What you should know about raising an autistic child

When faced with doubt, no matter if we’re certain of the fact, it’s all too easy to say, “It’s all going to be okay,” – especially if you’re a developmental paediatrician presenting a family with a life-changing diagnosis. Still, with 30 years of caring for children with autism and their families under her belt, Patty Manning-Courtney can confidently say that it will be okay. She’s learned what it takes to stand back up again; start believing in a positive outcome, and you may learn the same. Patty graduated from Austin College in 1987, more than well-prepared for medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she graduated first in her class. She completed a residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, then started a diagnostic and treatment program for children with autism spectrum disorder. In February of 2020, Patty was named Chief of Staff at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and promptly inherited oversight of institutional COVID-19 response. She has been fortunate to work with thousands of families of children with autism spectrum disorder and related developmental disabilities. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community,

How Stress Impacts Rheumatoid Arthritis + BONUS 10 Tips To Manage Stress and Pain

How Stress Impacts Rheumatoid Arthritis and learn 10 tips that will help you manage stress and Decrease Pain in #arthritis and #rheumatoidarthritis? Can Stress cause #pain? Can stress cause #rheumatoidarthritis? And how to manage stress better and decrease the pain. You will learn about different techniques that you may use to manage stress from my 10 tips that will include #breathingmeditation to #gratitude journaling #bodyscanmeditation #meditation #yoga and so much more.

An avocado a day may improve overall diet quality, researchers report

 According to a team led by researchers in Penn State’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, eating one avocado per day may improve overall diet quality. Poor diet quality is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, and many American adults have poor diet quality and do not meet key dietary recommendations provided by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

This study was led by Kristina Petersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences, and Penny Kris-Etherton, retired Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences, and recently published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition.  The researchers examined how a food-based intervention — one avocado per day — impacts overall diet quality.

“Avocados are a nutrient-dense food, containing a lot of fiber and other important nutrients. We wanted to see if regular intake of this food would lead to an increase in diet quality,” Petersen said. “Previous observational research suggests avocado consumers have higher diet quality than non-consumers. So, we developed this study to determine if there is a causational link between avocado consumption and overall diet quality.” 

Petersen stated that because only 2% of American adults are regular avocado consumers, the researchers wanted to determine if including avocados in an individual’s daily diet could significantly increase their diet quality.

Researchers conducted phone interviews with participants before the study began and at a few points throughout to determine what their dietary intake was like in the previous 24 hours and evaluated their diets using the Healthy Eating Index to determine how well they adhered to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Adherence to the guidelines was used as a measure of overall diet quality.

The study consisted of 1,008 participants who were split into two groups. One group continued their usual diet and limited their avocado intake during the 26-week study, while the other group incorporated one avocado per day into their diet.

“We found that the participants who had an avocado per day significantly increased their adherence to dietary guidelines,” Petersen said. “This suggests that strategies, like eating one avocado per day, can help people follow dietary guidelines and improve the quality of their diets.”

Although researchers said they were not surprised to see that eating avocados daily improved diet quality, they had not predicted how participants were able to achieve it.

“We determined that participants were using avocados as a substitute for some foods higher in refined grains and sodium,” Petersen said. “In our study, we classified avocados as a vegetable and did see an increase in vegetable consumption attributed to the avocado intake, but also participants used the avocados to replace some unhealthier options.”

According to Petersen, having poor diet quality substantially increases the risk for conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and many other preventable diseases.

“By improving people’s adherence to dietary guidelines, we can help to reduce their risk of developing these chronic conditions and prolong healthy life expectancy,” Petersen said.

Petersen has also conducted similar studies investigating the impact of food-based interventions, including the relationship between pistachios and diet quality, but said that more research is needed to determine what other food-based strategies can be used to improve people’s adherence to dietary guidelines. 

“In studies like this one, we are able to determine food-based ways to improve diet quality, but behavioral strategies are also needed to help people adhere to dietary guidelines and reduce their risk of chronic disease,” Petersen said.

Why an autism diagnosis is an invitation to be yourself finally

Join Ellie Middleton as she takes you on her journey as a young girl with autism and ADHD and the difficulties she’s faced along the way. She discovers why she didn’t fit in and why she felt the way she did. She was unable to be her true, authentic self until getting her autism diagnosis Discover what a medical diagnosis can do for you and your confidence, and discovering your purpose and sense of belonging. Ellie Middleton is an autistic and ADHD creator, speaker, writer and consultant. After a lifetime of feeling misunderstood, she was diagnosed with both Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD at the age of 24. Since then, she’s gone on to build an audience of over 300,000 people online, create the (un)masked community for neurodivergents, and work with global brands like The Independent, Google & LinkedIn to change the narrative on neurodiversity. Ellie aims to shout about the positives that come with being neurodivergent, highlight the ways that society can better accommodate those of us with different brains, and help other undiagnosed neurodivergent people find the answers that they deserve. She is living proof that getting a diagnosis can change your life, change your outlook and allow you to reach your true potential – and thinks that is something that every neurodivergent person deserves.

Why Autism Is Often Missed in Women and Girls

Women and girls with autism spectrum disorder often don’t display the behaviours people typically associate with neurodivergence, greatly impacting when, how — and if — they are diagnosed. Autism acceptance advocate Kate Kahle makes the case for more research into this gender discrepancy, sharing her personal experience with masking, being diagnosed as a teenager and how it allowed her to understand herself better. “Autism is not a disease, and it doesn’t need to be cured,” she says. “It’s just a different way some brains can work.”