Peppa Pig

There is no Harvard study that says a British children’s television cartoon causes autism, despite what a social media post claims. In fact, there’s at least one peer-reviewed study that hints that a children’s television show may help autistic kids.

The post on the newsely site, and others that have circulated in recent months, claims that a group of Harvard experts did a study that revealed Peppa Pig “is one of the main causes of autism among children. The piece describes other complaints about the British animated series and does not name the authors of the so-called study or where it was published.

That’s because it doesn’t exist, autism experts said. The study could not be found on any database of scientific studies. Three leading autism researchers called it false. The chairman of the Harvard psychology department said he knows of no such study.

“This is fake,” said autism researcher Dr. Matthew State, chairman of the psychiatry department at the University of California San Francisco and chairman of the scientific advisory board at the Autism Science Foundation. State says it goes back to an old study by three economists — none from Harvard — that uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey to find a vague link between autism, cable television watching and rates of rain and snow in the 1970s and 1980s.

Read the rest the article here.

Blood test for autism

“Autism blood discovery promises earlier tests and treatment,” claims The Daily Telegraph, reporting on research into a potential new diagnostic test for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The study involved 38 children with ASD and 31 children without. Blood and urine samples were collected from all children and tested for various protein by-products, some of which are thought to be found at higher levels in people with ASD.

Based on the results of the tests, the researchers developed a computer-based model to predict whether a child had ASD or not. The model correctly identified 92% of the children who had ASD, and 84% of the children who did not.

This was an early study which provides the basis for further research. However it is far too soon to know if the test could ever be used in practice. From this single, small study we don’t know that it’s accurate enough or that it could improve upon existing methods for diagnosing ASD in clinical practice.

The causes of ASD remain largely unknown, and any ways of improving our understanding of the condition are welcome. But media claims that this new test would help spot ASD early currently have no basis.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Warwick, the University of Birmingham and several research institutions in Italy. It was published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Autism and is free to read online.

It was funded by the Warwick Impact Fund, the Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna, and the Fondazione Nando Peretti, Rome.

Several UK newspapers covered the story, with varying degrees of accuracy. The Mail Online claimed that “a blood test diagnosing autism in children could be available within a year” when neither the researchers nor any other experts had said this was possible. It also described the test as 90% accurate, without explaining what this means (for example the test was less accurate when it came to identifying those who didn’t have the condition).

What kind of research was this?

This was a case-control-study in which a group of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were compared with a group of children without ASD.

First, blood and urine samples were taken from all the children to look for possible differences in biomarkers (molecules such as proteins) between the children with ASD and those without ASD.

This is a good starting point to identify new ways of testing for a condition. However, there are many further study stages before you can find out whether a new diagnostic test could be used in practice.

This initial study involved a small number of children who were older than most children are when they start to be diagnosed with ASD. They also all had known diagnostic status – that is the researchers knew whether they had ASD.

Ultimately, to see if a diagnostic test works in practice, you need to start with a large sample and the researchers shouldn’t know who has the condition before they give them the new test. You also need to ensure the diagnostic test does no or minimal harm. Potential harms include missing out people who have a condition (who then miss out on help), or incorrectly diagnosing someone with a condition that they do not have.

What did the research involve?

The researchers recruited 69 children at a research centre in Bologna, Italy. This included 38 children diagnosed with ASD (mostly boys) and 31 children without ASD. Both groups were matched by age and gender. The average age was around 8 years.

The children in the ASD group had their diagnosis confirmed by 2 child-development experts, using standard diagnostic criteria.

Children were not included in the study if they:

had epilepsy

had an inflammatory or infectious condition

were taking antioxidant supplements at the time of the study

had undergone surgery in the 4 months before the blood and urine samples were taken

The blood and urine samples were collected on a single occasion. Previous research had shown that in some people with ASD, some proteins appear to have been broken down abnormally. The researchers therefore tested the blood and urine samples for a number of these abnormal protein by-products (biomarkers). These included proteins which had broken down and combined with sugars (advanced glycation endpoints), and different combinations of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.

The researchers then used a computer-based model to see what combinations of biomarkers might correctly identify whether someone had been diagnosed with ASD.

What were the basic results?

The researchers looked at 14 different biomarkers.

After adjusting for the number of tests they had carried out, 3 biomarkers in the blood showed a difference between the 2 groups of children.

The amino acid-related biomarkers carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), carboxymethylarginine (CMA) and dityrosine (DT) were all higher in the children with ASD than in the non-ASD group.

The computer modelling process looked at lots of combinations of the different biomarkers. It found that the best diagnostic predictions came from a model that looked at certain advanced glycation endproducts (3-deoxyglucosonederived hydroimidazolone) as well as the 3 amino acids.

The sensitivity of the model (how many people with ASD were correctly identified) was 92%.

The specificity of the model (how many people without ASD were correctly identified) was 84%.

This means that 8% of the children with ASD were missed by the model, and 16% of the children that were diagnosed with ASD by the model didn’t actually have the condition.

Models based on urinary biomarkers had poorer accuracy.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers discussed some of the limitations of their study, and described the work that needs to be done next, including testing their results in younger children to see whether the model still worked and could be used for early diagnosis.

They also want to look at other biomarkers, including genetic variations, and see whether predictions can be made about how severe someone’s ASD symptoms may be.

Conclusion

This study produced some interesting results that should be investigated further. However, it was only meant as a starting point to see if there are detectable differences in blood and urine samples of people with and without ASD, and if these differences could could be useful for diagnosing ASD. It is far too soon to say whether such tests could ever have a role in clinical practice.

But it has a number of limitations:

Blood and urine samples were only collected on a single occasion, which means that we don’t know anything about how the biomarkers used in the test might vary from day to day in an individual.

The study involved only a small group of children, who were older than the age at which children first develop ASD symptoms. We don’t know whether the differences in biomarkers could have been detectable at an earlier age.

To see whether the model is valid, it would first need to be tested again on a completely different group of children with and without ASD, of different ages and with different characteristics. If that still worked, the real test would be to test it in a large number of children who had not yet been diagnosed with ASD to see whether it is reliable and offers any improvement on current diagnostic assessments, which do not involve any form of invasive test.

It’s very important that a new diagnostic test doesn’t cause any undue harm. Although the model performed well, it still failed to diagnose 8% of children who had ASD, and perhaps of most concern suggested 16% of children had ASD when they were not considered to have it according to expert diagnosis. A wrong diagnosis could cause extensive problems. Children with ASD may miss getting the support they need, while a false diagnosis in someone without ASD could cause long-term emotional and developmental harm.

These developments are of interest but for the foreseeable future the way ASD is diagnosed will remain unchanged.

Autism and sleep

There can be many difficulties that come about when you have a child with autism. However, for every problem, there is a solution. Science has been looking into many different types of behavioral therapies to help autistic children with sleep disorders.

The prevalence of these problems in autistic children is about 44% to 83%, making it a cause well-worth looking into. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the ways that behavioral treatments are used to calm sleep problems in children with autism.

Bedtime Routine

The first thing that you can do is to implement a routine for your child. Most studies will tell you that this routine should start 30 minutes before your child’s actual bedtime to allow them to calm down and relax into the routine.

This routine can consist of a series of events. Most commonly, these events include reading, brushing their teeth, and similar activities. Avoid activities such as cleaning or picking out clothing or activities for the next day as this will cause conflict for your child.

The important thing is that you vary this routine and don’t move it in time each night. You are trying to balance the line between steadfast routine and hard-lined ritual.

Weighted Blankets

Autism is a sensory problem, so a weighted blanket is used to offer a calming effect. The effect is much the same of swaddling a baby – they are warm, safe, and they feel protected.

This is because autism can cause problems with sensory regulation and modulation and a weighted blanket – much like a weighted vest – offers something called deep touch pressure.

Choosing one of these blankets has a simple equation. Just take your child’s weight, multiply that by 10%, and then throw on an extra pound or two to get the weight that your child will need in their blanket. This will provide your child with the weight for deep touch pressure without posing a threat to their safety while they sleep.

Scheduled Wake-Ups

This is specifically used for children that experience night terrors due to their autism. These wake-ups should be scheduled about 30 minutes before your child usually has their night terrors. This only needs to be far enough that the child opens their eyes then you can allow them to go back to sleep.

This should start being done every day for a week. Then skip a day on the second week and two days on the third. Repeat this pattern until you aren’t waking your child anymore and they aren’t having regular night terrors.

However, it might not happen right away. If your child resumes having night terrors, you will need to start the pattern over. Don’t lose hope if you have to start over. It might take a couple tries to calm your child’s night terrors so just be patient.

When you are looking to control your child’s wake up time in the morning, this should be scheduled as well for the same reason their bedtime should be; to keep them in a routine.

Get Your Child To Fall Asleep Without You

This step is hard on parents as you want to help your child as much as you can. There is a pattern to sleep that is natural and just like anyone else, your child might naturally wake up in the night. They must be able to go back to sleep without you having to sit with them or them crawling into your bed.

This might seem harsh but paired with a steady routine, your child will fall into this part of the routine naturally. So, don’t worry, it is natural to want to sit with your child to help them fall asleep but in the long run you are helping them by doing otherwise.