Learning with OTARC – Page 2 – Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

Can the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine cause…

Can the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine cause Autism?

It has been shown that the evidence for the causal link between MMR vaccine and Autism was weak at best, and incorrect at worst. Andrew Wakefield, who published this evidence has been exposed as fabricating his data. For a really quick overview and lots of extra reading on this go to his Wikipedia page.

Parental doubt and confusion is caused by the fact that first symptoms (if not diagnosis) are often observed at the time of, or shortly after, the vaccination, so there is a temporal link but not a causal link between vaccination and observation of first symptoms. Current research indicates some brain differences as early as six months in children who are not yet showing signs of autism but go on to do so in the second year of life.

By Dr Elfriede Ihsen

Published July 2019

Is there a link between Rubella and Autism?

We are aware of just one study by by Libbey, J., Sweeten, T., & Fujinami, R. (2005, PDF 93.6 KB) has summarised the evidence for a causal link between prenatal maternal Rubella and Autism.

Can I pass Aspergers on to my children?

This is a very difficult question to answer, because there are different causes for Autism and Aspergers, with some of these conditions being highly heritable and others are not.

Is Autism caused by gut bacteria, as suggested by…

This is one theory among many others put forward to explain the enigma that is Autism.

Some Autistic children appear susceptible to gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. However, this research is in the early stages, with the findings to date providing no evidence that gut bacteria and their by-products cause Autism, even a subgroup of them, or that treating the gut can alleviate the specific symptoms of Autism.

Meltdowns after school

I am a mum of six. My three youngest all have ASD and have terrible trouble with meltdowns after school. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of the ‘delay effect’ for children on the spectrum. That being that they hold themselves together and show no behaviour of concern at school but ‘meltdown’ when they return home. My question: is there any research evidence that this exists and what can be done to help?

Seven Essential Tips for Parents Evaluating Autism Interventions

ASDetect identifies the early signs of Autism, to help reduce the age at which Autistic children are identified. The younger a child is accurately identified the sooner intervention can begin allowing children’s full learning potential to be realised.

Echolalia and Autism

Does echolalia always indicate Autism, even when functional and age appropriate speech is present?

Teens in Transition

My son completed high school last year but was only recently been assessed with ASD. He has absolutely no idea what to do next. University does not seem an option. Any suggestions?

Teaching Autistic adults to speak

Is it possible to teach adults with autism to speak?

Answer:

Unfortunately, the simple answer is that we don’t know because there is no research evidence that tells us one way or the other. There are reports of individuals which indicate that it may be possible (see for example, Helping to unlock the secrets of autism), but what works for one individual may not work for another. Because of that we cannot make any predictions about particular individuals. However, it is important not to assume anything. Experiences through work, reading of the research literature, and listening to the personal stories of Autistic people and their families lead us to think that we can’t predict what individual Autistic people can or cannot learn, and we shouldn’t give up trying to help them to learn skills. We shouldn’t be surprised by surprises.

The inner voice

Has any research been done to investigate the inner voice (internal monologue) in people with Asperger’s Syndrome?

Answer:

There has been quite a bit of research on inner speech with a brief summary of findings provided below, including links to some of the research publications.

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