Can Running Help Children with ASD?

At a time when people more often reach for the remote than for their running shoes, finishing a five-mile race is a commendable achievement for anyone.What if we told you that among the runners crossing these finish lines are children with autism? And that running is actually helping with the symptoms of autism?

Autism Researchers Seek Cause for Dramatic Rise

For many families, the quest for the causes of autism has grown more urgent with the news that the estimated prevalence of the condition grew by 23% from 2006 to 2008, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report said last week.
In most cases, however, scientists can't tell parents what caused their child's autism, says Thomas Insel, director of the National Institutes of Mental Health. In large part, the causes of autism — which is likely not one disease, but a group of conditions with related symptoms — remain a mystery.

9 Conversations To Have With Your Autistic Child

Growing up, Paul McAuliffe says he “felt like a Martian.” He was always saying the wrong thing or overreacting, but he didn’t know why. Then several years ago for his job as a case manager, the Panama City resident started reading online about the symptoms of autism.

“And I said, ‘My god,’” recalls McAuliffe, now 57. “‘That’s me.’”

Study: Low Cholesterol Link to Autism

There’s a promising new study that shows why low cholesterol levels could be making autism symptoms worse.
Rose Barker is a preschooler who has autism.
Her mom Angela says, “This is a child that would have a blank stare and run from other people if she didn't know them. I would have to literally carry her up the stairs with me if I just went from one level to another."
Today Rose is reading, smiling, and interacting like never before. And a packet of cholesterol could have helped make the difference.