Leading autism advocacy organization documents progress to discover causes and treatments for autism spectrum disorders new york, n.y. January 24, 2011 ndash autism speaks, the world 39 s largest autism science and advocacy organization, has released its annual list of the 10 most significant science achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year. Every year, autism speaks documents the progress made toward its mission to discover the causes and treatment for autism spectrum disorders, and identifies the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year. The 2010 list contains important results from clinical and epidemiological research together with advances in gene discovery and effective treatments which will combine to shape the future of autism research for 2011 and beyond.

Ldquo not only has the research community continued to make significant findings on the underlying causes of autism spectrum disorders, work has progressed on effective treatments to improve the quality of life of people with autism, rdquo explained autism speaks chief science officer geraldine dawson, ph.d. Ldquo while we are indeed making progress, progress is not nearly fast enough and we need more answers. Rdquo ldquo it is imperative that the federal government increase funding for autism research, and reauthorize of the combating autism act so we understand the causes of autism andhow best to help individuals with autism lead productive and independent lives, rdquo stated autism speaks president mark roithmayr. Ldquo i applaud the thousands of families nationwide who joined autism speaks walks and raised funds to support autism research efforts, enabling us to move forward, rdquo roithmayr added. Ldquo working together ndash families, scientists, professionals, government officials ndash we are making progress through science and advocacy. Rdquo with input from autism speaks 39 scientific advisory committee sac , autism speaks science staff culled through thousands of publications to arrive at these choices.

The 2010 compilation is designed to be considered in its entirety and is not arranged to suggest a ranking. Ldquo we will remember 2010 as a tipping point in autism research, rdquo stated autism speaks sac member gary goldstein, ldquo the papers selected here demonstrate the power of advanced technologies in molecular biology, brain imaging and patient evaluation to provide new insights into the biology of autism. These achievements give great hope for moving the frontiers forward for treatment and prevention of autism. Rdquo as 2010 opened, autism science was the focus at the highest levels of the american research establishment with a landmark meeting hosted by francis collins, m.d. The meeting fostered a spirit of respectful collaboration for autism advocacy groups working together to achieve a common goal of supporting the research that will improve the lives of those living with autism spectrum disorders asd. The pool of significant advances in autism science in 2010 suggests that scientists and clinicians are indeed up to the challenge. Here, we highlight 10 of those advances, which include improved treatments and better means of screening for asd, new clinical care guidelines and a greater insight into the underlying biology of autism.

technological advances in measuring language development easy to use devices could be helpful in autism screening children 39 s early language development has always been a challenge to measure. So, therapists have historically relied on their trained ears and the use of paper based assessments. And austria has been using an all day recording device see image above to make naturalistic recordings of children 39 s vocalizations. They have been recording and analyzing syllable patterns and found that they can reliably distinguish groups of children with autism, children with language delay and typically developing children. The device itself weighs about one eighth of a pound, can be worn on the child 39 s clothing and makes recordings of the child 39 s natural speech across a whole day.

The data the study team collected included 1,486 all day recordings, from 232 children with more than 3.1 million child vocalizations. The study team looked at whether the vocal patterns predicted later language development and also whether the speech pattern could reliably differentiate the three different groups of children. Vocalization patterns of children with autism were characteristically different from those of typically developing children, and to a lesser degree the analysis also differentiated children with autism from children with language delay.

The characteristic that most reliably differentiated the groups was the ability to break down the vocalization into syllables. The ability to form syllables was a significant predictor of future language development. This technology offers an exciting opportunity to identify children whose language development may be atypical and could be at risk for autism. If further independent studies demonstrate its efficacy, the portability of this technology and its relative ease of use may offer another helpful screening tool for autism. This technology also has potential to be used alongside traditional methods of screening and diagnosing children with autism to increase the reliability of diagnostic assessments. Therapists may use this information to augment their current clinical practice and knowledge and assist them in monitoring a child 39 s everyday vocalizations in natural settings. It will also help therapists predict children 39 s later language development which can inform the type and timing of interventions.

Oller dk, niyogi p, gray s, richards ja, gilkerson j, xu d, yapanel u, warren sf. 2010 automated vocal analysis of naturalistic recordings from children with autism, language delay, and typical development.proc natl acad sci u s a. Epub pmid: 20643944 do you see what i see? trial demonstrates that caregivers can effectively teach joint engagement skills the ability of very young children to engage others and communicate socially using non verbal cues such as pointing, smiling, or making eye contact is critical to social and language development. Children learn to relate and communicate nonverbally long before they learn to communicate using words. Numerous studies show that children who engage their parent or caregiver in sharing communications such as pointing to things of interest or directing another 39 s attention to objects, learn language faster. These skills, referred to as joint attention skills, are significantly impaired in very young children with autism and therefore have been the targets of early intervention programs. Given that children are being diagnosed with autism at much younger ages, there is a need to develop early interventions that target these skills.

In this study, researchers asked parents/caregivers rather than clinicians to deliver an intervention aimed at increasing social communication outcomes of young children with autism. Thirty eight caregivers and their toddlers with autism who were 21 36 months of age were randomly assigned to either the treatment group or a waitlist control group. The study focused on toddlers who had the least amount of language based on previous findings that these children benefit most from the joint engagement intervention. The 8 week intervention focused on the development of play routines during which the parent/caregiver would actively participate, maintain, and expand upon the child 39 s play activities. The goal was to keep the child engaged on the shared play activity for longer periods of time during which the child 39 s social communication and language behaviors could be facilitated.

The results showed that children in the treatment group developed strong joint attention skills. These gains in joint engagement, joint attention and play were either maintained or improved one year following termination of the intervention. Children in the treatment group spent less time focused solely on objects and significantly more time engaged with parents during play compared to children in the control group. This is one of the first randomized controlled trials to demonstrate that a relatively brief caregiver mediated intervention can improve social interaction, joint attention and play skills in toddlers with autism.