show that only in the US there are more than 1 million cases of children diagnosed with autism in their early years. Lack of social interaction generally poses a great difficulty in the early development of these children, making it hard for them to communicate and understand others. Luckily, Autism Glass might be an effective treatment for gaze avoidance.

How do they work?

A researching team at Stanford has identified a potential solution for facial expression recognition training in autistic children. They developed a system using AI and a learning system to automate facial expressions on a screen. The system runs on wearable glasses and can deliver real-time social signals. These glasses have a camera incorporated that is connected to a smartphone.

Children wearing the autism glasses will be able to see and analyze the facial expressions of their parents, peers or friends. Also, the system records the amount and type of eye contact, so it adds an extra benefit for further studies.

It is important to clarify something: this is research conducted at Stanford and is still in process, as it barely kicked off in 2015. But as it proves it could potentially help children, some parents have decided to sign and try these glasses as a part of the study.

Leading members of the project claim that assisting parents, therapists and professionals interested on how to use the device, could be a way to take advantage of these glasses as a tool for continuous learning.

What’s interesting about autism glasses is that children can actually have fun using them. The glasses are made to educate and entertain children while they learn to understand the basics of social behavior from the comfort of their house. Children engage easily as the activities are friendly and easy to use. But the most important part is autism glasses are profitable for their development.

Currently, slots are open for families interested in participating in this investigation. All you have to do is check this website and make sure that your children meet the requirements (they’re quite a few).

There are many alternative treatments out there, all seeking for a definite solution to improve the lives of autistic individuals. One of those is Autism Soccer, a nonprofit organization that aids children in the development of early social skills and offers an environment adapted to them and full of potentials. Sign up your kids to play now or support the cause by donating!

These glasses will improve the understanding of social cues in autistic children and teens.

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Thursday, August 17, 2017

Where to Get Information about Autism?

Online sources offerr an incredible insight for people that want to know more about autism.

The Internet has proven to be the ultimate tool for investigation. There’s hardly a terminology or subject you can't find while browsing, which demonstrates just how important this tool is. The same applies to autism research. There are many community websites with information about the spectrum. Nonetheless, with so much information at hand, you could doubt on which sources are trustworthy.

Where can I get information about Autism? That’s a question that can be solved easily. I’ll introduce you to three websites you can trust about the matter:

1.- Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is a community of proactive individuals and advocates who stand up for the needs of people with autism, while counseling their parents and families about this disorders' spectrum. They also commit to increase the acceptance of autistic individuals by providing society with information through different campaigns. Their website contains an immense amount of knowledge about the disorder and those who live with it.

2.- Spectrum

This website is a massive source of general information about Autism. They provide comprehensive news and papers related to the advances about the disorder. Not only they are a trustworthy source of information, but they have professionals and specialists that guarantee the veracity of each article. Spectrum is without doubts one of the best databases about autism on the Internet.

3.- The National Autistic Society

Based in the UK, the NAS is one of the leading supporters of pro-autism initiatives, and perhaps one of the oldest, as their work started over 50 years ago. With experience on their side, along with the support of their donors, members, and volunteers, they seek to provide life-changing counseling to autistic people and their families. Their goal is that those who are born with this condition live in the best possible conditions.

You can trust all these websites! They’ve earned their place as the most complete and competent sources of information. Perhaps you haven’t heard of it, but there’s a non-profit organization out there that works just like these websites. Autism Soccer is a place that offers autistic children activities to develop their social and motor skills. You won’t find a better place for your kids than this one, check their website and get informed about their labor!

You can check these websites to know more about the autistic spectrum.

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Thursday, August 10, 2017

Can Autism be Genetically Investigated?

Scientists are looking at the genetic code to identify the patterns and causes for autism.

Almost everything that defines who we are is rooted in our genetics. If you have read stories about identical twins separated at birth, you’ll find a similar pattern in their behavior and certain life decisions. Taking out the fact that each person life's conditions are different, there’s an obvious pattern in genetics that can be traced down. Now, autism is still clouded with some uncertainty about its origins and occurrence, but can autism be genetically investigated?

Getting back to the identical twins referent, there’s a lot of information about their genes that is related to the investigation of autism. It happens that if one of them has autism, the chances of the other to having this condition as well are higher. Since genes are shared among identical twins, this evidence indicates that the roots of the spectrum have a lot to do with the genetic.

Autism is not such an uncommon disorder. According to this study, 1 out of 68 people has it. The chances of having other children with it increase to 15% and it doubles if there are two or more children. Of course, this doesn’t mean autism can't occur out of anywhere. DNA always changes over generations, which means that determined new genes or the lack of them can easily lead to an autistic newborn, even if the family didn't have autism records before.

Most of this research was done in groups of less than 100 families who have at least one autistic child, which means these results require a closer look and further investigation. But the truth is the concern shouldn’t be if autism can be studied genetically, but to find tangible solutions for autistic individuals to be successfully understood in society.

It is clear that genetics play a role in the autism puzzle, and given that information, scientists can continue to unravel the mysteries that hide behind it. As for now, the labor of helping autistic individuals to accomplish their goals remains. Autism Soccer is continuously trying to support the development of autistic children: they have the facilities ready, a staff of professionals and the good will to help. Reach for them and see it yourself!

This condition has been studied for years, but in the last decade genetics are beginning to be a crucial key to scientist.

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Monday, August 7, 2017

Siblings and Autism: How to Interact with the Whole Autism Spectrum

You, as a brother or sister, need to be part of your sibling's life!

Ever since the extensive researches on autism began in the 20th century, the main focus for most clinicians was to look for a way to improve the quality of life of those who were born with it. Several awareness campaigns also rose up: Bringing the attention of people on autistic children. The knowledge we have today stands as a reliable and powerful tool to understand autism. With so many improvements the change can be felt, but what really matters, in the end, is how autistic children are raised and taught. Families are, in fact, the key to this puzzle.

Values, such as love, solidarity, moral and empathy, are pillars when raising children. Education is important too, of course. But without awareness and proper parenting to back it up, it won’t mean much really. Families are the children’s growth nucleus. Through solid bonds between siblings and the counseling of adults, children can develop the essential skills they’ll ever need in life.

For autistic children, it’s no different, even with their own challenges and particularities. What do autistic children need compared to neurotypicals? Time, more than anything. They don’t see the world differently as many people claim, they just see it with different eyes. What can you give your child as a parent to help them in their growth? You should be starting by changing your perception and that of the people around your kid.

Autistic children don’t feel different because of their condition: they feel different when people label them as such, even though they know they are not doing anything wrong. This attitude towards them is rooted on misconceptions around autism, mistakes that were put into people’s minds which managed to perdure. My point is that the moment you act differently towards autistic children they’ll show a tangible change in their lives.

Siblings are no different from the rest of the people, which is why you must educate them as well. Children need to be taught to treat and understand autistic children, in a way they don’t make them feel they’re being treated differently. You must explain them openly what it means to be autistic, so they can learn to treat them equally. This is not about denial or ignoring your children is autistic but acknowledge and empathize with what it really means to live with this condition.

A family that’s well educated about this will surely make their autistic children (or any children, for that matter) feel at home. Also, it would be wise to remember that if you decided to take this path, it’s neither a sacrifice or a challenge for you to bear. Playing the victim is not what your children need, they need to be understood and loved among all.

Your house and environment need to be ideal for your children to grow, but this doesn’t mean you’ll have them in limited and protected places out of fear. They need to see and experience the world as well. Autism Soccer provides the right environment for your children to learn and become an important piece of society (because they are). They deserve the best, and they will have it!

People with autism require special care from family and professionals, as they need to be taught how to connect with others, included their family.

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Eye Contact in Autistic Children: Its Relationship with Genetics

According to studies, the root of autistic's tendency to avoid eye contact could be in genetics.

Most of the traits that are considered part of the Autism Disorder are associated with social behavior and communication skills. Among the signs of ASD, kids often show difficulties in learning, attention deficit, anxiety disorder or repetition of words and behaviors. But curiously, there’s one of these traits that could have a genetic explanation: the tendency to avoid eye contact.

A study suggests that genetics could provide an answer for this tendency, which could lead to believe that social gaze patterns are heritable. However, these researchers did not look at autistic children. The study was based on neurotypical identical twins, and to their surprise, they found out twins share similar gaze patterns when watching videos or by interacting in general. But still, these results must be compared to cases of identical twins with autism to confirm this theory.

This study’s been out for long, and the first results were presented at the 2016 International Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore. According to John Constantino, these results are “absolutely striking,” as they might unravel some secrets behind autism and ways of identifying it early. Studies such as these are of vital importance to understand more about this disorder, as many things are not completely understood yet. Gaze is only the first step into comprehending traits that define the way autistic people communicate.

There’s much to be done on the subject, but researchers continue to unravel mysteries behind autism as time passes. As for today, it remains as the main goal to continually look for ways to help those with the disorder. If you’re willing to support this cause or need assistance for your children, Autism Soccer might be the best option to help them out. Access their website, and you’ll see why!