Thinking Differently: Autism Finds Space in the Workplace

Thinking Differently: Autism Finds Space in the Workplace

Some call it neurological diversity, others see it as autism's fight back. People diagnosed as "on the spectrum" are suddenly in demand by employers seeking a competitive advantage from autistic workers more used to being considered disabled than special.

Expressing a belief that "innovation comes from the edges", German computer software giant SAP last month launched a recruitment drive to attract people with autism to join it as software testers.

A week later, U.S. home financing firm Freddie Mac advertised a second round of paid internships aimed specifically at autistic students or new graduates.

The multinationals both say they hope to harness the unique talents of autistic people as well as giving people previously marginalized in the workforce a chance to flourish in a job.

"Only by employing people who think differently and spark innovation will SAP be prepared to handle the challenges of the 21st Century," SAP's board member for human resources, Luisa Delgado, said as she announced the plan.

For Ari Ne'eman, president of the Washington DC-based Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and a member of the U.S. National Council on Disability, the moves are welcome and well overdue. It's high time autism fought back, he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"We need to see neurological diversity in much the same way as we've seen workplace diversity efforts in the past on the basis of race, gender and sexual orientation," he said. "We're now seeing a growing level of interest in this."

Autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism, are thought to affect around 1 percent of the population worldwide.

The disorders are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors and can range from severe mental retardation with a profound inability to communicate, to relatively mild symptoms combined with some high levels of function such as those seen in people with Asperger's.

Among the core features of autism are poor communication skills and social difficulties. In high-functioning autism, features such as intense or obsessive focus and unwavering attention to detail are also common.

These latter qualities, experts say, as well an ability to approach an issue in a different way - often a creative or counterintuitive one - make autistic people potentially attractive as employees in large corporations.

"Historically, there seemed to be a certain perception of this population as being incapable of performing corporate level work," Freddie' Mac's diversity manager Stephanie Roemer told Reuters. "In reality people on the spectrum offer so much to an organization ... willing to think outside of the box and view this cadre of talent as a 'value add'."

OBSESSION AND SUCCESS

Joshua Kendall, author of "America's Obsessives", which argues that some of history's greatest American business and political leaders became successful partly because of obsessive personality traits, says the firms that get in first on this trend are likely to reap rewards.

"These big companies aren't doing it out of the kindness of their heart; they are doing it because they now realize they've been missing something," he said in a telephone interview.

He said the crucial question if such recruitment drives are to prove successful and sustainable is how much society will seek to accommodate people who think differently, or how much it would seek to "cure" them of their disorder.

"These are people who have traditionally been labeled as disabled. So do we want to treat them, or do we want to allow them to be as they are and adapt to them?"

SAP says its global autism recruitment drive, which aims to employ 650 autistic people - around 1 percent of its workforce - by 2020, comes after successful pilot projects in India and Ireland. It is a collaborative project with Specialisterne, a Danish consultancy that gets people with autism into jobs where they can shine.

Ne'eman says so far most of the firms expressing interest in autistic workers tend to be in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. In future, he says he hopes their success will encourage others to take notice.

"Many of us can and do succeed in a wide variety of professions," he said. "I, for instance, am an autistic person working in politics and public policy, which is certainly not a stereotypical field."

In Britain, only 15 percent of adults with autism are in full-time employment, says Carol Povey, a director at the UK's National Autistic Society - a fraction, she adds, of those who could contribute to the world of work.

In the United States, according to Ne'eman, studies of the working lives of autistic people have not been done, so no comparable data is available.

"It's great to see organizations not just doing from corporate social responsibility, but actually recognizing there is a good business case behind having more people with autism in the workforce," Povey said. "These people will contribute to the effectiveness and growth of the business."

Yet autism campaigners, and the firms seeking to recruit people on the spectrum, know there will be problems, too. Povey notes that "the social aspects of being in a workplace or office may pose particular challenges" for autistic recruits.

"They may be great at doing the task in hand, but really struggle when it comes to 'water cooler moments' or lunchtime.

"In fact they may even make other colleagues feel inadequate or awkward. They are unlikely to get involved in the banter of the workplace, and more likely to just get on with the job."

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/thinking-differently-autism-finds-space-in-the-workplace/1125323

Lack of awareness of Autism results in problem going undiagnosed

Lack of awareness of Autism results in problem going undiagnosed

Nearly 120 cases of autism have been reported in the past two years at the Regional Institute of the Mentally Handicapped, Sector 31, and around 30 such cases are treated every year in the psychiatry department of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. Though the number is quite significant, awareness about the problem is negligible.

"Due to lack of awareness among doctors and parents, the problem went undiagnosed for years. The sooner children with autism get diagnosed, greater is the success rate of the treatment. For early intervention, awareness of the problem is very important," said Dr B S Chavan, head of psychiatry department of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, on the occasion of World Autism Awareness Day on Tuesday.

Chavan added, "Autism is a kind of developmental disability. An autistic person has difficulty in social and communication skills, the signs of which appears by the age of three years".

While explaining the symptoms he said, "Autistic children lack in development of communication, both verbal and non-verbal. They fail to put their needs in words. They are not socially active, they do not make eye-contact, there is lack of attachment and they have very little knowledge about the difference between living and non-living things. Another important characteristic of autistic children is that they have repetitive behaviour - like to repeat an act".

Dr Chhaya Prasad, a developmental pediatrician, said, "A two to three month old child starts cooing, by six months he/she says mono-syllables, and by-syllables by eight-nine months. A year-old child is able to say a few words. By the end of two years, every child should have 50 meaningful words in its vocabulary. Contrary to this, in autistic children, there is a delay in developing appropriate speech".

Talking about the intelligence of autistic children, Dr Adarsh Kohli, professor of Clinical Psychology, PGI, said, "It is not necessary that all autistic children have poor IQ. Some of them excel in quiz, music, accounts and other activities, but they are poor in logical reasoning". She stated that autistic children should be sent to general schools. "Autistic children should be sent to general schools, as it will help them in their growth," she said.

Reagrding the treatment she said, "There is no medicine or pharmacological treatment for autism, but medication are given for co-morbid symptoms like hyper-activity. The only treatment is behaviour therapy, stimulation techniques and play therapy. If the treatment begins at an early age, it is more beneficial for children".

Aanganwadi workers apprised of early detection of disease

To mark World Autism Awareness Day, 'Early identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder' programme was organised by the Regional Institute of the Mentally Handicapped, Sector 31, on Tuesday.

"Above 30 Aaganwadi workers from Ram Darbar area were informed about the symptoms of autism, and they were motivated to bring the problem to the notice of parents, so that early treatment could be initiated," said Dr Chhaya Prasad, a developmental pediatrician.

She added, "Awareness among parents is negligible, as a result several cases of autism go unreported. The anganwadi workers are a very important part of the society, as they conduct door-to-door surveys and interact with young children. The programme was aimed at sensitising anganwadi workers about autism and to help them differentiate between autistic children and children with low IQ".

She also said, "Early intervention helps autistic children to learn social skills better, but in most cases, especially in rural areas, the cases are identified at a later stage. With well informed anganwadi workers in rural areas, awareness can be spread".

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-lack-of-awareness-of-autism-results-in-problem-going-undiagnosed-/1096933

Children with Learning Disabilities should not be sent to Special Schools

Children with Learning Disabilities should not be sent to Special Schools

Emphasising how negatively a child suffering from learning disabilities can be affected if kept away from normal classroom teaching, Ruc­h­ika Sachdeva, well known th­erapist on children with le­a­r­ning disabilities from Mumb­ai, said on Wednesday that 'su­ch kids should always be ad­­mitted to normal schools only.'

"The biggest mistake parents do is to discontinue with normal schooling once they come to know of the problem. Instead they should immediately inform teachers about latest findings and let normal schooling continue," said Sachdeva.

Sachdeva was in city to conduct a workshop on children with learning disabilities organised by city-based 'Potentials' at Punjab Agricultural University. The event was attended by parents, teachers and organisation working on problems like autism, dyslexia, cerebral palsy and others.

Asked how parents can identify if their child suffers from any learning disability, Sachdeva said, "There are many symptoms that appear at a young age like language and speaking delay, not picking basic concepts like confusion between left and right or solving basic mathematics and even problems in writing, reading or weak memory which, however, appears at a comparatively higher age. Parents and teachers have to start noticing."

"Once symptoms become clearly evident, one should immediately go for assessment tests from clinical psychologists having special training and qualifications in child development," she said.

She added that once the problem is confirmed, parents should immediately inform the school teachers. "There is nothing to be ashamed of," she said.

There are various problems related to child development and learning disabilities like dysgraphia (problem in handwriting), dyscalculia (problem in basic arithmetic), dyslexia, language disorders, non-verbal learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, social/emotional disorders, cerebral palsy among others.

"We simply need to understand that every child is different but isolating him or her is not the solution," she said, adding, that in order to promote inclusive learning, efforts are being made to empower classroom teachers to handle such students.

Meanwhile, Drishti Public School, Narangwal was honoured for their initiative on setting up an inclusive unit in the region and SEABA International Public School, Lehragaga in Sangrur district was recognised for similar initiative in rural areas.

KVM, Civil Lines; Bal Bharti Public School; Guru Nanak Public School; BCM School, Shastri Nagar; Harvest International School and DAV Public School, BRS Nagar attended the workshop.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-children-with-learning-disabilities-should-not-be-sent-to-special-schools-/1191679/

Susan Boyle’s powerful, graceful Asperger’s statement

Susan Boyle’s powerful, graceful Asperger’s statement

The singer reveals her diagnosis -- and the "relief" of it

By MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

If you received a diagnosis for a disorder that’s often stigmatized and misunderstood, a condition that’s perpetually challenging and isolating, how would you feel? What would be your response, learning you have Asperger’s? For Susan Boyle, the answer is, “relieved and relaxed.”

The 52-year-old Scottish singer, who set the bar for the term “overnight success” in 2009 with a riveting performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” on “Britain’s Got Talent,” has spent the past four and a half years enjoying a level of success that few talent competition runners-up ever dream of. She’s sold millions of albums, been nominated for two Grammy Awards, written an autobiography and become the subject of a hit musical. But she’s also very publicly grappled with the pressures of instant stardom — there has been a hospitalization for “exhaustion,” a few painful televised bouts of stage fright, and the toll of seemingly endless commentary on her “frumpy” and “slow” demeanor. When you factor in all that a small-town woman whose prior show business history consisted of singing in the church choir has experienced in the past four and a half years, maybe then it’s easier to understand why Boyle took her diagnosis with such apparent grace.

In an interview in the Observer this weekend, Boyle, who’s currently promoting her fourth album, acknowledges that “Some articles have said I have brain damage,” and says, “I have always known that I have had an unfair label put upon me.” After seeing a Scottish specialist a year ago, Boyle learned that her IQ is in fact above average, and that “I have Asperger’s. It is a relief.”

People with Asperger’s — a condition on the autism spectrum – are generally characterized by having difficulty with social interaction and communication. As Boyle’s interviewer Catherine Deveney describes her, the singer possesses “warmth, kindness and empathy” but also displays “delayed eye contact … visible anxiety until the stranger in her presence settles into at least superficial familiarity … slightly offbeat laughter in the middle of conversation … [and] sudden and obvious emotional withdrawal if she feels uncomfortable with a particular subject.”

The interpersonal challenges people with Asperger’s often face can make it easy for them to become the targets of bullies and critics – and Boyle has spoken and written much of her struggles in that arena, stretching back to the time she was a child. But in recent years, thanks to increasing awareness and more refined diagnoses, much ground has been gained in understanding both the condition and the people who have it. In 2007, John Elder Robison’s memoir of his life with Asperger’s, “Look Me in the Eye,” became a New York Times bestseller. Two years ago, actor Paddy Considine said he was feeling “more comfortable and confident and in control” since learning of his Asperger’s, and Dan Harmon revealed how he realized that he’s on the spectrum when he began researching the character of Abed for “Community.”

Recognizing that there’s a reason for one’s behaviors, rather than some kind of personal failing because they’re not like everybody else’s, has got to be pretty validating — especially after more than five long undiagnosed decades of living. For a smart woman once mocked as “Susie Simple,” one who has also battled depression and “got laughed at because people didn’t think I’d do well … It’s a condition that I have to live with and work through, but I feel more relaxed about myself.” Boyle says she hopes that now “People will have a greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do.”

The world can be a cruel place even when people do understand what you’re dealing with. But with her candor, Boyle – one of the most successful musical performers in the world right now (take that, Miley) — has offered herself up as a role model of what is possible when you dream a dream. She’s opening up the possibility of more compassion and understanding for misunderstood and teased people with Asperger’s all over the world. “I am here for a reason,” she says, “and it must be to make people happy.”

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a staff writer for Salon and the author of "Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream." Follow her on Twitter: @embeedub.

Source:   http://www.salon.com/2013/12/09/susan_boyles_powerful_graceful_aspergers_statement/

Scientists Pinpoint Cell Type and Brain Region Affected by Gene Mutations in Autism

Scientists Pinpoint Cell Type and Brain Region Affected by Gene Mutations in Autism

UCSF - Led Study Zeroes in on When and Where Disrupted Genes Exert Effects 

A team led by UC San Francisco (UCSF) scientists has identified the disruption of a single type of cell – in a particular brain region and at a particular time in brain development – as a significant factor in the emergence of autism.

The finding, reported in the Nov. 21 issue of Cell, was made with techniques developed only within the last few years and marks a turning point in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) research.

Large-scale gene-sequencing projects are revealing hundreds of autism-associated genes. Scientists have begun to leverage new methods to decipher how mutations in these disparate genes might converge to exert their effects in the developing brain.

The new research focused on just nine genes, those most strongly associated with autism in recent sequencing studies, and investigated their effects using precise maps of gene expression during human brain development.

Led by Jeremy Willsey, a graduate student in the laboratory of senior author Matthew W. State, MD, PhD, of UCSF, the group showed that this set of genes contributes to abnormalities in brain cells known as cortical projection neurons in the deepest layers of the developing prefrontal cortex, during the middle period of fetal development.

Though a range of developmental scenarios in multiple brain regions is surely at work in ASDs, the researchers said the ability to place these specific genetic mutations in one specific set of cells – among hundreds of cell types in the brain, and at a specific point in human development – is a critical step in beginning to understand how autism comes about.

“Given the small subset of autism genes we studied, I had no expectation that we would see the degree of spatiotemporal convergence that we saw,” said State, an international authority on the genetics of neurodevelopmental disorders.

“This strongly suggests that, though there are hundreds of autism risk genes, the number of underlying biological mechanisms will be far fewer," he said. "This is a very important clue to advance precision medicine for autism toward the development of personalized and targeted therapies.”

Complex Genetic Architecture of ASDs

ASDs, which are marked by deficits in social interaction and language development, as well as by repetitive behaviors and/or restricted interests, are known to have a strong genetic component.

But these disorders are exceedingly complex, with considerable variation in symptoms and severity, and little consistency in the mutations among affected individuals.

Instead, with the rise of new sequencing methods over the past several years, researchers have identified many rare, non-inherited, spontaneous mutations that appear to act in combination with other genetic and non-genetic factors to cause ASDs. According to some estimates, mutations in as many as 1,000 genes could play a role in the development of these disorders.

While researchers have been heartened that specific genes are now rapidly being tied to ASDs, State said the complex genetic architecture of ASDs is also proving to be challenging.

“If there are 1,000 genes in the population that can contribute to risk in varying degrees and each has multiple developmental functions, it is not immediately obvious how to move forward to determine what is specifically related to autism," State said. "Without this, it is very difficult to think about how to develop new and better medications,” he said.

Focusing on Nine Genes

To begin to grapple with those questions, the researchers involved in the new study first selected as “seeds” the nine genes that have been most strongly tied to ASDs in recent sequencing research from their labs and others.

Importantly, these nine genes were chosen solely because of the statistical evidence for a relationship to ASDs, not because their function was known to fit a theory of the cause of ASDs. “We asked where the leads take us, without any preconceived idea about where they should take us,” said State.

The team then took advantage of BrainSpan, a digital atlas assembled by a large research consortium, including co-author Nenad Šestan, MD, PhD, and colleagues at Yale School of Medicine. Based on donated brain specimens, BrainSpan documents how and where genes are expressed in the human brain over the lifespan.

The scientists, who also included Bernie Devlin, PhD, of The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Kathryn Roeder, PhD, of Carnegie-Mellon University; and James Noonan, PhD, of Yale School of Medicine, used this tool to investigate when and where the nine seed genes join up with other genes in “co-expression networks” to wire up the brain or maintain its function.

The resulting co-expression networks were then tested using a variety of pre-determined criteria to see whether they showed additional evidence of being related to ASDs. Once this link was established, the authors were then able to home in on where in the brain and when in development these networks were localizing. This proved to be in cortical projection neurons found in layers 5 and 6 of the prefrontal cortex, and during a time period spanning 10 to 24 weeks after conception. Notably, a study using different methods and published in the same issue of Cell also implicates cortical projection neurons in ASDs.

“To see these gene networks as highly connected as they are, as convergent as they are, is quite amazing,” said Willsey “An important outcome of this study is that, for the first time, it gives us the ability to design targeted experiments based on a strong idea about when and where in the brain we should be looking at specific genes with specific mutations.”

In addition to its importance in ASD research, State sees the new work as a reflection of the tremendous value of “big science” efforts, such as large-scale collaborative genomic studies and the creation of foundational resources such as the BrainSpan atlas.

“We couldn’t have done this even two years ago,” State said, “because we didn’t have the key ingredients: a set of unbiased autism genes that we have confidence in, and a map of the landscape of the developing human brain. This work combines large-scale ‘-omics’ data sets to pivot into a deeper understanding of the relationship between complex genetics and biology.”

UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy, a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic biomedical, translational and population sciences, as well as a preeminent biomedical research enterprise and two top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

Source : https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/11/110371/scientists-pinpoint-cell-type-and-brain-region-affected-gene-mutations-autism

iPads Helping Kids With Autism Learn To Speak

iPads Helping Kids With Autism Learn To Speak

Kids with autism may be able to learn to speak later than previously thought and researchers say that iPads could be key.

Preliminary findings from a new study indicate that iPads can help children with autism as old as 8 acquire new language.

That’s significant because many on the spectrum lack significant speech even into their school years. It has long been thought that kids are unlikely to develop speech if they do not do so by ages 5 or 6.

For the study, researchers at Vanderbilt University worked with 61 children with autism ages 5 to 8 who were minimally verbal using speech-generating apps on the iPad to communicate. In addition to touching symbols on the tablet in order to generate audible speech, the kids were encouraged to mimic the words themselves.

With the training, all of the kids in the study learned to speak new words and some started using short sentences, researchers said.

“For some parents, it was the first time they’d been able to converse with their children,” said Ann Kaiser of Vanderbilt who led the study.

Using iPads for the training is helpful for a number of reasons, Kaiser said. They are cost-effective and commonplace, meaning that there isn’t a stigma for those with autism who carry the devices.

Moreover, however, the consistent voice that speech-generating apps on the iPad deliver is a major plus.

“Every time the iPad says a word, it sounds exactly the same, which is important for children with autism, who generally need things to be as consistent as possible,” said Kaiser.

Further results from the research are expected next year. In addition, Kaiser said she is embarking on a separate five-year study along with researchers at three other universities to further assess the best method to encourage speech in kids with autism using iPad technology.

Source : http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/11/19/ipads-autism-speak/18904/