Neurodiversity and Autism

Neurodiversity and Autism

We are not going to cure cancer. Eventually, medical science will successfully treat melanoma, breast cancer, or lymphoma. One disease at-a-time, with discovery and experience along the way. Likewise, there will come an understanding of the underlying causes,...
Speech, Apraxia and Therapy

Speech, Apraxia and Therapy

Two major problems facing the youngest patients who are most affected with signs and symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder are aggression and speech. These factors shape socialization, the final step in ‘normal’ communication. Therefore, achieving self...
A Letter to Autism Researchers

A Letter to Autism Researchers

The title of a recent article in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition was Evaluation of Intestinal Function in Children with Autism and Gastrointestinal Symptoms. The headlines featured by most of the lay press, “Tests Show No Specific...
Evidence-Based Pediatric Special Needs Medicine

Evidence-Based Pediatric Special Needs Medicine

At an autism fundraiser lately, I took the opportunity to speak with one of the leaders in our local treatment community. I felt that his understanding of complementary and alternative protocols was limited at best, and looked upon with suspicion and even derision at...
High vs. Low Functioning Autism

High vs. Low Functioning Autism

After a thorough history and physical examination, if there is an autism diagnosis, parents frequently ask the question, “So, do you think that my child is high or low functioning? How much autism does my child have?” They are especially thinking,...
Reading, Texting, and Arithmetic for Special Needs Children

Reading, Texting, and Arithmetic for Special Needs Children

While on summer vacation as a child in the middle of the last century, I would pass booths along the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ, where hucksters would proclaim their ability to accurately evaluate any personality by examining handwriting. Sloppy or tidy text,...