June 15

Beautiful Otherness

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from Mind Hacks by vaughan

New Scientist has a gallery of artwork by savant artists, people who show exceptional artistic talents despite having impaired mental abilities in other areas.

Savantism is typically associated with autism to the point where many people assume that having a stand-out exceptional ability is present in everyone with the diagnosis.

This is not the case and although many people with autism-spectrum conditions will have a special interest, only about 10% will have what autism researchers Francesca Happé and Uta Frith call 'the beautiful otherness of the autistic mind'.

Perhaps the most famous artist with autism is Stephen Wiltshire who can create stunningly vivid landscape paintings from a barely more than a single glance.

However, my favourite such artist is Jessica Park who paints the most striking paintings of buildings and architectural features but in the most inventively colourful way.

The New Scientist gallery is interesting take on the area as each picture has been selected to illustrate something about the psychology of savant abilities.


Link to New Sci 'Savant art: A window into exceptional minds'.
Link to excellent Happé and Frith article on savantism.

January 09

Autism Speaks

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Autism Speaks is a registered charity in the UK and was launched by the autism campaigner and philanthropist, Dame Stephanie Shirley in 2004. It is the only charity which raises money for biomedical research into the causes of autism spectrum disorders. The website provides information about autism, including its causes and impact. There is also information on the research carried out by the charity, including collaborative research, UK research projects, grants and fellowships, and also details of news, resources and events. From: Intute.ac.uk
http://www.autismspeaks.org.uk/
August 10

British Autism Study Of Infant Siblings

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British autism study of infant siblings
The British Autism Study of Infant Siblings (BASIS) is a collaborative research network for the study of infants at risk for autism in the UK. It also aims to facilitate collaborative links between scientists working in the area and to disseminate information for families involved in research, as well as for the general public. Formally launched in May 2008 following funding from a consortium of charities, BASIS involves collaborating centres at several British universities. The website provides general information about the aims and functions of BASIS, its members, project proposal and relationship to other organisations, current research projects, and links to relevant organisations. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.basisnetwork.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=
June 24

Autism, Asperger's Syndrome And Related Developmental Disorders

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Autism, Asperger's Syndrome and related developmental disorders
This website has been compiled by Barry Morris who is a Social Worker and graphic designer in Australia and the website is sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of Queensland. This site provides information through over 350 fact sheets of autism-related information. It has an emphasis on practical strategies because many families cannot “afford expensive interventions, or may be geographically isolated and cannot access autism support services.” The fact sheets are broadly divided into the following areas: early intervention, behaviour and life skills, communication and education, personal stories, parent support and adults on the spectrum. There are also links to other relevant websites. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.autism-help.org/
May 20

Autism

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Autism (PDF; 113 KB)
Source: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (UK)

Autism affects how a person communicates, socialises and interprets the world. This can lead to wide ranging difficulties in every day life including forming relationships and living independently. Recent evidence that autism is more prevalent than previously recognised has put pressure on service providers and highlighted the need to train professionals to improve awareness of autism. This POSTnote describes autism and autism research, and considers policy approaches.

Docuticker

March 25

Autism Data.UK

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Autism Data

Autism Data is part of the UK's National Autistic Society's website. The database is available to all and provides information on over 18,500 published research papers, books, articles, videos and other materials on Autism and Asperger syndrome. The contents include bibliographic records of items in the National Autistic Society Information Centre Library and also include details of research articles which are not part of the library's holdings. All entries in the database have abstracts and keywords and guides are available on searching techniques. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.autism.org.uk/autismdata

January 15

MMR Vaccination And Autism

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Bandolier extra : MMR vaccination and autism

MMR vaccination and autism is one in a series of evidence-based essays focussing on specific health-related issues and topics, taken from the Bandolier Extra collection. Published in April 2005, this essay presents an evidence based overview of the MMR vaccination and its perceived relation to autism. The essay includes statistics and related references. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/Extraforbando/MMRextra.pdf

October 26

Autism

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Autism Speaks
Website for this organization "dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism." Features material about organization's activities and policies, and background about autism including how to cope, how to grow with it, and video clips "to help parents and professionals learn more about the early red flags and diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD)." Access to videos requires free registration.
URL: http://www.autismspeaks.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24738

Annotation copyright LII.org 

October 01

Research Autism

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Research Autism is a UK charity dedicated to research into interventions in autism. Established in 2003 as the Autism Intervention Research Trust, the Bristol-based organisation commissions, supports, and performs independent research with the aim of improving the quality of life for those affected by autism. The website includes research reports, newsletters, and fact sheets (on the major forms of autistic spectrum disorders, the problems associated with them, and therapeutic interventions), and information about forthcoming events and fundraising activities. Information is provided on Asperger Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (not otherwise specified), and on related conditions and syndromes that commonly co-occur in people with autism. The site also features personal accounts, resources on prevalence and outcomes of autism, myths about autism, a glossary of relevant terms, links to other useful resources on autism, and a bibliography of references, with abstracts. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.researchautism.net/pages/welcome/home.ikml
August 21

Autism And Related Disorders

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Autistic spectrum disorders

...The autistic spectrum disorders include autism, Asperger's syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Landau-Kleffner syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

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April 26

Humor And Laughter: Health Benefits; & Autism Research Unit, U.K.

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Humor and Laughter: Health Benefits and Online Resources

Autism Research Unit

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April 24

5 From Intute

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Raj Persaud talks to...

Interactive autism network

Psychology and self-help books: interviews with authors of psychology and self help books

UK Mental Health Research Network (MHRN)

Neurosupport

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April 11

Autism

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Autism Toolkit for Healthcare Professionals
Source: North Shore - Long Island Jewish Health System

...A multidisciplinary team that included specialists in Developmental and General Pediatrics, Child Psychiatry, Psychology, Mental Health, Nursing and Education designed this toolkit and, most importantly, parents of autistic children participated to help ensure the Guide's relevance and usefulness.

...

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April 11

Autism

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Autism information center

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